“‘Why did you do all this for me?’ he asked. ‘I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.’ ‘You have been my friend,’ replied Charlotte. ‘That in itself is a tremendous thing.’” — E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

  ???

  It’ll probably make for a most unusual sight to anyone that could see the inside of the Crown Prince’s chambers.

  The normally stern and composed Jonah Mitchell, one of the Crownsguard’s best soldiers, was currently kneeling beside the prince’s bed, a wooden first aid box open next to him. He tilted Luca’s head gently, dabbing ointment against the cut on his cheek—likely caused by the king’s ring when King Edric had struck Luca.

  Luca didn’t flinch, but he scowled at Jonah when he tried to dab the ointment again against his cheek with a clean cloth. “Jonah, just leave it. It’ll heal on its own,” he grumbled.

  Jonah didn’t stop. “If I don’t tend to it, Your Highness, it’s going to scar,” he warned. The room fell into silence. Even Rem, seated in a nearby chair, was silent, fidgeting and tugging at the sleeves of his shirt. “I understand why you felt the need to run off to Evershade before dawn this morning.” He added quietly. “But Your Highness, you should have at least told me. If I’d gone with you, the king wouldn’t be this furious. I would have stayed out of Nightray Manor if you wanted some privacy with Heiress Nightray.”

  Luca said nothing, but the way the muscles in his neck tightened is very telling.

  Across the room, Rem flinched and looked away, unable to bear the sight of Jonah tending to his twin.

  Instead, he looked around Luca’s room. The room was dressed in deep blues, much like their old room. Dark blue wallpaper. Midnight blue curtains currently drawn back at the tall windows. A queen-sized bed, a wardrobe, a dresser, and a nightstand. Bookcases lined one side of the room. A desk and a chair, where Rem now sat, as well as a table near the windows, with two chairs around it.

  The furnishings were almost identical to the one in Rem’s room. But somehow, Luca’s room felt…cold. It didn’t feel lived in at all.

  There was a knock on the door just then before it opened with a soft creak, and Yuliana Nightray stepped in. She paused in her step momentarily when she saw Rem and Jonah, but she crossed the room, moving to Luca’s side without a word.

  “Let me do it,” she said, directing this statement to Jonah.

  The Crownsguard hesitated for a moment before he nodded, rising to his full height. “His Highness will probably be more responsive to you, Heiress Nightray,” he said logically, stepping back to stand by the door.

  “Yury…” Luca looked at Yulia with sad eyes, using the name he only called her when he was especially upset or vulnerable.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Yulia sighed, sitting beside Luca on the bed. She gently tilted his head, angling the bruised side toward her. She then opened the small tub of salve in the first aid box, gently applying the salve to not just the cut on his cheek, but also the darkening bruise.

  It says a lot about how much force the king had used if the bruise was already darkening this much. Yulia was honestly surprised King Edric hadn’t cracked Luca’s jaw.

  Luca sat silently, not flinching even as Yulia picked up the cloth that Jonah was using earlier, continuing to dab the salve on his cheek. Unlike with Jonah, he made no complaints this time. “If it hurts, just let me know,” Yulia murmured, dabbing carefully.

  “It doesn’t,” Luca flashed her a small smile. “I’ve had worse.” His voice was light, but Yulia didn’t miss the bitterness beneath it. “Besides, joke’s on the king. He didn’t know I’d already eaten at Nightray Manor before I came back.”

  Yulia didn’t smile with Luca’s feeble attempt to cheer her up. She only sighed, taping the bandage down with careful fingers. “You should stop trying to provoke the king,” she said softly, closing the lid on the first aid box. “I saw the look in his eyes, Luca, when you left the audience chamber. I’m worried.”

  Luca didn’t say anything for several moments, fingering the gauze taped to his cheek, before he let his hand fall to his lap. “It’s not like he needs a reason to blame me for anything,” Luca’s voice was quieter now, almost resigned. “I just need to exist.”

  In the chair, Rem winced. He wanted to argue and say that it wasn’t true. But even he had seen the way that their father was with him, and how he was with Luca. It was like night and day. Even several of the servants and the Crownsguards were whispering. And it is clear that none of them approved of how King Edric is treating his son.

  “Rem.” Rem blinked at the sound of his name, looking up only to see Yulia narrowing her eyes at him, her voice sharp. “Why didn’t you speak up for Luca?” Her tone was accusatory. “You just stood there like a statue. You let Luca take the blame for everything. Again. You let the king blame Luca for everything.”

  Rem opened his mouth, then closed it again, unable to bring himself to look at his twin and even at Yulia. He stared down at the fingers on his lap. “I…” Rem’s voice was hoarse. “It… It wouldn’t change anything.” He said weakly.

  “Maybe not, but at least stand up for Luca the way he always stands up for you!” Yulia snapped, and Rem flinched. “You let Luca take the blame for everything, even for things that are obviously your fault! When the hell are you going to grow a damn spine? Luca’s your brother! Your twin! Even if it didn’t change anything, you could have said something. Anything. Maybe then, the king wouldn’t take his anger out on Luca the way he did. He would still have been angry, sure, and I wouldn’t blame him for that, considering that Luca did run off to Evershade without telling anyone, and even ditched his Crownsguard.” Here, Yulia gave Luca a look, and he gave Yulia a weak grin. “But if you had said something, Luca wouldn’t be hurt. Instead, you let Luca stand there alone.”

  Rem swallowed nervously, feeling the guilt eat him up. “I…” He finally said, his voice hoarse, unable to look up to face Yulia’s judgmental glare and Luca’s disappointed gaze. It somehow hurt more than Yulia’s words ever could—words he’d heard from Yulia more than once over the last two years. “I was scared.” Rem finally said weakly. “Father… He…was so angry. I didn’t want to make it worse.”

  Yulia stared at him for a moment before scoffing and then rising to her feet. “That’s always your excuse, isn’t it?” she said, disgusted. “You don’t want to make things worse, so you say nothing. Do nothing. Just become a bystander. And each and every single time, Luca pays the price for your inactions.”

  Yulia turned her attention back to Luca, her fingertips hovering just above the gauze on his cheek. “Don’t get that wet. Get the palace doctor to check it tomorrow. Or maybe even Jonah,” she addressed Luca directly, her eyes flickering towards the Crownsguard standing by the door.

  Luca nodded, his eyes sad as he looked at his twin. He was always more upset whenever Rem was sad than when he was hurt. And as usual, said nothing about his own pain.

  Yulia picked up the first aid box. “You’re going to have to decide soon, Rem,” she said quietly. “Whether you want to keep living in fear and continue running from the hard decisions in life, or whether you want to be a prince worth standing beside.”

  She then crossed the room, opened the door and left, with the door clicking shut behind her.

  Rem sat frozen in the silence, unable to bring himself to look at Luca or even at Jonah. Finally, Luca sighed, breaking the silence. Rem looked up, meeting Luca’s eyes.

  “She’s right, you know,” Luca said softly. There was no anger in his voice. Just disappointment. “I can’t protect you forever. Someday, there will come a day when you need to stand on your own, and you can’t continue hiding behind either me or Yulia. Inaction, Rem, hurts people more than anything else could.”

  And for a long while, Rem had no idea what to say to that.