Tale of Four

The door slammed. No one moved or said anything for a moment, and Tristan finally undid the merging with Annabell, wishing to be free from the things that nearly got him killed. Annabell flew into the air before quickly landing on Tristan’s head, pecking at him, conveying her sorrow.

”If you will excuse me.” Lord Deacon spoke, ”I must carry out the Prince’s orders.” Bowing towards the two, Lord Deacon walked off as fast as his shaking legs could take him. When the door closed, only Tristan and Mabel were left.

”Ma-Ugh.” Before he could push himself up, a swift kick hit his chest, making him fall to the ground. Mabel stood over him, anger burning in her eyes as she looked down at him. Tristan met her gaze and breathed heavily, greedily sucking in the air he had been denied previously.

”What have you done?” Mabel asked in a quiet voice, a drop of blood falling from her hands with how tightly she clenched her fists. For a moment, Tristan wasn’t sure if she would pounce on him and beat him to death, the look in her eyes having already done so numerous times.

”I didn’t want to.” Tristan said, slowly getting up, finally committing when he realised Mabel wouldn’t attack again, ”Do you think I have a death wish?”

”Oh, I’m sure you do.” Mabel snapped, slamming a finger into his chest, ”Why, just why, did you think to ask any of that? You warned me about the merging process. You did, and you went and did all that? He nearly killed you, Tristan.” She nearly stumbled over her words with how quickly she spoke. Tristan looked at her and saw beneath the anger, there was a pain, one he had never seen in Mabel before.

Trying to look away, Mabel grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. ”Why do you make things so much harder? All you had to do was keep silent and let Elias vent. But no, you had to say something, had to remind me what he did.” Mabel let go of his chin and pushed Tristan back, grabbing the table and falling into it. Rubbing her forehead, she sighed and covered her eyes. ”Why would you?”

”Mabel.” Tristan gulped and stepped forward, closing the distance between the two. Looking at her, he sighed, ”I didn’t want to. How long have I spent trying to survive this horrid place? Why would I willingly provoke him? I couldn’t control it; my merging doesn’t let me.” Lifting a hand, he stopped what he was about to do and put it behind his back, clenching his arm instead, ”I’m sorry, Mabel. I really am, but Elias. Even now, you must understand that this is dangerous. The north won’t care for such an insult, but imagine if it were Lord Carter of Clover.”

”I KNOW!” Mabel screamed. ”I know.” Looking down, she took a deep breath. ”But what do you want? He’s my brother, Tristan.” Mabel went silent. Tristan opened and closed his mouth, unsure what to say, eventually deciding on silence. For a moment, they stood there with Mabel, the one who broke it: ”Father always pushed us to embrace our summons.” Her voice was quiet. ”He said that it was our power, that we must learn to control it. I understood why he ordered it. He tamed his summon, that spider. He proved what power you could attain when you did it.” Her hands wrapped around the end of the table. ”But he never warned us about these things. Why didn’t he? How is he unaffected by his own, yet Elias is being consumed?”

Tristan closed his eyes and shook his head. With a deep breath, he spoke, ”Do you honestly believe the king is unaffected?” Remembering when he saw Anton when he was merged, he recalled the horrid sight which was his body, the battleground of hundreds of spiders, fighting and killing one another in his body, tearing and nesting in the numerous parts of his body. Then there was Anton himself, a cold man who could hardly create a flicker of a smile anymore, even when with those he loved. ”I don’t disrespect the King, Mabel, but he is far more consumed than you can understand. He isn’t himself anymore, but he isn’t his summon.”

”But why is it different? Why does Elias look at you like that? He wasn’t always like this. Sure, he was arrogant at times, but what Cosmaton hasn’t been?” Mabel’s body shook. ”When did it change?”

”Mabel,” Tristan called out. When she didn’t look at him, he finally reached out and touched her hand. Her hand jerked back for a second before accepting the touch and hold. ”Mabel.” Finally, she looked up at him and met my gaze. The anger had vanished, leaving behind sadness and regret. ”Do you know what our summons are, what they really are?”

”They’re the first king’s power we inherited,” Mabel said, finally pulling her away from his touch. Tristan shook his head.

”Your summon never told you the whole truth?” Her eyes showed her confusion. Looking to Annabell, she wondered what Tristan meant. ”Did Anton never tell you? No one.”

”What is it, Tristan?” Mabel asked. Tristan touched Annabell on the top of his head.

”She will be fine,” Annabell said with a relaxed tone. Tristan nodded and closed his eyes.

”Annabell told me recently. They are the first king’s power, or parts of it, but what they represent is different. They were a part of him.” Tristan watched as Mabel’s eyes twitched, her hand reaching for her head. ”Our summons aren’t just the first king’s power, but aspects,” Mabel twitched, grinding her teeth at the wave of pain, ”Of his personality.” Grabbing the table, she desperately tried to fight the pain that suddenly assailed her. Tristan remained unmoving for the next few minutes, waiting for the pain to pass. After five minutes, she took a deep breath and pulled her hand away from her head.

With a deep breath, she met his eyes. ”What does that even mean?”

”It is obvious no summons is the same. Your wolf and Annabell couldn’t be more different. But the difference isn’t just in what they can do, but the effects on the person when merging. Annabell is purity. She told me Matthew’s summons is deceit.”

”What? How could she...” Mabel stopped halfway through, remembering what Annabell was capable of. ”Is that why you’re kind then?” Mabel asked, ”Is everything we are just our summons? Do we not even have our own personalities?” Are you, am I...” Mabel covered her mouth in horror. Tristan quickly shook his head and placed a hand on her right shoulder.

”It doesn’t work like that. Just summoning them doesn’t affect our personalities, only merging. Merging every now and then has little effect on a person, but constant merging begins to change a person.” Tristan fell silent and waited. Sensing his desire, Annabell spoke up.

”The changes happening to a person aren’t always obvious. Tristan is who he has always been. We have merged so little that barely anything about me has rubbed off on him,” Annabell carried on and looked at Mabel. ”Your brother, however, didn’t control it, but let it run rampant, not releasing what happened.”

”So, Elias.” Mabel paused, scared of what she was about to say next. ”It will only get worse? Annabell didn’t say anything, only nodding.

”Mabel,” Tristan spoke. ”He is dangerous; even you should be able to see that. I understand he is your brother. I may not love him like you, hell, I hardly like him, but he is my cousin. I don’t want him to be like this. At the rate he is going, he will push everyone away.” Tristan lowered his head and bitterly smiled, ”It’s a sad fate.”

”That still doesn’t answer what I wanted to know.” Slamming a hand on her chest, she looked at him with desperation, ”What about me? Is my love for Elias, even when he changes, the reason I am not like a normal princess compared to what I should be? My enjoyment of the sword and running? Is all of it becuase of Destria? Tell me it isn’t, because if it is, then... then. Am I even Mabel or her?” Tristan could see the struggle, the fear at having never been who she always thought she was.

He couldn’t understand why she was so scared. To him, it was obvious. She was Mabel, no matter the influence Destria may have had. But it wasn’t the answer she would have wanted. Smiling, he grabbed her hand again. When she tried to pull away again, he firmly squeezed to stop it. ”Mabel. You didn’t know who I was until recently, but I have always been in the palace, watching everyone who has walked these halls.” His squeeze tightened. ”I remember a little Cosmaton girl running through the halls chasing her brother with a stick, covered in dirt, as servants tried to catch and clean her.”

Mabel smirked, hearing that. ”I remember when Elias III laughed, hearing you wish to take up the sword after you heard about Anton’s battle in the Silent Hills. I remember your fathers indifferance to such a thing and your mother’s horror when it was accepted.” Tristan pulled his hand away. ”I know that you never wore dresses the moment you could choose your own outfits.” Tristan took a deep breath and looked past her out the window. ”Was it all Destria, or were you always a wild princess who did what she wanted? Was it Destria that made you so fiercely loving and loyal to Elias? I don’t know, but you do. Tell me honestly, were you always like that or after you first merged?”

Mabel let out a small giggle, flashing her sharp canines. ”You’re really creepy. Remembering all that.” Tristan laughed at the joke and shrugged.

”Well, I did watch the others in our family when I could. It was just that they were less... outlandish compared to the princess who wished to be a knight.”

”That doesn’t make it any less creepy,” Mabel said and finally let out a relaxed sigh. Pushing off the table, she gave a reassuring smile, ”I’ll talk to Elias and try to make it so you live, Tristan. Our family has lost too much already.” Mabel looked to the ground. ”But you have to be careful. If possible, just stay away from him.”

”I would love that more than anything.” Tristan said with a tired voice, ”But I already committed to clinging to his leg to survive. A terrible job I’ve done so far, but what’s done is done.”

”Yeah.” Walking off, she looked back for a second and turned her head, holding it high with pride, ”Thank you.”