Pisces' thoughts rushed all at once. In a blink, his life unfolded in his mind like someone whispering it directly into his ear.
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'Me and my sister were born twins. Some say we are two halves of one soul. That's why my sister is so short tempered and why I am so calm. She took the anger, the edge. I got what was left.'
He pictured his mother — tall, blonde hair pinned up perfectly, brown eyes full of pride. A crowded ballroom around her, chandeliers glowing, laughter echoing. She held a glass in her hand and smiled like she owned the world.
'Our mother was from the Capital. She lived on the Island, as we call it. She was married to a Councilman, so she had prestige. I know this because in her drunk rambles later on in our life, that is all she would talk about. How we took that from her.'
Then everything dimmed. A figure appeared — not clear, not whole, just pieces. A shadow where a face should be.
'It changed when she met him. Just some man from the slums. Someone she should have ignored. My father. She was already married, but she didn't care. She followed him into the shadows. She always said it was the one time she felt alive, not controlled by her name or her house.'
Then he saw flash of a chrome alley way, her hair messy, her breath uneven as she clung to a man without a face.
'Shortly after they met, they made love. Rather, she had an affair. It wasn't till weeks later she started throwing up often. Soon she realized she was pregnant. She knew the children weren't her husband's. She hadn't touched him in almost a year. Then the news broke — a man from the slums had tried to assassinate The Chancellor. Luckily, Sir Kael decapitated him before he could even touch the trigger. That man was our father. Word spread fast. Our mother carried a traitor's children. So she became one too. Stripped of status. Banished to the Outlands. She ended up in Ruin City.'
He saw the broken skyline — towers leaning like tired giants, sand storming through shattered streets, everything empty and colorless.
'That became home. She was scared, but she still hoped for us. She told herself we would save her life. That we would look normal. That we would make everything worth it. That she would love us. I came first. Gemini followed seconds later. She held us. Looked us over. And the first thing she ever said to us was—'
"Monsters," she whispered in shock. "Get them away from me...Get them the fuck away from me!"
'What should have been love, was hate. The moment we were born we were hated. She had hoped we didn't look like our father. Ironically, she wished we did. We were both pale like death, our hair was white and looked like it was dying and our eyes glowed a crimson red.'
He saw a small stable. Hay piled in corners. Horses shifting quietly. He and Gemini were behind a stack of hay, no older than four, holding each other and shaking.
'We hid there a lot. It was the only place she never looked. The horses didn't judge us. They didn't scream at us. They just breathed, and we felt safe near them. We didn't hide just from her. The whole city loathed us. They called us monsters. Our mother was hated for it to.'
Their mother stumbled in his memory — eyes dim, bottle in one hand, a vial in the other.
'She was addicted to Linnium. When she took that, she was calm. She'd say she loved us and hold our hands. We would pretend those moments were real. The alcohol was the danger. That was when she hated us most. When she remembered who we were.'
He saw himself at six, standing in front of Gemini, arms out, face red and swollen. His mother held a shoe and hit him across the head again.
"You demons… ruining my life! If only I never had you!"
Gemini cried behind him. "Stop! Stop hurting him!"
"It's okay…" Pisces whispered. His mother yanked his white hair hard.
"This cursed hair! If I never touched your father… none of this would've happened!"
She threw him toward the wall. His head hit wood, and he fell. Gemini curled up as their mother rushed her, fists flying. "I'll break your arm again if that's what it takes to shut you up!" Pisces saw Gemini's tiny face bleeding, shaking.
'My sister acts loud, tough and mean sometimes. People think she likes being cruel. But she's scared. She always has been. She hated people staring at us. She hated the world. She just didn't want to be alone in it.'
He remembered her drawings. Holding his hand as they walked through the market square while strangers glared in disgust. Whispering jokes to make her laugh. Her falling asleep clinging to him.
'She's the kindest person I know. The only good thing I ever had.'
Then the memory shifted. His mother hitting Gemini again. Gemini screaming. Pisces' small hands shaking as he saw a shovel leaning by the straw.
'I had to protect her, I had to keep my idiot sister safe. I couldn't bear the sight anymore. I remember a bowl of rage filling my heart. I was a quiet child as I am now, but in that moment a scream of pure rage escaped my lips.'
"RAH!"
His mother was too late, before could even register what happened she was knocked out by the shovel. But pisces didn't stop. The little boy raised it again and slammed it down. Blood sprayed the straw. Gemini crying. Screaming his name. Then silence.
'I didn't stop until I couldn't lift my arms. Until Gemini's voice cut through everything.'
"She's… dead."
He stared at her. Breathing heavy. Hands shaking. Gemini's face streaked with tears and blood. She whispered one word, voice trembling:
"Thank you."
She threw her arms around him, sobbing hard into his chest.
"She was going to kill me…"
"It's okay," he whispered, shaking too. "She can't hurt us anymore."
They lay in the hay together, his arms wrapped around her. She kept crying until she fell asleep against him. He heard her breathe and knew she was safe. That was all that mattered. "My brother is the strongest in the world," she had said, eyes full of trust. "That's right," he told her. "I'll always protect you."
Their mother lay nearby, blood pooling around her head, her face gone. The nightmare was over. Peace finally came, but it came with blood. And they never had anyone but each other again.