oOo

Chapter 2 - Isolation

Langris fixed his collar and stared at himself in the mirror. He frowned. He wasn't excited to go back to the Vaude Mansion and see his parents. Their foolish party wasn't going to be any different than last year's event. They only held banquets to brag about their riches and achievements to their guests, nothing more.

He sighed and walked out of his room.

The day was beautiful and Langris hoped nothing would ruin it more than tonight would. He was greeted by several subordinates and he nodded back. Despite being a tough and terrifying Vice Captain, there were still people that actually respected him.

The dreary day started getting better, until he saw a familiar auburn haired individual waiting by the fountain.

Langris scowled.

He didn't expect him to be here. It obviously wasn't to pick him up so they could head on over to Tota, because that would never happen again. They fell apart when Finral left. Langris knew that his brother would never take another step back there ever again.

So him being here in the Golden Dawn must be for another reason.

"Brother," Langris called.

Finral's eyes lit up as he walked away from the fountain to meet Langris in the archways. He stopped in front of him and gave him an anxious greeting. "Good morning, Langris. How are you?"

"How did you get in here?"

"They let me in."

Langris glared, "They shouldn't have. What do you want?"

"Nothing," Finral nervously chuckled. "I'm just glad I caught you before you left."

"And now that you have, what's your deal?"

Langris didn't like how Finral knew where he was headed and what time he planned to go. He raised his chin and narrowed his eyes. Finral shifted his feet and nervously stared at the floor. It irritated Langris. He hated when Finral acted like this.

Once a coward, always a coward!

How can Langris find anything to be proud about? He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "Are you just planning on wasting my time?" He questioned. "Because this isn't funny!"

"H-here." Finral offered.

Langris scowled as his brother handed him a letter. He stared at Finral, who was tight and high-strung that his hand was shaking. Langris didn't know what the letter contained, but it made him mad. He and Finral never exchanged letters, not really, to have him do so now…

"What's in it?"

"Please," Finral begged. "Just take it."

Langris took the letter, but he didn't open it. Finral waited. They stare at each other for a while. Langris had a bad feeling. Whatever was in the letter would make him angry, because he knew it came straight from Finral's heart.

He shouldn't be feeling like this.

Just this morning, he was feeling sick to his stomach just thinking about coming home. He remembered the distant, fake laughter from his father's guests, his mother's fake smiles and giggles, and the constant fake praises…

Langris trembled.

Finral panicked, because he'd never seen his little brother act like this. He tried to reach out, but stopped himself. That only made Langris feel worse. There was something about the way Finral hesitated that stabbed his gut.

"Langris?" Finral softly called. "Are you alright?"

"Do I look fine to you?"

"No."

"Good, because I'm not."

In his frustration, Langris ripped the letter in half.

Finral paled.

"I don't need your apology!" Langris growled, still trembling. "I don't need your excuses or your stupid reasons! I want you to live with your decision and think about it for the rest of your life!"

"But Langris…"

"I don't want to hear it!" He waved the letter around. "Or read it! We're done here! I have places to be and you have somewhere to slack off to! So goodbye, Brother. I'll see you around. " Langris walked away, still panting and trembling.

He didn't look back, he couldn't.

Langris knew the face Finral was making and it pained him, but it had to be said.

He took a deep breath and ran as soon as he was out of Finral's reach. He was in another hallway when he noticed he was still holding onto Finral's stupid letter. He grimaced, debating whether or not he should throw it away or read it. His hand trembled as he rolled his eyes.

"This is frustrating!" He thought.

Instead of throwing it away like he had planned, Langris pocketed the letter. He found a broom and went on his way to Tota. Maybe things would be better and he was just paranoid. It didn't take him that long to get there. He dropped down to the entrance where handmaidens and butlers were waiting for him.

One of them took his broom while others offered him refreshments.

Langris dismissed them.

"Finally!" Ledior chuckled. "You've arrived!"

"My little Langris!" Liliane flew to her son and hugged him. "I'm glad you've returned!"

Langris lips tugged into a smile as he returned her embrace. So far so good. His mother hung on his arm as she pulled Langris inside. He politely greeted his parents, but even those words were forced and insincere. Although he loved them, their love for him never felt genuine. It was distant, cold, and corroded by their blindness.

"We have much to discuss," Ledior declared. "The guests should be arriving this afternoon."

"Actually," Langris began. "I came to say I won't be joining you this evening."

"What?" Liliane gasped. "How come?"

Ledior glared, looming over Langris. "We already told the guests you would join us. What am I supposed to tell them in your absence?! The soon to be head of House Vaude has to be present at tonight's banquet!"

Langris grimaced, because his father says that every year.

"Forgive me." He clenched his fists, but remained polite. "I already promised the rest of the Golden Dawn members that I would be there to celebrate New Year's Eve with them. I already spoke to Captain Vangeance."

It was difficult to lie through his teeth.

"Keep going." Langris encouraged himself. "You're doing fine."

"But…" Liliane scowled. "What about the guests?"

"Tell them I couldn't attend."

"You could have warned us beforehand!" Ledior huffed and began pacing. "They were expecting you to tell them tales of your valor… your achievements…"

"Father," Langris replied a little stiffly. "I'm the Vice Captain of the Golden Dawn. I've been to this celebration for years upon your invitation. I need to at least spend one social function with my group lest they think I'm discarding their value."

"That is true." Liliane voiced when she thought hard about it. "He does need to be an authority there."

Langris loved his mother, but she changes her mind far too quickly for the simplest of reasons, especially when it involved his best interest. At least this way, Langris could get his way. Ledior wasn't easy though. He was difficult to convince. He knew his father was mad and gravely disappointed, and that was the last thing Langris wanted, but he needed to get away.

He knew this party won't be any different from last year's.

"I've made my decision." Langris declared.

That's the moment his parents started arguing with each other. Ledior raised his voice, still startled by the fact that Langris disregarded his important guests while Liliane defended why Langris made that type of choice.

Langris sighed as envy bubbled in his chest.

Finral didn't have to put up with this, not anymore.

But he had to.

"I'm going to leave now." He declared, not wanting any second longer. "It was nice seeing the two of you, Mother… Father…"

"So soon?" Liliane cried. "At least stay for lunch!"

Langris stared at her, and then turned his attention to his still fuming father. He sighed, turning back to his mother with a bright smile. "For you, Mother, anything." Her eyes lit up as she picked up her skirt and told him that she'll tell the cooks to make his favorites.

Then she left, eager to please.

Ledior shook his head. "I expected a little more from you, Langris." He gruffly voiced. "I don't want you to start acting like Finral. As the next head of House Vaude, you must be able to balance your time during social events."

"I'll take note of that, Father."

"See that you do."

Langris watched his father leave to command the household staff about their jobs for tonight's social event. Langris' fists clenched in annoyance and the childish part of him wanted to throw a tantrum. He took a deep breath and willed himself to calm down.

He didn't want to argue with his father.

Today was already a rough start.

He didn't want to snap. He was trying his best not to. Seeing Finral first thing in the morning made him… vulnerable. Yes! Vulnerable! Was it wrong to feel that way? To feel helpless, angry, frustrated, and jealous?

Why was Finral free when he wasn't?

Langris snapped from his misery when his mother came back to latch onto his arm. She asked how he was and if he was doing well. Langris pretended everything was fine and told her about his missions, but they were heavily censored to spare his mother any grief or worry.

After talking, Langris excused himself to rest a bit.

Liliane let him go.

With a sigh, Langris moved through the mansion with familiarity.

This was all going to be his soon. He sighed. He didn't want it. He wanted a better life than this. He didn't even want to get married, but that's not his choice to make. He walked until he reached the sleeping quarters and stopped at Finral's old door.

He grimaced.

Langris wasn't going to subject himself to that kind of torture. He walked away before he could destroy anything remotely familiar. He went to his room instead and sat down on the bed. It had been so long since he actually lived in this house; not since he entered the Golden Dawn.

He closed his eyes and tried to focus.

It wasn't working.

He needed to leave!

Langris took a few more deep breaths and thought about the decision he was making. He lied to get out of a situation he didn't want. He lied to his parents! He trembled. His eyes opened and he swore he'd push this through. He quickly made his exit and walked down the stairs. He searched for his mother and found her in the grand ballroom, arranging flowers on the tall vases by the windows.

"Mother?" He called.

"Langris!" Liliane smiled and stopped what she was doing. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm sorry, but I should leave."

"But I had the cooks make your favorite meal!" She frowned, extremely disappointed. "Won't you stay? It won't be long now. I haven't seen you in many months!"

"I know, but…"

"Just for lunch, since you won't be going to the event."

"What's this I hear?" Ledior voiced as he walked into the grand ballroom. "Were you planning not to spend lunch with us when you already won't spend the evening? What is going on, Langris?"

Langris lied, "Something came up."

He apologized to his mother, who looked saddened, but Langris stopped himself from caring. He briefly explained about a mission and as Vice Captain, he was obligated to take it. He walked out of the door and ignored his parents calling out to him.

He couldn't stay in this house anymore.

It had too many bad memories.

He was old enough to make decisions, so he would make this one exception… to be free in his own way, one step at a time.

Langris took the broom offered to him by one of the maids and flew away.

He let the cool air calm his nerves.

For so long, he had been the obedient child. He still was, but this time… he wanted something for himself… to be selfish for once, like Finral had been when he decided to leave. He wished he had the same courage to do that, but Langris was afraid. He never liked to disappoint and he liked the praise, but he had always been jealous of Finral.

He closed his eyes and willed the feeling to go away.

Now wasn't the time.

After his steady flight back to the Golden Dawn, Langris dropped down to the fountain where Finral had been. He scowled and stared at his reflection. Was he a bad son for ditching? It bothered him. He remained there until he heard someone call out his name.

He turned and saw William Vangeance approach him.

"Captain," He greeted.

"Langris," Vangeance voiced. "I thought you were in Tota."

"I was."

"Did something happen?"

Langris shook his head, "I decided not to attend."

"I see." Vangeance didn't press any further. He knew Langris better than anyone else in the Golden Dawn. Instead, he gave a sincere smile and an assuring hand over Langris shoulder. "I assume you haven't eaten yet. Come, let's have lunch together. Surely this time you will join our celebration?"

"I'd be honored."

Midnight…

Langris was in his dimly lit bedroom, staring out the window as fireworks went off in the background. He briefly attended the celebration, but gave up when he knew he couldn't mingle with a sincere face. He didn't bother to tell anyone where he was going, nobody asked. He managed to slip away, and no one cared.

But someone did.

He looked away from the fireworks and stared at his desk.

Illuminated by the lamp was the letter Finral had given him. He had to read it. There was no way he could've won battling his curiosity. He scowled, because next to it was a single piece of paper, a pen, and an ink jar.

The reply was unfinished.

It was the things Langris wanted to tell Finral that he couldn't say before. All the anger, the resentment, the jealousy, and some form of forgiveness and apology, but… Langris shook his head.

No!

This was stupid!

He gritted his teeth and took the paper he wrote and erased it with his magic. He panted, feeling weak all of a sudden. He looked at Finral's letter, fingers twitching. He let out a frustrated growl and took the paper and shoved it in his desk drawer. He bowed his head, letting his bangs cover his face. Slowly, he sat down on the chair, crossed his arms and buried his head.

He whispered, "Happy New Year, Brother."

oOo

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