Half Brothers

Chapter 2: The Number Realm

~.Black Mist.~

By candle light, I read my brother's note. I smile. Just hearing from him makes me want to just smile all the time! At least he still remembers how to write in his native language.

A servant knocks on my door. "Young highness, are you still awake?" he calls.

I roll my eyes. "Yes, I am."

"You should get to sleep. You may be taking the place of your father, but you are still a child. You still require more sleep than an adult."

"I just need to take care of something first!" I call. "Then I'll sleep!" I pick up my quill, dip it in ink, and write back.

"Dear Nova,

So, by the way you signed your last note, you really do go by that name. Not bad, but it's a bit weird for me. I think I'll stick to calling you Nova! You can call me Black Mist or Blackie, like when we used to play with each other in the fields. Those were happier times when the war had yet to start. Any name is fine. So, since you can't remember anything anymore, how about you tell me about your life there? What does your mom do, do you have friends? That sort of thing. For me, I run the castle, as I've told you, but I'm not the king. I'm not old enough yet. I'm a Number of the Moon, which is a Number who controls the Moon Energy. It's hard to control, but I'm getting the hang of it! As the one in charge, you would think that I had a lot of things to do, right? Well, that isn't the case. The head knight takes care of all the formal stuff since I can't really understand it all yet. Well, I hope to see you soon!

-Number 96 Black Mist."

I snap, and the purple and black envelope pops on my desk. I fold up my paper with a blank one, place it in, tap it once, and the message is sent. I go to my bed, curl up, and sleep soundly.

~.Astral/Nova.~

It's morning, and I'm waiting for Number 96 Black Mist to send me a reply. I feel my stomach growl, reminding me of how hungry I am. I get out of bed to see if the door's unlocked yet, but all the doorknob does is jiggle.

I sigh. I guess I won't be coming out for a long time, which is what Momma wants.

I sink to the floor, feeling tears force their way out of my tear ducts, leaning my head against the door with the hot liquid rolling down my cheeks. She doesn't care about me. No one does.

A soft puff draws my attention to my bed. With tears still running tracks down my face, I go to the note and read it.

It sounds like he has such a happy life. He has nothing to worry about.

I read further, my eyes widening. Wait, what!? H-he wants to know...he wants to know my life? What'll he do if I tell him his hunch is right!?

Taking deep breaths, my hand scribbles words, shaking from hunger and fear.

~.Black Mist.~

 With nothing to do at the moment, I sit on the rail of my balcony precariously, my hand and arm muscles twitching every once in a while when I lean too far forward or back to keep me upright. I look down at the deadly drop with my legs swinging freely and my guards behind me to catch me should I fall.

The door opens; a messenger comes in.

"My prince, a letter has come for you."

I look over and bring out one small, thin, tentacle. "Bring it here," I command.

The messenger places the blue and white envelope on the tentacle carefully. The tendril comes back to me with the note balanced delicately in the center. Using more tentacles to hold the note, I read the alarmingly messy characters. The paper is dotted with what seems to be...tears?

"Dear Blackie,

I hate to tell you, but you're right. Momma treats me like garbage. She kicks me and slaps me and tells me I shouldn't even be alive. She makes me cry. Amber and Bura, my older brother and sister, don't do anything to help, and they only make fun of me more when I cry. Momma locks me in my room for days on end without food or water, everybody hates me for no good reason. Older kids beat me up whenever I go outside when Momma kicks me out. Oh, I hate this! Momma locked me in my room again! I have nothing to do...and I'm so hungry...please help...

-Astral."

By the time I finish the note, half of it is torn and crumpled. I narrow my eyes in anger. They dare do that to him!? He's a kid! He should be treated better!

My hands grip the rail of the balcony, cracking it in fury. I feel the New Moon Energy (Chaos) bubbling up inside me as it always does when I get angry.

They have no right!

"M-my prince?" one guard stammers. "Is there something-"

I take my hands off the railing and fall back. Immediately, my guards rush over and stop any part of me from falling. Even my cape is mere inches from the ground.

"Let me down," I command in a dangerously calm tone.

They put me on the ground carefully. I go to my room, take a piece of paper and pen, and I start writing.

~.Astral/Nova.~

I lay on my bed, curled up and covered in my blanket, with all the noise of outside and fun coming through my window. Momma also invited people over to a party since it's Bura's birthday. She still hasn't unlocked the door, and I'm sure it's because we have guests. After all, she wouldn't want me to ruin everything!

The smell of food tortures me, and my belly grumbles. I curl up into a tighter ball and cover my nose in the blanket to block the smell of food as my mouth starts watering. Why does she do this to me? I've done nothing to them.

Poof. My mind is temporarily taken off the thought of food. I open my eyes to see the envelope Blackie sent.

"Dear Nova,

I'll be sending someone over to rescue you soon. I'll make sure they never make you cry again!

-Number 96 Black Mist."

Just as I finish the note, the familiar click and crack of the door opening startles me. I hurriedly hide the note behind my back before Momma can open the door. Too late, though. As soon as I get it behind me back, Momma sees it.

She looks at me with a suspicious glare. "What was that?" she demands.

I hesitate before I decide to answer. "U-um...it-it's n-"

"What is that?" she asks more fiercely this time. She holds out her hand so that I can give her whatever I have hidden.

Again, I hesitate. I don't want to give it to her. This earns me a hard slap in the face near my ear. The surprising sound makes me jump, and the force knocks me onto my side, revealing the letter behind me.

"What's this?" Momma picks up the note and reads it. Does she even understand the words? Apparently, she does because her eyes get narrower and narrower with each word she reads. "Are there more of these?"

I quickly shake my head. She slaps me again.

"Are there more of these!?"

"If you want, we can look around for you, Momma," Bura's smug voice says. I notice through my tears that they're at the doorway, watching this with smiles.

"Please do." Momma grabs me by the wrist and drags me harshly out of my room.

"No! NO!!!" I scream. Those letters are mine! Their filthy eyes shouldn't see them!

I struggle against her iron grip, but I'm not strong enough. I'm just a kid, I don't have much strength to pull away.

Then, a surprising thing happens. For just a moment, just a flicker of a second, my hand turns red and burns Momma's hand.