~+ My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute! {P} +~

Starting my guard duties for the day certainly wasn't something I was interested in. No, not in the least. Though, I didn't quite have the luxury to object the job. All it ever was was standing in front of a stupid gate, anyway. It wasn't much work, I convinced myself with a sigh as I heaved myself out of the bed. Six thirty, I noted, without having to so much as glance in the pesky alarm clock's direction. Every weekday, without fail, it beeped at the same time. Annoying thing, it was. With reluctance more than any human has possibly ever possessed, I heaved myself into a sitting position and laid my hand flat on the button of the clock. The sound of silence, for once in my lifetime, was pleasing to my ears. It wasn't until the covers came off that the bitter cold of the room pierced my skin. A pair of boxers wasn't quite enough to keep a man warm, I suppose...

With a sigh, I stood up and gently patted my hair into place. It still looked messy--it always did, no matter what I did to it--though it wasn't a cause of concern at the moment. I pulled my regular outfit out of my closet with ease and wasted no more than several moments slipping it on. Yes, I was tired, but the routine was such a habit that, even through my sleep induced haze, I went through the motions perfectly. Clothes, brushed teeth and... well... I couldn't quite find my hair brush. It was just like me to be missing something or other. Just thank god that it wasn't underwear or something, I thought before exiting the room. Like usual, I didn't even bother to fix my bed. It was just a waste of time. I mean... it was just going to get laid in later regardless.

I walked down the hall with my usual slack to the door next to mine, and walked in without even bothering to go through the trouble of knocking. "Eeria, let me borrow your hairbrush again," I called into the room, shutting the door behind me and leaning back on it.

Beep, beep, that mother fuckin' beeping. Every morning, except on days we didn't have work. It was the usual thing, but I still hated it. A lot. It was annoying, and I was sure I could go without it, but Lucifer made me use it, because apparently waking up at noon wasn't early enough for him. Hmph. I whacked the alarm clock, turning it off, and threw the covers off of my body, and slipped out of my pajamas. My hair was a mess at the time, I knew, and it bothered me. A lot. But I had to get dressed, first.. I took the clothes that were already laid out on the table, slipping them on in...well, a couple of minutes. Mine was a bit more fancy than my brother's. I brushed my teeth, and then picked up my brush, but then my brother walked in, complaining that he had lost his brush. That was just like him, really.

"You can borrow it after I use it! You should keep better track of your stuff, Ezzie..." I said, running the brush through my long, blonde hair. It was quite the pain to take care of, if you asked me. My hair was long and thick. When I finished brushing it, I tied a pink ribbon that matched my outfit into it, and threw the brush at my brother, Ezrhael. "Look for your brush before going to sleep tonight, okay?" I smiled though, it wasn't a harsh command. After all, I had somewhat of a soft spot for my brother. He was my family, of course. The only family I cared about.

"Ah, ah, ah there, Eeria~" I wagged my finger at her playfully. "I do know where you are, so I can't be that badly off." I was shameless; it never got boring to tease girls and my sister was surely no exception. Jokes aside however, I got off the door and walked over to her bed, where I laid down, in the mean time. "Eeriaaaa..." I groaned, looking in her direction. "Can't I just go back to sleep? That would be nice..." As if to make my point clear, I curled up, blankets scrunched in my hands, and closed my eyes. Even if it was only for a couple minutes, I was more than pleased with the extra rest. I was always tired, it seemed. Though... it of course wasn't to the point where I didn't make good fun out of my weekends. Quite the contrary actually, I thought contentedly. I think I had a date with some girl this weekend, but for the life of me... well, I couldn't remember her name.

What had snapped me out of my peaceful rest however, was the brush landing--thankfully--next to me on the bed. I wasn't quite in that 'hit me with all your brushes' mood today. "Yeah yeah, I hear you." The same grin that was spread across her face was equally spread across mine at the words. With the same reluctance I had had the entire day, to this point, I groggily pulled myself off of her bed and grabbed the small object in my hand. Hair care wasn't something I was particularly concerned about, though I'm sure everyone would object if I went to 'work' with my usual bedhead. I quickly ran the brush through my hair--barely enough to do anything to it--before tossing it back to her.

"Well, you ready?" I asked her with a sigh. "Just meet me at the stupid gate. I've got to grab my sword still..." More walking. Great, I thought, walking to the door and turning the knob just the slightest bit.

I sighed, but a giggle was mixed in with it as well. "I'm not your property, even if I am the younger one, Ezzie~" I said, and rolled my eyes as he laid down. "No, you can't go back to sleep." Really, he just wasn't responsible at all, was he? He broke the hearts of many girls and frankly, he really didn't care. I couldn't help but feel pity for anyone who fell into his trap. I watched as he lazily brushed his hair. It didn't do much. I caught the brush, but just threw it back onto my bed, and sighed. I watched him out the door, and nodded with a quick 'okay', and grabbed my spear, which was leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the room. Hey, you never knew when you'd need to fight. Or torture someone. Or play a quick prank. So I always kept my trusty spear near me, where I could easily go grab it. I figured that I'd be at the gate before Ezrhael made it, at this rate. But...something was missing.

Right, shoes. I slipped them on, and walked out the doorway, nodding my head at...someone I didn't really care enough to know their name, I knew, as a greeting. My steps were swift, I knew Lucifer, if he found out, would be angry if I was even a second late. A King's castle needed tight security, he said, and if it was unprotected for even a second, everyone's lives would be in danger. Meh. It wasn't long before I was halfway to the gate, where I sighed, and looked behind me, to check if Ezrhael might be close behind me. Although, I knew he would probably approach me, if he was.

Honestly, I just wanted to get this day over with. Tomorrow was Saturday, after all! I could get up at a reasonable hour--say, maybe noon?--and actually enjoy myself. Not in any sort of rush, I grabbed my trusty sword from my room's closet and hoisted the sheath onto my belt. Today was going to be a long one, wasn't it? I wasn't in any sort of hurry as I paced back out of my room, not even bothering to close the door behind me. I'm pretty sure my things were safe here and anyway, it wasn't like it was the first time that people had seen my room.

It wasn't like the walk through the castle was a short one, and at the speed I was going... Well, hell, it took a little bit. I really didn't care if I got scolded by Lucy again. Could he really blame a kid for being tired? ...He easily could, but that wasn't quite the point. Regardless, I made it there eventually--probably a couple minutes late, considering the other guards had already left--and sat down on the ground next to her. "Can I go to sleep now? It's not like there's even anything to do." I sighed, letting my head fall against the brick wall behind me. "The most that ever happens is some stupid aristocrat or employee wanting to get through." It was stupid. It was bothersome. Sure, we were good at fighting, but did that really mean that we had to be guards? Our talents would be put to much better use on field, participating in the war. The only bonus of staying here really was the guarantee of a nice bed to sleep in.

After arriving at the gate, Ezrhael arrived shortly afterwards. Of course, he was complaining as always. "I'm okay with you sitting down, Ezzie, but you can't sleep. I know it's kind of pointless, but.. It's our job, and don't forget we could have been executed for what we did instead of this..." It was true, we had murdered. And the punishment for that was death. But Lucifer, or Lucy, as I liked to call him behind his back, took us in, luckily. I knew Ezzie would always complain, but it made me feel better to tell him the truth every once in a while, since it was something he seemed to ignore. The silence was..unnerving, though. "I'm guessing you've got a date with a girl you don't even remember this weekend?" I sighed. Of course he would. He didn't care about them, he just found it fun. And honestly, it bothered me.

That was it. The usual reminder of our possible death. That's the only way she could ever retort when I complained about the job's stupidity. "I know, I know! You've told me a thousand time already! I'm just saying, why couldn't the guy send us off to war or something? I guarantee that we're better than three quarters of those stupid soldiers!" I growled, though I'm not exactly sure if it was directed towards her or Lucy. My demeanor, however, softened following that, and I started down at my feet. "I don't regret what we did. You think it was okay, right? Killing her? Heh, she probably would've killed us one day if we hadn't, y'know?" Without a single doubt it my mind, I could say that, with all my being, I hated the woman. Maybe she had given birth to us, but she had no right to have the title of mother. Just thinking about some of the things she had done to us gave me the chills. "Survival of the fittest~" I hummed quietly, an almost sad ring to my voice.

Still... killing your own flesh and blood would be questionable to anyone, no matter the circumstances. I wonder where we would be right now if father hadn't died?

I smiled softly, looking down at the ground. "I know how many times I've told you, they're my own words, after all. I think I prefer this over the war.. Besides, it means we're more special than those guys out there! They're okay to kill off, but we're special, so we have the right to stay alive!" I said, attempting to cheer him up about the matter. His next statement sort of surprised me, considering the fact that we hadn't really...talked about her in a while. Sure we talked about what we did, but not in specifics. "I don't regret it either. Of course it was okay, too! Child abuse was a crime punishable by death if it got bad enough and it did! She was some type of satan bitch, too!" I said, almost yelling, the anger building up in my voice. She was always harder on Ezzie when it came to the physical violence... But for me, she sold me off to vampire men, for my blood. Hybrid blood was sweeter to vampires, especially if the hybrid was female. And young like I was. We were both used like items, and...part of me wanted to think that Ezzie used girls like that because of what happened. Hell, I hoped that was the case.

"With our fighting skill though, I mean... Well, I could easily see us being captains or something, y'know? I might be dreaming big or thinking just a bit too much of us, but I think it would've been possible! So... so it wouldn't be okay to kill us off in that case, right?" I sighed. This was better than death, sure, but there was no way that I was going to let myself just die out there on the field like all of their damned cannon fodder. Half of them barely knew right from left! No wonder they got killed off so easily! Just some stupid guys wanting to be called 'heroes.' However, to her next set of comments, I simply nodded. I'm sure she had even more of a right to complain than I did. Physical violence was one thing, but for what she went through... Having old perverts' hands on her, drinking her blood... It made me sick just thinking about it.

In response, I tugged lightly on the hem of her dress, staring up at her. "Sit, okay? It's alright," I sighed. Anything I could do to comfort her... Fate was cruel.

"Captains...hm... I'd still rather do this, though. I mean...at least we get weekends here, and we're able to have fun sometimes. That sounds like a really serious job, y'know?" I said, sighing right after he did. Being a captain, in my opinion, would be only a little bit better than being normal soldiers. We'd still have to take commands, and it'd just be more stress. Plus...we wouldn't get to see each other like we did now. And one of us might die and the other might live. Wouldn't that just be terrible? After all, we've been together through everything. We had a bond like no other, right? I could almost guess what he was thinking at most times, too. We were just like that. We were twins, after all. When he tugged on my dress, I smiled softly, and nodded, sitting down next to him. I found my hand holding his, if only lightly, but shaking with uncertainty of the future. I couldn't say that it wouldn't happen again, that I wouldn't have to feel the pain and embarrassment of being touched by someone I didn't know.. No, it didn't even matter if I knew them. It was just...against my will.

Her hand... was shaking? I guess it was really that bad the, huh...? I'd never forgive them. "Sorry for bringing it up." The guilt was eating away at me. At least I had gotten by with only being beat. With a short sigh, I laid my head against he wall once more and simply let my hand rest in her's. I suppose you could say we were closer than most siblings, but who wouldn't be after all we went through? We were the only family we had after all, and other than Lucy, the only people that actually stayed around. I squeezed her hand just slightly, glancing in her direction out of the corner of my eye. My gaze, however, eventually drifted upwards, towards the sky. "Look, look Eeria! It's a dog!" I exclaimed, pointing to one of the fluffier clouds with my free hand. Anything to lighten the mood, right? It was always distressing to see her like this.

I looked down at my feet with a sad smile before looking back at Ezrhael with confidence in my words. "No, it's not your fault. The fear will always be here, whether it shows or not.." I said, sighing. When he put his head back, I did the same, and yawned. The weather was nice, although, maybe a bit cold, by my standards. It wasn't too long before Ezrhael pointed up to the sky, telling me that a cloud looked like a dog. It was really childish, but I knew... He was trying to cheer me up. Since we were sitting together, I couldn't really hug him, so I pressed the right side of my body against his left, and put my head on his shoulder for a moment. "Thanks, Ezzie. You're really always here for me, aren't you?" I said, laughing with a hint of sadness. It was true. Despite his complaints and immaturity, he was always there to cheer me up and keep me going.

I could say, full-heartedly, that I wasn't expecting the reaction she gave to my words. Although I couldn't quite say that I objected to it. She was hurt. Isn't it only natural to seek comfort in times like that? Especially from someone close... It was nice. I kept a firm grip on her hand as I nuzzled her hair lightly. "Of course I am. Because you're my darling little sister. I'll always be here for you, you know?" I whispered, and took a deep breath and laid my head on her's. It was nice being with a person like this. Peaceful, I suppose. After a minute or two I found my eyes gradually closing, though I stopped it before I actually did fall asleep. As if to make up for it, I growled, "Don't you go falling asleep, ya hear?" In the end though, I couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "Now now, what would people start thinking if they saw you asleep on your darling brother's shoulder?" I teased, another laugh escaping my lips.

I smiled and tightened my grip on his hand as well. It was comforting, being there with him like that. He knew what I had been through, and he had been through similar. He had been there with me, the whole time. A small shiver ran through me when he nuzzled my hair, although only momentarily. "Mhm.. Thanks a lot, Ezzie... I know it's hard on you too, isn't it? Even if you act like it isn't..." I said, my eyes wandering the sky. I didn't even close my eyes except blinking, but I could feel his head get heavier on top of mine when he almost fell asleep, and couldn't help but giggle a little bit. "I won't fall asleep, oh dear brother, but I think you might," I teased back. Sometimes it was nice to tease people, too, although, Ezzie did it a lot more often than I did it seemed. His laugh was warm, although similar to mine. This was his...real laugh, I guessed. When he flirted with the girls, it seemed to be different.

"Of course it is," I replied bluntly. I wasn't going to lie. Even if I did, she would be able to see straight through it. Doing so was pointless. "But it's nothing compared to what you went through. I mean... as least I don't have to worry about someone beating me anymore. But for someone like you... what you went through... it stays with you." It was still hard to believe that someone could just sell off their own daughter like that woman did. She wasn't our mother. She never will be considered that, and now, well... it's not like she had any chance of redeeming herself now. And, yet again, I couldn't stifle my laugh at her words. "Are you really trying to tease me back now? Hey, you can't beat a man at his own game, ya know." Heh, no, she would never be able to beat me anything~ Well... perhaps in playing pranks, but that was a different story...

I was glad he didn't deny going through pain as well, since I would have to call him out on it, and it would be a whole new conversation, starting from there, I doubted we'd get in a fight, but we WERE siblings, after all, so it could happen. Easily, too, considering, we were twins. We knew everything about each other, almost, and all of the weaknesses of each other. "Yeah... I guess it does kind of stick with me... But I'll get over it, eventually especially if I have you by my side to comfort me like this." I said, smiling at him. I laughed at his next comment and took a breath. "I guess I kind of was, but I know I can't beat you at that. I've never really cared for teasing, you know. You're lucky girls fall so easily for it!" I said, but a hint of sadness was in my voice. After all, it was really lonely when we weren't together, and on the weekends he would always go out on dates and not even remember the girl's name. I couldn't help but forgive him though, he just had that charm. Even Lucy can forgive him for these things, oddly.

"Hehe, right? Though I guess it's more of a curse sometimes... I mean... I can't be with a girl like," I held our hands out in front of us, still intertwined, before I spoke again, "this. I'm so used to flirting with 'em that I don't even give it a second thought when I actually do meet a cute girl. And that doesn't exactly say, 'Hey! I'm looking for a serious relationship!' ya know?" I let both of our hands fall back down, but onto my lap this time. Was it really so wrong that I was starting to lose hope of ever being in a normal relationship? If anything, I suppose that was the real reason that I never even bothered to learn their names. If you put a name to something, you get attached to it. Why get attached to something you'll only see for a few hours?

"Hmm.... I never really though of it that way. You always seemed so proud of it, too." I said, listening intently. Did he actually want an actual relationship? I mean...he could get one if he wanted one. He just kind of threw away the girls... Or maybe they threw him away. I didn't really know, but either way, part of him seemed upset about it. I mean, we really didn't have much time for romance, anyways.. A serious relationship with our job would be hard to keep, unless the person lived in the castle as well, which was unlikely, considering most were...adult men. And I wasn't interested in those pedophiles, and I doubted Ezzie was interested in them either.

"I... I mean, sure, most of the time they're just stupid flings, but every once in a while, there's some girl that actually does catch my attention." And that was the honest truth. Girl hopping wasn't anything new to me; in fact, it was more of a way of life for me than anything. I learned to just take it for face value and live in the moment. ...Most of which were only intended to be for the moment anyway. In fact, it seemed like I had been getting pickier and pickier with my 'ideal women.' Almost no girl really caught my attention anymore.

"I guess its partially my fault too. I get lazy and well... I think I kind of forgot how to even put a half decent amount of effort into a relationship. Just say a couple sweet nothings and theyre swept off their feet." It got to be a tad annoying sometimes. I sighed and shifted slightly, so that she was more cradled against my chest than anything. Things like this would be the only real affection I would get for a while, wouldn't it?

"Hmmm... I see. I guess I just don't really feel comfortable around many guys yet. I've never really found one that..caught my attention at all." I said, trying to figure out how he felt. I knew it was perhaps, a type of loneliness, but I wasn't exactly sure... After all, I wasn't in his position. Even though we were twins, I'd probably never experience something like he did, with these women. Of course, I was a straight female, obviously, I probably wouldn't end up with women. But it's the same concept, even with guys, right?

His next statement sort of surprised me. I knew he didn't put any effort in, but the way he said it... "I guess women are... a bit too easy to control with words, huh? Even I fall for your teasing, despite knowing you don't mean it... It must be hard." I said, and when I was pulled to his chest, I cuddled a bit closer to him, for my comfort, and perhaps, and hopefully, his as well.

"You'll find someone someday, I'm sure," I reassured her with a faint smile. My words were what I honestly thought though. Despite her typical pranks, despite her almost constant informality, I'm sure that there would be someone who would like her for who she was. I'm sure there was probably a couple old coots in the castle like that now, but there was no way I was going to let any of them so much as lay a finger on her. Even if, by some chance, she liked one of them. It just wasn't happening. At her next comment, I laughed a bit. "Heh, so even my little sister falls for it~ Ah, am I really that charming, now?" I nuzzled her hair again. "You better not go falling for me now, ya hear?" I teased, though my attempts to hide the obvious grin on my face ended in vain.

"Hmm... I guess. Not that I really want someone, you know." I said, smiling back up at him. I knew everyone could eventually find someone they love, I thought that that type of thing was fate. I believed in things like fate. Everything happened for a reason, right? Because they would lead up to another event in life where you would learn from past mistakes. Even Ezzie would eventually find someone, I knew. But it was sad... When that happens, we'll probably get distant from each other, because we'd be so busy with our relationships.. Maybe that was why, at least I never looked for anyone to fall in love with. "Mmm, perhaps you are that charming~" I said, avoiding answering the question. "I don't think that's possible, hmm? We're siblings, and who knows how angry Lucy would be~" I smiled back at him, with a small giggle. He was just teasing, as well. He always did things like this, even to me. I kind of took it as if I was practice, or who he went to during work. By now, I was just kind of used to it, and took it as a sibling thing, although it kind of wasn't. A gust of wind blew by, causing me to cuddle up to him a bit closer for warmth, naturally.

Heh, weird, I thought. It seemed like most girls were hopeless romantics, looking to be swept off of their feet my someone 24/7. I suppose there was the exception here and there though, and if she was telling the honest truth, I guess my little sister was one of them. Still, I did want her to be happy. Even that would come in time though, I assume. I couldn't see, no matter how hard I tried, her being some lonely old lady knitting a sweater with ten cats surrounding her. The thought was amusing though. "Avoiding the answer, huuuuh~?" I hummed, nudging her lightly. I would get the answer out of the girl one way or another! "Tell me~" Although what she said next kind of struck me. Lucy would... It would be kind of scary if things ever came to that. Just... forget the fact that we were siblings, there was Lucy. Just the thought made me shudder. We all knew what happened to the last guards... It caught me off guard when Eeria cuddled closer, but I eventually relaxed again. I suppose my outfit kept me just a tad bit warmer than her's...

"Maybe I am avoiding the answer, maybe I'm not~" I said, showing no response to his nudging or attempts to get me to tell him. Of course, he is really that charming, even if you are his younger sister. I could tell he was thinking about what happened to the last guards who fell in love. That's why it wasn't possible, mainly. Other than the fact we were siblings. But he soon relaxed... Really, he was a good older brother, like this. It was really warm, there with him. Not just his clothing, his body heat, and just being there with him warmed up my body. My clothing was thinner, and although I didn't have much skin showing, the wind blew right through it, to my skin. "Hey... Will you have time for me, this weekend?" I asked, innocently, but with loneliness in my voice. There were some weekends he was with girls the whole time, and then there were weekends when I saw him for a little bit, but not much. I mean... we did get a lot of time together, but it was mainly work. And usually, at most I only got a couple of hours with him on weekends.

It was pretty obvious that I wasn't going to get anywhere close to a solid answer from her. Why was she avoiding the question so much? I sighed; in the end, I would never understand girls. Hell, did girls even understand girls? How did anyone understand them? The only thing I knew how to do was to entertain girls, and that was only a momentary thing at that. Although... her question surprised me. Have time for her...? "I... uh..." I stumbled, looking down at the ground guiltily. Tomorrow was definitely and no-go, but hell if I remembered if I had anything to do on Sunday. Was I really supposed to remember what I had planned? I just winged it most days anyway. Not like there was any shortage of girls wanting a date or something... "I think I might have Sunday free," I lied. I had no idea. "But um... yeah. We could hang out then. If... if you wanted." I was still feeling guilty. There was no way around that. Hell, I barely even knew what the girl did on the weekends. I was rarely at the castle then.