Invidie

For what felt like ages, Artorias laid in the quiet of the now empty infirmary, only himself and his comatose brother occupying the space. He strained his ears to try and hear anything outside the room, but the stone walls cut out most sound from the hallways. What the hell were Briar and Bowen doing out there? Finally, after a painfully long time, Briar came back into the infirmary alone. He cocked his head and gave her a curious look, silently asking what she had been doing. Bowen had still gone off, so whatever she'd gone to do with his sister had not involved bringing her back. He was slightly disappointed and confused by the whole ordeal; what had just happened? Briar came back to sit beside him and confessed to making a mistake. Art raised a curious brow. What could Briar have done in the few minutes she'd been gone?

That question was answered to his horror when she began to explain how she'd noticed Bowen was jealous and sad—was that what he'd seen in her eyes?—and how she'd gone to try and clear the air with her. Artorias' heart sank like a stone into the pit of fear that his churning stomach had become. Amber eyes grew wide in disbelief and his mouth hung open. Briar had done what?! Artorias was far too shellshocked to say or do anything other than stare dumbfounded at Briar, occasionally glancing between her and the door, his mind spiraling out of control with frenzied thoughts and fears. Briar had fully outed him. Bowen knew about his depravity, about the sinful emotions he harbored for her. He hadn't figured out how to try and tell her yet; he had been racking his brain to find the right way to show her how much she meant to him. Well, it didn't matter now!

Artorias' mouth opened and closed like he was trying to form words with his mouth, but failing every time. He wanted to run after Bowen now more than ever. He cursed his damned frail body preventing him from fixing this disaster that his life had just collided into. He scrambled on the bed, growling in pain when his muscles protested and his stitches pulled at his raw neck. A flash of caramel and cream outside the window caught his attention, and he sat up with a start to see Bowen hurrying her way out of the castle courtyard. A desperate whine rose in his throat, trying to get her to stop, but of course she wouldn't hear him. Artorias could only watch as Bowen rushed away. That was it. He'd driven her away and he hadn't even been the one to do it to himself. Ears folding to his head, Artorias collapsed back to the bed, feeling his heart wrench and fracture. He couldn't even respond to Briar's apology, reeling from how his world had been turned upside down in the matter of minutes. Gods, what would Bowen think of him now?

"You didn't know..." he muttered after a few minutes of trying to collect his thoughts, now staring blankly up at the gray stone ceiling as he waited for his world to cave in on him. He covered his eyes with his paws and groaned. "Fuck...! This is all wrong! What do I do now?" His question was rhetorical, meant for no answer and only to vent the panic and frustration mounting inside his soul.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Corbin" | "Argent"