Sorry for hearing and not listening
Chapter 41| Sorry for hearing and not listening
"I don't want to be King, Tristan. I want to see you up that throne but not as the man you are right now, but as the man, I knew you would have become if you didn't try to adopt the way Abba thinks."
"I'm sorry," Tristan whispered.
Saif stopped in the middle of his tracks as he attempted to go back to his bed.
He turned, "For what exactly, how rudely you spoke to Kimberly or not picking a fight with me after how rudely I spoke to you just now even though you are my senior?"
Tristan roll his eyes, remembering the human who he had just left a few minutes ago, the thought of her believing that he'll just take her word for it was so unbelievable. He didn't even trust his kind who were more trustworthy, docile, and were possessed with well cultured attitude and virtue, yet for some sick reason, she believed he did her.
"Leave the human, she isn't family."
"She had been a family to me, just today than this family has been to me all these years."
"Don't say that Saif, it hurts. How can you pick a stranger over me."
Saif rolled his eyes but he couldn't help the smile that grew on his face, "You weren't included in the quotation family, Queen Faye too."
"You know Abba loves you and Queen Reginald? How can a woman not love her child?"
"When she is power greedy that's how." He didn't even meet Tristan's gaze even as he reminisce a few incidents in the past that had grounded that harsh reality into him at an early stage in his life.
"Even the worst of creatures can never be totally bad mothers. She cares for you, maybe in her own sick, absurd way but she does care."
"I don't think so Tristan, this particular creature has lost even her tiny bit of goodness in her desperation to get Abba's attention and has misplaced her care in her haste to get to his bed not even caring for her infant child. An infant she left in the care of a woman, who she had launched several attacks threatening her son's life. Your mother. Queen Faye."
Tristan knew that one day Saif will openly talk about the murdering attempt his mother had launched on him as a child. Though when he had knocked on his door, he didn't even have the briefest of ideas that it was going to be tonight.
"Saif," he whispered weakly at a loss of what to say, "I just hope you realize one day that we all love you and want the best for you."
"You were about telling me why you were sorry," Saif whispered, closing his eyes as he broached the topic hoping Tristan got the message that he didn't want to talk further about his so-called family. He had long accepted that he was unlovable to Abba and his mother just tolerated his existence for his Genes.
He sure did know how Kimberly felt. He had felt like that for the past 25 blood nights of his existence.
He wouldn't let Tristan try to lead him through a path they both knew was false.
"I'm sorry Saif for hearing you but not listening, I've looked at you every day but yet somehow I never saw you and that's why today I'm just realizing so late how much my little brother has grown."
"Only three blood nights, Trist," Saif mumbled throwing Tristan, a brush next to him playfully.
He ducked timely and grinned.
"Hey, stop sulking and throwing like a girl." He taunted, smirking.
Saif eyed him and then broke into a grin which he reciprocated.
"I mean it Saif," his brow was knitted together as he exhaled sighing, "Can you forgive your big brother?"
He expected Saif to hit him with something else or chuckle but he didn't.
He fell on the bed, laying there for seconds that felt like hours because of the heavy cloak of silence that seemed to have covered them.
"I've never felt like you owed me an apology. You are one of the reasons why I'm still sane in this decorated cage."
"You get all the fun and freedom in the world, yet you still feel like you are being caged. Your definition of freedom must be scary then," Tristan jokingly quipped.
Saif shrugged, "I'm not asking for much, let's start with the freedom of allowing us to choose a wife for ourselves."
His brother laughed hard, "That's not freedom, Saif. That's daydreaming. You know the tradition, man."
"Then how about cutting down the crappy expectations, they have hung on our necks ever since we were birthed and allowing us to soar in our trashy daydreams."
"Almost a fairytale, Saif. You know the rules."
He reached out to hold Tristan's arm, propping himself upward.
"Then can you promise me that we would always be this way, happy and together? Hope our togetherness doesn't one day go against the rules or tradition."
"I promise you," Tristan mumbled without even pausing to think it over for a second because he knew regardless of what looms in the future, whatever hurdle, he'll have to cross soon, he would always be cheering for Saif wherever he found himself.
"I love you," Saif muttered more to himself.
"You are making this seem so cheesy and awkward," Tristan muttered under his breath while ruffling Saif's hair.
Saif made to swat his hand but missed making him decide to stick to glaring hard at him for a few seconds.
"So we good?"
Tristan nodded, even as he made for the door. "We'll always be good." He added then exited the room leaving Saif with a cheesy smile on his face.
"Always," he found himself whispering to the empty walls of his room.
There was a knock on the door, he rolled his eyes wondering what Tristan must have forgotten to say this time.
"You know that this time was created for sleep right?" He opened his door and then his eyes widen at the person on the other side with a little smile lingering on her face.
"Mother." Intrigued he stepped out of the way allowing Queen Faye entrance to his room.
He could count on one of his hands how many times both the Queens, which one was his mother had come to his room. They were always so busy. Faye with being the queen of the kingdom and his mother with schemes and atrocious thoughts she entertained herself with it.
So he was aware that whatever the Queen couldn't wait to tell him the next day and had sought him out especially so late at night must be serious.