Desire - Part 1: Pick your Poison {2/?}

Unsurprisingly, Rael was reprimanded for scurrying away.

As soon as his feet went through one of the manor thresholds, he was thoroughly scolded by Greta, one of the oldest maids. She wasn’t a bad person per say, but Greta didn’t hold back just because Rael was a child and the master’s heir– quite the opposite, actually.

Was it his fault? Technically. Could Rael say he hadn’t it coming? Sadly no, but would it kill them to be a little kinder? He wasn’t ninety, despite everyone’s seemingly attempts to turn him gray prematurely.

As far as he knew, having some time for oneself wasn’t a capital sin, but people in his father’s estate certainly seemed to believe otherwise. ‘If the master says it’s a waste of time, then it is’– that seemed to be the standard wavelength around the house. At such point, Rael couldn’t help but believe they were beyond the term ‘hive mind.’

The worst part is that he couldn’t be actually mad at the workers, because Rael was just like them: a mindless follower of his parents’ will, because that’s just how things in his small world worked.

(Validation felt good when given, as well.)

---

By some miracle, Rael had made it in time to all his afternoon lessons. Greta must have spread the world among the servants, or at least complain about him to them, because no one else approached to confront him for the matter of his absence.

However, Rael was far from relieved. Perhaps he was saved from the servants, but he was still at his family’s mercy, or rather: the lack thereof.

“I heard you ran away today, is that true?” Naturally, the first one to approach the subject would be Deidre. It was a given, not only because they shared chambers but because his brother was one to kept his thoughts to himself; Rael figured that’s how someone without anything to lose lived.

He really appreciated the ‘is that true?’ at the end of his brother’s sentence, though. It was nice not being blatantly persecuted from the get-go.

Hesitantly, Rael nodded in confirmation and remained silent. Trying to explain his actions would only end poorly, he knew. Either his younger twin would become mad, or Rael would be made fun of for being such a weakling.

That was the thing with his brother: Deidre wasn’t an arse, not really, but if he saw the opportunity to emotionally hurt Rael, he seized it.

Truly, it was nothing but pettiness at its finest, but Rael endured it because he kinda owed it to the other. Thought it was less ‘graciously humoring a sore loser’ and more ‘being a pushover out of remorse’, he wouldn’t even try to deny that.

Deidre clicked his tongue, a complicated look taking over his features. It was as if his twin couldn’t decide whether to feel pity for Rael or call him stupid.

“You’re dead.” He settled for instead.

“I know.” Rael hissed, because that was better than downright whining. He tried his best to avoid a second meltdown, really, but the prospect of his imminent fate wasn’t helping in the slightest. “Father’s gonna be so mad–”

With a snort, his brother interjected:

“I’d be more concerned about mother, there’s no way she’d let you live this down.”

The worst part was that Deidre was right. Their Father’s anger was one of the scariest things on earth; however, Rael also understood that just like a storm, eventually everything would calm down and life would go about once it had passed. Their mother? She had a degree in the art of forcefulness; someone had to teach the servants after all.

“Y-yes.”

There was nothing more important to their Mother than keeping up with the appearances, and she made her distaste for any ‘unseeingly’ conduct well known. Rael had never been able to understand her fixation on that. His mother didn’t have to pretend to be smarter than him, she was, so why was she that invested in something that was rather pointless was beyond him.

Aside from their parents, the only people the twins ever encountered were the staff, relatives that visited once or twice a year, and that was it. Even though their parents were free to go and come as they pleased, Rael y Deidre were forbidden to go outside at all… which didn’t make that much sense, either.

Wouldn’t it be easier for Deidre to adapt if he was familiarized with the outside world? And sure, the mere thought terrified Rael, but if he was expected to run everything smoothly once he got older, it’d only make sense that he ventured outside once in a while, too.

“Were did you ran to, anyways?”

Rael froze. He thought of the fountain, of the mysterious woman that had vanished on thin air.

“The forest skirts.” He lied through his teeth, unwilling to risk being labeled as a madman. Out of the few things that could put his position in the family at stake, insanity was among the worst; if someone suspected him to not be sound of mind, Deidre would replace him as the heir in no time.

Rael didn’t hate his brother, quite the contrary, but he wasn’t fool enough to give up his only shield in that house.

“Huh.” Deidre eyed him from head to toe, looking slightly impressed. “And you still managed to get back in time? Perhaps you’re growing out of your uselessness.”

“Perhaps.” He echoed.

Three knocks snapped their attention towards the door, before it opened to reveal a butler.

“Dinner is served, young masters.”

The Final Judgement had come.