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 Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 2:58 pm
It is a fine spring day in Oawo, the capitol of Chialen. Emperor Sheng has called his sons, Dáwei and Jùnrén, in for a private meeting in his throne room. It is there that he will tell them who will be his successor, the next in line for the throne. If standing out overlooking the balcony, one can see thousands of people eagerly awaiting to hear the Emperor's decision. It also happens to be the sixteenth birthday of the beloved twins.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:26 pm
"So I have called you both here to let you know I have made my decision."
In the throne room of the imperial palace at Oawo stood Emperor Sheng. He was an intimidating man in appearance with stern eyes and a serious expression on his face. The people of Chialen both knew to fear and respect him; very few got on his bad side, so he was well admired. Today he had called both of his sons, Dáwei and Jùnrén, in for the most important meeting of their lives. Today was the day he announced to them his successor, something he was sure they were both eager to hear. So now they stood before him, anxiously awaiting what he had to say.
"I have decided that...Jùnrén will take my place as Emperor when the time comes."
Immediately, the younger of the two twins could feel his stomach drop. Had he heard his father right? Did he actually say that he would be the one to take his place and not Dáwei? That couldn't be right! It couldn't be right at all. Everyone knew how much his brother wanted the throne. He could remember his older brother dreaming of the day he would tell him it was his. Now here they stood, and everything was turned upside down. This had to be a mistake.
"Father," Jùnrén started to say, "there must be some mi--"
But his sentence was cut short by the raising of his father's hand. If it was one thing the boys learned, it was to never talk back or to question their father's authority. The Emperor's word was final, and that was that. Even if they wanted to argue against it, there was no way they were going to be able to. Dáwei, however, would find a way. If there was anyone who would speak out against their dad, it would be him.
"There is no mistake," the Emperor told them both, "my decision is final."
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 4:05 pm
Dáwei stood rigid next to his brother, arms behind his back, shoulders front and had on a calm and serious face. Not nearly as serious as his father's, however. As confident as Dáwei was, he couldn't help but be intimidated by the Emperor. He was after all about to decide his heir. Dáwei's confidence and lack of nervousness came from the fact that he expected to be chose. Everyone expected him to be chosen, from the lowest peasant to his own twin brother. He was not prepared for the shock when his father spoke.
Jùnrén was to be the Emperor.
First a cold shock flew through his blood. Jùnrén. Emperor. They didn't belong in the same sentence together! His brother was not fit for the job! Jùnrén and his laid back style, his shyness, his...His...It was outrageous! Dáwei did his best to hold his tongue, his rage slowly creeping to his emotionless face and fists clenching behind his back.
He said it at the same time as his brother, right down to when their father cut them off, "Father, there must be some mi--". Dáwei nearly laughed with disbelief as he said it, but bit his tongue when his father raised a hand. Emperor Jùnrén. Ha. There must have been something he overlooked, a reason for this nonsense. A miscalculation. Either way, it was extremely vexing. Dáwei noticed the burning in his face and his heartbeat quicken with anger. He tried to calm himself, he would not have a fit in front of his father. The elder twin would just have to take it up with Jùnrén.
Yet their father had said the decision was final. 'How...Why?'
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 4:37 pm
Sheng wasn't oblivious. He could see how his decision had affected both his sons. The look on their faces explained it all. Dáwei was enraged, as the emperor knew he would be. As the eldest, the throne should rightfully be his, so anyone in his position would feel the same. Jùnrén, on the other hand, was absolutely panic-stricken. Being the younger of the two twins, the boy had completely different aspirations. The Emperor knew how he hoped to live a quiet life in the mountains one day, but that was out of the question now.
"Look," Sheng said gently, "I know you are both shocked by my choice. I am fully aware of what the people of this country and you two expected. You all thought that Dáwei, as the eldest, would be the one I chose. Your mother and I agree, though, that you, Jùnrén," and he turned to his younger son when he said this, "would be more suited for the position." Before either of them could start to object, the Emperor continued on. "Dáwei, everyone is aware that your knowledge of politics and warfare is second to none, but as far as your personality goes, you are just not suited to be Emperor. Your temper would be your downfall, and you make rash decisions. That is why I have chosen your brother."
Now that he had told him the news, the Emperor walked toward them and once he was close by, gave them both a curt pat on the shoulder. This was his way of consoling them, whereas their mother would sweep the two of them into her arms in a big hug. After patting them, he walked past the boys and motioned for them to follow him on to the balcony. "Come, the people await."
Jùnrén's head was spinning. This was all too much! Everything was happening so fast that he couldn't take it all in. Him? The Emperor? And Dáwei, too rash to take the throne? What was going on? This was ridiculous! Yet despite still being in a state of shock, the younger twin followed along behind his father obediently. What he saw out on the balcony shocked him: there were thousands of people, all of which were waiting to hear the announcement. Immediately, his stomach lurched and all of the color drained from his face while a thought kept playing over and over in the back of his head. He had to get out of there!
'Relax,' said a soothing, gentle voice in his head, 'and don't be frightened. Your father knows what is best for you, and besides - I'm here.'
Hearing the voice was enough for him. That was it! He was leaving. Without even giving the townspeople so much as a downward glance, Jùnrén spun around and went straight back inside. "Ican'tstayoutthere," he rambled off, clearly shaken and flustered. "I'mgoingbacktomyroom!"
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 5:06 pm
His temper would be his downfall. Absolutly not! He would rule- would have ruled- with an iron fist...A gentle one. But not as gentle as his brother. Jùnrén was far too soft, he would be too much of a push over! Dáwei stole a quick glance over at his brother. He was pale, and nearly shaking! Dáwei's brother was not at all a people person, how could he run a whole country?
Dáwei walked stiffly towards the balcony, breathed deeply before they stepped out. His face had become instantly calm as he waved and gave a small smile for the people. As soon as his brother rushed off to leave for his room, Dawei turned to leave and ground out in a low tone, "I am going to my room." and whisked himself off the balcony. 'At this rate, all you're doing is proving him right, you know...' A voice crept into the back of his mind.
Ignoring the voice, as he walked he fumed over the thought of his brother as the Emperor. Jùnrén the Emperor. The Emperor Jùnrén. He'd have them all painting and going on nature walks instead of having strategic war meetings and making sure the economy was intact! It was ridiculous. 'Goodness, child.' The voice reminded him of a great aunt he had enjoyed the company of, spoke in an exasperated tone. 'Where will this get you? Think clearly now, or you might as well not think at all.' He reached his room, finally, and sat down on his bed, listening to the voice. 'He's your brother, should you not be happy for him? Your chance will come. Just wait.' The annoyingly knowledgeable voice finished. "Be happy for him? Never! I should have the throne and you know it-!" He had said that out loud. To a voice in his head. God damn, am I going insane now?! 'What in the world makes you think that?' It giggled. "AURGH!" A pillow was promptly flung to the wall, as the voice in his head chuckled quietly again. This made him even angrier.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 5:36 pm
Once Jùnrén was in the confines of his own room he began to calm down. This was one of the few places within the palace that he could go when he wanted to be alone. Everywhere else he went, both he and his brother were constantly being trailed by attendants, servants or teachers. His room was his safe haven.
A sigh escaped him as he collapsed down on to his bed. It was only the mid-afternoon and already he felt exhausted. Some birthday. "I'm just glad I'm out of there..." he murmured to no one in particular. "Being on the balcony with all of those people...it's....it's just too much." Ever since he was a child, Jùnrén had been the shy and quiet type. He wasn't a people person like his brother was. Dáwei was energetic in crowds and the life of the party; he could light up any room. Basically, they were polar opposites.
With no one around, the youngest son of the Emperor started talking to himself. Or at least, what he thought was himself. "I'm not cut out for this. Not in the slightest..."
'What makes you think so?'
"Did you see the way I acted in there," he snapped out loud to the voice in his head. Only when he noticed he was talking to himself did he switch to internal dialogue inside his mind. "If I become Emperor, then I'll just screw everything up. It's not my place to do it. Being Emperor has always been Dáwei's dream!"
The voice giggled as if it were amused before continuing on, and Jùnrén couldn't help but think that they found the situation funny. Well, it wasn't. It wasn't humorous in the least!
'Clearly,' said the voice, 'you have your dreams backwards!'
"I do not have it backwards," the boy muttered as he pushed himself up off his bed. "You don't know what you're talking about! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see my brother!" That was the last thing he said to the odd girlish voice before exiting his room. It was only natural that his brother's room wasn't far away - right across the hall, to be precise. It was comforting to be so close to his brother, that way if ever needed to talk to someone, then he was right there. This was one of those times.
As he steeped inside, Jùnrén immediately walked over to his brother's bed. "We need to talk," he told him. Hopefully, Dáwei wouldn't hate him too badly for all of this.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 6:00 pm
Dáwei was anything but calm at the moment, even in his room. Feelings of rage, betrayal, mostly anger boiled inside of him. He picked up the fallen pillow and threw it back on his bed. 'What'd the pillow ever do to you?'
"SHUT UP!" Stupid voice. Stupid throne. Stupid family. Stupid birthday. Stupid stupid stupid-
Jùnrén was suddenly in the room.
"What do you want?" Dáwei's teeth clenched and his hand immediately made a fist at the sight of his brother. 'Easy there, tiger. He just wants to talk.'
'I told you to shut it!!'
'No matter how mad at me you get, I'll always be here~' The voice taunted, and then faded away for the moment. Now all he had to talk to was Jùnrén.
"Well? What do you want? He asked, holding back his anger only for a moment, like the calm before a storm. What ever it was Jùnrén had to say, he was going to explode any second.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 6:07 pm
"Well, first of all, you need to calm down."
'Whoa, bad move! You don't want to make him anymore angry, do you?'
Jùnrén just ignored the voice and shook his head, moving to take a seat on his brother's bed. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened," he said quietly. "I know it was what you wanted, and don't think for a second that I would do anything to take that away from you because I wouldn't. You're my brother, and it's your dream, not mine." He then sighed, running a hand through his long black hair. Just by watching the mannerisms of the twins, anyone could see they were totally different when it came to personality.
"I'll go and talk to father and get him to sort everything out. Then it will be okay."
'No, you won't! That's even worse. Besides, he's not going to change his mind - you'll only make him angry by going there.'
The young twin rolled his eyes and sighed again. This voice in his head was starting to get on his nerves, which was something that was very hard to do. Oh, if only it would be quiet!
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 6:20 pm
"I do not need to calm down!" Dáwei shouted at his brother, still standing in the middle of his room. It was like his brother was listening to that voice too! If only he still had that pillow in his hand...'Ha! Like throwing a pillow would do this situation good. You need to listen to your brother.'
"Shut up!" He said that out loud. Damn it. He quickly tried to cover up for it, "Don't you dare even think about talking to father about this! He'll...Especially now that you're here, he'll think I put you up to it!" The gears in Dáwei's head spun rapidly, even jumping to some wild conclusions. It was true their father could probably hear Dáwei shouting at his brother, but he probably wouldn't think Dáwei told Jùnrén to ask the former Emperor to give the throne to the older twin....Would he? 'You do scheme quite a bit.' The voice giggled again. Dáwei growled. What was up with this voice, anyway? He was still fuming, his face was turning red all the while he talked, until he grew silent, awaiting his brother's reply.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 6:30 pm
Jùnrén blinked when his brother yelled shut up in the middle of his room. A frown followed after that, tugging at the corners of his lips. He had never seen Dáwei so upset before. This wasn't like him at all. So before anymore damage could be done, the elder twin's brother stood up and smoothed out his clothing. "None of it really matters, I suppose. Just forget I said anything, okay, Dáwei? The last thing I want is for father to get mad at us for arguing with each other. It will only worry him. Besides - I can't have you mad at me."
'Well said, though it looks like something else is bothering him. Teehee~ Like he has a voice in his head!'
"I'll just...I'll leave you to your thoughts. We'll talk later." There wasn't really anymore that he could say. Not if he wanted his brother even more enraged. No - what he needed was to cool down and gather his thoughts, then the two of them could talk about this whole situation rationally. One thing was for sure: they needed help coping with this; both of them. Their father's one little decision turned their whole worlds upside down and inside out, and as far as Jùnrén could see at the moment, there would be no way of fixing it.
So he left, leaving his brother in his room only to return to his own. Back in the safety of his bedroom, the quiet twin got out his erhu and began to play with the voice still echoing in the back of his mind.
'Don't worry! We'll be getting you help. I'll make sure of it. You aren't alone in this situation - you or your brother. You have each other, and you have me, plus I'm sure others will be willing to help you, too. All you need is to have a little faith. I promise.'
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 6:44 pm
His brother had definitely noticed something strange about the 'shut up'. Dáwei wanted to rip his hair out in frustration. The last thing he needed was for his brother to think he was going crazy. "Yeah, okay. Whatever." Dáwei spoke in a typical teenage monotone. He wasn't really paying attention any more, just trying to think straight. 'You have to calm down if you want to think straight' The voice said with a sing-song tone. Dáwei muttered something incoherent under his breath to the voice.
As his brother got up to leave the room, Dáwei suddenly felt very tired. He stumbled over to his bed and flopped backwards on it, studying his ceiling. 'That's better. Maybe some sleep will do you good. Go on then, sleep Dáwei~' His eyes drooped at the thought. Sleep sounded wonderful right now, but it was the voice's idea. He didn't want to give in to the voice...But he wanted to sleep. It would clear his head and he could deal with the whole thing tomorrow. Dáwei's eyes closed.
'Don't worry,' The voice said 'I'll help you through this. You'll never have to be alone, and we'll have this whole mess sorted out in no time. I promise.'
'Some birthday this turned out to be...' Dáwei thought before he drifted off to sleep.
-FIN-
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