The Story of Our Evil

I

Aether was walking through the kingdom of Green one morning, running errands and getting supplies for the castle. He hadn't been ordered to do these errands, but he did them only for the happiness of his sister.

He was to be making his sister's favorite brioche for teatime, but unfortunately, they had run out of the sparkling powdered sugar topping that Lumine loved on her brioche. This sugar wasn't sold in the kingdom of Light, so he had to go to the neighboring kingdom of Wind.

A sudden breeze blew Aether's hat away. In a panic, he ran after his hat, tripping over his feet. The hat danced along the breeze, as if it was mocking Aether because he couldn't catch it.

The hat was blown around the corner of a house, and Aether skidded around the same corner and nearly tripped. Once he regained his senses, he realized that his hat was not in the air anymore-it had been caught by a young girl that seemed to be about his age.

Aether jogged up to the girl and said, "Forgive me, but, um...that's my hat...thanks for catching it for me."

The green haired girl smiled as she gave Aether's hat back to him as he was panting and catching his breath. "It's not a problem at all. It gets windy here, especially down in this spot, by the fountain." she said shyly, as she pushed her glasses up her nose.

Aether was suddenly smitten out of his daze. The girl spoke with a soft voice like silk. Her short, pale green hair swayed in the wind. Her hazel-gold eyes, although hidden behind her glasses, were strikingly bright and beautiful. She wore a golden locket with a symbol of wings and she wore a white, flowy dress.

There was a heavy silence that followed. Aether and the green haired girl awkwardly looked in opposite directions, their faces colored in a pink tint.

"I'm Aether." Aether finally said, trying to break the silence and the ice between them.

"Sucrose. My name is Sucrose," said the girl in reply.

"Well then, lady Sucrose, thank you very much for lending me your assistance." Aether said kindly, pulling an Inteyvat flower from the bouquet he held in his arms. Lumine loved these flowers, but she wouldn't notice if one was missing from the bunch.

Sucrose accepted the flower gratefully with a smile on her face. "Thank you very much, Aether. This flower is very beautiful!"

Aether wanted to say, 'Much like yourself,' but then the chiming of the bells of the clock tower brought him down to earth with an unpleasant bump.

"Ah...I'm running late, and I have somewhere to be." Aether said dejectedly, as he put his hat back on again.

"I should be going as well...as I also have somewhere else to be," Sucrose said, disappointment evident in her voice. "Well then, Aether, thank you very much, I hope we'll meet again!"

Sucrose then scampered off towards a boy with turquoise eyes and beige hair. He seemed to have been waiting for her.

After casting one last look of longing at Sucrose, Aether ran off, and back to his home kingdom.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°

"Your brioche, my lady."

True to his word, Aether had gotten back to the kingdom of Light on time with the sugar and the flowers. Not without a minute to spare, he whipped up his sister's tea and favorite treat, brioche, right on time for her scheduled tea time at three in the afternoon, when the church bells sang a ringing melody throughout the kingdom.

"Thank you, Aether. As always, you never disappoint me." Lumine said. She picked up her teacup and took a sip, her little pinkie finger sticking out. She took a bite of her brioche, a sweet smile spreading across her face.

After a few minutes, Aether cast a quick glance at the clock. It was a little past three-thirty in the afternoon. "You should really start getting ready for the ball, Lumine." Aether said, pointing at the time. "It's well past three-thirty, and the guests are going to arrive at five."

"Thank you for reminding me, Aether." Lumine said, getting up from her seat at once. Once she left the room, Aether began to clean up the tea set. He was a little distracted, however, as in his mind he continued thinking about a certain girl...

°•°•°•°•°•°•°

That evening, the royal ball hosted by the kingdom of Light had started and was in full swing. Royals from other kingdoms were scattered throughout the room, dancing, talking, or munching on hors d'oeuvres.

Lumine was looking frantically around the ballroom for someone. It wasn't Aether that she had been looking for because he had been walking right beside her as she panicked. Instead, she was looking for a certain boy that she had invited to the ball.

His name was Albedo. He was a very knowledgeable prince from another kingdom that Lumine had taken a liking to since she was a young girl. When she was planning the ball, he was first on the list of people to invite.

Just the thought of Albedo could set Lumine's heart racing. His hair, his turquoise eyes, and his soft smile were all enough to make Lumine fall head over heels.

Lumine suddenly caught sight for the very person she had been looking for. Albedo was walking around the ballroom, seemingly looking for something, or rather, someone.

Lumine took a deep breath and she was about to head over to Albedo to notify him of her presence, when she looked up and saw someone else approaching him.

It was a girl with short green hair and glasses. Beside Lumine, Aether had tensed up in shock.

Lumine watched in rage as Albedo invited the girl onto the ballroom floor and she angrily watched as they began to dance.

Lumine turned around suddenly. She began walking down the hall to her study so quickly, that Aether had to jog to keep up with her.

"Lumine...where are you going?" he asked fearfully.

"To my room." Lumine replied shortly. "Summon my minister, Aether, and tell him to come to my study. Make it quick. I haven't got all day."

As Aether went off to ind Lumine's minister, Lumine opened the door to her study and she sank down into one of her chairs, placing her hands over her eyes to slow her tears. An open envelope sat on her desk; it was a reply to a love letter that she had sent to Albedo that stated that he didn't love her back and he was to marry the princess of the Kingdom of Wind.

She hoped that it was all a joke. Just a stupid joke.

But what she had seen tonight had sealed her resolve.

Lumine had already gone through her stages of grief.

Denial.

Anger.

Bargaining.

Depression.

Acceptance.

But, as she removed her hands from her eyes, a new stage arose inside her. It was a desire.

A desire...

...for revenge.