Road of the Heavenly Light

18-1: Belmont Brothers

Howard felt a sense of uneasiness course through him as he stepped out of the carriage back at Royale High. He had enjoyed the past few days immensely, being able to see Apollo's homeland and spend time alone with him, something he wished could have lasted longer. Now that was over, however, and they would have to return to their studies and prepare for their final exams.

After retrieving their luggage from the carriage and parting ways, Howard and Apollo made their way across the hallways of Royal High towards their dorms. On the way there, Howard spotted Abigail emerging from a hallway to the left of him. Accompanying her was a laugh Howard instantly recognized.

Sure enough, his older brother Erric appeared just behind the principal. The two stopped walking when they saw Apollo and him, and immediately Erric approached to greet him.
"Hello there, little brother. I was hoping I would run into you," he said, his usual charming smile on his face.
"What are you doing in Divinia?" Howard immediately asked.
Erric would never leave Belmont if there wasn't something serious going on.

"Relax, brother," Erric reassured him, "I'm here on a mission from our dear father. As you know, relations between Divinia and Belmont have been slowly warming over time, and now I've come here to meet with some important people, including Cardinal John from the Church, to discuss normalization of dialogue between the institutions of dark and light magic. It's all very dull diplomatic stuff," Erric said, before continuing on, "I was in the area today, so I thought I might visit my favorite brother. I came across the principal, and we reminisced on my own time here, incognito to avoid a scandal back home. She generously offered me a room to stay here until we both leave for the debutante ball in Brightwald. It's certainly a lot more convenient than having to go back and forth from the palace in Antares, even if Queen Madelyn is delightful company as well."

"So you're staying here?" Howard asked for clarification, ignoring his brother's ramblings.
Erric nodded.
"It seemed like the perfect opportunity to spend some time together."
"I'll leave you to it, then," Abigail cut in, before walking away.
"I think you'll find that I'm much too busy at the moment, with my final exams coming up," Howard said.
"I remember those, I barely passed them. I don't I've ever been so nervous," Erric remarked with an amused chuckle, which also made Apollo laugh.

As if he were a predator discovering its prey, Erric immediately turned to Apollo, extending a hand to him.
"How nice to finally meet the person Howard won't stop talking about," Erric remarked, shaking hands, "Apollo, right?"
Apollo nodded.
"I hope it's good things you hear about me."
"Howard would never speak ill of anyone, rest assured."

Howard couldn't help but feel annoyed by Erric. He didn't like it when his brother embarrassed him to act popular, especially in front of Apollo.
"We should be going," he remarked gruffly, hoping to get away from him.
"I'll come over to catch up as soon as I'm settled in," Erric retorted, "see you then, brother."
Howard took Apollo with him and walked away, ignoring his brother's remark. When they were far away enough, he let out a loud sigh. He could only hope his brother would not make too much trouble for him, especially not so close to his final exams.
"You didn't seem too excited to see your brother. Are you not on good terms?" Apollo asked.
"It's hard to explain... we're just very different."

Erric couldn't help but smile as he unpacked his luggage. It was extremely kind of Abigail to let him stay without asking anything in return. She truly was a woman with a heart of gold, if there ever was one. Erric had known that for certain the moment she had asked him to stay after geography class back when he had studied at Royale High to assure him that she had discovered his true identity and that she would not mention it to anyone. Erric knew the school was in good hands under her guidance.

After deciding that he had settled in sufficiently, Erric made his way towards Howard's dorm. He really needed to speak with his brother. Catching up was his main concern, of course, but there were also serious things they needed to address, things he knew Howard would not like to discuss. Erric quickly found the dorm and knocked on the door. He had heard that his brother shared a dorm with that ghastly Drake, and he hoped he could avoid running into him.

Luckily for Erric, it wasn't Drake who opened the door. Instead, it was a boy who was clearly confused to see Erric, looking at him like he was a burglar.
"I'm here to see Howard. He's my younger brother," Erric clarified.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the boy mumbled, "d-do I need to call you Your Highness?"
Erric wanted to respond, but Howard, who appeared in the doorway, beat him to it.
"Thank you, Cheston. I can manage it from here," he responded.

Erric followed Howard into his bedroom, looking around. His brother was certainly a lot more tidy than he had been in his own time. The large pile of books told him that Howard was taking his final exams quite seriously.
"How are you enjoying Royale High?" Erric asked.
"I'm glad I went. I've learned a lot."
"And have you made many friends?"
Howard seemed annoyed by the question.
"A few. I mostly spend time with Apollo."

Erric let out a sigh. He was worried it would come to that sooner rather than later.
"We ought to talk about your friendship with him," Erric said.
"Why? Is there something wrong?" Howard asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Apollo is the crown prince of Fayiron. He has a duty to continue the bloodline of Fina to keep Fayiron stable and safeguard its future. It is the burden of all of us who are in line to inherit a bloodline of Iola's heroes and the throne that comes with it."
"Apollo has two sisters."
It immediately confirmed everything for Erric.

"So it's true, then? You see him as more than a friend?"
Howard's expression hardened at the question.
"Did papa send you to tell me off for it?" he asked.
"Papa does not know, and you can be very glad for that. I, however, do know, and I see it as my duty to stop you to prevent a lot of heartbreak and hurt feelings."
"I can't choose who I fall in love with, Erric."
"I know that. But you do have a choice to take control of your feelings before they take control of you."

Howard eyed him furiously, and Erric wondered if Howard would have lunged at him if he were stronger than his older brother.
"If that is all you came to see me for, then you're better off staying at the palace in Antares. Maybe Queen Madelyn will enjoy your lectures more."
Erric tried not to let the remark sting.
"I'll be going back to my room so you can calm down. We'll meet again tomorrow."
Erric left before Howard could respond, wishing his younger brother wouldn't be such a petulant and spoiled child who wanted everything to go his way. He had to recognize that what he was doing would only lead to disappointment.