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The first day, nobody noticed. They didn’t notice how Rhun seemed to be quieter than usual, withdrawn from them. They didn’t notice how she seemed to stare into the empty space besides Klaus, the empty spot at the window. They didn’t notice how she seemed to pay no attention to them or the book in her Hands or the words spoken around them. They didn’t even notice how Rhun seemed indifferent when the nuns took her to the basement.
The second day was when Fips noticed. Fips, always so aware of everything, the youngest of the bunch. He was the first who noticed that unlike usually, Rhun’s eyes didn’t fly over the pages, she didn’t flip the pages even half as often as before and somehow, she looked even more distant. Rhun had never been the most approachable, always having that indifferent, emotionless expression in their entire apperance. But for Fips, it was clear this was different, it was like they weren’t actually present.
The third day, Klaus noticed. Klaus, always so caring for everybody. He noticed how Rhun hadn’t left their room like she did usually, didn’t go to the gardens to study the plants like on any good day. Klaus noticed that she didn't experiment, didn’t tell them to leave her alone so she could concentrate. In fact, she said nothing to them at all.
The fourth night, Zeke noticed. Ever since their powers had come, they had trouble sleeping. Falling asleep came harder and actually staying asleep was even worse. While their sand could make people fall asleep and dream, it had no effect on them. They were always the only one having to struggle, making sure their brothers could sleep well, as it was their destiny after all. So when they woke up in the middle of the night and saw Rhun awake, they knew something was wrong. Zeke didn’t think of themselves as somebody to talk about emotions with, they rather ignored their own and joked about it, instead of talking. So they didn’t know what to do when they saw Rhun sitting by the Window, Eos usual spot, her eyes looking somewhere into the distance. Zeke didn’t know what to do, so they didn’t do anything.
They had lived themselves apart, something others would find sad, but Rhun found solace in the fact. She cared for their brothers, loved them deeply but deep inside of her, hate had settled. Hate for the past and their actions. There was a deep rooted hate for herself, her actions and she felt like she deserved the isolation she put themself through. The hotel crew didn’t ask question and for the most part, left them alone. And usually that was all they needed, to be left alone in their isolation. Even now that she was weakened, with Dark running around in the world, the two split for the first time in over 100 years. And as much as Rhun and Dark fought and hated each other, it was the one day were they could put all fights and anger behind them.
It was an anniversary, the anniversary of Eos banishment. Something, their brothers always seemed to ignore after all the years, or perhaps they forgot about it, but for Rhun it was one of the worst days in the year. Unlike her brothers, she felt deep regret about what happened in the past, even though she knew they had done what they had to. Unlike the others, Rhun had been really close to Eos and his banishment had hurt Rhun in every way, losing her closest Friend, Family and confident in just a few minutes.
And that day was the reason Rhun found herself back in the long since destroyed Village they had grown up in, right where her world changed forever. It always hurt, year for year, but it made her feel closer to him, standing where they last saw each other. Being there in the Moonlight felt like Eos could see them, like he was right next to her. In reality, Rhun knew the only person close to her was Dark. The anniversary was always the one peaceful day, no ugly tricks, just quiet support. Or quiet for the most part.
“You do know this is also your fault”, Dark asked, even though it wasn’t really a question but rather reminding her of it. Rhun in return, just glared at her dark counterpart for a moment, before looking back up at the moon. “I know that”, she answered then, her voice loud against the silence of the night. Dark had been a present even back when Eos was still around, he had always been a fan of Eos as well. Rhun supposed that was a good thing, it at least ensured her less comments about Eos and the support of Dark whenever it was the anniversary. For a while the two parts of a whole stayed quiet, Rhun watching the Moon like she could watch Eos and Dark keeping an eye on her.
It wasn't particularly care that kept Dark to join Rhun once a year, to give her a peaceful day. Dark was after all just a part of her and as much as he liked to ignore the feeling, he knew deep down that he did somewhat care for the ritual and for her to be able to grieve. They were only whole together and it was important for her to be whole on that one day in the year. So Dark gave her that day before going back to fighting with her the next one. And just maybe, deep down, would Dark fight the World for Rhun to be safe.
Everything had gone wrong, Rhun had been weak already, but now she felt like immortality might have actually left her. Even Dark had gone quiet when he realised he also hadn’t been smarter than her, a small comfort. Hunting Dark, growing weaker without him only to catch him at some point, it was something they had done time and time again. But this time there had been Oskar, an unfamiliar variable in the chase and while Rhun was usually so careful about the people around her, did she not have the energy to question Oskar. Now, chained against the very stone she had released Dark from just hours earlier, they felt like they were dying. She felt the stab wound, painful and burning, it felt like they were being burned from the inside and somewhere in her more than fuzzy thoughts did she consider that it was because of the Alchemie of the circle.
“If you die here, you have helped nobody. You never helped anybody but just hurt them”, Dark’s voice echoed in her head, taunting but in some way, it was to keep her alive, keep them from giving up. And somehow it helped, for the first time in hours Rhun found the Energy to raise her head, her eyes finding the moon above. “He has plans for you.” Remembering Oskar’s words scared her, but she also believed that she deserved Eos revenge, no matter how much she missed her older brother. She had hurt him too, she was no better than the others. But right there, in the Dark, the Moon seemed closer, Eos seemed closer than ever. And as much as she was afraid of dying, she wished for nothing more than to see Eos again, one last time and repay for what they did.