BROKEN PROMISES

When Caim first saw Furiae's dead body leaning against the crystal pillar, and Manah dancing, he remembered her as a child. Furiae, as a child, oft took the liking to pretending to be dead. She'd lay herself out on Caim's bed and sometime her own, close her eyes, and lower her breathing so, from a distance, it looked like she was not breathing at all, and that she was very, very dead.

She looked so dead, that the first time Caim found her, he though she had really died. He had run over to her, horror slowly written upon his handsome face, and laid beside her, gripping her close to him. Caim cried for the first time that day, and began to pet Furiae like their old Appaloosa pony, Peony and kissed her lips gently. When Furiae first her brother's quiet wails, she though he was playacting, too.

Caim never cried, not even when he fell of his war horse, Nemesis, and broken his right arm and leg in four different places. She still thought Caim was playacting when he cuddled her; they oft shared a bed during storms and nasty weather. But when she felt Caim's chapped and cut lips gently descent on her smooth lips, she knew that Caim was upset about something. Caim never even kissed Momma, not even when she was crying. So, Furiae opened her eyes and looked at Caim.

Caim's eyes widened by a considerable amount and he jerked his head away quickly, ashamed. He had shown emotion – a warrior's weakness, Caim's father had always lectured to him. Ashamed and embarrassed of his show of his emotion – to his sister no less! – he had ran out of the room, arm covering his pretty sapphire-blue eyes. Furiae had sat up, jumped from the bed, and leapt after her ashamed brother.

When she found her brother, Caim was hunched in the corner of the southwest armory – hiding behind an impressive rack of spears – and gently reprimanding himself for his weakness. Furiae had sat by him, and placed her hand over his, her small, thin thumb drawing tingling circles on the back of his hands. Once Caim had calmed down, he demanded why she had pretended to be dead? He had also grudgingly admitted that he was scared, sad when he saw Furiae on the bed.

Furiae had then replied, in a soft, humiliated, and unwilling voice that she was the Goddess: if she pretended she was dead, that would make death seemed less scary, so that she was ready and unafraid when the Reaper to steal away her Seal-locked soul. She would just pretend that her older, loving brother, Caim, or Inuart, were beside her, playacting that he thought she was dead. She thought by pretending, it'd feel real.

Caim told her that he didn't like it. But Furiae still pretended. So Caim forced Inuart, and himself, to watch Furiae playact death, catching on the human body mannerism to show that it was still living: the involuntary twitch of a finger, a movement of the lips, and the inhaling/exhaling movements of the nostrils, and the hitch of the chest. So, then Caim and Inuart could play, and still know that beloved Furiae was alive.

It was the shock that made Caim fall the ground. He looked hardly at his sister, waiting for the nostrils to shudder, the chest to hitch, waiting for the thumb to twitch like a squirrel with a broken leg. He watched her with the intensity of a child looking at a dead animal – waiting for the tell-tale sigh the animal lived. But when he didn't see his beloved sister move, he fell to the ground, and his sword shattered like his heart beside him. For the second time – he cried for Furiae.

It wasn't because the only woman he ever loved had died – he knew that day was near the minute the Black Empire dragon attacked, Furiae's life was shorting by seconds. When he first saw her corpse, he looked to her face – looking for the smile that would make everything okay. It wasn't there. The smile that would let Caim know Furiae thought of him, it wasn't there. The smile that Furiae's promise that she'd think of Caim or Inuart were there with her – IT WASN'T THERE.

Caim felt his eyes tear over, and let his tears fall. He wouldn't stop them this time. As he looked to his sister, looking at her beautiful face looked into the open ocean-blue eyes of the woman he loved…he saw pain and anguish and shame and sadness. He bowed his head to the ground and watched his tears fall; Caim knew why Furiae was dead. It was because of him. It was his fault. Caim loved Furiae and Furiae loved him in turn, and she wasn't supposed to.

Red-rimmed eyes, with blue irises, and black pupils traveled down from the smile-less face contorted in pain, and shame…down to the dark-red velvet-colored neck…and stopped to stare at the on horrific thin that marred the ex-Goddess' frail, beautiful, flawless body. It was the dagger that was protruding below Furiae's right breast, covered to the cross-diamond-style hilt. Caim saw blood on the floor, on the black leather hilt…on her beautifully pale face.

Caim then remembered something else….the dagger was their mother's before she died. Furiae had always liked the silver and iron dagger with the swirling, circular hilt and the soft, black, cured doe-leather handle. When the Back Empire dragon attacked, and killed the king and queen, Caim and Furiae thought that the dagger had been ingested into the dragon's stomach.

When Caim found his mother's dagger, it was nearly three weeks post dragon attack. It was still sheathed, still untouched, and still untainted. He had grabbed it, and, unembarrassed, shoved in his pants. He had wanted to surprise Furiae with the dagger; she was still aggrieved of their parents' sudden and cruel death and had locked herself in her room and hadn't come out since.

When Caim had informed Inuart of the dagger's recovery, Inuart came up with the idea of a christening ceremony for the dagger and Furiae. Caim had conned and forced Inuart to play Moonlight Sonata on his harp – it was Furiae's favorite tune at the time, then sing Furiae's favorite songs: The Lady of Shallot, and Prayer of the Goddess. Caim would have then began a large, flowery speech about how only Furiae was worthy of the dagger.

It was a rather stupid fanfare, Caim had decided. But it had made Furiae laugh – especially Caim's long, extravagant speech about how the Great Queen-Goddess Furiae was the only one beautiful enough, strong enough, smart enough, and worthy enough to wield the now dubbed "Goddess' Dagger". Furiae had laughed and hugged Caim so tightly, he believed everything as it once was. He felt her tears of gratefulness graze skin.

Caim, you must be strong! Red Dragon's voice was hot and dire in his ear. Wiping his tears from his beautiful sapphire eyes, Caim took his sword. His eyes remained on his sister's body as he stood up. It was his fault Furiae was dead…he had loved her, and it was Inuart's fault, too, he kidnapped her from Caim, took her here, lead her to her death. But Red Dragon was right…he had to stay strong, and destroy the Seeds of Resurrection, Manah, and Inuart.

Caim glanced down at the crystal pillar from his spot on the balcony, and glared hatefully at the bed with the stabbed dolls. Inuart would not get away with this. Turning away from his sister's would-be-sarcophagus, Caim ran down the hallway, ran through the Castle in the Sky, and to Red Dragon's back. Mounting up he soundlessly screamed into the sky.

This revenge, this massacre started because of the Empire. And Caim now realized this battle was revenge against the Empire…and Inuart. And it was revenge for himself, Red Dragon….and Furiae. And as Red Dragon drove up to the sky, the noon-high sun…Caim smiled. He smiled because he promised himself….Furiae…if he should ever die…he'd pretend that Furiae was with him.