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The last time the Renwick manor saw a child, the triplets themselves were children, and quite unique children at that. Devilishly smart, with a mastery in high society etiquette and the finest looks of any noble child, they weren't to be confused with any lowborn spawn. Even in their time as toddlers, their home remained pristine and their items unbroken. Which only made it far odder when they went bickering down the stairs and rounded the corner to find themselves face-to-face with a child who clearly could not have been any older than ten years of age.
"The fuck is that?" Phoenix asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the little girl, who was fiddling with her bronze hair. Already, her face was tearstained, but almost as soon as she craned her neck to look up at him, she shied back, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. Diamond wrinkled her nose. "The better question is, what the hell is it doing in my way?" She pushed past her brother, glancing at the child with incredible disdain, and continued down the hallway to the dining room. After only a moment's pause, Phoenix followed after her. Only Lyric truly hesitated, sparing the little girl a pitying glance. He yearned to wait longer, and question what was going on here, but ultimately, he did not. He instead followed after his siblings to go eat his dinner. The mysterious little child was left alone.
The next time the child surfaced, only Phoenix was around. Raven had gone out for some odd reason, Diamond was attending a charity ball in his place, and Lyric had escorted their mother out to the city for a nice shopping trip, all having left long before he had even woken up from his slumber. Initially, Phoenix had found the door to his room locked to restrict him inside, but that only took a few hours of his time to handle. There was quite a lot of firechicken, the door simply couldn't handle it. And so once that minor obstacle was conquered, he sauntered down the hallway on a quest for breakfast, anticipating only the manor with its ghostly crew of highly trained servants.
Evidently, Raven had only ducked out briefly, because there was, once more, a whole child in the hall. Phoenix froze, unsure of how to react in this situation. He had come in contact with small children very few times in his life, none of those times being in the last ten years, if not longer. And none of those times had ended particularly well, either. Children annoyed him, and at this point, he was downright dangerous when annoyed. His sister's little 'therapy' sessions were far from working.
Focusing on the strange little girl, he slowly moved forwards, eyes locked on her with every step he made. He should be good, he should behave, he should leave the child be and just get his breakfast. But he didn't want to. He didn't like these little humans, they irritated him down to the very core. Narrowing his vibrant eyes, he continued stepping towards the child, who merely stood there and watched his approach, fear shining brightly in her eyes. She didn't make a move, didn't run, until he loomed only feet away. But she did eventually run, and that was her mistake. Because an angered, starving Phoenix was no better than a tiger on the hunt. And when the focus of his attention started sprinting down the halls, he was quick to follow suit.
For somebody with such little legs, she sure was quick and scarily agile. They raced down the twisted, turning hallways, the child deft as a sparrow and Phoenix slamming into walls, doors, cabinets, and unsuspecting servants. Finally, Phoenix cornered her, though the odds were still very much so not in his favor.
In the entrance hallway of the manor, there was a cabinet holding items important to the Renwick family legacy. Stuffed beasts, weaponry, artifacts, and the like, all left to symbolize their rise to power and how they've kept their position through the many years. It was far from being a small cabinet, nor was it a light one at all. And it had just enough space between it and the wall for a small child to squeeze in order to escape from the 6'11 murder man.
She crouched somewhere in the middle, far out of even his arm's reach, watching him with big, shining eyes. He growled and sat back on his heels, watching her right back. "Come on out, little one." He murmured in his musical tone, a nasty smile on his lips. The child was unfortunately unswayed or just frozen eat fear, and stayed put behind the cabinet. And so he tried again, and again.
After many attempts with no success whatsoever, he became desperate, attempting to shoulder his way into the small space. He liked the thrill of the chase, and his tutor had given him a deep love for the sharp tang of adrenaline-filled blood, but this was starting to get rather ridiculous. He was not going to stand for this taunting any longer. Frantically, he clawed his way forward, and slowly, the cabinet began to move.
The child had calmed when he had only been speaking, having become assured that he wouldn't be able to get to her, but she tensed right back up again as he drew closer. He could see that she had been about to run, and gave one more mighty shove...and then found himself yanked by the hair and shirt collar. With a coughing gag, he staggered back and turned to give a reproachful glare towards whoever had grabbed him.
Diamond glared right back at Phoenix, long-nailed hand still tangled in his ponytail. Leaning to look behind the cabinet, she looked at the little girl and gave a disappointed huff. "Seriously?" She asked, giving the kid a dismissive wave and watching as she scampered away somewhere. Briefly, Phoenix thought he'd get lucky and would be able to leave with nary a slap to the wrist, but alas, he was never that lucky. Diamond's somewhat calm demeanor ended once the child was out of view.
Yanking his head back hard, she stared him dead in the eyes. He stared back in utter defiance. He knew exactly what he did, and he had zero regrets about it. However, Diamond was going to inflict some regrets, right here and right now, in the entrance of the manor for all guests and wandering salesmen to see. There were sharp objects well within her reach, and her hands were rated E for everyone and marked with her twin brother's name. Siblings don't attack siblings for no reason, especially not when they were the absolute darling of the family. Pushing up the sleeves of her dress, she set to work clarifying her disappointment in him.
She spent a very, very long time clarifying, and simply left Phoenix in the hall when done. He groaned and stirred, but the floor was feeling real good at the moment, despite the ivory tiles' new, reddish tint. He struggled to move himself into a seated position as he heard the door open, staring reproachfully towards it. Who dared disturb the silence?
Lyric and Grizzabelle dared to disturb the silence, their conversation halting as soon as they spotted Phoenix's disheveled, bleeding form. At least Lyric had the good sense to rush forward, their mother wrinkling her nose at the sight of him. No surprise there, he already knew that he was her least favorite child. "I don't care what he's done this time." She snapped, turning her gaze away. "Get him out of my sight, right now. And then Lyric, darling? We'll be having a private dinner in my chamber tonight."
Lyric nodded and watched as she walked away, kneeling as soon as she was out of view. "Did it again, didn't you, Brother?" He asked, pulling Phoenix to his feet. He didn't protest, giving only a weak, half-hearted shrug in response. He leaned ever so slightly on Lyric's shoulder, his one knee buckling with his weight and nearly sending him down to the ground once more. Together, they began the trek back to his room, and place both his haven and his personal prison.
Guess who decided to show up again, as if to taunt him? As they trudged their way through the lounge, the child stared at them from one of the numerous couches, where she sat cuddled alongside Raven. A sour taste filled Phoenix's mouth. None of the triplets ever got such an act of affection from their father. With a growl, he shifted his eyes to the floor.
"Her name is Diadem." Lyric whispered in his ear. "She's our half-sister. Mum hates her...even more than she hates you and Diamond. She doesn't like how Father has been unfaithful. She wants to leave." Wow, more family drama. A bastard child, how unsurprising. "If she leaves, will you stay?" He replied, gaze flicking back up to Lyric's face.
His brother shook his head, a sad smile on his lips. "Where she goes, I go, Brother. You know Father would never allow me to just live here. You'll have to deal with Diamond on your own, I fear. Unless you simply manage to escape this place. Not that Father would risk you going far, I'm sure." They continued their walk, climbing up the twisting stairwell and down the proper hallway.
After far too many doors, they finally reached Phoenix's bedroom. Neither of them relaxed until they were inside, settling down on the edge of his bed. "Are you serious about leaving?" Phoenix asked, curling up against the headboard. "There's no way you could possibly stay? Your only choice is to leave me to our sister and Father?" Lyric refused to meet his eyes, only nodding in response. "They'll kill me!" He snapped at his brother's silent reply. "They'll lock me up and forget about me, and I'll starve! Or I'll be left to bleed to death!"
Lyric still didn't reply, instead looking rather ashamed. "You know they'll leave let me leave, Brother! Will you still abandon me? Will you leave me to face certain death alone?" Finally, his brother lifted his head, staring him dead in the eyes.
"You know that I will get nowhere if I stay. I live here only as long as Mother does. Once mother goes, it is better that I leave on my own terms. Father will kick me out anyways! He may see you as a risk against the high and mighty Renwick family name, but he's rather certain that I'm incapable of ruining even that!"
"Then take me with you! Don't leave me to live out the rest of my life alone. We can find a place to stay together. Mother can rest assured that I'll behave!" Phoenix protested, eyes bright and fierce as flames. He stiffened his posture, looming over his slightly younger brother. But doing that only ignited his brother's anger.
"Take you with me? Into the world? You have no experience with people, Phoenix! You destroy everything you're unfamiliar with and threaten anyone you don't like! Our parents hate you for a reason. What did you do today, Brother? Why did I done you bleeding on the floor? Who did you try to hurt this time despite your promises? Face it, you're unsafe. For as long as you live, you can never leave this house!"
Lyric's expression softened once he realized what he said, but the damage was already done. Phoenix growled angrily and clenched his jaw and fists, wordlessly turning away, a pillow clutched tightly to his chest.
"I'm sorry." Lyric murmured, lowering his tone and slowly wrapping his arms around his brother, who made no movement, no acknowledgement. "I didn't mean it like that, it all came out wrong. It's just so much safer for you to stay here. You truly don't know what it's like out there, and that's for the better. Just one mistake, and they'll lock you up for the rest of your life and watch as you slowly sink into madness. Or they'll kill you, and I'll find your body sunk in a river somewhere. Either way, you'll have no freedom. You'll spend your entire life walking on glass. At least here, you have some freedom. You have the house, and the yard, and the pool. The cook is brilliant, and the beds are soft. And you don't have to hide who you are. It is so much better for you here."
Phoenix still made no movement, glaring towards the wall with all the intensity of a million burning suns. He could care less about all those perks. Renwick Manor would still be hell with or without the Olympic-sized pool, especially without the one person who actually cared about him. "Fine then." He replied, his voice brittle, cracking. "Leave. Go live a happy life outside the gates with Mother and forget that I ever existed. I'm sure that the rest of the family would kill to be in your shoes. And when you finally return to collect your slice of the inheritance some day, stop by the Lavender Room and bid a final farewell to my bones!" He shrugged his way out of Lyric's grip, moving to the other side of the vast bed, shaking, his pillow still clutched tightly to his chest.
Lyric sat there for a moment longer, before getting to his feet and stepping towards the door. "If there's any way for me to come back to you, I will. Just wait for me, I'll find a way." He promised, slipping out of the room and leaving Phoenix in silence.
Lyric and Grizzabelle left that night, under cover of darkness. Grizzabelle came crawling back eventually, having grown far too dependent on Raven's fortune. But she returned alone. Lyric never so much as reached out to his brother, willfully forgetting who waited for him back home, striking out on his own path. And, as it always does, the world cycled on.