Benjamin was fuming when he left his father's office. How could he be so heartless. Kiara was an eighteen-year-old woman, in her prime, and what his father just threw her to the Riftwalkers. He left her inside that poor village, presumably to die. And why, because she got hurt, she got hurt while protecting him. And twenty five-year-old man, one that drew his own plan, and she had paid the price for it. Benjamin slammed his fist against the wall. How could his father be so heartless? It was not her fault that she got hurt, it was not her fault that he went to the front with only her as his protection. It was his fault, he was the older brother, and he should have known better. He knew that his job inside the Core of Protection was important, he was the only one alive who was able to close a rift. Especially after his grandfather passed, away a couple of years ago. Kiara also has some of the magic, only according to father not enough to close a rift. Which in his mind was a load of horse shit. If he only had given his permission to let her learn and use the gift. Even if she wasn't able to close a rift all the way, she still would be able to help him in more ways than only protecting him. Only that never happened, and she was now somewhere inside this messed up estate, alone. He slammed the wall once again, he was not without blame either. Benjamin has seen first hand how their father bullied her, how he kept working her to the bone. Until she couldn't do anything else, then to fall upon her bed and sleep. He snorted, it was not even a bed. It was a piece of cloth covered with heaps of straw, even sitting on it made him uncomfortable, and she needed to sleep on it every night. He once offered her his bed, when they were just small children. But their father discovered her in the middle of the night and gave her a beating. She never complained about her bed after that, and it was also the last time he offered to make her life easier. Because he knew that it would make her life even harder, his uncle rounded the corner and saw his now bleeding hand.
"Benjamin, what happened to you?" his uncle said.
"I hit the wall," Benjamin replied, through gritted teeth. "Father wouldn't let me go." His uncle slowly nodded in understanding.
"This is about Kiara."
"It was not her fault, it was mine!" Benjamin shouted. "She doesn't deserve to be left like that, she doesn't deserve any of my fathers' treatment." His uncle shook his head.
"Benjamin, listen to me carefully. I agree with you, she is just a woman that brushed my big brother's ego when she didn't possess the families gift. In the same way you do," he added the last part, after Benjamin glared daggers at him. He knew that Kiara did had the magic, she only never learned how to use it. "But maybe in this twisted way she can be finally free. She doesn't have to work so hard to keep Anton happy. She can live a normal life, and to be honest with you, that is the only thing I wish for her." Benjamin agreed with him there, but that will only happen if she got to live. "She is alive, Benjamin. My sources told me that an hour ago. She is currently inside the Lordling's camp, and according to them, she has shown him how good she is with a sword. He beat her in the end, but according to my scout, it was a fair and good fight." Benjamin was taken aback by this, Kiara was still alive and had even trained with the Lordling's army. He didn't know much about the Lordling, that is how the Core of Protecting called Arion Snemåne, except that he was a good Captain of the Snemåne army. "I was going to get her chest of clothes and sent it to her, after reporting this news to your father. Not that he wants to know this, but I do not care what he wants right now."
"I wished that I was able to come with you," Benjamin said. "To see Kiara, I want to say that I am so sorry about what happened." His uncle laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Benjamin, you have being raised in the same unhealthy manner as your sister. Only you were conditioned to believe that you could do no wrong. I have seen you struggle with this for years, knowing that you are in the wrong. The desire to be her protector, even though your hands were bound. It is good to know that you are still able to see that you are at fault." His uncle hand slipped away, and he left him alone. But Benjamin meant what he said, he wished that he could go with his uncle. Only he knew that his father would never have allowed him to leave. Benjamin looked over his shoulder where his uncle has being a couple of seconds ago, he left the hallway when he heard his father's loud voice.
*****
Benjamin knew this fortress as the back of his own hand, no surprise there, he has grown up here. The thick dark gray brick walls, the large and deep moat that surrounded the building. The people who were working inside its walls, it has been the same large group of people all his life. Some die overtime, but new editions to the group were born inside the walls. A large group of soldiers, were training in front of the main building. Young children were sitting at the edge of the field, watching their fathers, brothers, mother, or sisters preform the movements. Early in the morning before their lessons in math and writting it was their turn. Training for them started at the tender age of ten, Benjamin scoffed. Kiara was five when their father brought her to the field, weeping. She was scared, and didn't want to leave her mother's side. Her mother, who was fine with their father's treatment of her daughter. Benjamin and she didn't share the same mother, and his own mother cared enough for the both of them, until she too passed away. Benjamin walked past the large group and entered the building, the spiraling stone staircase that lead towards his father's apartment was steep. And when he was younger, he found them disorientated. But that feeling faded when he got older. Kiara at first didn't dare to set foot on the stairs as long he was not with her, she was so small back then. So small, so scared. She always knew that their father and her mother didn't love her, she knew that his mother did. She knew that their uncle and grandfather did. How many times their grandfather offered to take her from their father's hands, Benjamin was not able to tell you an exact number, but their father always refused. Telling him that he was too old to look after a major disappointment, and yes, he said that while Kiara was present. She had cried herself to sleep that night. After that moment, she has taken to her studies more seriously. Dared herself to climb down from the stairs, even though he was a couple of steps removed from her. She forced herself to be the perfect daughter, forced herself to be the perfect soldier. She was good with the sword and every other weapon she was able to lay her hands on. She never complained, when their father laid an extra layer of task on her. Benjamin's blood began once again to boil when he thought back, his uncle was right. His father made her believe that everything she did was not enough, that even her getting hurt through his mistake was her own stupid fault. Benjamin walked through the simple apartment, there was a small kitchen and dinner area. A small living room, his father's bedroom and then his bedroom. Which was filled with stacks of leather-bound tomes, rolls upon rolls of parchment with some kind of magical spells. In one short word, his room was a mess, and once again that was somehow Kiara's fault. She was responsible for the chores, above her already busy schedule. He himself bowed down to pick up the few pieces of clothing that lie around on the floor.
"Alright, it is now time to clean this mess up. And that before uncle is done talking with father." he said to himself. "I know that there are some tomes, and scrolls that can help her with training her magic." He knew his sister too well, she would fight the Riftwalkers again. She would come across an open rift, and with those small gestures in the right direction, he hoped that she would be prepared when she did. He gathered the books and placed them one by one inside the large book case that covered one of his walls. He threw the dirty clothing by the door, so that he wouldn't forget to dump them in the laundry basket. The tomes he wanted to give away landed upon his bed, he would look at them in more detail later. Because he knew that he couldn't give all of them to her. She was no longer living at home, she lived inside an army camp now and even thought the inventory traveled behind them. There was no way he could expect that they hauled all of those tomes with them. The roles ended up in a special cabinet near his desk and when all of it was done he was pretty proud of himself. Kiara would have being shocked to see his room so cleaned up and organized. A part of him hoped that she could walk through that door, but that was a fooling dream. He picked up the tomes, he chose two and the various scrolls. One of them explained the spell she needed to close a rift, which was the most important one of them all. Kiara's bedroom was the door opposite of his, and he wouldn't go so far as call it a bedroom, either. It was not even half the size of his own room and had just enough room for a bed, a chest for her clothes, a washing bowl. That was it, there was a small stand mounted up on the wall for her sword, but that one was empty. Her sword made with Segeus steal, a special metal embodied with the magic to kill Riftwalkers more quickly. He himself made that sword for her, he placed his own magic inside of it. He opened up her chest and placed the tomes and scrolls at the bottom before placing a magical spell over it. So that, even when examined by his father, he wouldn't see them. He wanted to place the small collection of daggers, he made, in there. But maybe that would be too much. His father barely allowed her to use the sword he made, it would have given her an unfair advantage. Which was horse crap and Benjamin knew that as well as everybody else inside this compound. His uncle and father entered the room, luckily he had the daggers still in his hands.
"What are those?" his father asked.
"Segeus steel daggers, I made them for Kiara's birthday." which was not a lie. He had made them for her birthday.
"You once again waisted your presious magic, on that useless girl. She is no longer part of this family, I can't believe that I allow your uncle to bring her the chest with clothing. But I know he would have done it anyway, even if I forbad it. But I will not allow those weapons." Benjamin suspected that much. "What are you doing herre anyway, do you not have your magic studies?" Benjamin shook his head.
"My mind was not in it, so instead I cleaned up my room." he replied.
"That is not your job, that is..." his father's words died down. He wasn't able to blame Kiara anymore, she was no longer a part of this family. That was a habit that needed to be unlearned, Benjamin had no doubt in is mind that he would find a new scapegoat. His uncle, his aunt, one of their children. All of them were likely suspects.
"Normally, Kiara's. But she is no longer here, and it was a mess." Benjamin explained it with a simple shrug. "And besides that, I had the free time." His father nodded slowly, he opened the chest and looked through it, as Benjamin suspected he would.
"Alright, get this thing out of my sight." his father snapped at his uncle. His uncle did and left with the chest. Benjamin followed him, down the staircase towards the stables. A horse with cart were already standing ready for departure.
"Give me those daggers," his uncle hissed. Benjamin did, his father would be so angry when he founds out. But he wouldn't be angry at him, he would be angry at his uncle. And his uncle knew that all to well. "I will pass on your message, Benjamin. Do not worry to much about her, she is one of my best students." Benjamin nodded, knowing that his uncle was right. Kiara was the best warrior he had ever known. But that would never take away his guilt, the guilt that he was the one that coursed her pain. His uncle left, leaving him behind.
