Ronodin's Backstory

Part 8

Ronodin walked into his room, sighing. He felt so empty; much emptier than usual, and he hated himself for it.

"I'm going insane," he said to the room.

He threw himself on his bed, and soon exhaustion washed over him, throwing him into another dream.

"Ronodin?" Came Cairnon's muffled voice.

"Cairnon! Where are you?" Ronodin couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from.

"Oh, don't worry about him," the Fairy Queen said gently, stepping into view. "My real son will take care of him."

"Don't hurt him!" Ronodin yelled.

"Well, Ronodin, it seems that's the only way to ever get to you. He's the only one you truly care about. I need to keep you under control; I need to make sure you stop giving me a bad name."

"Please," Ronodin begged. "I'll behave, I promise. Just don't hurt Cairnon."

"Oh, I'm afraid you're a bit too late. Bracken should've gone through with my orders by now," the Queen said. "Look, here he is now."

Bracken entered the room, keeping his eyes trained on the floor. "I did what I had to do, Ronodin."

"What you had to do? Bracken, you don't ever think about what's right, do you? You just blindly follow the Queen because she's your mother and her status gives you power! You- you killed him!" Ronodin sobbed.

"Ronodin-"

"I hate you!" He screamed, and everything turned to black as he fell.

Ronodin's eyes snapped open, and he was breathing heavily. Then he noticed-

"Cairnon?"

The redhead turned to look at his friend. "Hey! You're awake."

"Yeah, I'm awake," Ronodin mumbled. "What are you- how did you get here?"

Cairnon laughed. "It took a surprising amount of effort."

"Well, this is the most secure place in the kingdom- wait- were you watching me sleep?" Ronodin suddenly felt very self conscious.

He shrugged. "Just for a minute or two, then you decided you hate me."

"You heard that?"

Cairnon nodded.

"That wasn't- I don't hate you. It was just... what happened in the dream. I guess I said it out loud too."

Cairnon hesitated. "Some dream, huh?"

Ronodin nodded. "Uh... yeah." He really didn't want to think about it.

"Ronodin-"

"I really don't... want to talk about it," he said.

"Oh."

Ronodin looked away. "I still can't believe you got here. Why are you here? If you get caught-"

"I won't get caught," Cairnon interrupted. "Because you're not going to tell anyone I'm here. And obviously I'm here because I wanted to see you."

"Well, I- we were going to see each other soon anyway. Why risk it?" Ronodin asked.

"Eh, it wasn't soon enough," Cairnon said and Ronodin felt heat rise to his cheeks.

"Don't blush, Ronnie; it's nothing special."

"I'm not- ugh."

Cairnon laughed, and Ronodin smiled at the sound. A knock at the door made them both jump.

"It's Bracken!" Announced the visitor.

Cairnon looked worriedly at Ronodin.

"Get in the closet," Ronodin whispered. "You'll have to wait for me to finish sparring with him. I made a promise, I'm sorry. I'll try and keep it quick."

Cairnon looked like he was about to object, but Bracken opening the door sent him sprinting into the closet and shutting the door behind him.

"Hey! Don't just barge in here!" Ronodin yelled.

"Woah, woah, sorry! My bad," Bracken said.

"Let's just get this done with, okay?" Ronodin was in a bad mood at seeing his cousin- because his time with Cairnon had been interrupted and because he was still hurt from Bracken's actions in the dream.

"I can come back later... I guess."

"No, it's fine. Sorry. Let's go- I'm ready when you are." Ronodin took out his horn and willed it into a sword. Bracken did the same.

Cairnon, from the closet, heard muffled words between Ronodin and Bracken. There was then a series of blows between their swords, the clanging echoing throughout the room. After a few minutes, Cairnon heard only silence. After about a minute of hearing nothing, he began to worry. Taking a huge risk, he opened the door. What he saw shocked him.

Ronodin had the flat part of his blade pressed against Bracken's neck. He took ragged breaths, seemingly locked in an internal battle. Bracken looked at Cairnon fearfully, silently pleading for him to intervene.

"Ronodin, stop!" Cairnon yelled.

Ronodin snapped out of it and his sword clattered to the floor. Bracken looked at Cairnon with wide eyes, then ran from the room. Ronodin fell to his knees, rare tears streaming down his face. Cairnon rushed to his side.

"I- I- I almost killed him," Ronodin whispered.

Cairnon put his arms around him, pulling him to his chest protectively. "But you didn't. You didn't and that's what matters."

"If you hadn't opened the door-"

"But I did," Cairnon said, not wanting to admit what he almost saw happen.

Ronodin pushed himself away from Cairnon. "You should go."

"What? No!"

"Just go!" Ronodin yelled. "I'll only end up hurting you too."

"Ronodin, I'm not leaving."

"Well, that's a first."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You only stick around when there's something you need! You say you'll always be there and then I still end up alone and hurt and- and confused..."

Cairnon took his hand hesitantly. "I didn't think you wanted me around. I know that you get in trouble when I show up, because I'm not as talented as you are. And because of my family. I didn't want to hurt you... but I guess I did."

"For a second," Ronodin whispered, "I wanted to hurt him. No, not Bracken. I wanted to hurt his mother. The way she's hurt me." He looked into Cairnon's bright blue eyes. "I never wanted to be evil. But it just keeps happening-"

"You're not evil. You- you're hurt and confused and you have a right to be. You're not... you're not evil, okay?"

"I'm done pretending everything is fine! I'm done living in Bracken's shadow when he did nothing to deserve the treatment he gets! I'm done being forgotten and used and disrespected just because my parents died years ago!"

"Ronodin-"

"I... I don't know what to do. It feels like there's only one option for me. Because Bracken- he's perfect. And me..."

"You're perfect too."

"No, Cairn, I'm not."

"Look at me." Ronodin met his gaze. "You're not evil, and you're not bad. I- I care about you, okay? And I know this isn't how it's supposed to be. It doesn't have to be you against the world. I know how everyone treats you... but I've never seen you the way they do. I am always going to be here, and I know that's probably not a lot-"

Ronodin put a finger over his lips. "It's enough."