A House Filled With Night

Runa closed her eyes to brace herself for either the coldness of that outstretched hand or the hardness of the ground. Instead, she felt her body surrounded by warm, gentle arms. In an instant, Torin had caught her and swept her behind himself, covering her with his body. One hand firmly grasped her arm, the other clenched tightly at his side. He faced the woman before them as if ready for a tiger’s attack.

“What are you doing here?” he hissed.

The snake smiled, peering over Torin’s shoulder where he hid Runa.

“Is she yours, Torin?”

“Don’t speak to me so familiarly,” he said coolly.

“I’ve known you since before you were born, child. You and all your brothers.”

“You know nothing about us.”

She slithered closer to him, stretching her neck out so that her face was close enough to whisper. “Don’t be a fool. I know you better than you know yourselves.”

Every muscle in his body stiffened, but his feet did not falter. Runa felt the grip on her arm tightening, the subtle tug closer to his back. Finally, Torin managed to growl out, “Just tell me what you’re doing here.”

They heard footsteps and turned to see the other brothers approaching. Sylvain and Casimir were at the front. Niko and Fiske hovered in the background, but came no closer. With a shudder, she realized it was the first time she saw fear, rather than hate, in Niko’s glare.

“Celemine.” Sylvain’s jaw clenched. “Why are you at the House?”

Her waxy smile grew into a grin. She drew back from Torin to get a better look at all of them, sultry eyes roving over each brother like a lady weighing her options at a lavish banquet table. “I’ve come to collect my dues.”

Casimir snarled. “Our father is dead, what will you get out of him?”

She was beside him in an instant. Casimir’s imperturbable expression faltered for an almost imperceptible second. Niko flinched, but Fiske held him back.

“Well,” she smacked her lips together, just by his ear, “You’re all still here, aren’t you?”

“You’ve already taken everything that matters. What else could you possibly want?”

She twisted slowly round his feet, her tail wrapping around his ankles. “Your father…had an insatiable taste for those things that come at the greatest prices. He owed a hefty debt, and I will collect.”

Torin’s hand slid all the way down Runa’s forearm and slipped into her palm. He pulled her closer to him.

“Fine,” said Sylvain, taking a step toward Celemine. Runa could almost see the perspiration forming on his forehead. If even Sylvain was losing his cool, it was probably time for everyone else to do the same. “Take what you like. We have no desire for the things our father stole in any case.”

Her eyes finally dragged away from Casimir, head snapping over to Sylvain. “You should know I have no interest in such things. The debt I’m referring to is of the highest caliber.”

Sylvain’s eyes grew dark. He took two more steps forward. “You will not hurt them. They’ve suffered all our lives. They’ve done nothing to deserve this.”

“Who said anything about hurting?” She chuckled. “I don’t want to hurt you. I want you.”

For a moment, Sylvain faltered. He visibly shook. His tone was icy. “Get out.”

Her tail flicked; in an instant, she had unwound herself from Casimir. “Today, tomorrow, in a week.” She shrugged. “It matters not when. I will collect.” She slithered up to a thick tree and wrapped herself around it. “Don’t doubt that I will.”

Her green tail flicked against the ground, sending dust into the air. In a flash, she slid up into the trees once again. Just like that, she had disappeared. Runa expected Sylvain, Niko, Fiske, or someone to go after her. No one did.

Casimir’s shoulders slumped, like a puppet released from strings. Torin released all the air he had been storing up in his lungs. His grasp on Runa loosened, but remained.

An eerie silence hung in the air. When Sylvain finally spoke, it was simply to say they should all go inside. They filed into the living room, looking like defeated soldiers. One by one, they collapsed onto the couches. Torin dragged Runa along the whole way and sat her down next to him. He still hadn’t let go.

“What are we going to do?” asked Niko.

“We can’t do anything for now,” said Sylvain. “I’m not even entirely sure what her true intentions are. We’ll just have to prepare for whatever chaos she creates in the future.”

“And how are we supposed to do that?” asked Fiske.

“Brace ourselves for a storm, I suppose.”

“We have to protect Runa,” said Torin.

Sylvain looked over at him, noticing the way he was holding her, the way his hand shook just a little. “Of course we will. With our lives.”

Runa blinked. With their lives? Had she heard correctly? He said it so casually. She looked up at each brother, then at Torin, still by her side. When he felt her gaze, he looked down, the tips of his ears tinging pink. Her heart swelled. No one had ever wanted to protect her, much less thought to sacrifice their lives for her.

“And maybe…” Torin went on, quietly, “It’s time for all of us to let Runa go home.”

“No.”

Torin looked up at her, eyes large.

“I’m not going,” she said firmly. “You’ve all saved me at least twice over. I won’t just run away. I want to return the favor. I’m going to stay.”

“That’s—” Torin sputtered. “What—what are you talking about? You wouldn’t have ever been in danger in the first place if it hadn’t been for us!”

She stood. “That’s not the point, you saved me anyway!”

He got up as well. “What does that matter? You could be happy back at your own home, right now, if we had just left you alone!”

“I could’ve been dead right now, if you had just left me alone!”

Torin’s mouth snapped close, the words at the tip of his tongue swallowed. The other Sons of Midnight had the uncomfortable feeling that they had intruded upon a private moment, and were doing their best to disappear into the couch cushions.

“I’m not saying what you did was right. It wasn’t. But when all of you found me, I had just lost the only work I could find in the entire city of Eidar. The likelihood of finding another place to work didn’t seem very promising, and I had nothing and no one to depend upon while I searched. The more that I think about, the surer I am. If you hadn’t found me then, I’m not so sure I would have made it through the winter.”

“I…” Torin bit his lip.

“In any case,” Sylvain interrupted, clearing his throat. “It’s too late for all of that now. Celemine already knows Runa is here. She won’t be safe, no matter where she goes. She’s safest with us, where we can keep an eye on her.”

Casimir nodded. “It’s true.”

“Yeah, we’ll be okay if we’re together!” said Fiske.

“Don’t worry, Miss Runa,” Niko said, looking her straight in the eye. “We’ll definitely protect you.”

His words made her smile. She nodded. “Thank you.”

“I wouldn’t thank us just yet,” said Sylvain. “Even if life was difficult for you before, you have no idea what’s in store for you from this point on. You never asked to be dragged into any of this mess in the first place. We owe you this much, at least.”

She laughed a little. “I don’t even know what I’ve been dragged into.”

No one else was laughing.

“The woman you met today is named Celemine,” Sylvain explained quietly. “She’s a monster, and she’ll take any opportunity to torture others for her pleasure. Our father made a very foolish bargain with her, and it seems that now we’re the ones who will pay the price.” His eyes fell. “To be quite honest, I’m not entirely sure what she wants from us. But whatever it is, we will fight it. We won’t go down easily.”

—

After one of the longest nights in recent memory, Runa was sure she would easily fall into a deep sleep. Instead, she lay wide awake on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Unconsciously, her eye flitted toward the window every now and then. It was a terrible feeling: to be more terrified of what was outside of the House than what was inside. She envisioned what it would look like for that shadowy form to slither up to her window, loosen the latch, and crawl right in.

A gentle knock at the door made her jump. She sighed. A snake wouldn’t knock.

“C-come in.”

The door opened, revealing Casimir’s silhouette against the dim light of the hall.

“I figured you’d be up. It’s not really a good night for sleep, is it?”

“No, not really.”

“I wanted to show you something. Too tired?”

She shook her head. “Give me a moment.” She slipped out of bed, threw a shawl over her shoulders, and padded over to him.

“This way,” he said, leading her down the hall. “We’ve got one more stop on the way.”

At Torin’s blue door, Casimir knocked loudly.

“Hey. Torin. Are you naked?”

Runa blinked.

“…Casimir?” came Torin’s tired voice through the door.

“I’m coming in. Runa’s here, so you better not be naked.”

“Casimir!!”

The door swung open to reveal Torin jumping out of bed, desperately trying to slip on a shirt as he did. Runa spun around so quickly she almost tripped and fell.

“Casimir, what on earth is going on?!”

“Let’s go to the music room,” he said, coming over to pull Torin out by the arm.

“Right now?”

“You need it. I need it. We need it.”

The music room was much different than the first room in which Runa had watched Casimir play piano. It was brighter, and glowed a light, pinkish-orange color from all the lamps standing throughout the room. Guitars leaned against the walls; violins rested upon couches; flutes, tambourines, and other small instruments sat atop tables. On a plush armchair, Lala slept, curled up beside a mandolin. Upon hearing people enter, she sat up, tail wagging.

They approached the grand piano, settled into one snug corner. It was an old, woody color that suggested it had been well-used and well-loved. Here, Casimir sat down, sighing with contentment. He didn’t say anything, but the smile on his face made it look as though he had just been reunited with his oldest friend.

“Sit wherever,” Casimir motioned behind him.

Runa sat down on a couch facing the piano. Torin sat down on the opposite side of the room. For some reason, this bothered her. When she tried to make this known to him by making a face, she found he had turned away from her and was staring fixedly at the piano to his right.

“Where are the others?” he asked Casimir, who was warming up on the instrument.

“They’re asleep.”

“Well, so was I.” He sounded irritated.

“No, you weren’t.”

“I—” His face went red. “I was about to be.”

“No, you really weren’t.”

Torin pursed his lips together and said nothing more. Runa couldn’t help but think he looked a little like a pouty child, even more so since his hair was poking out in funny directions, and he was still in pajamas.

Casimir had begun to play a beautiful lullaby, one that made her feel relaxed and blissful at once. She fell into a daze, watching his fingers run up and down the keys as if dancing. It would have been nice to learn the piano.

The song ended.

“Come on, Torin,” Casimir said, turning. “Help me play something.”

After some prodding, Torin finally stood and joined his brother on the piano bench. At first, he mostly sat there, silently. Gradually, he began twiddling on the upper keys, doing his best to compliment the melody. Then, Casimir switched to lyrical pieces so that Torin could accompany him with voice.

Runa had never heard his voice before. It was soft, airy, and fluttery, like a fresh, dewy morning. It made her smile and curl deeper into the couch. Lala jumped off of her seat and scampered over to Runa’s lap. Runa ran an idle hand through the cloudy fur. For the first time since the ball, her heartbeat began to ease. The hand petting Lala slowed, then stilled. Her eyes drooped. It was so cozy. She was enveloped in the feeling, surrounded by the song, the couch cushions, the soft puppy, the night air.

Her head began to slide downward. Somewhere in the fogginess of a sleepy mind, she felt someone catch her and settle her head against something warm. Absently, she realized Torin’s voice had grown both closer and gentler. She leaned into his warmth, where his chest trembled with song.

Sleep within the twilight

So your skin is kissed by moonbeams

And your hair is tangled up with starlight

Will you find me in your dream?

I wait along the winding bend

Of sky’s great, silver stream

Rest against my heart

Every nightmare will depart

I will hide you until dawn

When the night has come and gone

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~ A/N ~

I was going to say something snarky again but I don’t wanna ruin the moment :)

What are your thoughts on where the story is going? Theories? Opinions?

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