Chapter Text
Midnight
For the Crown Prince of Brodia(no, he was the King in all but formality now, wasn’t he?), the cut of his blade through the frigid night air was a sound he was more than familiar with. Whoosh. However, it wasn’t anywhere near an intimate relationship. He would rather have divorced himself from the use of this sound than rely upon it.
And that, he supposed, was his weakness. Whoosh. He found himself at his current dilemma– as a ruler who wanted nothing more than peace, for his kingdom and its neighbors… What place did weakness have in the Kingdom of Might?
Another moment, another strike. Whoosh. The crickets’ cacophony in the bushes could almost grow louder, he imagined.
He shook his head. He was in a war, and a leader on the front lines, at that. This was no time to be distracted. Whoosh.
But he himself did not know who his phantom strikes were inflicted upon. His demons? The Fell Dragon Sombron? The memory of his father, corrupted far beyond his humanity? Whoosh– The latter, he surmised, as his next stroke faltered and the training blade slipped out of his hand rather unceremoniously, landing with a wooden clatter onto the damp grass.
“Damn. I’m off today.”
A light and familiar voice he wasn’t expecting to hear this late sounded out behind him. The fire of his adrenaline left him just as suddenly, replaced by dull exhaustion. “Prince Diamant? What are you doing out so late at night?”
“Ah, Lady Veyle. I could ask the same of you. Are you unable to sleep?” Veyle looked sullenly at the ground. “Um… Yes. I… had a nightmare. It happens sometimes… when you’ve done so many bad things.”
Pain flashed upon Diamant’s face, but otherwise his polite smile held. “I know what you mean. I’ve been awake for a couple of hours now.”
“Are you okay? …You have those nightmares too?” A pause. Diamant’s smile waned.
Veyle had always been a kind soul. One with her own burdens, guilt and grief to bear, he knew. For a second, he could not tell why, but he felt that she was someone he could lay his burdens on. He looked down at the ground.
“Every night, as soon as my eyes close, I… I see my father again. But… Not in the way I want to.” Veyle’s downcast eyes held a droplet of understanding. “When I see him, I’m standing in Destinea Cathedral. And there he is in front of me… Corrupted. His eyes are red with bloodlust. And his skin is as white as a corpse, cracked with energy…”
Veyle looked down at the ground. It was no difficult task to tell that she visibly felt powerless to help him, having been used to create Corrupted, after all. She surmised that it was probably what Diamant might have felt, in that very moment. It was not as if she didn’t know the feeling.
“But I cannot move. I’m shaking in my boots, and my sword arm is numb. I can’t look anywhere except into his cold, dead eyes. I don’t forget the way he looked at me, back then, and…” He looked away.
“I’m sorry, Prince Diamant. I didn’t mean to…” He consoled her with a pained smile.
“It’s alright, Lady Veyle. Something tells me I… I can trust you with this.” A deep breath, and a firm look.
“When my father first taught me how to fight, the first thing he said to me was, ‘As soon as you look your foe in the eye, you strike, with all your strength! With the first strike, show him what you’re made of, and then make sure with the next one that he doesn’t get up again!’ But… as soon as I stared him down in that Cathedral, I could almost feel my whole body freeze. I didn’t just hesitate. I was just… paralyzed, completely. I don’t know why. I certainly didn’t know back then. The last words I spoke to him, I… I was trying to assure myself that I could do it. That I could bring myself to kill… my own father…” The way Diamant’s voice broke in the last sentence did the same to Veyle’s heart.
Veyle took a step forward. “I… I don’t know what your relationship with your father is… was… like. But I know what it’s like to feel powerless… even though I know what I am. You’re one of the strongest people in this army, Diamant. I don’t think training behind anyone’s back is going to prove anything.”
Diamant shook his head. “I’m not trying to prove myself to anyone. I’m trying to prove myself in my own eyes.
“Brodia’s most prized value, the very pride of its people, is strength. Power. While this– what happened at the Cathedral… there’s no other way to explain that… but weakness.”
Veyle’s eyes hardened. It was not something Diamant had ever seen before. “Prince Diamant… I don’t think that was weakness. Before you, I don’t there weren’t a lot of people in a position as important as yours in that moment.”
Diamant shook his head. Not dismissively… was it out of denial? “When I came to, the person standing before me was… Alcryst. I think the one most surprised about what he had done was himself. He’d effortlessly dodged my father’s axe, and there was… just one arrow, perfectly planted in the middle of my father— Corrupted Morion’s forehead. All it took was one single arrow. But it was more powerful than anything I could do, when it mattered most. That’s why I’m here now, trying to get stronger. I want to be that arrow, for my people.” He withdrew into himself again and let out an exasperated sigh.
Diamant’s head sunk into his hands. “I… I’m sorry. I’m not used to opening up to others. It wouldn’t do for subjects to see their leader break down.”
Veyle smiled. “No, it’s okay. …You must be proud of him. Alcryst, I mean.” Diamant chuckled in response.
“I am. Whether I like it or not, my brother might very well surpass me one day… I think he has a lot of hidden potential. But… I’m going to keep fighting. Veyle..." He shook off the dour look that had fallen upon him. "You have the power to do things people like me could only imagine. Take pride in your strength. The moment you fear something is out of your power to accomplish, is the moment that fear becomes reality."
Veyle looked down at her hands. "I…” Clenched them into fists. “I always felt that my power was a curse. That it was given to me– forced on me to hurt others, whether I liked it or not. But embracing it? That sounds almost as scary as having it taken away.”
They exchanged a particular look. Diamant broke the silence. “Being helpless when you do have the capacity to help someone, to grant them the mercy they deserve… It’s the worst feeling I’ve ever had. That is why I believe in Brodia, as a kingdom that values power. And that’s why I want to use Brodia’s power– my power, to help my people, to help others. I think that with your power, Veyle, you can help so many people, protect them from danger, and make them happy– if the little contest we organized the other day is any proof. I can tell that my people’s morale was high for the first time since the news had spread of the king’s death.” It was as much an affirmation for himself as it was for her.
That seemed to perk Veyle up. For the first time since they had met that night, Diamant smiled. Veyle noticed the way he confidently puffed his chest out again like he always did around other people. “I’m glad they liked it, Prince Diamant. I… I think you’re right. This power… I want to use it to help others. I like that that’s something that royalty like you and a Fell Dragon like me have in common.”
For a second, she looked up in thought. Then, her eyes widened. “How about I help you wrap up? We can have a late night spicy snack, my treat!”
A hearty chuckle escaped Diamant’s lips, and Veyle was happy as well. “You’re a strange one indeed, Lady Veyle. I think I might just take you up on that offer.”
Out of earshot as Veyle made her way to Cafe Terrace, Diamant cleaned up from his training session. Ponderingly, he weighed Georgios, which he’d leaned on the stable door, in his hand.
“Father… This power you’ve given me… I will use it well. For your sake, and everyone else I could not help…
“I will bring our nation peace.”