Déjà vu

Chapter 3: Brotherly Advice

The sun has fallen and the night has come. It was the night of celebration.

I let out a sigh . Gatherings like this just doesn't sit well with me. Wearing a beautiful white dress adorned with rose gold flowers, I look like a bride on her wedding day. But that would be impossible given that I am still ten years old.

My dress was paired up with a simple pair of pearl white earrings and the necklace which is the heirloom from my mother. I place my hand on my chest. Reading books always calm me down, but it's not like I can bring one to read on social events. Thus touching my mother's necklace would suffice.

"That dress suits you very well, sister." I hear my brother say.

We are currently alone in the waiting room. Given that I am still unengaged, my brother is my partner during social events. And since I am the star of the night, I am to enter just before the Emperor.

"Thank you very much, brother. Though I might say, you are not too far off yourself." Checking him from head to toe, he too was wearing white, a uniform for the leader of the white knights. It gave him a more regal look.

With that remark, my brother's eyes went wide. "It seems that my sister now knows how to flatter men. That is quite alarming."

"Though not as bad as you flatter women." I scoffed.

"Why yes, it's a necessity for a gentleman to flatter women." He replies almost instantly.

"Even when it's not true, brother?" I just can't help but add that remark, knowing the ladies hoping to hear sweet words from the crown prince.

"True or not. Flattery is a weapon in itself. One must know how to use it to their own good."

"Somehow somewhere in what you said seems wrong." I quip.

"Nevertheless, you seem to have become a beautiful lady, Avril" He says with warm gentle eyes.

"Such flattery will lead you nowhere with me though." His gaze is unsettling.

"Haha, I am serious though. You have become really mature. It makes me regret all the times I was away." My brother tells me with downcast eyes and brows knit together.

My brother is just full of surprises today. It was the first time my brother had shown me that kind of expression. Somehow, it makes me uncomfortable.

"But all you did was for the sake of the Empire. Am I right? Pay no heed brother."

"Yes, given that we lost our mother at such a young age, you would've craved for familial bonds." He added. Seriously, what is wrong with him today. There was no moment in time where we had talked about mother like this.

"I have already accepted a long time ago that our family is not like any ordinary family." Sacrifices have to be made. With the royal blood flowing in our veins, there are always responsibilities that befall our titles. It's only a matter of knowing and understanding where your responsibilities lie.

"I think you already know this but, I don't blame you for the death of our mother." My brother tells me with a soft voice. It is the first time I realize that my brother is reaching out to me. Something that I don't really know how to deal with as of the moment. But appreciating the gesture, I gave my brother a piece of my mind.

"Yes, that I know. Thank you, brother. I know but at times, I just can't help but think like that. Before her death, mother probably still had a lot of things she would have wanted to do, to achieve. But now, it's all over and we are left with the memory of her life."

"Thus, all the more it is important to carry on the things she would have wanted to achieve. Her death might have been the end of her life, but her legacy lives with us. She loved her people and all the things she did was for the Empire."

"And so we entrust our lives for the Empire. I know that brother."

"Yes. Today marks another chapter of your life, Avril. I hope all of your endeavors will be for the Empire."

I somehow understood what my brother was trying to say. The message might have been implicitly said, but I understood what my role was for the Empire.

"His Majesty has arrived. We must make our appearance." My brother said, holding my hand like a real knight does.

"Yes, brother." I reply resign to my fate as we enter the banquet hall.