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Nahyuta rocked back on his heels, rubbing at one of his eyes to stave away the tiredness setting in.
“I’ll take watch,” Apollo murmured, setting a hand on his shoulder.
Nahyuta shook his head. “I can stay,” he insisted, turning back to watch Rayfa.
Apollo sighed, crouching down next to him. “She’ll be fine,” he said steadily, and Nahyuta sighed.
“Apollo,” he said, glancing at him from the corner of his eye, still facing their little sister, “the more you say that mantra of yours, the more I worry about it.”
Apollo made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a squawk, smacking Nahyuta’s shoulder. “Hey!” he complained, “I think your whole ‘let it go and move on’ mantra is more concerning, if you ask me!”
Nahyuta’s lips quirked up for the briefest of moments, before dropping again. He reached forwards, readjusting the blankets of Rayfa’s sickbed, tucking the pillow further under her head.
“I should’ve been more careful,” he muttered, watching Rayfa’s expression crease in her sleep, a sheen of cold sweat on her forehead, “she should not have gone off to train on her own.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Apollo said, settling to sit down and crossing his legs, “even if you were there, I doubt it would’ve changed much.”
Nahyuta didn’t respond to that, and Apollo sighed, scrubbing a hand through his hair.
A quiet whine left Rayfa’s lips, and Nahyuta shifted closer, moving about her blankets once more. Her eyelids fluttered for a moment, before she cracked them open, squinting in the light.
“B-braid… head…?” she got out, and he tucked the blanket under her chin.
“Yes,” he said, and she shifted to roll onto her side to face him, “don’t strain yourself.”
She found the energy to glare at him, expression still strong through her sleepy haze.
“Forgive me, Your Benevolence,” Nahyuta said, ducking his head in apology, “I was meant to prevent this situation.”
“What’s that s’posed to mean?” she mumbled.
“We should’ve cut your training session short.”
Rayfa’s attention snapped towards him at that. “No.”
Apollo tugged at Nahyuta’s sleeve.
“No? Your Benevolence, you are now–”
“I don’t want to hear it,” Rayfa moved to sit up, hair out and falling over her shoulders as she did so, “I will be able to perform my duties, there is no concern.”
Apollo tugged at Nahyuta’s sleeve again. “‘Yuta…”
“But, Your Benevolence–”
“Braid Head.”
“It is dangerous for you to–”
Apollo tugged harder. “‘Yuta.”
“Dangerous? I do not need to dictating what is and isn’t–”
“I am not dictating, I am simply advising that–”
“I am the Crown Princess–”
“And as Regent, you have no authority over–”
“Nahyuta.”
“What?” he bit out, whirling around.
Apollo dropped his sleeve as if he’d been burned, eyes bright with some unidentifiable emotion. He reached for his wrist, trying to wriggle a finger underneath the metal of his bracelet.
Nahyuta immediately felt his anger dissipate. “Is that my power?” he asked quietly, switching to English as he eyed the gold.
Apollo winced, shaking his head. “Not- not in the way you think,” he replied, turning away to look at the rest of the room, “you aren’t… its…” he broke off with a sigh, finally managing to worm a finger between the bracelet and his wrist.
Nahyuta had pieced together most of his knowledge about the strange jewelry and Apollo’s uncanny ability to spot details from their shared court cases; from the time they’d been reconnecting. He hadn’t shown the ability as kids, unlike Nahyuta with his own powers, but he’d never explained it either, simply shrugging and moving on whenever the topic came up.
But still, Nahyuta had caught onto the winces, the hesitation to look at people sometimes, the idle way he’d flex his hand or rub at his wrist.
“Rayf,” Apollo said, turning his attention to the youngest in the room, “how are you feeling?”
Rayfa pursed her lips, turning away. “... bad.” she said eventually, and Apollo nodded, finally letting his hands drop into his lap.
“Do you need anything?” he asked next, and she brought her hand up to her chin as she thought.
“What she needs is rest,” Nahyuta said, though there was no heat in his voice like before.
Rayfa’s brow furrowed at his words, but she elected to ignore him, addressing Apollo.
“Something sweet,” she decided, before pulling a face, “and an opportunity to change clothes, these ones are soaked and feel- feel gross!”
Apollo nodded, getting to his feet. “Easy done, I can go get you something to eat, and you can get changed in the meantime,” he said, before looking at Nahyuta, “come with?” he asked.
Nahyuta hesitated, unwilling to leave Rayfa alone.
Apollo’s stare hardened, and he was suddenly hit by the striking resemblance between his brother and father, even if they hadn’t been related by blood.
He slowly got to his feet, smoothing out his jacket as he did so. “Very well,” he said, “lead the way.”
As soon as they were a safe distance away from Rayfa’s quarters, Apollo spun on his heel to glare at Nahyuta. “What was that?” he accused.
“What was what?”
Apollo waved a hand back in the direction they came. “That!” he said, “‘Yuta, I can’t fully keep up with Khura’inese yet, but even I could feel that the tension in that room was–” he broke off, folding his arms. When he spoke next, his voice was level. “I get it, you’re worried – I am, too – but…”
Nahyuta turned away to cast his eyes about the gardens, watching a butterfly flit between the flowers.
“If you want her to feel better,” Apollo continued, and Nahyuta bit back his response, “you need to let her make her own decisions.”
“She will only make it hard on herself,” he said, clasping his hands behind his back. If he held them anywhere else, he wasn’t sure what they’d give away.
“You need to let Rayfa recover at her own pace.”
“Need?” the thumb of his left hand dug into the dragon on his right. “Apollo, all that will happen is she will push herself too hard too soon, and it will get worse.”
Apollo was silent for a moment.
“What’s this really about?” he asked finally, and Nahyuta stiffened.
“What?”
His brother circled around to his front again, familiar crease set between his brows. “This isn’t just about Rayfa,” he said, “not entirely.”
Nahyuta grit his teeth, turning his head away. Apollo followed. “‘Yuta.”
“We are not doing this.” Nahyuta said, forcing himself back into his old frigid tone, shoulders squared back as he started towards the kitchens.
“Nahyuta!” Apollo chased after him, footfalls heavy on the stone pathway. Nahyuta picked up the pace. “Hrrg–! I hate when you get like this! ‘Yuta, will you just stop for one second!”
He yelled the last part out in Khura’inese, and Nahyuta reeled backwards from a sharp tug on his braid, pivoting to glare at Apollo, “What was that for?” he hissed, flicking his hair over his shoulder as he stepped closer.
Apollo didn’t back down, staring right back at him. “You weren’t listening,” he said, as if it were clear.
“O, Holy Mother– Apollo, I already told you, we are not doing this. I would like to hurry this job along, so that we may return to Her Benevolence’s bedside.”
“That’s exactly why we’re doing this.” Apollo shot back, pressing a finger to his forehead, “ever since she broke out in that fever, you’ve been… off.”
Nahyuta barely blinked. “You were there for that dreaded trial,” he said, “you would know how much Rayfa’s health and safety concern me.”
“You’re deflecting again.”
“Apollo,” Nahyuta warned.
He didn’t listen, thinking pout already on his face. “You sound certain that Rayf will push herself too hard,” he gave his thought process aloud, and Nahyuta knew he wouldn’t stop until he reached his conclusion, “which means that something like this has happened before, correct?”
“And if it has?”
“Then that just means you’re worried that such a thing will happen again.”
“Are we done here?” Nahyuta asked, going to move again, before Apollo stepped in his way.
“No,” Apollo said, “we’ve only just started. Your concern for Rayfa is natural, of course. You’re her older brother, after all. You protected her in silence for years. You’re bound to have seen similar situations over that time, right?”
“Yes.”
“Sorry. Leading question.”
Nahyuta, despite currently being highly strung, managed to roll his eyes.
“Trying again,” Apollo’s gaze narrowed, and he immediately felt caught, “who else has gone through this kind of thing?”
Nahyuta brought his arms behind his back again, clenching his fist, “You were correct,” he said, “Her Benevolence has been in a similar situation before now.”
“Alright,” Apollo backed off a little, and Nahyuta exhaled, loosening his fist so his nails stopped digging into his palm.
He shouldn’t have let his guard down.
“Every time I get close to figuring it out,” Apollo said, walking a slow circle around Nahyuta. He spun on the spot to keep him in sight. “You get twitchy with your hands.”
Nahyuta frowned. “What is that supposed to imply?”
Apollo stopped, reaching for his brother’s hand. He pulled back out of range, and a smirk briefly crossed Apollo’s face, knowing he’d caught him. He lunged, catching Nahyuta’s right arm and pulling it up between them, palm up.
“A dragon never yields,” he murmured, the Khura’inese words flowing easily from his tongue. Nahyuta flinched, fingers curling inwards. Apollo looked up at him, scarlet undertone in his eyes bright in the sunlight. “Dad.”
(It was the first time since his return to Khura’in that Nahyuta had heard his brother refer to Dhurke as such.)
Apollo looked down to the dragon tattoo held between them again, slowly prying Nahyuta’s fingers back. He chewed at his lip, mulling over his next words.
“How did he lose his eye?”
Nahyuta turned his head away. “It was the day we lost Mother and Rayfa,” he said. In the garden, the butterfly rose up into the air, and he continued to watch it until he couldn’t see it anymore. “Datz had been arrested before then, so it was just me and Dad.”
Apollo let go. “I’m sorry,” he said, and Nahyuta pulled his hand to his chest, hiding the dragon from sight.
“He insisted on being back on his feet mere days later,” Nahyuta said, and Apollo’s eyes widened.
“Days?”
“He said the revolution couldn’t wait, especially now that we’d lost Mother for the second time. All it did was delay his healing.”
Apollo winced. “For how long?”
“Over a year.”
Silence fell between them.
Nahyuta inhaled, releasing it slowly, lowering his arm back to his side. “Let’s just get what we set out for.”
The Palace kitchens were busy, cooks surprised to see the Regent enter. He smiled at them politely, exchanging conversation in rapid Khura’inese that he could see Apollo not quite keeping up with. They directed him to their stores, pulling out several fresh containers of pastries. He selected some mehl'tenmoht and a box of la’ddu, bowing his head in thanks, and they were out on the grounds again, making their way back to Rayfa’s quarters.
“You want to say something,” Nahyuta said, staring straight ahead as they walked.
Apollo made a noise at being caught, running a hand through his hair, his horns springing back up again.
“It’s just–” he began, “Rayf’s caught a virus, right?”
Nahyuta hummed in response.
“And– well, Dad lost his eye, that’s… very different to a common ailment.”
“Well done on arriving at that conclusion,” he flicked his braid over his shoulder, “quite a hard one to reach.”
Apollo gave him a flat look. “I’m just saying that– they’re different. Rayfa won’t take over a year to recover. She probably won’t take more than a week.”
“You say that like I don’t know.”
“‘Yuta–” Apollo made a noise in frustration, “I get it, I do. You want her to make a full and fast recovery. And yes, she shouldn’t strain herself for that. But you stifling her is only going to make Rayfa want to rebel more.”
“If you’re implying she has made a daring escape while we were gone, may the Holy Mother have mercy on your soul,” Nahyuta droned.
“I doubt it,” Apollo said.
“What, that you will receive Her mercy?”
“No, Rayfa escaping,” he snorted, “if anything, she’ll have moved no further than the verandah.”
Her quarters were within sight now, and true to Apollo’s word, Rayfa was up on her verandah, head resting on her arms and hair floating in the breeze.
“Rayfa!” Apollo called up, and she opened her eyes to look down on them. “Come down, we have your food for you.”
She nodded, and disappeared from sight, before reappearing at her door, holding it open for them. She had indeed gotten changed while they were gone, new outfit oversized and designed for warmth and comfort more so than looks. Her eyes were clearer, more alert; but her face was still flushed with fever, even as she fought against shivers.
Rayfa stared between the two of them, hand on her hip. “Well,” she prompted, “are you going to come in?”
“You should be in bed,” Nahyuta said, and Apollo elbowed him in the side.
“I’m well enough to stand, Braid Head,” she said haughtily as her brothers stepped over the threshold, “I was getting some fresh air, is that too much?”
Apollo elbowed Nahyuta before he could even open his mouth, taking the opportunity to relieve him of the snacks and bring them to the low table off to one side of the room. He opened the lid of the box, and Rayfa wandered over.
“La’ddu?” she asked, and Apollo nodded. Visibly pleased, she dropped onto a cushion, resting her chin in her hand.
“You look like you’re feeling better,” Apollo said as he moved to her little cabinet for some dishes.
“A little,” she responded, “Braid Head, join us.”
He ducked his head. “Very well, Your Benevolence,” he said, and lowered himself to sit down on his own cushion, back straight and chin held high.
Rayfa sighed, sagging a little into herself. “You’re no fun today,” she mumbled.
“And I will remain as so until you recover.”
Apollo sighed, setting a small plate in front of each of them before sitting down himself. “Eat first, argue later.”
“How did you know we were arguing?’ Rayfa asked, plucking up a la’ddu and popping it in her mouth.
“I might not keep up but I can understand snippets,” he reached for a couple la’ddu as well, dropping them onto his plate before glancing between the other two, “and your tone gives you away.”
Nahyuta averted his gaze, staring down at his plate instead. The edge was painted in a lotus pattern, and he followed it around, just to give himself something to do that wasn’t glaring at Rayfa in silent challenge.
“Now,” Apollo said, “eat.”
The silence that hung over them as they did was heavy and unbroken, all three siblings awkwardly avoiding looking at each other; accidentally brushing hands while reaching for food. Rayfa kept being hit with full body shivers, but she would shake them off and continue like nothing had happened, purposefully avoiding Nahyuta’s gaze all the while.
“I need to start getting ready for Afternoon Prayer,” she announced, when there were only a few mouthfuls of food left. She took a bracing breath before moving to stand up, and Nahyuta was instantly alert.
“Your Benevolence, you cannot perform the Dance of Devotion in such a state.”
Rayfa’s eyes narrowed. “No?” she asked, voice gaining an edge.
Nahyuta held her gaze. “No.”
If Rayfa wasn’t already flushed with fever, she would have started to turn red as she screwed up her face. “I am fully capable of performing my duties!”
“We cannot afford for you to misstep in the Dance.”
Rayfa barked out a laugh. “I could perform the Dance in my sleep!”
“You could still stumble,” Nahyuta said, “and if that happens, the Holy Mother will turn you into a silkworm.”
That gave Rayfa pause, “a… silkworm?”
“Yes.”
“You’re being obstinate, you– you… dolt!”
Apollo reached for one of the final la’ddus, trying to ignore the tension rising once more.
“Horn Head!” Rayfa said, noticing his movement and rounding on him.
He dropped his food, startled. “Y-yes?”
“Tell Braid Head to allow me to perform the Dance of Devotion!” Rayfa swayed slightly, regaining her footing within a second.
Apollo pursed his lips, letting out a tentative hum.
“Really!” Rayfa huffed, stomping her foot.
“No- I just–” Apollo flailed for a moment, “but the– the Dance is important to your faith, isn’t it?” he picked up the la’ddu again, rolling it around between his fingers, “its a specific performance, and it’s something you want to get right.”
“Yes,” Rayfa nodded in confirmation, “it took years of training to be able to perform it correctly.”
“And Amara would perform it before she was Queen, correct?”
Nahyuta nodded. “Yes, that was her role before she was coronated, and I believe the duty fell to Aunt Ga’ran herself until Rayfa was old enough.”
“So, theoretically–”
“Absolutely not!” Rayfa cut in, fists quivering by her sides, “you are not to trouble Mother with something as trivial as this!”
Nahyuta silently pulled out his phone, and Apollo winced.
Rayfa caught his expression, and whirled around to Nahyuta. “Don’t you dare–”
“Sent.” he looked up again, flicking his hair from his face smugly.
“Braid Head!” she screeched, rage sparking in her eyes.
The phone in Nahyuta’s hand pinged, and all three of them scrambled to crowd around and read the notification.
Rayfa yelled again, smacking Nahyuta’s shoulder. He didn’t even blink, simply locking his phone as he set it face down on the table.
Apollo hissed an inhale through his teeth. “Did that say what I think it did?”
“Yes.”
Rayfa made yet another wordless noise of anger, sticking her nose in the air and refusing to look at either of them.
A nervous smile flitted over Apollo’s face. “H- how long until she gets here?”
“If she was in her own quarters?’ Nahyuta said, plucking the la’ddu from Apollo’s hand and ignoring his noise of indignance, “no more than a minute.”
“My Rayfa!”
Nahyuta tossed the entire la’ddu in his mouth, closing his eyes as he chewed.
Amara descended on the trio like a mother hen, wrapping her arms around her daughter in a graceful way only she could manage.
“Your Mercifulness,” Apollo moved backwards to allow them room, face taking on the usual wide-eyed awestruck expression he often adopted in her presence.
“Hello, Mother,” Nahyuta said once he had swallowed his food.
“Boys,” she replied, before directing her full attention to the bundle in her arms, switching to her home language, “oh, my sweet, what has happened to you?”
“Nothing, Mother,” she mumbled, trying to pull back from the embrace. Amara held on tighter, peppering her daughter’s face with kisses. “I simply have a chill, that’s all.”
“Her Benevolence is running a fever,” Nahyuta supplied. Rayfa glared at Nahyuta between the layers of her mother’s dress, green eyes alight with fury.
Amara tutted, “oh, last time this happened, you almost slipped into the Pool of Souls-!”
“M-mother!” Rayfa’s flushed cheeks somehow darkened. “That was– that was years ago!”
Nahyuta’s expression downturned in thought, before he remembered Amara had been watching over Rayfa for a long while as Nayna. Sometimes he forgot they were one in the same, and found himself missing the old nursemaid’s presence around the Palace.
Rayfa wriggled out of Amara’s grip, tossing her hair over her shoulder in a huff. “I am doing well enough, Mother,” she said, chin held high, “these two nincompoops are making it out to be worse than it is!”
Amara cast her eyes over to Nahyuta and Apollo, “are they, now?” she hummed.
“Oh no,” Apollo said, hands raised in surrender, “I’m having no part in your family matters.”
“Nonsense,” Amara said smoothly, “you are family.” Apollo closed his mouth with an audible click.
Nahyuta stuck his tongue out at Apollo, but when Amara looked back to him, his expression was schooled. “Mother,” he addressed, “until her fever breaks, would you be willing to take over her religious duties?”
“I cannot believe you’d undermine me!” Rayfa seethed, and Amara cast her a hardened look. She quietened immediately, dropping to sit on her cushion again.
“Are you sure?” Amara asked, settling into the fourth and final spot at the table, resting her hands in her lap.
Nahyuta nodded. “As Regent, it is my decision as to how this Kingdom is run for the time being. If that means relieving the Royal Priestess of duty for a day, so be it.”
Amara closed her eyes in thought, twiddling her thumbs. “Rayfa clearly does not agree with this outcome,” she said.
“I know,” Nahyuta’s tone was solemn, “however, I think it is necessary.”
“If I may,” Apollo interrupted, and the three of them turned to face him. He cleared his throat awkwardly at the attention, but forged on, “Sorry, my Khura’inese is still a little rusty.”
“That’s quite alright,” Amara prompted gently, and he gave a slight smile before continuing.
“But just… correct me if I’m wrong, but there are other religious duties that need to be attended to, right? Not just the Dance of Devotion.”
“That is correct, Apollo.”
“Right, so you could uh, I guess… if you all agree– just, divvy those up?”
Rayfa sniffed, leaning forwards to rest her arms on the table. “Divvy?”
“Allocate.” Nahyuta said, and she nodded slowly in understanding.
“It means Rayfa can still do things while ill,” Apollo pressed his finger to his forehead, “but won’t put too much of a strain on herself.”
“It does seem to be the best option…” Amara hummed.
Nahyuta nodded. “I will concede to that,” he said, turning to Rayfa, “Your Benevolence?”
She had a sulky look on her face, and slumped forward to bury her face in her arms. “Fine,” she mumbled, only half audible, “Mother can perform the Dance, and I will present our daily offerings to the Holy Mother; and recite Prayer. Nothing more, if only to keep you happy.”
Apollo turned to the other two, “is that permissible to the both of you?” they nodded, and he smacked lightly on the table to signify the end of the discussion. “Okay.”
Rayfa flinched further into her arms at the noise, and Nahyuta was on instant alert, settling on her with a scrutinising look.
“Very well,” Amara said, “I’m sure we have time for tea before this afternoon’s Song of Ceremony.”
Apollo titled his head, “Rayf was gearing up to get ready earlier,” he said, “are you sure there’s time?”
“For my children, I will make time.”
“Your Mercifulness, while I appreciate the sentiment, isn’t it very important to be on time for it?”
She smiled benignly. “I suspect she was simply trying to escape the two of you early.”
Rayaf didn’t respond to the gentle jibe, face buried into her arms, and Nahyuta’s gaze narrowed.
“Rayfa,” he began, not even realising he’d dropped the formalities. She gave a weak noise of acknowledgement. “Your fever has risen.”
She rolled her head over to face him, squinting in the light. “How could you p’sibly tell?”
Nahyuta didn’t respond, outside of flicking his braid back from his shoulder.
Amara reached across to her daughter, brushing her fringe aside to set her palm against Rayfa’s forehead. She frowned slightly, drawing back again. “Nahyuta’s right,” she said, “my Rayfa, I think you need to rest.”
“No,” Rayfa’s voice was weak, but she pushed through it, raising her head from her arms, “I need to– my duties… as Royal Priestess…”
She dropped her head onto her arms again with a soft moan.
“Apollo,” Amara said, eyes not leaving Rayfa, “some water, please.”
“R-right.” Apollo scrambled to his feet to pull out a chilled bottle of water and a cup that matched with the plates they’d used earlier, hurrying back to hand them to the Queen Mother. She poured a glass, nudging Rayfa.
“My sweet,” she said softly, trying to get Rayfa to raise her head, “please, drink some for me?”
Rayfa listed sideways as she reached for the cup, exhaustion clear on her face as she pulled her head up enough to take a sip.
It had all set in at once, it seemed, and Nahyuta clenched his jaw. They could have prevented this.
In the corner of his eye, Apollo rubbed at his wrist. Nahyuta turned his head a little more towards Rayfa to block him from sight.
“Nahyuta,” Amara said, and his attention snapped to her.
“Yes, Mother?”
“Fetch a washcloth for us, will you please? Cool, but not cold.”
Nahyuta nodded, doing as he was asked and fetching a washcloth from Rayfa’s little ensuite bathroom, dampening it under the tap in the sink before wringing it out and bringing it back. In the meantime, Apollo and Amara had helped Rayfa return to her bed.
“Her chill has gotten worse,” Apollo noted, extracting one blanket from the pile and pulling it over her, “we need to find a balance between keeping her warm and preventing overheating.”
Nahyuta crouched down by her bedside, and Rayfa squinted up at him through heavy eyelids. Amara took the washcloth from Nahyuta’s hands, setting it on her daughter’s forehead, and she immediately melted into it with almost a whimper. Amara brushed her knuckles against Rayfa’s cheek, before turning to the boys.
“I suppose she will not be performing any of her duties.” she murmured, and Nahyuta bowed his head.
“I was afraid something like this would happen,” he said solemnly, “if she’d only listened–”
“‘Yuta.” Apollo cut him off, fixing him with a hard stare. He flinched, drawing his right hand up to his chest, and Apollo’s eyes flicked down to it briefly before moving back to his face.
“I–”
“She takes after her father,” Amara said, something bittersweet seeping into her tone, “stubborn and headstrong. A dragon never yields, as he would say.”
“She’ll be fine,” Apollo added, not a shred of doubt in his voice. “We just have to take it one step at a time, right?”
Nahyuta, for the second time that day, found himself staring at his palm, the black ink of the dragon tattoo still dark even after so long.
(“If you’re ever lost, Nahyuta,” Dhurke’s voice echoed in the back of his mind, “I will be there for you. You only need to call for help.”)
Another hand covered his own, warm and steady. He looked up to meet his mother’s eyes, and she smiled in reassurance.
Dhurke was gone, now, but his family remained. They would have to be there in his stead.