Chapter 10: Is it still okay if siblings have a fight?

Many days passed as Ryzelia continued to pursue his knowledge of the elven language and keeping up with his other studies. Waking up to the sound of Alyice’s gentle knock at the door, Ryzelia sat up in his bed and watched as Alyice entered the room. He took a moment to stretch as Alyice drew back the curtains.

— Good morning, master. Did you sleep well?

— Uh, hold on… « Ryoia », I believe that was the word.

Alyice giggled and smiled as he bowed slightly.

« Zyian ryoia. »

— I guess Tyiana taught you that word, « zyian », which I’m guessing means ‘master’, right?

Alyice nodded.

— I should probably start practising in the study before Tyiana awakes up.

— Oh, she and Elyiena actually are out in the courtyard engaging in a friendly sparing match, at least they were an hour ago, master.

— Is that so? All right then, I’ll get dressed and try to study for a bit. No need to make any coffee for me for now.

— As you wish, master.

Ryzelia stood to his feet and made his way over to his closet. After putting on his usual outfit, he made his way down the hallway and into the study. Upon opening the door, he was surprised to see Elyiena sitting in his chair and looking over the various pieces of parchment.

— Alyice told me you were sparing with Tyiana.

— I was.

— You plan to take up elvish as well?

— Do they have a word for ‘betrayer’ in their language? Elyiena asked in a tone was filled with a hint of anger.

— I would think they do. Why?

Elyiena grabbed a single sheet of parchment and headed over to Ryzelia. The rage in her footsteps echoed throughout the small room.

— Oh, I don’t know, maybe because of this!

Looking at the parchment in Elyiena’s hand, he looked over what was on it and slowly felt his heart start to sink into the pit of his stomach. Right… I left the notes on that mixture that failed and made everyone sexually want me that day, Ryzelia thought as he tried to think about what to say.

— Oh…

— Come now, Ryzelia Aytelier. Surely you have more to say then that.

Ryzelia was silent for a moment.

— Elyiena… Riku…

— Don’t you dare use my old name.

It was painfully obvious to Ryzelia that Elyiena was not in the mood for any games. With only the truth standing between him and quite possibly his death, Ryzelia took a deep breath. He made his way over to his desk and looked up to Elyiena.

— Okay, I did it because we… we’re siblings.

— You’re still on that? Damn it, Ryzelia. Why can’t you accept this new world? What is so wrong about the two of us being in love? Even in the old world I still loved you. I wanted to be with you, even if everyone around us would see it as strange. Sora, I wanted to have your baby and bring life into the world together as a family.

Ryzelia was unsure how to process what he was hearing. He never knew how his sister felt in the old world, even in this new world he simply tried to ignore it because he was unsure how to handle their relationship. Where they still siblings? Did he actually harbour suppressed feelings for his little sister? He was unsure how to feel. Society frowned against the idea of incest although their media often portrayed it in various works. Was it possible for him to see the girl before him once known as Riku as his wife and not his little sister?

With tears in her eyes, Elyiena removed the necklace she had wished for from her old world and slammed it on the desk. She looked to Ryzelia with anger in her eyes, the tears still flowing down her cheeks.

— All I wanted was to be with you forever, to wake up beside you and fulfil your desires. Now, you can fulfil them yourself!

Elyiena did not say another word as she exited the room. Ryzelia removed his necklace and laid it next to the other. The two pieces fit like a puzzle piece and symbolised the unity that the two shared – an unbroken bond. Laying his head on his desk, he closed his eyes. A few minutes passed before he heard a knock at the door. Not lifting his head from the desk, the light footsteps of Alyice approaching his side echoed throughout the room. For a moment, the room was silent.

— What is it, Alyice?

— I noticed Elyiena was quite mad when she was heading for her room, master.

— Yeah, that tends to happen when two people fight.

Ryzelia lifted his head up from the desk and looked over to Alyice. He noticed a cup of coffee sitting on his desk. Without saying a word, Alyice sat down in the empty chair.

— It’s a long story…

— I have more than enough time, master.

Taking a deep breath, Ryzelia began to confess everything that had happened on the day he gave everyone in the manor the potion. Once he was finished, he took a sip of the coffee and leaned back in his chair.

— That’s rough, master.

— Yeah, well, I screwed up and now she is mad. I just… I’m not sure exactly how I should feel.

Ryzelia thought back to his times with his older sister. More often than not, Lyciael always had something to say and somehow, whenever she would say something, he would always find himself questioning his beliefs or even things he thought he knew. He recalled the conversation that he had with his sister on the marriage between two siblings. Unlike his old world, this world saw it as commonplace. A brother and sister engaging in private acts in the bedroom was not forbidden, taboo or unheard of. Still, he always found it hard to disconnect himself from his old world. Yet, the more he thought about it, the more he realised that there was no going back to his old world and that in this new world, him and Elyiena were no longer related by blood. It was only the memories that remained. She had easily cast aside the memories, customs and laws of their old world, while he continued to hold onto them.

Taking a deep breath, Ryzelia stood to his feet and looked over to Alyice. He knew what he needed to do.

— You said she headed for her room, right?

— Yes, master. However, I have no idea if she is still there or not.

Ryzelia grabbed both necklaces and placed them around his neck. Without saying a word, he exited the room and headed down the hallway to Elyiena’s bedroom. Knocking on her door, he waited for a moment. Standing in the open doorway was Blythe who held a feather duster in her hand.

— Oh, Blythe, is Elyiena in there by chance?

— She just left, master. I believe she said she was heading off into town.

— I see, thanks.

Ryzelia quickly rushed down to the first floor of the manor and out the front door. Making his way over to the stable where the horses were kept, he noticed one of them was gone. Mounting the horse, Ryzelia set out to the town in hopes of finding Elyiena. He knew he needed to apologise and tell her how he felt. The rush of the wind against his body and the silence allowed him time to think, with only the sound of horse hoofs clanking against the cobblestone. Elyiena means the world to me. She was always there for me and I need her to know that I always cared about her and deep down I loved being around her. Her smile always brightened up his day when he was feeling sad. The way she always cooked for me to make sure I ate food. My little sister always helped me in my darkest of moments and she even cared to take my secret with her to the grave. Now I know what I have to say to her, Ryzelia thought as he continued on down the road.