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They hardly ever saw each other. Only a few times a month when they’d train together or be told to duel. They were both proficient in many skills though they had their own areas of strength and weakness.
When they were together, those precious few times when they could spend their limited free time together, they never were quite sure how to act. This was their brother, but also their competitor, their rival. They competed for their mother’s love and their grandfather’s pride.
But they were also brothers. They tried to care for each other, binding each other’s wounds and keeping each other’s secrets. Damian never commented when his younger brother snuck out to watch the stars, and Danyal never commented when Damian brought a small creature inside.
Though that ended quickly when mother found a bird Damian had brought in and snapped its neck. Damian didn’t bring any creatures in again.
So, they trained, and they fought, and they tried to care for each other, but it was hard with Grandfather whispering in their ears, to be better, stronger, fiercer than their brother.
Their duels become stronger. But it is clear that one of them wants it more than the other.
Grandfather has been whispering in Damian’s ear much longer, and has told him that he is the desired heir, but that Damian has to prove his worth, has to show him that Damian is strong enough to be heir to the Demon’s head. So, he trains harder, tries to bury his feelings for his akhi . He has to be strong. Maybe when he is finally strong enough, when he has proven to Grandfather that he is worthy of being heir, then maybe Danyal will be able to rest. Maybe Damian will be able to spend more time with Danyal. Danyal is strong, but Damian can see that he does not have it in himself to do what is necessary to be Grandfather’s heir. He still struggles to kill and always hesitates in his duels with Damian.
Damian just has to make sure he is strong enough to protect them both.
But Grandfather keeps pushing. His punishments for failure become harsher, and as much as Damian loves his little brother he cannot fail. He cannot. He has to prove himself stronger because when he's strong enough, then he will be able to protect Danyal.
But it never seems to be enough. Grandfather is never satisfied, says that Damian needs to be more ruthless in his duels with his brother, that there is no room for mercy or for the weak. Damian can’t help but remember the baby bird he’d brought in, and the way that Mother had snapped its neck.
He still tries to be kind to Danyal when he can, to treat his injuries, but he can sense the distance growing.
They are cursed, Damian realizes, cursed to always be fighting each other for Grandfather’s attention
And then he is no longer permitted to see Danyal.
Three months pass full of training and harsh punishments for failure. There is no more softness, no more kindness to be found in a brother. There is only the pressure to be the perfect heir.
He gets used to finishing his duels with his enemy’s death. It is something he no longer thinks about. He wins and his enemy dies.
And then he comes down to training and his Grandfather is there. And then his eyes land on his brother.
He cannot look away. His brother looks stronger, but there are also more scars. His eyes hold a wary light.
They must duel, and Damian can tell by the look Grandfather gives him that he is expected to win. Pain fills his heart, his brother has been deemed unworthy. But Damian cannot kill him. This is his little brother, his akhi .
The duel begins, and Damian sees his brother’s hesitation. His brother is stronger now, but he still lacks the ruthlessness necessary for being heir to the Demon’s head.
If Damian can end this quickly, or maybe if Damian is sloppy enough, Grandfather will end the duel early. They will be punished, but they will both live.
It works, but it does not. Grandfather does pause the duel, anger and distaste clear on his face as he pulls Damian aside.
‘You will win this duel, and take it to its completion. Do not disappoint me, Damian. I have chosen you as my heir and my decision will not be swayed. Complete this duel’ Grandfather’s eyes flash, ‘or your brother will be given over to Darek Shiek.’
Damian freezes. Darek Sheik was who Grandfather currently had conducting experiments with the Lazarus Pits. It was a fate worse than death.
Damian understands then. There is nothing he can do. The best thing he can do for his brother is grant him a quick death.
He nods to Grandfather and steels himself. He returns to the duel with jaw clenched. He makes his eyes like steel so that he will not cry. He will not show weakness. This is the best thing he can do for his brother now. He attacks with ferocity. He ignores Danyal’s surprise and hurt.
He will not cry. He will not show weakness.
Their swords clang together, and Danyal is stumbling and there are tears streaming down his face.
Damian cannot help but hate him a little bit. If Danyal were stronger, Damian would not have to do this. But Damian would not want that. Danyal is sweet in a way that Damian never was. It is not his fault that kindness is a weakness in the League. Damian must be strong now. He cannot save his brother, but he can give him a warrior’s death at the end of a blade.
His brother’s sword falls from his hands, and Damian does not give himself time to think. This is a duel like any other.
He plunges his sword into his brother’s chest. He forces himself to stare into eyes that fill with pain and betrayal. This will be his penance for not being able to save them both, for not being able to save his akhi.
They were cursed from the very beginning. There was no way they would have ever been able to be happy together.