The Vice Captain of the Crimson Lions

Inner Demons

Fuegoleon opened his eyes to the familiar courtyard just outside the Vermillion family estate. The gentle rustle of leaves in the wind and the soft glow of twilight painted a serene picture, yet his heart was anything but calm.

"Mynx?"

As his eyes scanned the courtyard, they locked onto a figure curled into a ball beneath an old, sprawling oak tree. Her black hair shimmered faintly under the fading sunlight. His breath caught.

"Mynx!"

He rushed over to her and knelt down, his heart pounding as he took in her frail appearance. Her sky-blue eyes, once vibrant, were now dulled with sorrow as she hesitantly lifted her gaze to meet his.

"Hey,"

Mynx slowly looked up at him and shook her head,

"N-No...this is a dream,"

Fuegoleon frowned, his brow knitting with concern. He squeezed her shoulder lightly, grounding her.

"Hey no...I'm here,"

Mynx's glowing eyes met his fully, and she let out a shaky breath.

"Fuego...You have to let me go,"

Fuegoleon froze, her words hitting him like a physical blow. He jerked back slightly, his eyes wide.

"What?"

Mynx unfolded herself, her arms dropping from around her knees as she sat up straighter. She nodded, her expression pained.

"You have to let me go,"

Fuegoleon's jaw tightened, his fists clenching as he knelt before her.

"Why would I do that?!"

Mynx let out a bitter laugh, tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Because! All I have ever caused you was pain! I was never meant to meet you."

Fuegoleon shook his head as he felt his heart stop,

"What? Are you insane?! That's far from true!"

Mynx shook her head and stood up,

"It's not!"

Fuegoleon immediately grabbed her arm and stood up,

"Stop it! Why are you saying this?!"

"What? You think I haven't heard it all?"

Mynx let out a hollow laugh, pulling her arm free from his grasp. She gestured wildly, her voice rising as she mimicked the scornful tones of their critics.

"Oh, look at that. That's the kid Fernleon pitied enough to take in. The girl who clung to the Vermillions like an urchin. The fake daughter. The shame of the family. The one who got her rank out of pity. It's all true, Fuego."

She pushed Fuegoleon,

"Grow up! Open your eyes!"

Her eyes were blazing with frustration and self-loathing. Fuegoleon stumbled back a step, his chest tightening as her words cut through him like a blade.

"Mynx, you can't believe them. You know that's not true,"

Mynx shook her head, fresh tears streaming down her face.

"I've been hearing it my whole life, Fuego. I ignored it for as long as I could, but I'm tired. I can't do it anymore,"

Fuegoleon's breath hitched, and he grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"Mynx. You are my twin sister. Don't leave us again,"

She shook her head, her sobs breaking through the walls she had so carefully built around her heart.

"I was...I was gone for almost seven years...everything was better when I was gone."

Fuegoleon's hands dropped to his sides, his chest heaving as he struggled to contain the pain threatening to consume him.

"No! It was not!"

"YES IT WAS!"

Fuegoleon tightened his grip around Mynx as if by holding her close, he could keep her from slipping away again. His voice cracked as he whispered, his heart breaking with every word.

"Do you think any of us were whole without you? Do you think for a second that life was better?"

He pulled back just enough to look into her tear-streaked face, his own anguish mirrored in her eyes.

"You were the glue, Mynx. The reason we stayed strong, even when everything else fell apart."

Mynx shook her head, her voice trembling as her lips quivered.

"You don't understand, Fuego. I—"

"I don't understand? Mynx, I burned for you. Every day you were gone, it felt like I was losing pieces of myself. Watching Leo grow up without the sister who raised him. Watching Xander pretend he wasn't hollow without you. Watching Mereoleona drown herself in rage because that was easier than admitting she missed you."

He cupped her face, forcing her to meet his gaze, his fiery determination cutting through her despair.

"And me? I fought, every day, to keep believing you were alive because I refused to accept a world where you weren't in it."

Mynx covered her face with her hands, her sobs breaking free in gasps that echoed in the quiet courtyard. Fuegoleon gently pulled her hands away, his touch firm but tender.

"You are not a burden. You never were. You brought light into this family, Mynx. Into my life. Don't you dare tell me I have to let you go because I won't. Not ever."

Her knees buckled beneath the weight of her sorrow, and she collapsed, clutching his tunic like it was the only thing tethering her to the earth.

"I don't deserve this, Fuego. I don't deserve you, or Leo, or Mereo, or any of it!"

Fuegoleon dropped to his knees beside her, his hand finding hers and holding it tightly.

"You deserve the world, Mynx. You are not your past, and you are not what those voices say you are. You are my sister. My twin. My heart."

Mynx choked on a sob, shaking her head even as his words cracked through the wall she had built around her heart.

"I don't know how to stay...I don't know if I can be who I used to be."

Fuegoleon leaned his forehead against hers, his fiery determination an unrelenting force against her doubt.

"You don't have to be who you used to be. Just be you, Mynx. Be the woman who taught Leo to smile through the darkest days. Be the one who challenged Mereo to fights even when you knew you'd lose. Be the person who stood by me through every battle, every storm, every fire."

He reached up, brushing her tears away with his thumb.

"Stay, Mynx. Stay and let us show you that you're worth every moment of pain, every fight, every tear. Because we love you. I love you. And I won't give up on you, no matter how many times you try to push me away."

Mynx's walls crumbled completely as she let out a wail of anguish, burying herself in Fuegoleon's arms. He held her tightly, rocking her gently as she cried, his own tears falling silently into her hair.

"You're not alone anymore. You never were. And you never will be again."