The scene he'd just witnessed had left a bad taste in Arin's mouth. Maybe it was just because he, as an adult, had felt a natural disquiet at seeing children so young be so distressed.
He remembered how, back in the first memory he'd seen, Rin's sister had said something about being finally being allowed to 'learn of what goes on there' after her twelfth birthday. If that, indeed, had had something to do with the secret of the ancestral hall, then Rin, by his estimate, must've only been about ten in that last memory.
Both siblings, in his opinion, had been children far too young for anything beyond the complexity of console games and watercolors.
He could still feel the way Sera's hands had trembled behind Rin's back, and also the way Rin's own jaw had tensed in a worried silence.
...Maybe he was being so affected by these memories because he wasn't just witnessing them as a spectator, but fully experiencing them as Rin himself.
In any case, the Mirror of Record remained unperturbed by his uneasiness. Without giving him another moment to think, it dutifully whisked him off to another time.
…
…
The afternoon sun lay warm across the most lavish palace garden he'd seen yet, making the freshly watered grass sparkle, and turning the gravel paths pale and bright.
Rin sat at a low stone table beneath the flowering arbor, carefully arranging the carved pieces of a strategy set.
'-and was I not correct?' came Ami's cheerful voice from one side.
There was the sound of bell-like laughter, and Rin glanced up at his sister, who sat across from him. 'Yes, yes. With my etiquette lessons finishing early today, I'd thought I might retire. But! I am glad I relented.'
Ami smiled at her. 'I knew that the fresh air and company would do Her Highness good.'
The two girls appeared a little older now, but given their age, it might've just been the beginning of puberty. If Arin had to guess, he'd put this memory at about a year or two, at most, after the previous one.
Sera looked completely different from when he'd last seen her, shaking and sobbing in that room. She seemed completely at ease. However, her back was straight even in leisure, and her dark curls – for the first time - were tied back neatly with a ribbon.
In between the turns of the game they were playing, she would tilt her head to listen as Ami would say something else, light and inconsequential, and nod smilingly at occasional intervals.
Rin had just moved one of his pieces when the quiet rhythm of the afternoon broke.
'You're playing again,' came a still unbroken voice.
Rin looked up.
Ralen stood at the edge of the arbor, hands clasped behind his back in a posture that might have seemed proper, if not for the way his shoulders hunched forward slightly. I was as though he expected to be turned away.
The youngest had grown taller since the last time, though he was still thinner than he ought to be. His pale hair fell into his eyes, and there was a faint tightness around his mouth that Arin did not remember from before.
'Ralen,' Rin greeted. He smiled happily, and waved an inviting hand. 'Come sit with us. You can join us for the next round.'
Ami bowed politely.
Sera didn't look up from the board.
Ralen stepped closer, his gaze flicking between them like a cautious, hunted animal, before eventually resting upon his sister.
'Sister,' he said.
Sera glanced up from the game at last. For a moment, she remained still, her expression calm and composed. Then she inclined her head just a bit.
'Little brother,' she said, her voice gentle.
Rin's fingers paused on the edge of the board. 'Come here, Ralen,' he said, gesturing to an empty spot on the bench. 'Come sit with m… us.'
Ralen hesitated, before ultimately choosing to ignore his words.
Instead, he stepped around the table slowly, peering down at the arranged pieces.
'You placed that wrong,' he said abruptly, pointing at one of Sera's formations. 'If you leave the flank open like that, it will collapse in three moves.'
Rin glanced up quickly, and noticed Ami pursing her lips apprehensively from where she sat. The two of them locked gazes worriedly, before looking at the princess.
All he'd seen so far had convinced Arin that the princess would draw herself up at once, eyes flashing. She would demand that her youngest brother explain properly, or tell him not to interrupt, or even argue the point until she had proved him wrong.
But now, she simply looked at the board calmly.
'Is that so?' she said in a mild voice. 'Then, I shall keep it in mind.'
She did not move the piece.
Ralen frowned and shifted his weight. Rin tightened his jaw at the sight.
'Come here, Ralen,' he said again, a little more commandingly this time.
Once again, his brother ignored him.
'You're not even going to check?' he demanded, leaning over the side of the board until his face was right in front of his sister's.
'It is all for fun,' Sera replied placidly. She then reached for her cup and took a small, measured sip.
Arin suddenly realized that she had not looked at Ralen even once during this whole interaction.
The conversation stalled there.
The garden felt strangely quiet.
The youngest prince remained standing sullenly by his sister.
'Come sit here,' Rin offered a third time. When Ralen finally met his gaze again, he smiled at the boy. 'You can join me when we begin the next round, little brother.'
Ralen bit his lip and looked at the empty spot on the bench for a few seconds. For just a moment, the look in his eyes was almost exactly the same as when he'd been a sickly little boy, who'd light up when his brother would come in through the window to visit him in secret.
Then, the moment passed, and he turned to look at Sera again.
'Why won't you listen?' he asked heatedly. 'I am trying to help!'
Sera set her cup down carefully, and Ami made a small sound, as though she meant to intervene. Sera held up a hand to stop her.
'It is not important,' she said simply. There was no unkindness in her tone. She just seemed completely disinterested. Unmoved, even.
Her lips were curled up in a soft, polite smile, even as her eyes remained fixed on the board.
Rin suddenly noticed Ralen's hands tighten into fists behind his back, and he opened his mouth again. However, before he could say anything, his brother stepped back and gave a short, sharp laugh that did not sound like amusement.
'Right,' he said. 'Of course, sister. My apologies.'
He turned away from the table and began walking towards the path. After a few steps, he kicked at a loose stone, sending it skittering across the gravel.
Ami winced.
Rin half rose from his seat.
'Ralen –' he called out.
'Enough,' Ralen growled without turning. 'I shouldn't have come.'
He sped up, and didn't turn back even once, until the sound of his footsteps faded into the distance.
Silence settled over the arbor again.
Rin sat back down slowly.
For a while, no one spoke. Ami's eyes lingered on the empty path. She met Rin's gaze, and the two of them exchanged another look before she turned to Sera, hesitation written plainly across her face.
'Your Highness…' she began carefully. 'The youngest prince –'
'Never mind that,' Sera interrupted. She reached for her next piece. The carved figure clicked softly against the stone board. It still wasn't the one Ralen had pointed out.
'Now,' she said brightly, looking back up at Rin with her familiar, warm smile. 'Let us continue with our game.'