THE USURPERS| 2021

CHAPTER 18: EMILE

CHAPTER XVIII
Emile
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The corridor that held my brother's chambers was at the upmost level of the palace, hidden in the back wing. They must have moved him, was my first thought as Nicholas and I neared two sets of guards in front of an inconspicuous wooden door.

Emile used to live in the heir's chambers. His condition must have worsened to an extent that my family had him hidden away. It seemed that Emile, Annette, and I had similar fates in that regard.

"Is the prince awake?" He asked the guards, who nodded and stepped aside. To my shock, they did not question our visit. Nicholas clicked open the door, stepping inside ahead of me. My breath was caught in my throat as I followed him.

The curtains were drawn in the bare-thrift room that only contained a side table, a bed, and a mirror. The mirror caught my reflection upon my entrance, showing me my own horrified face as I turned to the bed.

At first, you would have thought the bed was empty. The sheets looked unmade until you looked closer at the thin body under them. A pale face barely peeked out from under the covers.

"Your highness." Nicholas bowed once before strolling across the room to Emile. Gently, he helped my brother sit up in his bed, arranging the pillows to cushion his back.

He was twenty-two, a young man that could have been married and sired a child. But instead, my brother still looked like a too-thin boy. His cheeks were gaunt and the brown of his skin had paled into an unhealthy pallor. Curly hair that had once been unruly was now thinned and matter against his head. My brother had never been healthy, but he had never looked this much like a ghost.

I couldn't stop the tears before they came. My eyes stung as I willed myself to regain my composure. Nicholas turned to me and gave me a solemn look as he recognized my tears.

"I've brought your sister." He said to Emile, who seemed to look through me rather than at me. I watched the heave of his chest as he stared. He was struggling to breathe.

"Little Adalina," My brother muttered, his voice barely distinguishable from silence. He knew who I was. "Unloved by all."

Confusion and pain hit me all at once as Nicholas came over to me and settled a hand on my shoulder. "He's not quite himself." He whispered to me. "Do not take his words to heart."

"What happened to him?" I asked, the tears running free now. "Why would he say that?"

"Did they whip the sickness out of you?" Emile's voice croaked from the end of the room, a eerie weakened laugh accompanying it. "Did they pray for your salvation as they did mine?"

I took a step back, Nicholas's hand still on my shoulder. He put his hand on my other one and stepped in front of me. As he bent down I was forced to meet his gaze. "He is ill. Ignore his words."

"Why is he speaking like that?" My voice was shaking. "How does he know?"

"I saw you." My brother replied. "Locked in rooms. Beaten and bruised. They caged you like a beast."

I stalked over to him, ignoring Nicholas's protests as I looked over my brother. I was standing over him now. "The goddess speaks to you?"

His eyes were sunken black stones in a skull. "She speaks to us all. Mother knows."

"What do you mean mother knows?" I felt Nicholas stir behind me, like he was ready to take me out of the room at the next outburst. Emile was looking past me, presumably at the general.

"Our curse. The Emoria line." The last words came out like a hiss. It was like I was looking at a stranger.

I remembered visiting Emile's room as a child, the days when he was a boy struggling to put on a smile for his younger sisters. He would ask to braid my hair and listen intently as Aurora recounted fantastical tales of how we spent our day. He would pay attention to every detail she told him, it made him feel like he was outside with us he would say. My older brother was no longer that little boy.