when : the afternoon after . where : iskander ' s bedchamber . whomst : prince edric & prince iskander ( @iskanderpryor )
◞ ❛ 🦌 — the door creaked as the crown prince stepped inside . herbs , poultices , and something akin to burning thick in the air . fingers tightening at the handle of the small basket he held . multebærkakers . freshly made . a nightmare to source in these foreign lands , but they had once been his brother ' s favorite . he remembers , both of them young and careless , getting chased out of the kitchens of falreig by misha , the cook , their laughter echoing down the stone halls .
but that was then , before edric ' s responsibilities had become heavy to bear and he had withdrawn . before their participation in the great war , before it had carved it ' s lines into them , and before the world had split them into two intrinsically different people . before there was a tundra of ice and snow between them . that was then , and this is now . when even the scent of the cloudberries and honey doesn ' t keep edric ' s stomach from turning and knotting at the sight of his brother . bedridden . pale . fragile .
he doesn ' t know what to say to him . how to take back the words spewed at hsi brother in cold anger the night before . he hadn ' t meant them -- not truly , he wanted to tell himself , but he had in that moment , in the way siblings often do . then , he had almost lost him . he sets the basket of treats at his brother ' s bedside before taking a seat at his side . a tentative smile . " you look like hell . "
