The Broken Flame

Celina’s eyes fluttered open as the sun beaming through her windows landed gently on her face. She took a few moments to wake up, before sitting up in her bed and stretching her arms above her head. The queen looked out the window to see the sun just coming up over the horizon. The skies were a little cloudy, but it looked like it would be a beautiful day.

Celina smiled and put on her crown, having worn a long purple gown to bed. She then got up from her bed and put on her pink slippers. She made her way down the stairs, already hearing noises coming from the throne room. Brine and Steve must have been up already.

Celina slipped through the door on the side of the large chamber, closing it behind her. She turned her head to see Brine making something at one of the crafting tables, while Steve sat at the table. The Nether Prince seemed to sense the queen, as he turned his head to look at her. He smiled softly. “Good morning, Celina.”

“Morning, Brine. Morning, Steve,” she responded. She walked over to Brine and hugged him, then moved to the table to sit with Steve. “How are you guys doing this morning?”

Steve gave her a nod. “Really good. We said hi to some of the knights this morning and decided to go get a few things from the town square. Everyone was greeting Brine very warmly.”

Brine nodded in response. “Everyone seemed quite happy to see me. I know I’ve been here at the castle for two months total, but it still makes me content to see people greeting me once more.” He chuckled softly and clasped his hands together. “It’s all thanks to you, Celina. You and Steven have changed me for the better and have helped me find somewhere I belong in. You’ve restored my faith in humanity and my fascination for humans. You’ve done something I thought impossible for so long. And I can’t thank you enough for… saving me.”

Celina tilted her head and placed hand over her heart. “Saving… you?”

“Yes, Celina. I truly believed you saved me from vengeful isolation and self-destruction of my human side. You saved my life from darkness, and I can’t thank you enough.” He felt tears well up and when he blinked, they ran down his face. Brine pulled Celina into an embrace and set his chin on her head. “You’ve come to mean a lot to me, Celina. You and Steve both. I will always cherish you.”

Celina returned the hug and smiled softly. “And I will do the same for you, Brine. You’ve made so much progress and you’ve down how amazingly kind you can be. You’ve become a better person, and I’m glad. Thank you for working with me and letting me show your kindness, Brine. I care about you and I will always be there for you.”

Brine nodded and carefully broek the embrace with her. He looked behind him at one of the crafting tables. “I’m making some apple bread and pie for breakfast. Would you like some?”

Celina smiled, a sparkle in her eyes. “Of course!”

*****

A few hours later, the three had finished breakfast and Steve had decided to take a nap. He was a little tired from waking up so early, so the queen and the Nether Prince had bid him a good rest. Celina then declared she was going to head out to the town square and see if there were any traveling merchants who had anything new or supplies they could use.

It was after this that Brine sat by one of the support columns of the throne room, his eyes closed as he leaned back. His breaths were soft, his chest gently rising and falling. His mind was wandering a bit over the time he had been here.

In the total of two months he had been here, Brine had changed so much. He knew what he wanted now. He wanted to stay here, to stay with his friends in the Overworld. He never wanted to go back to the Nether or back to ruling the monsters of the world. He didn’t know how he was going to do this, but he knew he had to abandon his rule as the Nether Prince and Lord of the Mobs. They could go find themselves a new leader for all he cared. He knew how unorganized they were without him, so he doubted they’d do very well without him.

But, Brine didn’t care. He had a place where he truly belonged. He loved his new friends, the kingdom he now called his own, and his best friend, Celina. He would rather stay here than ever go back to what he once was. He had changed and he planned to keep it that way.

As he sat there, Brine’s mind began to jump to memories. His memories of Cebrina, his memories of the Oakdred kingdom. He found himself smiling fondly. He truly missed his family and all the memories he had made with them.

But Brine knew he’d make so many new memories here.

As Brine sat there, content as could be, he found himself frowning. A small pain was now forming in his head as he went deeper into his memories. It started out as a minor ache, nothing too bothersome. However, it grew and got to the point where he felt like he was getting a migraine. Brine hissed and sat up, one hand holding onto his temple. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Why wasn’t this going away? What was wrong with him?

Then, it happened.

An image flashed before him, an image in the Aether with Brine standing on one of the islands. And before him stood another Demi-God. One who he knew and loved and could spot from a mile away. And he knew who it was.

Brine suddenly stood and howled as he grabbed the sides of his head. He bucked his head back and began to tremble, letting out another cry as the splitting ache became worse. He kept his eyes shut and hunched over. What was happening? He couldn’t control his body as he stumbled and fell to his hands and knees. Brine screamed again as he managed to open his eyes, tears falling down his face.

He was there, the other Demi-God. He stood before Brine and held out a hand to him, as if to help him up. But Brine couldn’t take it. He felt helpless as all his strength seemed to be sapped away. He fell onto his side and curled up into a ball, crying out. His growing migraine just kept getting worse. He sobbed out and managed to take a deep breath. “CELINA!”

*****

“Thank you, good sir,” Celina spoke as she handed an emerald to the Wandering Trader.

The villager smiled at her. “Thank you for your business, Your Highness. Have a wonderful day and may Jeb bless you.”

Celina nodded and turned, walking down the gravel path leading to the knight house. She wanted to check on Irona and see how the patrol had done last night. She also wanted to hear her voice again.

The iron golem happened to be at the front of the knight house, talking with some of the humans that had been in the patrol last night. She looked slightly concerned, so Celina quickened her pace. “Irona,” she called when she was a few blocks away.

Irona looked up from her fellow knights and saw her queen walking towards her and smiled. “Hello, Your Majesty. How are you doing today?”

“I’m good. You looked a little worried when I was walking up. Is everything alright?”

Irona’s smile fell and she looked at one of the knights. “Cameron, can you tell the queen what you saw last night?”

“Of course.” They turned to their queen. “Your Majesty, there was an unusual amount of mobs outside the walls of the kingdom last night. We thought it was a little strange, but most of us didn’t think much of it. However, Lucy told us that, from her position on the guard tower on the throne room, she could see something else.”

Celina frowned and furrowed her brows, but nodded for them to continue.

“Most of the zombies and skeletons that were outside the walls were armored with chest plates and helmets, but… they all bared some sort of crest on them. We couldn’t see what it was, as when any of us tried to get close to any of the mobs… they fled.”

Celina felt a sudden sense of dread after those words. “What in the name of Jeb? That’s… strange. Was there anything else strange about those mobs?”

Lucy spoke up. “Well… the only other things I noticed is that… the Enders that were in the area… they seemed to be watching us. And we even looked a few in the eyes. They… didn’t do anything.”

Celina’s eyes went wide. Her heart began to thud in her chest. That couldn’t be good.

“CELINA!”

The queen jumped in surprise when her name was shouted and she found herself turning to look at the castle. 

That was Brine’s voice.

Celina quickly took off into a sprint, moving her legs to carry her as fast as she could. “BRINE! HOLD ON, BUDDY, I’M COMING!”

*****

The doors to the throne room slammed open and Celina quickly looked around. “Brine! Brine, where are you?! I heard yo--”

A movement caught her eye and she saw a curled up form on the carpets near her throne. She gasped when she realized it was Brine, curled up his side as he clutched his head and cried out. She ran to his side and knelt beside him. “Brine! Oh, dear Jeb, what’s wrong?! Brine, can you hear me?! Brine?!”

The Demi-God could hear a voice trying to pull him from the fog in his mind. There were voices, sounds, loud sounds that seemed to rattle his ears and shake his very core. He cried out again.

Celina carefully put a hand on Brine’s shoulder, afraid that if her touch wasn’t gentle, she might get hurt or hurt her friend. She saw him open his eyes, but it looked as if he wasn’t actually seeing anything. He stared straight ahead, but he didn’t seem to notice her.

Celina shook her head. Something was terribly wrong with Brine. She gently shook her friend’s shoulder and spoke to him. “Brine! C’mon, sweetie. I’m here! Please, answer me! What happened?!”

Brine managed to stop his cries, though his breathing was still quickened. He was still holding onto his head, but a familiar voice managed to make some of the fog clear away. He turned his head up to look to the source of the voice, being able to make out the shape of another person. He let out a few whimpers. “Ce… Celin… Celina? Is--is that you?”

Celina nodded, her brows still knitted in worry. “Yes, it’s me, Brine. Can you see me?”

Brine waited a few moments, watching as the white clouding his vision cleared until he could see his friend. “...Yes… now I can.”

Celina carefully wrapped her arms around Brine and helped him to sit back up, hearing him wince. He still had one hand on his head as he outstretched one of his legs and he looked very tired. The queen gently took his free hand and held it close. “Brine… what in the Overworld happened? Did something hurt you? Or were you remembering something?”

Brine blinked slowly, tears falling from his eyes and rolling down his cheeks. His head still hurt a lot, but at least it didn’t feel like he was being torn up from the inside. He took a few deep breaths with Celina still holding onto his hand, worry evident on her face. When the pain toned down enough for Brine to tolerate it, the Demi-God looked to his friend.

Celina could see that Brine looked terribly conflicted about something. She placed a gentle kiss to his hand. “Brine… what happened, sweetie?”

Brine took a few moments to think. He hadn’t been sure about what he saw at first, but now he knew what he had seen. “I… I remembered something.”

Celina waited for him to continue, giving him a small nod.

Brine sighed very softly. “I… Celina... I had locked away many of my memories from when I lived in the Aether, only because I was angry at them for not helping me when I needed it. This was especially true with my sister. She promised to help me when I needed it, and she never did. And… I feel only rage towards Iraura for that.” He blinked and sighed again. “But… there was always one person I couldn’t lock away forever. A Demi-God whom I loved and cared about. He’d pop up occasionally when I’d try not to remember what happened to me. And… for a long time, I thought he was still in the Aether, with all the other Demi-Deities. But now… I realize where he is and who he was.”

Celina listened with great intent and nodded as he finished speaking. “Who… was he, Brine?”

Brine’s voice lowered to just above a whisper, and his words shook Celina to her core.

“He was my twin brother.”