The sight of those alone nearly mad Rilon vomit. Had Lear done this before to him, when he was younger?

Usually, he would say that his father couldn’t have been capable of these things, but now he wasn’t that sure now.

The throbbing in Rilon’s head had subsided to a dull ache — the wound hadn’t been as bad as he had suspected, and at worst he would have to stitch it up himself, after a good clean up.

Still, all of this did not compare to the crime that he had committed under the broken facade of his alter.

I hope you find out that I was protecting you.

“This doesn’t make any difference, Hyde.” Shaking, Rilon dropped the shard. Distantly, he heard it shatter into more pieces upon the floor. “This excuse won’t bring my father back.”

He fell back to the floor, the realization flooring him. The exhaustion he felt mentally escaped into the form of an angry, choked sob.

This day started well and ended terribly.

For Asiah… this…

It was his birthday. What would he think of this, his father, murdered, on his birthday, or his brother killing him?

Asiah would never figure out the latter, at least, as long as Hyde was hidden away in the depths of Rilon's mind, away from the public eye.

Rilon knew how fast news of a President's death spread, no matter the circumstances, but a President hadn't been murdered in… perhaps nearly a century.

He shivered at a knock on the door. It was quick, almost begging.

Distressed.

"Asi?"

" Frei? " Asiah hadn't used that name in a long while - it could only be him. "Are you - are you alright?"

Where he could usually force up a lie, it did not come to him. He shook his head, before realizing that Asiah could not see him from behind the door. “I’m… not so sure.” he murmured. “Are you?”

Asiah hesitated to reply. “I… received some news.”

Rilon flinched awake. He knew.

“I…. It’s Lear.”

“Spit it out.” Rilon spat, a sudden crack of pain splitting his head. He let out a groan, unable to forgive himself. “Asi.”

“Someone found him, Rilon.” Asiah’s voice sharpened, desperately attempting to hide the distress in his voice. “Along with a guard.”

Jastyn. Hyde hadn’t spoken the name - it was a vague remembrance by Rilon only, almost like a dream. Say it, Asiah. Just say it and get it over with.

“You’re…” He sighed again, almost with embarrassment. “You’re President now, Ri-”

“No.” That wasn’t what Rilon was expecting to get as a response. He was going to respond with that, anyway. “Asi… I can’t.”

“But you’re-”

“The eldest child of the President.” He had heard it a million times, over and over again. Yet, he felt guilty, filling the shoes of someone who had tormented him in his childhood. He didn’t feel ready to do that.

He sighed, collecting his thoughts. “You do it.”

He sighed, collecting his thoughts. It was at the same moment that a new thought came to his mind. “You do it.”

"Wh-what?" Asiah's voice rose an octave - He wasn't expecting this. "I'm not… fit. I'm not… I'm not the eldest."

Out of all the things that Rilon wanted to say, protesting wouldn't cut it. Protest met with protest never worked out. He kept his mouth shut. Asiah's problem was bound to resolve itself with some thought.

Asiah slid back against the door, a quieter sigh escaping him. He didn't even protest as well.

"Oh, God." Rilon's response was out of nowhere, provoked by nothing. "Oh, Mein Gott. Oh, Mein Gott."

He buried his face into his hands. How nonchalant Asiah seemed compared to him, how… desensitized.

He couldn't take it any longer.

When he was sure that his brother wasn't listening, he released every pent up emotion into a single, frustrated scream.