Elincia's Point of View

Inside Helmsforth Mountain

I glared at the man. “And what magic would that be? I know you manipulated our memories heavily, but what else?”

He stepped back but held my gaze. “Why would I tell you?” Gesturing around, he chuckled. “I’m already imprisoned. There’s not much else you can do to me.”

Breathing deeply, I responded firmly. “I plan to let Arthur come down here.” My statement got his arms to fall slowly back to his sides. “Maybe by killing you, Arceana will be free, and we will finally have peace.” He studied me as I continued as I walked up to his seal. “Peace of mind from Arthur and Arceana trying to kill each other. Peace of mind from having you constantly imprisoned here. Peace of mind from you… Finally being gone.”

We stared at one another for a moment before he chuckled weakly. “You know, when we went to war against Klasteris, I never expected you two to betray me when you stood by my side. Although, history does repeat itself in more ways than one.”

“Who betrayed who first, brother?” I asked back. “From what I can tell, you cast your spells long before we faced Elias.”

“Is that why you two created this mountain with out my knowing? You knew I did something to your minds?” Rudnurth inquired. “In another time, in another place, you betrayed me for that same love you hold so dear to your chest. Still that little girl unable to face reality. Betrayal is something any Delmaris knows well.”

I shook my head as a few tears came into my eyes. “You and Elias changed. Both of you needed to be stopped, but we knew we would never be able to. By pitting you against each other during the war, we knew we would be able to seal the loser.” Giving a weak shrug, I continued. “Arceana and I never wanted to do so. We were left with no choice. You had become monsters.”

“Monsters…” My brother repeated as he nodded slightly. “Yes. There is truth in what you say. Many died so I could gain this power, and I used it recklessly. I was not a good king.” He then sighed. “I wouldn’t even say I was a king in general. A child with too much placed on his shoulders who was told he was born for greatness and was frustrated when I couldn’t live up to everyone’s expectations.”

“We were all children, but it was your fault I had a Demon placed inside of me. What of Elias? Was he truly out of line like you said, or was it your spell messing with our minds? How much was truly our own choices?” The questions left my lips one after another.

“Did ‘Arthur’ tell you that?”

Frustration leaked into my voice once more. “Why do you keep saying his name like that!?” I demanded. “To irritate me further!? Maybe it’s to show that your spell is still at work, is that it?!”

Rudnurth scratched his eyebrow with his middle finger again. “If I were to tell you his real name, you could possibly die.” My eyes widened at that. “Well, maybe not you, but Arceana? The man repeated a few words from the past, and her brain practically shut down.”

It felt like my limbs had lost their strength as my body started to go numb. “What?” I whispered in surprise.

“That’s what I focused on for one of my spells.” He stated. “I don’t want you to remember him, and I certainly don’t want him to claim what he once had.” Rudnurth chuckled. “Rather ingenious on my part if you really think about it.”

“Why would that stop him from reclaiming what he once had?” I asked back, confused.

“Because it would kill both of you.” Then he stopped and bobbed his head back and forth. “Well, Arceana, I suppose. Not so much you. You should really thank the Demon Arthur removed from you. Only thing wrong with you is your missing memories.”

Rubbing my face, I started to pace back and forth. “That explains nothing!”

He chuckled again. “It explains enough. I removed your memories of him, but I wanted to twist your emotions for him should he ever return.” Rudnurth stated. “Think about it, and I mean really think about it. Has our dear Arceana ever been so reckless or hateful? So spiteful?”

My teeth clenched hard as I started to grind them. “No.” Was my forced reply.

“Has ‘Arthur’ not been rather fortuitous for Lestrania? Enough to label him a hero for a lifetime?” He asked back-to-back as a knowing smile came to his lips. “Enough to fall in love with him all over again.”

I felt my breathing quicken at the implications of what was just said. “Are you saying-“

“That you all had a little crush on him in the past? Yes. It was rather disgusting.” Rudnurth stated with a roll of his eyes. “You and our lovely sisters.”

“You bastar-“ I began but stopped as I realized what he had said. “’Our lovely sisters?’ Sisters… As in plural?” A few tears came to my eyes as I looked at him in horror. “What did you do…?”

“The same I planned to do with Elias.” He claimed. “Why keep such dreadful memories when it would be so much easier to just ‘poof...’” His hands made a fluffy gesture above his head. “Forget everything. It also helped keep you two in line.”

Backing away from him in horror, I whispered. “What else did you take from us? What else did you do to us?”

“Take? Not much. Just a few things here and there. As for do, it would be more focused on Arceana at this point.” He stated as he stepped closer to the edge of his seal. “You see, that feeling, that admiration for, ‘Arthur,’ always irritated me.”

“So?”

“So, I twisted it. Every moment you were thankful, it would quickly twist to suspicion.” He shrugged as he went on. “Feelings of admiration towards the man would eventually turn into distrust.” A knowing smile came to his lips once more. “And, of course, feelings of love would become-“

I cut him off as I finished for him in disbelief. “Hate…”

Another chuckle came from my brother. “Exactly. As I said, I think it was rather clever.”

My eyes met his, as I continued to back away from him. “You’re a monster, and I am considering letting Arthur put an end to you. Once upon a time, part of me thought there might still be some good left in you.” Moving to Kheri, who was eyeing me sadly and concerned, we moved to the lift. “No longer, and I can no longer stay here… If Arthur kills you, maybe the spells you cast on us will be destroyed.”

“But can you take that risk?” Rudnurth questioned back with a smug smirk. “After all, I could’ve made things far worse when I escaped. Even now, it would’ve been easy to see if my magic was still working on you. I could probably kill you with a single word. I didn’t kill either of you. You’re still my sisters.”

“Are we?” I asked as I activated the lift with my magic.

His gaze followed me as we exited the chamber. “I don’t know. Are you?” Rudnurth called out before we disappeared.