Beyond Human: Queen's Shadow Series

33.) Conflict Resolution

~~~Priscilla

As I look at what I've done to my brother, I think about it. I think about the little boy I played with and I think about what I did. We were having an argument like siblings and then I punched him because he said something stupid. He's the youngest brother, he may have been an adult but I was hundreds of years older than him.

'And are you sure that was the right thing to do, Priscilla?' I hear Malchior's voice. I think about it as I say, "Obviously it wasn't. He hasn't spoken to me in 3 days." 'Well, it takes time for people to process their feelings. The best thing to do is to let people think about their own predicament.' "He doesn't even outwardly talk to me unless he has to. I haven't seen my nephew in that time, either. He basically had him and Anastasia go on a vacation, it was unexpected but it was a vacation nonetheless."

'Do you feel as though he's using it to run away from you?' "No. He wouldn't do that but he does know how to distance himself. He's also been effective at staying away from his family." It's then that Malchoir starts scribbling down more notes as he says, 'I think you need to face facts here, Priscilla. Your brother may have been a smartass but you are pushing him away. You also don't understand what he's lost in the last few years but that's understandable.'

"Are you saying the situation's my fault?" Malchior taps his pen as he says 'For some of it, yes but I'll also say that it's his fault, too. He knows your predicament and he still chose to say something and he also knows that you have an age complex. Why didn't you share that with him before?' "Because it's an open secret. I shouldn't have to" 'You should talk to him anyway. You should share what you're going through and understand what he's going through.'

"That's if he'll ever talk to me again. He won't." 'He might struggle too but you should listen to him.' I looked at the situation, "Apollos, I need to apologize. I took my anger out on my brother, knowing he wouldn't fight me back at full power. He didn't even go out of his way to fight me and here I go, losing my temper and acting rude." God damnit, Priscilla, I think to myself.

It's then that he says, 'That doesn't mean your brother's completely in the right. Your brother knows how to hurt you because of your open secret. He knows that you will lose your temper. How do you think you should combat how he talks to you?' He asks me and I think about it, how would I combat that?

"I guess I would talk to him to see why he's hostile, to see why he's so angered by things that have happened." 'Well, then you found what you have to do. I also think you should apologize for what you've done.' "For fighting him?" 'Yes. I think that will help you out greatly.' I try my best to ponder on the situation but he wasn't lying. Apollos clearly has something on his mind whether he believes it or not, he also has something driving him.

"Fine, Dr. Malchior," I say, "I'll do my best." I was lying to myself, I didn't want to apologize to him. He might as well have called me a little girl, He made me feel small and I didn't like it, I hated it, I hated feeling small, especially by a man who was much younger than me. I was stuck as a 12-year-old, but that didn't make me any less of a woman.

I try to tell myself that at night, I even try to physically tell myself that but Apollos did have a point. I didn't like that he did that but there was a reason why he did it. Apollos didn't see me as a sister. As much as I wanted to pretend that was true, it was not. He saw me as a glorified killer.

Once he saw what I did with that girl, Apollos couldn't bring himself to see mas a someone else, he couldn't bring himself to believe that I was his innocent little, big sister. He knew what I was capable of at a moment's notice. As I go to his room, I realize he had been avoiding me, I realized not only that he had been avoiding me but he also knew to keep his son firmly away from me.

I knew how this made him feel, I knew so much about him and now I knew he was going to watch his back with me. He knew how dangerous I was, he knew what I could do and it was no reason for him to trust me entirely anymore. It was then that I began to knock on his room door.

~~~Apollos

Thinking about what she said, she did have a point. I shouldn't have reacted in such a way, but why the fuck did she have to question my loyalty? It was almost as if everyone was looking for a reason to see me slip up, to see me do something dangerous but the truth of the matter is I don't think I can ever pretend that I'm these guys' family, especially from what I know and what I've seen.

Lucian is worried about my mistrust but what he doesn't know is that if I really wanted to betray him, I would have. If I wanted to fight him at full power, I could have but the truth of the matter is that Lucian is a much more dangerous individual. He knew how to use his vampiric abilities to their full power and he didn't have to waste time, trying to figure out who was his friend and who was his foe. What made Lucian a good warrior was that he knew how to see who his enemy was.

On top of that, the recent coup d'état showed me a lot more than I thought. Lucian didn't have to think about his enemy if he trusted you. As much as I wanted to lie to myself, I knew Lucian could easily see through my progenies, but with me, he had a harder time. He knew some of them still didn't like me, some of them still didn't want to serve me, hell I knew that. This left a lot for me to think about, Hell I don't even want to betray them. I don't want to do anything against them but I believe the way things are going to play out, I know things are going to get ugly and I'm running out of options.

I need to let this heat die down and I also need to be prepared with confronting a dark truth, I may not like the end of my story. That doesn't mean my siblings have to like theirs, and that doesn't mean that my siblings have to suffer the same fate. From now on, I guess I'll have to keep everything to myself but I will deal with my family and I will make sure that they're safe. As I hear a knock at the door, I immediately look and my vision already confirmed the absolute worst. It was Priscilla.

I had to finish with the preparation for the royal masquerade, happening in a few weeks and this was not making it better. "Yes, Priscilla?" I say to her. She opens the door and comes in as she then says, 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I made you feel like you were some kind of traitor. You don't deserve that. I really want to be there for you if you'll let me, I just want to make it up to you, brother.' I was just thinking about Lucian, is this God giving me a sign?

"Priscilla though I may not show it, I try my best to be understanding and loyal. I understand what we've gone through. I understand that you've lost a lot but please understand I was thrust into a world that I knew nothing about and the more I'm learning about this world, the more I'm realizing everyone has their secrets. Priscilla?" I ask her, calmly, "Are you still my friend? Are you still here for me if I need you?" Her eyes light up as she says, 'Of course. I'm always here if you need me.'

"Thank you. I can let it go this time but please don't call my loyalty out again. I have lost a fair number of things and I think we can both respect the things we've gone through." It was then that she looked at me and I realized I had yet to acknowledge the other thing. "And I do apologize for calling you a little girl. You're one of the strongest women I've ever met. You're also not some cold-hearted killer, you're my big sister." It's then that I stand up and I allow her to hug me. 'Thank you for being understanding and thank you for doing that for me and thank you for apologizing.'

As I hug her, I feel myself, get uncomfortable but I allow us to embrace a little bit longer.

End of Chapter: Conflict Resolution