17

The room was quiet, both boys sound asleep in their beds. The window on he wall in between their beds had been intentionally left open, its cream white curtains fluttering every now and then as the night wind blew inside. The little lamp on the round wooden table beside Rin's bed served as the only light source in that room.

Rin turned to his side, burying his head under his pillow. Thor's soft snores filled the silent room. His arm fell off the edge of his bed, his fingertips touching the wooden floor.

'Rin?'

A voice echoed through Rin's head and he pulled the pillow over his ear.

'Rin, you awake?'

It sounded once again and he snapped open his sleepy blue eyes. Sitting up in his bed, he looked at the alarm clock on Thor's desk. 12:15 am.

'I'll be up there in a moment, Alicia.'

He replied to the voice, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

He got off his bed, his bare feet touching the cold floor. He heard Thor mumble something in his sleep as he grabbed his uniform cape from the chair at the foot of his bed.

Folding it over his forearm, he stretched out his palm. ALL WAYS.

A portal opened up behind the room's door.

The bright blue glow of the loop illuminated Thor's eyelids. He opened one of his golden eyes to catch a glimpse of Rin's black pajamas before the portal closed behind the boy's back. He closed his eye and snuggled into his pillow.

Up on the roof of the girls' dormitory, a portal opened up and out stepped Rin. He looked around before finding her.

A small figure in light blue pajamas hugging her knees. Her untied hair fell in rich gold waves over her shoulders, reaching past her narrow waist and touching the roof.

Rin reached her in two large strides and sat down beside her. He gently placed his cape over her shoulders, his fingers slightly brushing the cold skin of her nape.

They sat their in silence for a while before she whispered,"I dreamt of that night again." She hadn't taken her eyes off the ancient willow tree which stood in the center of the courtyard below them. The soft moonlight that fell on it further highlighted its magestic form.

Rin knew very well what night she was referring to.

The night of ogres' attack. She had told them all about it.

That night was a peaceful one like any other in her kingdom and her mother had tenderly kissed her forehead, a warm smile on her face as she whispered,"Good night, honey."

"Good night, mama",she whispered pulling the blanket up to her chin.

Her mother placed a burning candle on her nightstand to keep away the monsters underneath her bed. Across from her, her 12 year old brother, Livian, laid asleep in his bed, his golden blonde locks sprawled over his white pillowcase.

She saw the door close behind her mother's back and turned on her side, the soft moonlight from the window in between the two beds illuminating her round button nose and chubby cheeks.

"Brother",she whispered.

The boy pulled the cover over his head, pouting angrily. He wasn't asleep, just pretending to be.

The two siblings had got into a fight that evening and Livian, being the elder one of the two, had to give up his turn in the game. He was angry at his sister and tried to ignore her voice.

"Brother, I'm sorry. Don't be mad at me",she whispered and Livian felt bad hearing her shaky voice. Maybe he was being a little to mean to her.

He pulled the blanket down from his head, turning on his side and he felt a pang of guilt in his chest seeing the tears in Alicia's blue eyes. He lifted his arm, whispering,"Come here."

She sprang out of her bed, jumping into his brother's opened arms. Livian covered her with his blanket. Laying her head on his pillow, she whispered,"Are you not mad anymore, brother?"

He shook his head,"No, Alicia. I can never be mad at you."

She grinned widely and Livian saw her eyes getting sleepy now that she wasn't worrying about him being angry. She fell asleep within seconds, her small hands clutching Livian's white pajamas. He yawned before closing his sleepy eyelids.

It's terrifying just how fast a night can change.

The clock tower in the center of the fairy town struck twelve and as if waiting for that signal, beastly howls filled the sky.

A loud blast made the window glass rattle and Alicia rubbed her eyes. Sitting up in the bed, she shrieked when she saw the monster glaring at her from outside the window.

"Alicia!", she heard her brother's voice before she was pulled down from the bed and into a chest. She looked up at Livian's terrified face and tears began to pool up in her eyes. Were they going to die?

Her brother raised his hand and she saw two black magic circles appearing on either side of that ogre.

"BLAZING SHADOWS",he whispered and black shadows shot out of the circle, enveloping the monster and turning it to ashes.

Livian coughed, a trail of blood dripping from the corner of his lips. His small body was unable to bear the strain of that high grade spell.

He looked at her little sister and wiped the blood off his mouth. He had more important things to do. He placed an arm under her knees and picked her up.

"DARK WINGS",he whispered the spell and Alicia saw a pair of black wings coming out of Livian's back, tearing the back of his shirt."Alicia, close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you to",he said and Alicia nodded. She wrapped her small arms tightly around her brother's neck, shutting her eyes.

Everything will be fine. Her brother's here. That's what the little girl thought.

Livian kicked the window, its glass shattering into small pieces. He bend his knees and flew out the window.

It was a nightmare outside. No. Worse than that. Ogres were hunting down fairies, dragging them out of their houses and killing them ruthlessly. He looked over his shoulder at his house and his heart sank in his chest.

Their parents' room was on fire, bright flames burning everything and everyone in their course. He gulped, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Brother", Alicia whispered, feeling the shaking of her brother's chest.

"No. No. Don't open your eyes!",he wiped his tears,"Everything's fine."

He flew high above the burning town, ignoring the pain in his arms and legs.

For a twelve year old, he was at limit but he had to get Alicia somewhere safe. As for him, he could not abandon his people. That's not what his father had taught him.

They were a mile away from the town when he felt a sharp pain piercing his chest. His wings disappeared and they crashed into the forest.

Alicia fell away from him, crying in pain when her back hit a hard rock. She opened her eyes and cried,"Brother!"

He was laying motionless on the ground. She rushed to his side, shaking his curled up body.

"Brother! Wake up!",she cried, tears rolling down her puffy cheeks like an endless waterfall.

A shadow appeared on her arms and she looked up to find an ogre standing in front of them.

She screamed and a flock of wild crows flew out of the trees into the night sky.

The beast raised its club above its head but it caught fire. Dark black flames engulfed its whole club before encroaching upon the monster's arm.

"Stay.... away..",Livian whispered, glaring at the ogre with one eye, the other one bruised and swollen.

He snapped his trembling fingers and those flames grew larger, eating up the monster in an instant. Its club fell to the ground beside its ashes and Livian screamed at the excruciating pain in his chest.

Alicia gasped, her teary blue eyes round and wide. Livian followed her line of vision and felt his stomach going into knots when he saw three more of those monsters approaching them, their spits dripping down their sharp fangs and their clubs raised high above their furry head.

He placed a hand on Alicia's mouth before dragging her behind one of the trees. He held his breath, his heart beating frantically in his chest. He removed his hand from her sister's mouth. Color drained from her face, she was trembling with fear as she heard the heavy footsteps coming closer to them.

She looked up at her brother with those helpless eyes of hers and it broke Livian's heart to see her like that. He was supposed to be her hero but the tears that he had been trying to hold back in front of her sister began to fall on their own and he hugged his baby sister tightly.

"Run and don't look back",he whispered in her ear before pushing her away. She fell on her rear, looking unbelievably at her brother.

"Bu-"

Livian jumped out form behind the tree, instantly being spotted by his enemies. He put together his bloody hands and yelled,"Run! Now!"

She saw a large black magic circle forming in between him and those monsters. Shaking her head, she said,"I won't...leave..you."

Then Livian said what he would never say to his sister,"I'll hate you if you don't run away, Alicia."

She felt her heart break at his words. She turned around on her heals and ran away. Tears staining her face, she ran and ran as far as her tiny legs could carry her.

She heard a loud blast behind her and she was thrown forward by a strong gust of wind that followed it. She fell face first on the ground, her bare arms and legs getting scraped by the hard ground.

She laid there in the darkness, muffling her loud cries with her tiny hands. Her unstoppable tears soaked the ground beside her face as she felt her heavy heart break inside her chest, a silent shatter that only she could hear.

Her brother was gone.

Even after nine years, that night still haunted the princess. She would wake up from her nightmare, crying and gasping for air. On nights like that Rin would sit beside her and pat her head, saying,"I'm here." The princess would look at her friend, her pure blue eyes reflecting her gratitude to the boy for being there with her.

Rin leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on her temple and she closed her eyes, a tender smile on her thin lips. A magic portal opened up behind them and out stepped a yawning Thor with a large glass bowl of popcorns in his hand.

"Man, it's chilly out here",he said sitting down on the other side of Rin.

Alicia leaned forward, picking a handful of popcorns from the bowl,"No one told you to come up here."

Thor gasped, feigning hurt,"How could you say that when I was worried for you? You hurt my feelings."

He sniffed, wiping his non-existent tears and Alicia chuckled,"You are such an actor, Thor."

"Hmm",he chewed the popcorns, looking up at the night sky across which were scattered countless stars, their soft lights no match to the magnificent one of the full moon.

"Have you guys decided your dresses for the ceremony?",Thor barely whispered but in the silence of the night, it was loud enough to reach them.

They shook their heads and Thor raised an eyebrow,"You two do know that it is tomorrow night, right?"

They nodded. Thor shook his head, sighing,"And I'm supposed to be the lazy one here."

Rin leaned back on his outstretched hands, whispering,"I don't know. I don't feel like going to the welcoming ceremony."

The two of them looked at him as if he had said the stupidest thing ever. He furrowed his eyebrows, asking,"What?"

They smacked him in the inside of his elbows and he fell on his back, groaning. Alicia bent over him, pointing a finger at Rin,"You aren't ditching it, not when you are the new vice president of the Imperial council."

Thor nodded, adding,"You will officially get your seat and you don't feel like going? Nope, not happening."

"But-"

"No buts!",they said in unison and he whined, sitting up.

He snatched the glass bowl from Thor's lap, putting fistfuls of them in his mouths.

"Hey, you can't do that!",Thor cried, getting up.

Alicia and Thor were at his heels as the three of them ran around on that empty rooftop in the middle of night. Rin was cornered. He gulped, looking over his shoulders at the ground below.

"Give up, man. You have no where to escape",Thor said to the boy standing at the edge of the rooftop.

"Hands up, Rin. Return the bowl and we'll pretend this never happened", Alicia said, sounding like a police woman as she smirked at the blue eyed boy.

Rin sighed and raised his hands over his head, the glass bowl still in his hands.

His lip curved up in a smirk.

"Sike!",he cried and jumped off the roof.

"Dang! RUNA!",Thor said, him and Alicia running to the edge.

The magical bird materialized instantly, diving from the sky above and catching the human on her back, her pure white feathers a stunning contrast to the darkness of the night.

Rin laughed heartily as he laid on a bed of soft feathers, hugging the bowl to his chest. He knew that Thor would catch him.

The bird flapped its large wings, landing gracefully on the rooftop. Rin got off its back, giving its sturdy beak a pat.

"Ahem!"

He heard Thor clear his throat and he gulped, turning around.

He gave them a sheepish smile, saying,"Am I in trouble?"

Thor cracked his knuckles,"Take a guess!"