As luck would have it, last night was miserable; the constant tossing and turning, the rustling of the sheets and the whispering of Branwen’s words ricocheted into my ears, deafening me in the silent room. The glow of the moon penetrated the worn curtains, casting an eerie glow I had never noticed before, only now could I appreciate the true beauty and mystery that was the moon. But, of course I’m making excuses - those words have such meaning with so little explanation enough to drive a person mad.

 Maybe I was mad? 

Maybe the incessant thoughts that spin webs of doubt in the mind had finally made me snap?

Maybe I had escaped this maddening world and was reliving my last moments? I wondered if it was true, the evidence is lacking in that department but I suppose it keeps families sane from accepting a loved one’s death. That they reminisced about them in their final moments, bathing in the fond memories they shared throughout the years they spent together - like normal families would, right?

I was startled from my thoughts by a single knock on my rotting door, though the sound seemed to echo as if I was in an expansive cave but I knew who it was instantly by the peculiar action. Pulling myself up from my bed, I trudged across the room, nerves pinching at my side like a young puppy and I begrudgingly opened the door to reveal a very solemn looking Kannon, the deep, dark bags under his eyes suggested he had a similar night like mine.

“G-good morning, how did you sleep?” I asked politely, though the anxiety grew and grew by the minute, threatening to spill over and flood. Branwen’s words were not unusual, her powers allowed her to see into the future, where it was good or bad however she has never prophesied something so sinister. Her words practically dripped with anger as if someone had slapped her in the face, even then she couldn’t pull herself out of the trance-like state she enters when a vision comes to her. In reality, Branwen was strong, her powers as well so both me and Kannon shared our nervousness when she couldn’t break the hypnosis. What had she seen? Why had the window shown her a vision? How did it involve me?

“I think you know how my night was Foxy, Branwen’s still acting weird, paranoid even. She’s not herself but I think you’re the problem in this whole mess, but… we’ll figure it out. We always do.” He replied back, not intending any ill will but it still stung knowing I was the reason Branwen was scared, but I was determined to fix it, the twins were all I had and I was not about to lose them.

“C’mon let’s go talk to her, see what we can do together.” Kannon simply nodded and broke eye contact as we walked down the creaky floorboards of the dimly-lit hallway into the kitchen, where Branwen sat and stared at the very window where she received the vision, hands clutching a freshly brewed cup of coffee. 

I approached with caution, carefully sitting down on the stool next to her, “Bran? How are you feeling?” She jumped slightly at my voice, it was apparent she didn’t see me sit down or was in touch with her surroundings and my heart was broken looking at the frightful expression that was cast on her face. My sweet and bubbly Branwen was reduced to a quivering mess and I couldn’t help but look back at her twin, needing guidance and support.

Kannon seemed to take the hint as he walked over and carefully took the coffee out of her hands, replacing them with his own. “Branwen, you need to tell us what happened? What did you see?” I tried to interrupt him, pushing her would only lead to further seclusion and a breakdown, something neither of us would be prepared to witness, but instead Branwen lifted her head, her swollen, puffy eyes making it clear the suffering she had endured all night. She laid eyes on the both of us and new tears sprung to life, cascading like a small waterfall down her face and dripping onto her pyjamas. We both remained silent, hoping Branwen would reveal what was eating at her alive,

“I saw everything… the terror, the pain, the suffering it was all there and I couldn’t stop, I-I couldn’t focus on my surroundings I don’t know anything, I can’t protect you like I promised Perun, I promised them, I did and I will not break that. S-something terrible will happen but I don’t know when, why or where it’s just a mess, I’m a mess, I couldn’t keep you safe, you were hurt and bleeding and it was just like that all over again, all those years ago, Perun, It’s- you can’t go outside, I need you here, if you were to go outside, oh god, what would happen?-” Branwen was reduced to a state I had only ever seen her in once and it killed me, the twins were my family, my older siblings doing anything in their powers to protect me from harm, all because of a promise and now they were suffering.

The look on Kannon’s face was like no other, eyes glistening with unshed eyes, mouth slightly opened as if he wanted to desperately stop Bran’s mutterings of nonsense but he couldn’t… he didn’t have the strength to do it. And it was all my fault.

Every night Branwen would place her hands on the window and summon a vision, she could see the future through different ‘eyes’, whether that was people, animals or even objects, she had the incredible ability to protect the ones she loves, save her surroundings and spare her family from pain and misery. But it came at a cost, she was extremely vulnerable during these times, and the visions were never complete, only fragments are shown and Branwen has the task of painfully piecing them back together, like pieces of a broken mirror. 

Hunters, ghastly people working under the influence of the greedy District Leaders, roamed around towns, villages and cities waiting for an Emblem to slip up and gain their attention, like Branwen would. It wasn’t uncommon for young Emblems to go missing, kidnapped under the orders of the DL’s, whoever had the strongest Emblem was ultimately the ruler; they would go to terroristic methods to become top dog. They are despised by Emblems, many try to cover up their markings, search for drugs to dull their powers, making them useless to the Leaders. I always put the twins at risk, I could never protect myself. I was a burden and I knew it.

“Perun.” The sharp voice cut through my thoughts and my eyes focused on Branwen’s, full of pity and anxiety. “Don’t go outside, stay here, we will go to Mr. Krass and do your job-”

I suddenly stormed from my seat, anger quickly filled me inside and echoing of my breathing shattered the once soft spoken tones. “Are you kidding me?! No, no that’s not happening! I am not letting you take care of me because you might have seen something in a vision Bran, that’s not fair!” I yelled towards the twins, the anger clouding my mind much like the weather outside, the rain pelting on the window glass - a storm was coming.

“Perun, you don’t understand I saw you-” I was quick to cut her off.

“You don’t know what you saw, you’ve moping around when you should have been trying to piece them together! I will go and do my job, you know, the only thing that’s keeping us alive, we cannot afford to stop just because YOU CANNOT DECIFER A STUPID VISION, I WILL NOT ALLOW IT! I WILL NOT BECOME A BURDEN ONCE AGAIN!” Lightning cracked down on the earth, the thunder drowning out my voice but I knew the twins heard it because the flash of hurt that swept across their faces will be forever ingrained in my mind.

But I didn’t have time to dwell on it, I rushed out of the door, grabbing my work bag before I left and not turning back, despite the desperate pleas of Bran crying out to me to stay. But I won’t, despite my serious lack of powers, I will do whatever it takes to repay them back, they don’t deserve to be protecting somebody like me.

Nobody does.