Rin seemed to have been halfway through some kind of unsupervised writing lesson when the door opened.
He looked up, surprised at the sight of Ami standing at the threshold, her usually composed face tight with worry.
'My prince,' she said, bowing quickly. 'Forgive the interruption. I… I was hoping you might come with me.
Rin blinked.
'Ami,' he said softly, perhaps hoping to calm her down a bit with the familiar address. 'Is something the matter?'
'It is the princess.'
His hand tightened around the edge of his table.
'Sister?'
Ami nodded, and then hesitated, as though choosing her words carefully.
'Her Highness returned from the ancestral hall some time ago,' she said quietly. 'She dismissed her attendants. Since then, she has locked herself inside her chambers and will not answer anyone. When I tried to enter, she… asked to be left alone.'
Rin was already rising from his seat.
'Has she fallen ill? She was fine earlier, during the celebration of her twelfth –'
'No, no. Ah, I do not believe so,' Ami said. 'But she is… not herself.'
She bowed again, deeper this time.
'My prince, she has always cared for you. I thought that perhaps, if you spoke with her…'
Rin did not wait for her to finish.
…
…
It was still the same memory.
The closer they drew to Sera's wing, the quieter it became. Even to Arin, the walk down the lamplit corridor seemed unusually long. Upon arriving at last, he noticed that even the attendants stationed outside his generally easygoing sister's chambers stood stiffer than usual, their expressions uneasy.
'We shall take our leave and give you some privacy,' Ami told him.
Amidst the soft shuffling sounds as the gathered people drew away, Rin approached the door and knocked softly.
'Sister?'
No answer.
He tried again.
'Sister Sera, it's me.'
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then, from somewhere deep within the room,
'Go away!'
Sera's voice was hoarse, and Rin hesitated no longer. He reached for the handle and pushed into the unlocked room.
The curtains were drawn, and all lamps besides a single one placed atop the dresser by a wall were unlit; the room was dim, almost to the point of eeriness.
Sera stood near a large window, with her back to the door. Her shoulders were rigid. One of the attendants must have tried to approach her earlier; a chair had been knocked slightly out of place, and a folded shawl lay abandoned on the floor nearby.
'I said I wanted to be alone,' she began sharply.
Then she turned, and the words stopped.
Her eyes, for some strange reason, widened at the sight of her brother's face, even though – surely – she must've already known it was him, considering he'd announced himself before entering.
For a heartbeat, she only stared at him.
Then, her face crumpled.
She crossed the room so quickly that Rin barely had time to react, before her arms were around him. He couldn't even stumble back because of how tightly he was being held.
Her shoulders shook, soundlessly at first. Then, the sobs broke loose all at once.
Rin remained frozen in place, startled. It was easy to tell that he'd never seen her in such a state before.
'Sister…?' he said softly.
The princess didn't respond. Instead, she buried her face against his shoulder and cried even harder, as though she had been holding it in for a very long time. Her fingers clutched at the back of his tunic, and he could feel her trembling though the fabric.
'Did something happen?' he asked softly. 'Was it something said by mother? Or father?'
He felt her shake her head, and tried again.
'Are - are you hurt?'
Another shake.
'Sister, please,' he begged, his young voice also breaking slightly now. 'Please tell me.'
Sera's grip tightened.
'I c-can't,' she whispered.
The words sounded strained, as though even forcing them out hurt.
'I… I can't tell you.'
Rin frowned slightly, confused.
'Why not?' he demanded, the trace of childishness in his tone suddenly betraying his age.
Sera pulled back just enough to look at him.
She was also still a child. Her eyes were red, her lashes wet, and her expression torn between something like grief, and something harder.
For a moment, she looked as though she might say more.
Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
Her jaw tightened instead.
Sera sighed. It was a heavy sigh that seemed rather unnatural coming from someone so young. But it seemed as though his sister had made up her mind about something.
She pulled him back into another tight embrace.
'It's alright,' she said quickly, her voice unsteady. 'It's alright, little prince. I am alright. Everything is… it's the way it should be.' It seemed, for some reason, that she was talking to herself more than she was talking to him.
Rin did not answer. He probably didn't know what to say. But he noticed that Sera's hands were trembling again.
'If it's for you…' she whispered almost inaudibly, before stopping short.
Rin stiffened slightly, but before he could ask, his sister patted him on the shoulder.
'You needn't worry,' she went on, the words coming faster now. 'Your sister had a bad day, but she will be fine now. You… you just have to study well. And grow strong. So that you can become a good emperor, like father.'
Emperor...
The word felt too large in the quiet room.
Rin swallowed thickly. He seemed to have caught onto something.
'Sister…' He chewed on his lower lip worriedly, but asked what was on his mind anyway. 'You were allowed into the ancestral hall today. What happened there?'
The princess went very still.
'You… you had said, once, that you would tell us – sister Ami and me – all about it, once you were old enough to be told yourself. Can you tell me now? Can you tell me what happened at the ancestral hall?'
Sera tensed against him, and for the briefest of moments, it almost felt as though she might answer. However, she only took a slow, deep breath.
When she pulled back a second time, something was different. Her familiar face was still pale, her dark, curly hair lay scattered around her brows, and her eyes were bright with unshed tears. She still looked sad. But something about the core of her expression had changed. Something tight and determined, that sat uneasily on her young face.
'It's our duty,' she said quietly. Once again, it seemed she was speaking more to herself than to him.
She then reached up and wiped at her eyes with her still, slightly trembling hands.
'We are of the royal family,' she went on. 'There are things we have to do. Things we must do, no matter what. You would do well to keep that in mind.'
She locked her dark eyes onto his.
'You'll understand when you are older.'
Rin didn't say anything in response. He must have realized by then that she wouldn't say anything, or tell him more than she already had. That, perhaps, she couldn't.
After that strange, suspended moment, Sera reached out a hand and straightened his collar in a familiar way.
'I'll be fine,' she said softly. 'You don't have to worry about me, my dearest little brother.'
After that, she stood straighter, and wiped away the last of her tears.
And in the dimly lighted room, all Rin could do was look up at her in silence, as she twisted her pretty face into a most unnatural smile.
…
…