The emperor's gaze sharpened. 'Rin.'
There was warning in the single word.
Rin only inclined his head politely. His motions were cool and controlled, but Arin could feel his heartbeat pick up. He felt like he could feel the thudding right up to the tips of his fingers.
His mother swallowed. 'You know you cannot speak of… it. The… little prince shall have to learn of it by himself.'
'And that is why we are here now!' Ralen added heatedly. 'This is my ceremony! This is my day, when I finally get to learn the truths of our family. When I finally get to be a part of it! When I might finally get an explanation… for…' his voice wavered. 'In any case, you've had your moment already! Why must you come here, and try to ruin mine?'
Rin looked at him silently, without reacting to his words at all. He waited until his younger brother had quieted down.
Then, he spoke again.
The air changed.
Even Arin, who was only experiencing all this through a memory, could feel it immediately. The strange weight of Rin's magic gathered in his chest, like a dull pressure building behind his ribs.
And even though his voice was not loud, it was as though the whole world had paused to listen.
'My younger brother, prince Ralen,' Rin said softly, 'will not learn the truth that lies beyond those doors.'
The emperor grasped at his own chest, and took a step forward. 'Rin –'
'He will never serve it,' Rin continued.
The magic deepened, spreading outward like invisible roots sinking into the fabric of the world. It couldn't be seen, but even through the time and space that separated them, Arin could… feel it, somehow.
The empress inhaled sharply, her eyes going round. The emperor suddenly opened his mouth to yell, 'My son, Rin, will not -!'
But before he could finish, Rin had already added his final words.
'And neither these conditions, nor the rule itself, shall ever claim his natural lifespan.'
His father's unfinished words were halted with a choke.
Ralen stared at him with wide eyes. His gaze, a mixture of confusion and fury, then turned to fully land upon his brother. 'Why? What!? Why?'
Then, the empress collapsed.
The emperor caught her just before she struck the floor, panting heavily himself. He looked from her to Rin, his gaze fixed upon him with a look Arin had never seen before.
'No!' the man said hoarsely.
Ralen looked between them, still lost. 'Father Emperor? What is happening?' He then scurried to kneel down by them, barely avoiding tripping over the heavy robes he wore.
The emperor ignored him completely.
'You –' His voice broke as the truth settled over him. 'If you do this… if you bind it that way -!'
His hands shook around the empress.
'Then, it will be me,' Rin gasped. He, too, suddenly collapsed onto the floor, half-kneeling as he barely supported himself. However, his face bore the traces of a faint smile.
Ralen's head snapped toward him again at the sound of those words.
Through Rin's blurry vision, he could see that his expression had twisted into something raw and angry, unwillingness burning behind his eyes.
'You? It will be you!? What have you taken from me now!?' Ralen's voice tore straight from his throat, and he stopped himself, breath shaking. But his control didn't last long. 'For once… For once! Something was to be about me. I was a part of it! For once! But you…!'
Rin blinked and looked away, ignoring him once again, though Arin was certain that even if he'd wanted to say something, he wouldn't have been able to at that moment. His whole body was now hurting like he'd just been thrown off a cliff; he'd lost most of his control over his limbs, and both his chest and head felt weighed down as though by heavy boulders. Even his eyes burned and felt swollen, like they'd pop out any minute.
The magic he'd just used had gone against something unimaginably strong.
Rin finally shut his eyes. The last thing he saw was the stone floor rushed up to meet him.
And the last thing he heard was his father roar like a crazed, wounded animal.
'Foolish boy!'
Arin couldn't tell what Rin was thinking, of course, but right before he lost consciousness, and before the memory began to dissolve, he felt something clench in the boy's chest.
And as an older brother himself, he briefly wondered whether Rin was worrying that those words hadn't been directed at himself.
…
…