Persona: My Husband's Mute Brother

I was barely six years old when my father returned alone as a war hero.

He rode on horseback, the town drove into silence. That day, my father, who was the only survivor out of one hundred thousand men, returned with the head of the Vampire King and threw it at the feet of His Majesty, the Emperor.

That day changed everything.

The commoner with no impact was instantly known as the hero of the Empire. Everyone knew and sang the praises of Aaron Damanstus, children reciting lines from a street play about the great hero.

However, not everyone loved this commoner turned Hero.

As the fame of my father rose through the roof, the loyalty to the Emperor was shared, his glory outshone the Emperor and in time, he became envious.

After my father returned as a war hero, a lot of things changed. He was given an honourable title but not a noble one, a mansion, as well as borders. It was at that time that my father's greed grew.

To please the king, he kept companies that poisoned his heart, employed vicious and scheming workers, and began neglecting his family, and with time, our mother grew sick and died.

No one knew about that part of the story, all they knew after my mother's death was that 'the Damanstus we're a happy family and supported each other after their mother's death.

Stories about how Adeline, the youngest of the three, was showered with gifts and love because of her striking resemblance to their mother circulated, rather than the cold truth of how my father would abandon us to go to war, and it continued that way until my brothers were old enough to join him.

Things like this made me realize that maybe, just maybe, I was happy with the way things used to be before he became who he is today.

The more I grew the more I began to know the taste of reality and the consequences of having too much power.

Well, it was everything one could dream of, but then father made that one mistake, with just a slip of the tongue, that dreadful, careless speech.

"My daughter can dispel magic. She is like a protective barrier against magic I tell you. She can cancel and protect you from danger." That one careless statement changed my life forever.

The next day, I was brought before His Majesty the Emperor.

Although I had no idea of what was happening before me as I was unaware of my ability at that age, I was tested by the mages.

It was at that moment I realized I was indeed magic resistant and had protective magic.

It turned out that my mother was a fairy, who met my father and fell in love when they were still young and innocent.

Their joy knew no bounds after having two sons, finally, they had me. I was just nine when she died. It was also thanks to her powers that father was safe when he went to war but she died three years after he returned due to his negligence.

I didn't mind that, what I mind is that he used me as a stepping stone. How disgraceful.

Thanks to him I was promised to the third son of the Emperor, but I could promise you one thing, I was not going to sit on that throne any time soon.

Although the Emperor showed that he favoured us, everyone knew that he hated my father, only he was too blind to see that.

The Emperor was known to be a ruler with great ego, he had always hated people he found stronger than him, and my father was one of them.

The opportunity my father saw to gain favour, was a chance to put him in chains, as such I was promised to the third outcast prince.

"That man, how dare he disgrace my pride and honour, of all people he set my daughter up with a weakling. Did you see, he did not even dare allow the third prince to show his face." After we arrived at the palace, father started crashing stuff, he held my shoulders and shook them. "Adeline, listen to me, you will be Queen. I promise you, I'll team up with many people to make that happen, just you wait." I never wanted the throne, to be clear it was he who desired to be called 'Your Majesty', even my brothers knew this much.

A drunk power-hungry man. My father was never such a person until recently, greed had consumed him and if he did not end his terrible power-hungry act he would end up falling for that man's trap.

"The prince is not well at the moment, and so he cannot attend to visitors." They say that but it's already the tenth time I'm hearing the same excuse. It's been seven years since that day, and I am yet to see the face of my soon-to-be husband. I heard he was with a weak heart and doesn't see people that much so even when I requested we meet we never did.

"Don't you know who she is, she is Sir Aaron's daughter." My maid and closest friend, Diane explained. "This is already the tenth time, when do we get to see the prince." One was bound to get angry, but I was not. Seeing how nonchalant they were, even picking their noses in front of their guest, I could only assume that the prince himself was not getting better treatment. "Look here we even brought gifts."

"That's alright. Thank you for your time." I greeted the man and turned around heading for the carriage.

"What a bunch of jokes, dreaming to be a princess." The guards laughed. I've ignored them as much as I could but now I'm becoming fed up. I tolerate it because of what might happen to my family.

"Drive," I say to the coachman as I knock twice on the roof of the carriage and then after a little jiggle we start to move, but just then the weather frowned upon us as it started drizzling.

I began to wonder, are we cursed? it's not like father would believe me if I say we were anyway. Oh well, I'll leave that for destiny to decide.

Woah!!!

The carriage shook violently and I held on to the seat, wondering what went wrong.

I had just woken from my sleep after such a long ride and the reason for being awake was this occurrence. The coachman ran to my door looking panicked. "What is it?" I asked anxiously.

Drenched in the rain, the coachman pulled off his hat and squeezed it. I drew near the window and patiently waited for what he had to say, and then finally he opened his mouth.

"My Lady, it seems we ran into someone, and I think he's dead."

I opened the door and ran out of the carriage, stopping right before the scene of the night. There lies a man on the wet muddy ground and our carriage next to it. I close my eyes and look up to the heavens.

Dear God. What have we done?

The man who we ran into was dressed in pale clothes.

It seemed this man belonged to an average family, well it's a relief he's not of high status, otherwise, I'm not sure how I'd react.

That aside, where was he going in the middle of the night, that made him unable to watch out for a carriage? "Miss, what do we do?" The coachman asked.

"Do not fret, have you checked for a pulse yet'' I asked, but it seemed they were too frightened to check, and since no one was ready to do so I mustered up enough courage even though I trembled and walked towards the man.

Kneeling beside the skinny man in white shirt and brown pants, I reached for his face which was covered by his long hair. Maybe it was because of the rain, but his hair was as soft as silk. I leaned closer to check for his heartbeat and as I wished for, it still beats "Mr." I shook his shoulder. "Mr. Please wake up." I continued to shake his shoulder. "Come help me, he's alive."

After a sigh of relief, the others came rushing at me, helping me carry the man into the carriage, the mud drops from his body trailed to the carriage, and even after we reached it, I did not know where to lay him.

"Miss?" Diane's expression questioned me.

"On the seat, hurry up."

It was enough for me that he was alive and breathing and that he only passed out, one wet, dirty chair meant nothing if it could save this man's life.

We hurried back to the mansion and like always the workers came out to greet me. "Dismissed please go inside. I have something to discuss with the coachman." I say as an excuse.

If anyone saw us then I would be in big trouble. Lucky for me, my father and my brothers went out for subjugation.

Every year, in the tenth month, Mount Urenia would create a black hole, releasing magic beasts upon the land.

They would run wild and kill hundreds and thousands of people, so this year, like every other year, my father and my brothers had gone to subdue those beasts, so I was alone.

"Take him to the back." I requested. The stables to be precise were where we were headed.

"I'll call for a doctor." The coachman offered.

"I'll clean him up, you should go upstairs and rest, we'll take care of the rest." I ran upstairs and headed for my room when I bumped into Helen, the head maid. The moment our eyes met, I panicked and tried to avoid her but she stopped me by calling my name.

"Miss Adeline, your clothes are dirty, as a future princess don't you think running around in dirty clothes is unladylike, your father will be disappointed."

Helen was my father's eyes and ears. She worked according to my father's will and did his biddings because according to her, he and I quote 'saved her from monsters'.

Ever since she was employed, she's been doing her job rather strictly.

"I'll send some maids to your room to help you get changed and prepare a bath for you."

"Thank you."

I did according to her wish and had a bath, changed into my nightwear, and slept or so she thought. I waited for more than thirty minutes before I made my way outside. My older brother's room, Isaac, was my destination. I fished out some of the worn-out unused clothes that he had abandoned and quietly ran out with them.

"I'm here." Upon reaching the stables I found the doctor leaving. "What happened to him?"

"Do not worry, he just went into a state of shock and passed out. I examined him to check for wounds and there were none apart from the one on his head which he probably got from falling on the ground, and a small broken bone in his leg.

I've prescribed a few medicines. Please buy them and give them to him. Now if you excuse me, I'll be on my way." He said. The coachman joined him and the two departed.

"Diane, you go get the medicine, I'll wait for you." Diane was hesitant but hesitant to go but since I couldn't she had no choice but to go herself, and then I and the stranger were left alone. As promised she had wiped the body of the man clean. All that was left were the clothes and I battled with myself whether or not to change his clothes. In the end, I gave up and let it wait for Diane.

As time flew by, I got tired of waiting and decided to keep myself busy. He would get cold if I didn't do something about his clothes. Finally, I decided to change his shirt. Slowly I unbuttoned his shirt, my hands trembled and my cheeks flushed whenever I succeeded in taking down one button.

Finally, all the buttons came loose and I laughed for joy. I closed my eyes and took off the shirt, although I did more dragging. I succeeded at last and when the shirt came off, I celebrated and put the clean one on.

His long, black shiny hair was all over the place, I wasn't sure what to do so I began to imitate the maids when they would braid their hair, each time I held on to his hair it will gently slip off, it was so soft and smooth, even better than my hair that had received as much care as possible. "Who are you?" I questioned the sleeping man.

His hair came off his face and then, the moon as if worshipping him shone brightly on his face, a face as beautiful as a woman's, with thick red lips and a small nose, he looked stunning even better than I was that I began to feel jealous. I gently reached for his face and stroked his soft cheek, never in my life had I met such a man. "Extraordinary." I praised him when suddenly, his eyes opened.

It was a rather awkward position, as I was caught looking down on him and my hands rested on his cheek, his brilliant blue eyes shook as he trembled in, his face looked at me with disgust and fear, and with the strength he had, he pushed me away and crawled up to a corner.

He stretched out his hands and shut his eyes, burying his face in his lap petrified as he shook violently. A man who looked a bit older than me holed up in a corner, trembling at the mere touch of a stranger. There were no marks on his body to say that he had been abused, but actions speak better.

Just what have you been through?

This tender man was avoiding me a great deal, and he trembled whenever I reached out to him begging me not to come close.

"I'm sorry this was all my fault, the carriage bumped into you and you were unconscious, I couldn't possibly abandon you at such a crucial time," I tell him, but he does not respond. His guard was up against me regardless of what I said. "What name sir?"

"....Again, he did not reply, it's about time Diane returned with the medicine. I took the lamp and walked away to wait outside for Diane when I felt something tug unto the hem of my gown.

"Ugh...aaa..." It was nothing but weird noises and sounds. I turned around again and this time found that it was the young man who was desperately clinging to my clothes. "Ah..." He let it go and hid in a corner once again.

A sudden realisation came unto me and I drew near while he pressed his back against the wall like he had nowhere to run to and he was too scared to move.

"Are you....mute?" I asked and immediately he stared at me with a soulless expression, his eyes were filled with loneliness and sorrow that I felt bad calling him mute. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." I tried everything to calm him and ran around like a lunatic unable to think of a way to calm him down, at times like this I wished I had my handkerchief.

I raised my right hand in the sky and placed my left on my chest and did the one childish thing that came into my head. "Um, okay, I swear in heaven's name, I wasn't trying to upset you," I told him. I think he believed me because he stopped looking so pitiful and helpless.

His hands started fidgeting and he kept moving his eyes about, he looked cute, oh my, Adeline, what are you thinking?.

"Excuse me, I'll go make sure the drugs have arrived and come back," I told him, but once again he rushed at my dress, pleading to me with his eyes not to go like he was an abandoned dog. "I'll be back, I promise." With that, I freed myself and ran away while he made a noise which I presume to be him calling out to me.

Luckily it stopped raining. I arrived outside the gate and waited for Diane but she did not show up. "Miss, can we help you?" Seeing as she did not arrive I made my way to the guards guarding the gate to inquire myself.

"I cannot find my maid Diane, I sent her out a while ago to get medicine but she has not returned yet," I told the two men. They looked at each other confused and I could immediately smell that something was wrong.

The tall one replied first. "If it is your maid, my lady then she never left the mansion, the head maid had stopped her before she left. The head maid called her in." Oh no. If so then that must mean she got caught sneaking out. This is trouble and it's not just a light matter.

Immediately I ran into the mansion and headed straight to the maid's quarters, I could already hear the voice of a female groaning in pain, 'Diane.' I cried inside and barged into the maid's quarters. On seeing me all the maids gave way and stopped what they were doing, all except her, Helen, who stood next to Diane with a short whip. "Let go of her."

"This maid is getting punished, a proper lady does not interrupt the punishment of a maid." She told me.

"And what is her crime?"

"Thievery. She was caught leaving the mansion with a sum of money." Oh! So that's the method you intend to get to me. I stood as Diane received punishment, I was saddened as she kept yelling out in pain, I couldn't stand and watch it happen right before my very eyes just because she was my maid and had no say.

"Stop. That's enough, I'm the one who sent her out at night. I asked her to buy some medicine since I didn't want to catch a cold." I tell Helen. She's suspicious with a stiff expression, I could tell I was yet to come out from the crisis because knowing her, she wouldn't just let it go.

"Let's go to your room, Miss." It was an order rather than a request. She walked behind me and I ahead of her and we finally reached my room.

I trembled and prayed for a way out as I did not want to go to my room but in the end, my prayers were ignored and I had to go. "You shouldn't have done that, your father would not be happy to know that a future empress is lacking because she has petty emotions for commoners."

I was quiet and afraid. As I said, Helen took her job too seriously, she was hell-bent on making me an Empress material even though it was a mere dream.

"I am far from being Empress. I have a sick fiance', an emperor who despises my family, and a family with no title apart from being known as the Hero of the empire.

Why don't you and father understand that this dream might never come true? I do not even dream of becoming Empress, I like the life I lived when I was just a child better."

"Oh, but your father has plans. Do you believe he's going for subjugation for nothing, he's gathering an army, now he has enough connections to pressure his Majesty to bestow upon your family a noble name, word has already spread that his majesty would make your father a count after subjugation?" Oh no. He's getting what he wants.

"My father was never this power hungry, you've all poisoned his mind to use him as a pawn to get your benefits. My father was a good man, just you wait, a time will come when you'll regret this madness." I warn her, Helen glares at me, and then, someone knocks at my door.

A mischievous grin spread over her face as she walked up to the door. "Just in time." She says. She opens the door and one of her underlings, Sarah walks in with a wooden cane and the two of them stare at me mockingly. "On your knees."

It wasn't anything new, ever since mother died, father had been neglecting us more and more to the point where he doesn't even care what people do to us.

I have a feeling something was wrong with the way father has been acting but I don't know what to do to find out. I'm not even given the key to his study and my brothers are hardly around, who would listen to a sixteen-year-old?

Having no other option, I get on my knees and Helen starts whipping my feet.

Like fire ants digging into my feet, I could feel the scorching pain from each whip as it stung. I closed my eyes and whimpered as I held back my tears. If Diane would be free and if they needed to find the man then this was nothing to bear.