Javaid and Damen glanced at each other, silent agreement in their eyes, and moved as one around the bed, ready at a moment's notice to hold down the prince if he were to try something. Their shared strength crackled between them, and for a moment, it almost appeared as if they were two predators, looking at prey between them.
The prince's eyes snapped open, flashing between the three of them. He looked wild, no recognition in his gaze. Rose placed a hand on his arm, looking down at him and doing her best not to cry. This broken young man was not the brother she had known, and she wished desperately that there had been a way to get to him sooner, before their uncle could break him like this.
Jav glanced at his brother, and his voice filtered into Damen's head, so that only he could hear it. It was just a small piece of magic that they shared, and it had come in use more than once. Do we leave them alone?
Dae glanced at the prince and princess. I think we should, he said finally. They look like they need some space alone. I do think, though, that we should stay nearby. He didn't have to add the part that they were both thinking: in case something happens.
Korain didn't speak, only glared up at his sister, eyes wide and wild and feral. The young prince was not okay. That much was obvious. Rose was silent, just stood and watched her brother.
The brothers left the room. Jav, before he left, brushed his hand along Rose's shoulder, a silent reassurance should she need it, before leaving the room and standing outside the door with his brother.
His twin looked tired, deeply, profoundly weary. It was always like that when he saw something terrible, not being a warrior and soldier like Javaid. He ran his hand through his hair and Jav knew how stricken his brother truly was. Damen only did something like that when he was uncomfortable or worried.
"It will be okay," he said quietly, and Dae smiled sadly at him.
"You don't know that."
Rose sat at the edge of the bed, just watching her brother as he pushed against the ropes, no hint of recognition in those eyes of his. She could sense the magic pushing against the barriers of his skin, knew it wouldn't take much to turn him from his human form to the monstrous one their uncle had "gifted" him with.
(Do we want to do a time skip? To maybe when the Prince blows up or something? Idk what to write lol.)
(lol yeah sure, we can do that. You want me to handle the skip?)
(Yes please!)
(alright!)
It was a few hours later that Korain lost it, body changing as horns sprouted from his head and the look in his eyes changed. Rose had fallen asleep in a chair in his room, and startled awake at her brother's bellow. Her eyes widened, and she straightened, unsure what to do and how to help him.
The door to the room the royals had been in was cracked in, and the Khrysaor twins had taken turns watching and listening in case while the other slept, in case Rose needed help.
Damen was the one at the door when Korain finally reverted to normal, and after a moment's hesitation, he opened the door and stepped in. "Let me help," he said to Rose, who still looked bleary with sleep.
He knelt down beside the bed, in case the prince acted up because there was someone towering over him, and spoke softly, as he would to someone having a panic attack. "Hello, Prince Korain. My name is Damen. Do you recognize who is next to you?" He motioned gently to Rose. "This is your sister, Your Highness. Remember her?"
Korain, in the more monstrous form, had no hope of recognizing anybody. He only pushed and struggled against the ropes binding him to the bed. Rose bit her lip faintly. "He's not going to be…coherent until he reverts back to normal." She said softly. "I've been studying the…the spellwork. I don't know how to remove it." She had been trying to figure out a way to at least return control to Korain but it was difficult, if not impossible, to do so.
"It's all right," Dae told her gently. He glanced at her, and then back at the Prince, laying his hands on Korain's shoulders, pinning him down gently, so that he wouldn't struggle and potentially break the bed. "Was there any clue as to where we could find the cure?"
Korain growled at him, still squirming and struggling on the bed. Rose shrugged helplessly. "Not really. Not…not anything that's really all that helpful." She replied, running a hand through her hair and watching her brother.
Damen nodded slowly. "I know that there are several information posts of the rebellion, only a few hours' ride from here. We can go and see if they have anything about his… curse… in some of the older records."
She nodded a little. "Alright. I checked the royal archives while we were in the palace, and I took some notes, but…whatever my uncle did, it's not…" She shook her head tiredly, eyes flickering down to her brother again.
"Not natural," the dark haired man finished. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and glancing at Korain. "We will try our best. There has to be a way that we can get rid of it."
"Yeah." she watched as her brother struggled against the ropes, the horns still there, clawed fingertips ripping through the sheets beneath his body.
"You should eat something," Dae said finally. He noticed how thin and pale the princess looked, and he felt only concern for her. He held out a hand. "I can get something whipped up for you while Jav watches your brother."
She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Yeah. Uhm. Alright. That…" she trailed off, too tired to really think or speak beyond what she'd already said.
Damen glanced up, and his eyes glowed for a second as he told his brother to come. When Jav appeared in the doorway, still looking sheepish and tired, he motioned to the prince. "Watch out for him, will you?" He asked quietly. "I'm going to get something to eat."
"Finally, food," Javaid said, grinning tiredly, and nodded. "I got it."
Dae held out his hand for Rose to take. "Let's get something to eat," he said gently.
Rose smiled faintly, taking Dae's hand for a moment as they left the room. She was still quite worried about her brother; that worry probably wouldn't go away for, well, a long time. He was important to her, even like this.
While Damen and the Princess were getting something to eat, the other twin stood next to the bed. The Princec struggled against his bonds, which didn't break, despite the huge amount of strain.
While most people would be inclined to feel disgust or pity for Korain, Jav didn't. He just felt hungry, a little amused, and determined. He knew that the prince would be better someday. When that was, he didn't know. He was more optimistic than his brother, despite his cheerfully pessimistic proclamations, which was one of the reasons why he had stayed strong even when working at the palace.
That and the affairs with both men and women, but they didn't count.
His lips twitched as he muttered to Dae in the kitchen, He looks like he's fucking an invisible being.
In the kitchen, Damen choked on his own spit.
Korain's eyes were open, and while he had no idea what Jav was communicating to his brother, he growled at him nonetheless, clawed fingers ripping holes in the sheets beneath him.
Rose raised an eyebrow faintly at Damen when he choked. "Something wrong?" she asked, pouring herself a glass of water and poking through the cupboards to find the food.
"Not at all," Damen said, shaking his head and wiping his mouth, composing himself once again. "Just- a thought."
Javaid Khrysaor, he scolded his brother. Wipe that mind clean or I will do it for you.
Jav only laughed, the sound filtering through the house. Damen shook his head with a sigh and stirred the soup he was cooking up.