"You did WHAT?!" Quinn hissed.

She could feel Maude next to her, controlled concern, anger, and a patience that Quinn quite frankly didn't have.

"I get weeks of lectures and training to be politically cautious because you AREN'T  supposed to go out, and what do you do? Smash that into the ground by trespassing, breaking and entering. And you dragged Nol with you! He's only 15!" Quinn snarled.

"He volunteered." Miro muttered.

Quinn was pacing while Miroslav sat on the stairwell in front of the entryway, where he'd been waiting for them to get back.

"At any rate, I regret that part wholeheartedly." Miro rumbled darkly.

"Don't be a jerk. He's just a kid. He doesn't need your disappointment in his lack of criminal ability-"

Miro pulled his head out of his hands.

"That is not why I'm upset."

Quinn backed up.

She'd never felt Miroslav. And it was a source of frustration that he never shared or even seemed to feel emotion, so the blatant answer threw her.

He was tense.

His hair was messy.

His face was stone hard.

He was genuinely upset.

"He could've gotten hurt. And that would have been on me." Miroslav finished.

There was no explanation.

Just the tension and the bitter feeling of Miroslav's upsetness- not through her gift, but just by looking at him.

His silence was more telling sometimes than some people's paragraphs.

He spoke through physicality.

And right now, she watched a cloud of darkness swirl around him.

"Miro."

He stared at her with those icy eyes before dropping them back into his hands.

Maude wobbled away towards the kitchen.

"Miro." She repeated, softly.

Quinn slid forward and sat next to him on the stairs, her dress skirt puffing out when she moved.

She slid a hand out to his arm.

She wasn't sure if he'd appreciate her touching him or not, so she didn't do anything else.

But as soon as she set down her hand, his whole body relaxed.

Taking that as a good sign, she slid her hands up to his silvery white hair, pushing her hand up his neck and massaging his skull.

"Miro. What you did....wasn't right. But, well.....correct me if I'm wrong. This seems to be attached to something else." Quinn theorized.

He stiffened a little.

Quinn closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his arm, keeping her hand threaded in his hair.

She sighed.

Quinn knew this type of guilt far too well.

He was mad for putting Nol in danger, but there was more.

Something else.

He'd been responsible for someone else.

"You know. On the plus side, your hulking muscles went a long way to getting you both home safe. So say what you want about my nasty eggs that I make for breakfast, but if they keep you fighting fit, then I dont want to hear it." Quinn teased.

He huffed.

Good enough.

"I grew up in a group home. It's a- well. It's a place for kids who don't have homes. Kids without families or places to go. The spot where the weak wash up."

She kept her head down, resting on his bicep.

"There was a girl there. You know, she was around my age, maybe a little older. And she was WAY better looking than I was at thirteen." Quinn chuckled.

"She had a boy. A boy she was dating. Courting. Whatever. She...he....he wasn't good. He was into all the bad stuff. Drugs. Way too young. He'd been taken advantage of by a gang who got him to run stuff. I never liked him." Quinn admitted.

"I wanted to like him, for her. She was so thrilled that they were together. But we were all young." She stopped, her throat closing a little. "I was there. The night she decided to help him out. He'd asked her. To help him. It all seemed wrong. I asked her not to. And... she was upset. But neither of them knew."

Quinn took shuddery breaths for a couple of minutes.

"She thought they wanted her. That she'd get to help. And I knew. I knew that he wasn't good. I think he knew it too. So, when they went, I followed. I went after them. And, she.... was a loose end. They needed her gone. He didn't know it. But she had. That's why she thought she was important. Because she knew things." Quinn continued.

"And when they went to get her," Quinn stopped. The knot in her throat was huge.

"She tried to run. I could've helped her, but I-- I--I don't even remember now why I didn't. I just watched. I didn't help her." She snarled.

"She died. And I crawled into bed. But every time after, I see things go wrong. And I can't help but see it all again. It always ends up coming back, you know? When you don't want it to. When you think you have it." Quinn whispered.

Quinn squeezed her eyes shut.

She hadn't cried.

But it was close.

Miroslav's head lifted underneath her hand.

She looked up and looked right at his tense blue eyes.

There was no crying, from either of them, but there was a heavy remorse that hung.

"This is not the same. You are not wherever you saw. You got out. And you won't do it again, because you remember. You have a good heart." Quinn whispered fiercely.

She laid back on his arm, her face tilted up this time.

And his other hand slid across his lap under his arm and held hers.

She stayed with him.

She felt his breathing tense, speed up, become ragged and haggard, before relaxing.

He was processing.

Feeling.

"I got my twin killed. That incident, it ruined everything." Miroslav said quietly.

"We went horseback riding. But, it was my fault. I'd asked. I'd known the risks. And everyone liked him. My father especially. He had that red hair. He had... he had his Gift, and I had mine. He was supposed to be King. And I got him killed."

"I'm sure what happened was an accident."

"Does it matter? It was my fault. And in that moment, he used his gift, but it wasn't like mine. And he made things worse. Got himself trapped. Stuck. And when I went to get him, I went for what was more important."

"What....was more important?" Quinn asked, slowly.

"A boy from another kingdom. We'd been trying to make amends with the Northern Kingdom for years, and that boy. He was only six. I thought-"

He let out a sob.

"I thought my brother was strong. Brave. I thought he had it. I didn't consider that he couldn't do what I could, rely on the Gift that came so easily to me. And... it was horrible. He died. I felt it though, because I got his Gift."

"Wait, what? That isn't possible. You said you were born with it." Quinn blurted.

"We were identical twins in all but Hift and hair color. Brothers since forever. That bond, it works differently. It's closer. A blood bond. I got his Gift. And I don't want it."

He let out a heaving cry that tore out her soul.

"It's okay. It was an accident." Quinn hushed.

His eyes wrenched up to hers and he just collapsed.

He just let the tears fall.

And when it felt like he was done, for the night at least, Quinn used their joined hands to tug him and lead him to their room.

They still shared after a month to correct that.

But sliding into the bed, his hand found hers, and she felt relieved that they didn't have to be alone.