5 Epilogue

So they traveled, silently, quietly, hardly speaking to one another, through the barren paths, through fields of tall grass, yellow and dry by the summer, through the lush woods, the shades hiding them from the heat, till finally they arrived.

The town had walls of stone, tall, white and strong, but by the time the Princess and the Keeper arrived, the walls had been scorched black, and the town lays in ashes and ruins, and not a living soul could be seen, only piles upon piles of ashes. At the highest point of the scorched town, where the lord's castle once stood, a flag had been raised, the flag of the royal family, now the symbol of a cruel and tyrannical usurper.

"Brother... how could you have done this?"

"How could he not? The lord supports you, and by extension, so would his town, and so long as they support you, they are his foe. It only makes sense to stamp out opposition to solidify his rule."

"But there must have been another way."

"There is, and should you be in his shoe, you could have found a better way and resolved it all peacefully, and so would your father, but unfortunately, your brother do not possess such prowess. Ultimately, your mother was wise to name you the successor and not your brother, never your brother, pitiful he may be."

A dark cloud came over them as they wandered through the ruined town and soon the air became cool and humid, and with sufficient warning, rain began to pour. The rain began to wash away the ashes, the piles crumbling bit by bit as the rain mercilessly fell upon it, and eventually it would seem like it had never been there at all, and given even more time, this town as well, would either be reclaimed by nature or be rebuilt, and either way it would be as if nothing happened at all.

"What am I to do now?" Taking shelter within a burnt husk of what once was a home, the Princess turned towards the Keeper, her eyes pleading.

"You know what you will do, and you will do as you will." said the Keeper, not looking into her eyes.

"Anything but that."

"Then leave, walk away, turn your back and go wherever you please. Isn't that your wish since you were young?"

"I cannot."

"And so you will do what you will."

At length, there was silence aside from the sound of raindrops.

"So be it then."

As soon as the rain ceased, they began traveling once more, hardly stopping and rested only when it was too dark to see. Like so they traveled from town to town, city to city, and each time their entourage grew, their forces expending, the banners of lords gather by their side. The princess will war with her brother and remove him from the throne, forcibly if need be, violently if necessary.

A great number of lords answered the Princess' call, for she was well liked in comparison to her tyrannical sibling, and when the forces had finally come together, they gathered before the walls of the capital city, challenging the usurper for the throne.

Atop the walls, the lesser twin, the Prince watches the army gathered before him in contempt. The lords on his side were few, and many of his soldiers whispered in private that they would much rather be on the other side, the only thing keeping them there was the Prince's incredible violence and cruelty towards the unfaithful.

From the Princess' side, an envoy was send, advocating for peace and reconciliation, and that the Princess would forgive and pardon as much as she is allowed to. The envoy was sent back to her in pieces. The clash will be inevitable.

***

For the final time, the Princess spoke with the Keeper. They stood atop a hill overlooking the capital, the Princess on a warhorse, prepared to head out to battle.

"Tell me, uncle, how will this end?"

"Knowing won't change the result."

"Please uncle, I'd like to know." The Princess was solemn, the past several days had hardened her, and now she is prepared to do what needs to be done.

"Your brother will lose. And he will be dragged by his feet to the gallows."

"Why must this be?"

"It was his fate the moment he was conceived, always the lesser, never winning, to be a pedestal of which you shall step upon on your path to greatness."

"I do not belie- do not wish to believe in such a thing as fate. It's just too sad that things are preordained in such a way."

"Is it not though? From birth your two are different, it is slight, but it's there, in the same way we all are born different. You were a little brilliant than he, and he a little slower than you. As the older sibling, though born first by only a few moments, you were taught to look after your younger sibling, and it only seemed right to the ones that had taught you so, and to you it seemed right, and you loved your brother very much. But due to your protection, your brother had learned to rely more on you and less on himself, and by looking after him, your gained additional burden, burden which made you stronger, better, a burden your brother did not have, a burden lifted from your brother by none other than you.

It was insignificant, I'm sure, at first. But time passed and the difference between you two only widens, though just by a little, the difference added up.

In time, you grew up to be bright, cheerful, and undoubtedly loved. Your brother on the other hand, was timid, gloomy, and so easily terrified when his sister, his protector isn't around. You had spoiled him, and allowed him refuge from difficulties he would otherwise had to face. But of course, how could you have known, how could the either of your? Both of you were but children, you were only doing what you believe to be right, doing what you will, you seek to protect your brother, and your brother found comfort within you. Of course, there was nothing wrong in those things in themselves, none at all.

Then, things begin to change, your brother have seen the love around you, the love directed towards you, and what child does not wished to be loved. Yet, there was only so much love to go around, and if he wished for more, he'd had to compete with you, his brilliant sister, and I'm sure he rarely won. His loses began to turn into bitterness, and though it was slow, there was time enough for it to fester, and soon it became jealousy, and with jealousy hatred was bred.

Perhaps if you had noticed it earlier, it could have been curbed, he could be brought back, be taught to appreciate and make use of what he himself has rather than trying to imitate his sister, who he had saw as perfection. But of course, you didn't see it. How could you? You were so young and inexperienced, and it was impossible enough to read another's mind. On the other hand, your mother might have, she was far more experienced, far more knowledgeable, but she was too occupied with greater matters, occupied because she was queen and the king was dead, dead because of me. But who could have stopped me? I kept only to myself, revealing my mind to nobody.

So many things that could not be helped, no one had committed any willing or conscious mistakes, none but me, who of course, was so consumed by my own jealousy and hatred, I could not see properly. In the end, we did only what we would at the time, and it was only by hindsight did we know we had erred. We could not have known at the time, and we could not bring this knowledge back to the past. In the end, you see, it could not have been helped, and the reality of the matter is, it was not helped, no matter how much you wished it had been otherwise, and everything has come to pass, and you can't change what was already in the past.

And so, if it can't be helped, what is it, if not fate, or destiny, or whatever you might want to call it? Well, whatever you may call it, the truth is, it can't be helped, and that's that."

The Princess listened attentively, it reminded her of her uncle's history lessons, always so long winded and filled with too much detail and took too long to get to the point.

"We can't change what is in the past, but what about now. If we tell my brother of his fate, could we not prevent it?"

"You may try, but he believes what he wants to believe and do what he will. He has come too far you see, sacrificed too much, became cruel and ruthless to gain enough efficiency to momentarily surpass you and, even if just for a moment, took the throne. Even if he believed you, he may find it difficult to turn away after everything that was done."

"I see..."

"Of course, there is another way."

The Princess' face did not brighten. She knew what he'll suggest, for the Keeper had suggested it to her every time she was unsure of her path.

"I do not intend to run away, uncle."

"No, of course not, too many had placed their hopes on you, and you do not intend to let your brother walk away with his crimes without even the slightest retribution. You won't turn away from this, no matter how many times I suggest it."

"I suppose I will do what I will."

"Indeed."

"How sad it is. How sad that nothing could be done."

"We do like to believe we have control over destiny after all. But if anyone could influence destiny, who truly has any control?"

"In that case, what have I been trying so hard for? If in the end everything would be destiny, then there's no meaning is there?"

"In the end... is it? If all live their lives thinking only about the end then all we'd have to look forward to would be death. The journey is important, the flavor is important, to savor it is important. Those were your words.

Don't dwell on things you have no control over, you will only bring yourself unnecessary sadness. Instead, look to the horizon, think of the good things to come. You'll bring the kingdom peace once more, and surely you'll be a ruler our people deserve."

"And what if there are no good things, uncle? What if fate, if there truly is such a thing, ordains there to only be bad things?"

"Then you must hope it is otherwise. That is the only thing we can do and that hope will help you carry on, and perhaps if you carry on for long enough, you'll find something good."

"Do you know for sure it will?"

"You will have to hope for it."

"Such an irresponsible thing to say."

"I like to think that anticipating for the future is far more exciting when there is room for imagination."

"Even if that meant I'll be disappointed in the end?"

"Then you'll deal with it when the end comes, but before that, there's something to savor, no?"

"I suppose so."

The time for battle was drawing near. From the hill they stood, they could see the siege machines being ready.

"When I win, if I win, and when this is all done, would you enter my court and become one of my advisors, uncle?"

"Your mother had decreed that I am to remain in that dungeon till I rot."

"My mother is dead, I am queen now."

"Then allow me to find a mountain and rot there, I have had quite enough of dungeons, yes, quite enough of it."

"Is there nothing I can do to convince you otherwise?"

"Like I said, being around you torments me, you look too much like your mother and took too much after your father. It's too much to bear."

"I see. Then I thank you for bearing with me for so long. Farewell, uncle."

"Yes, and I wish you peace and happiness."

The Princess begins to ride away, heading off to join her commanders and prepare for battle. However, she stopped midway, and turned back just one last time.

"Is there truly no way to save my brother, uncle?"

"He will have to be content with what he is and find peace in that. That is as much as anyone can do. Or perhaps he can fight against it till the very end, there's nothing to say that one cannot find peace after having struggled till they could no more, pointless it may be."

"I see. Then I shall hope that he finds his peace."

And before she turned away, she glanced down at the Book of Knowledge, noticing that it was surprisingly thin for something that supposedly contains all there is to know, then again, perhaps, that was indeed, all there is to know. It's nothing that could be helped, she thought to herself, and then she rode off, leaving the Keeper and his Book to their own devices.

***

The Princess' forces laid siege to the capital for fifty days. The supplies dwindled and soon revolts from the citizen and then from a large fraction of the soldiers broke out, and by the conclusion of it all, the gates of the capital was opened, and the Princess and her followers strode in without resistance. The Prince was captured and soon executed for his crimes against the people and the Princess officially took the throne. Her subsequent rule was long and prosperous and peaceful.

As for the Keeper, he was not heard of again. Some said that he had found a peaceful mountain to rest on, remaining there for the rest of his days. Others claimed that he had returned to the abyss where he had found the Book of Knowledge, and allowed himself to be taken by the darkness. In time, his name would fade of the annals of history all together.

***

End