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Tristezza's choice

Inside the palace of the Fenice clan. The empress Felicita, was out on the balcony, dressed in her night gown, and watching the night sky. Her mind was free of question, and fear as she didn't have a care in the world. Being only 16, she was rather happy, being the empress. However little did she know, that someone close to her was wanting her dead.
A man with a candle was walking through the halls, and kept real quiet. The man wore a black hat, with a broad disk lying flat on the top. He wore blackish blue imperial robes, with loose sleeves, and a red sash tied around his waist. He had fly away, black hair with bluish hue, and very bright blue skin. His face was young, but appeared to be gaunt, which gave his eye's a rather sad look.
He also had, very frail looking hands with sharp black nails on his fingers. He continued walking and then came upon a door, with which he did a bizarre knock. "Come in." said a voice quietly. The man opened the door, and shut it quickly behind him. There were three men in front of the man, and they both bowed, as they said, "Welcome, Tristezza."
"Thank you, Adidita, Temere, and Vantarsi." replied Tristezza, softly as he bowed. The three men standing before Tristezza was his brothers and his uncle. His uncle Temere was a man of 57, and was a rather tall, and thin figure. His face was very gaunt, and very creepy to look at especially with those red eyes. "So you've finally decided to aid us, Tristezza." said, Temere with a cold, and deep tone voice.
Tristezza nodded his head, and replied, "Yes..." "Why do you sound so unsure, brother?" asked his eldest brother, Vantarsi? Vantarsi was a man of 27, he had a rugged looking body, and wore a black robe, with a broad v shaped hat. Tristezza then replied, with a scowl, "It's the fact that were going to kill my sister, when she hasn't done anything wrong." "She's a woman... Women are not meant to be in power, for they ruin empires." Chuckled Adidita, as he downed a big goblet of wine.
Adidita, Tristezza's second older brother, a man of age 24, with a ravenous appetite for money, food, wine and woman, he was the worst. With an enormous gut, and an ugly face, he was the very image of a tyrant. Adidita then said, with chuckle, "After all wasn't it you who-" "Shut up!" shouted Tristezza, with his pink iris's flaring in his eyes. The fat man dropped his goblet, and angrily stared at Tristezza, as he said, in deep basso voice "Hold your tongue, viceroy."
The two brothers scowled at each other. "Enough of this..." said, Temere and Vantarsi in unison. Temere sighed, as he continued, "We will discuss our differences, but now it is time to make our move." Tristezza and Adidita stopped there arguing, and turned there attention to Temere. Temere then gave a dagger to everyone, and then they hid the daggers in there loose sleeves.
Temere then blew out the candles in the room until only the light was the candle in Tristezza's hand. Then in with a sway of Temere's hand, they moved out. Meanwhile back at the balcony, Felicita was still out on the balcony and enjoying the night. She then took a seat in a chair and looked up to the stars. She pondered to herself about, why was she picked to be the emperor instead of one of her brothers.
"Tristezza should have been the emperor. He would understand how to deal with this life, better then I could." She said, with a giggling sigh. Her medium length, brunette hair flew gently in the warm breeze, as she smiled to herself. Then she heard a knock from the door. She rose from the chair, and looked to the door with a curious face. She walked over to the door, and asked who it was.
A muffled voice from behind the door, answered, "It's me, Tristezza." From behind the wall, Tristezza stood at the door, while his brothers and uncle remain quiet, and hidden. The door opened a bit, and Felicita stood by the door, with a confused look in her eye. "What do you want, Tristezza?" asked, Felicita as she looked at Tristezza with ponder? He just smiled, and replied, "I just wanted to come in, and talk if that's okay with you?"
"Sure thing." She said, with a smile and let him in. He walked in with the candle in his hand, and Felicita shut the door behind him. From outside, the brothers and uncle were whispering to each other confusedly. "What is Tristezza doing?" whispered Adidita with anger, "He's going to ruin our plan?" Temere then replied, with a whisper, "Just wait Adidita, the plan will go as plan, and soon you and Vantarsi shall have the throne for yourselves."
"...What about Tristezza?" asked Vantarsi, curiously. Temere, just scowled, as he replied, "Will blame the murder on him, and kill him so you two won't have anyone against you." Time passed, and from inside the room, Felicita yawned, and felt tired. "Well, I guess I should take my leave." Said, Tristezza as he rose up from his chair. Felicita, got into her bed, and snuggly wrapped herself up in the covers.
Tristezza was just about to leave, but stopped as Felicita, called him back. Tristezza walked over to the bedside, and asked, "What is it?" Felicita looked at him, with a sad face, and with curious eyes. "Brother... Do you really hate me?" she replied with her blue eyes looking into Tristezza's pink one's. The room went quiet, as there eye's remained staring at each other.
Tristezza sighed, and then placed a hand, on her shoulder, "I only hated you for when you were picked, and I was not. Other then that, your my sister, and the only real friend I've ever had." Felicita smiled warmly, and lied back down on her bed. "Thanks... For being my brother." She replied, as she quickly closed her eyes, and drifted of to sleep. Tristezza smiled, but it quickly vanished, as he walked to the door silently. Before he grabbed the door knob, he pulled out the knife from his sleeve, and turned to the sleeping empress.
His heart was pacing, and mind was going crazy. Either kill your sister, kill her with your brothers and uncle, kill them and save your sister, or take your life. A minute passed, and answer came to him. He put the blade, back into his sleeve, and quietly opened the door for the others to enter. They snaked there way into the room, and silently closed in, on the sleeping empress.
Pulling out there knives they snuck up, and surrounded the bed. Tristezza, stood back and his heart was pounding like crazy. He then noticed something, that made him question his decision. The three men, looked to each other, and smirked as they looked down to Felicita, who was still sleeping peacefully. They lifted there knives, and prepared to strike.
Suddenly there was a loud crash, that startled the three men, and with a split second, Adidita was sliced down the side, by sharp cold blade. As he screamed in horror, and blood spraying all over the place, his fat body fell limp on to the bed side, then down to the ground dead. Vantarsi and Temere, stood there covered in Adidita's blood, and shocked to see, Tristezza standing there with a blood soaked, katana. Felicita was awoken, by the scream, and when she saw, every body with weapons, and the blood splatter on her bed, she screamed in horror. Temere seeing his chance went down to strike Felicita, but he was too late, as Tristezza stabbed the sword into his arm.
Backing away, and covering his arm. He gritted his teeth and yelled, "Tristezza, what are you doing!" "I may have hated my sister and wanted her out of power..." Tristezza replied as he, as he walked over toward Vantarsi and Temere, with his blade pointing toward them, "But I would never kill her to have the power." Vantarsi charged forth pulling out his sword, and clashed with Tristezza. In between strikes, with his sword, Vantarsi growled, "You traitor, you planned this from the start!"
"Your a fool, for thinking I would ever side, with a group of corrupt idiots like you!" Tristezza replied, angrily, and struck Vantarsi in the throat. Vantarsi fell with the deep cut in his throat, and blood sprayed like a fountain to the floor. One more to go, thought Tristezza as he turned to see, Temere standing on the balcony. Upon running up to get him, he froze when he saw Temere, holding Felicita hostage, with a knife at her throat. Temere, snarled as he brought the blade, closer to Felicita's throat, "End of the line, Tristezza. Any further and you can say good by to your sister."
"Uncle, why are you doing this!" Felicita asked, frightfully shivering in Temere's grasp. Temere replied, coldly, "Why indeed, Felicita? When it was your brother who wanted you dead." Felicita's eyes went wide with fear, as she stared, at her brother. "That's right... He wanted to be the emperor, but unfortunately, you were chosen instead of him." Said Temere, with a grin forming. Tristezza yelled, with fire in his eyes, "That's a lie! The only people who wanted you dead, was Temere, Vantarsi, and Adidita. They wanted you dead, and picked me to do it, and then they would kill me, so there would be nobody to stop them! All three of you were jealous and greedy, and will pay for you actions!"
"Silence!" growled Temere, as he threateningly, placed the blade at Felicita's throat, "I have had enough of this empire, once I'm done with you two, I'll take over and nobody will be there to stop me." Felicita, shivered as she felt the cold blade, touch her neck, and her eyes started watering as she looked to Tristezza. Tristezza didn't know what to do, he just stood there frozen. Then a whistle was heard passed, Tristezza head, and then with a violent strike, something hit Temere in the right eye. He screamed in agony, as he let go of Felicita, and realized, that he was struck in the eye with a knife.
Felicita ran away from Temere, and tripped on her gown just in time to see, Temere fall backwards off the railing of the balcony, and screaming to his death. Tristezza looked behind, himself from where the knife came, and he saw a dying Vantarsi smiling at him. "Long live the empress, and... The ambitious viceroy!" cackled Vantarsi, as he coughed up blood, and fell back to the floor, and died. Tristezza dropped his blade, and ran over to his sister, who lied shivering on the floor, with her gown of white, stained with blotches of blood, from Adidita and Temere. He knelt down beside her, and asked if she was okay.
She however remained silent, and stared off into the dark, as her skin was pale white with fright. "Felicita..." said Tristezza as he touched her shoulder. Felicita jolted, at his touch, and when she turned her head to him, she punched him in the face. The hit was hard enough to send, Tristezza rolling. "You bastard!" Felicita, shrieked as she glared at Tristezza, "You tried to get me killed!" When Tristezza got up on his knees, his nose was bleeding, and he noticed, Felicita run up to him.
She then struck him hard in the face again, as Tristezza tried to talk. Now blocking Felicita's onslaught of punches and screaming, with his arms, Tristezza had to just wait for her to calm down. After a minute, Felicita calmed down, just as it started raining. Felicita's hands, were now sore red, and shaking from the cold, while Tristezza's nose was still bleeding, and his arms felt sore from the punches. As the rain was wiping off the blood, on both Tristezza's clothes, Felicita lay on her knees, and sobbing, for how things went this night.
Tristezza, sighed as he looked to his sobbing sister with grief. "I'm sorry, Felicita for..." he was lost forwards, and then he tossed of his hat, and slammed his fist into the solid floor, "I'm unworthy of this position..." He then pulled out a knife from his sleeve, and then pointed it to his chest. Taking a deep breath, and closing his eyes, he prepared to take his life. Felicita, saw this and dashed over to him.
As the blade, headed down for his chest, Felicita grabbed the hilt, and yanked it out of Tristezza's hands. Tristezza opened his eyes, and saw his sister, staring at him with tear filled eyes, as she sobbed, "Don't do it brother! I don't want you to leave!" She then fell onto her brother, and buried her head in his robed chest sobbingly. Tristezza realized, that if he were to have killed himself, Felicita would have been the last of the Fenice bloodline, and she would have no one to protect her. "I'm sorry, Felicita... I'm sorry." He replied, with a smile, as he wrapped his arms around her, and said, "I'll never leave you alone in this world."
The next day, Felicita's room was cleansed from the blood, and Temere, Adidita, and Vantarsi's bodies were taken away by the guards. Temere and Adidita's bodies were cremated, and put in the family's mausoleum. Vantarsi's body was placed in a coffin, and was also put in the mausoleum, but unlike the other traitors of the empire, Vantarsi was given a funeral, and was forgiven by The Empress. As this all happened, Tristezza for two days remained in his room, and never came to his sister's court meetings. However on the third day, he came out, dressed in his imperial robes, and wandered around the palace.
He met Felicita, as she was dressed in the clothes of the empress, and sitting on her throne. As he walked up to her, he noticed that she was smiling to him, but Tristezza couldn't bring himself to smile to her. "Why do you look so glum, Tristezza?" asked Felicita, curiously. Tristezza bowed his head, and kept his eyes to the floor. He then replied, with a soft voice, "Because... I'm now an enemy of empire. I was a member of the group, who wanted to take you out of power."
Felicita sighed, and laughed out loud at Tristezza. Tristezza looked up confusedly at Felicita. "What is so funny, your highness!" he asked, loudly in ponder. She soon came to a giggling stop, as she cupped her head in her hand, rest her arm on the rest, and looked to Tristezza with a warm smile. She then replied, gigglingly, "Tristezza, you don't have to worry anymore. You never were my enemy."
"Wha..." Tristezza asked, with a blank face. Felicita sighed, and rose from her throne, and walked over to Tristezza. Her robes were of gold, red, orange, and with a hint of violent, and they had very loose sleeves like Tristezza robes, but her's were longer, and sorta dragged on the floor. On her head, was a golden headdress, that had the symbol of the fenice clan on it. Smilingly, Felicita stopped in front of Tristezza and replied, "Your my brother, Tristezza. As so we stay together, no matter what life throws at us."
"But even, if I were to have taken your life that night, would you still have been the same?" asked Tristezza, softly with a confused face. Felicita just smiled, as she pointed to where Tristezza heart was, and replied, "The gods gave you a choice, that night. You could have killed me, you could have killed your allies, you could have killed yourself, and never mentioned the idea, or you could have killed all of us and taken power." "You however followed your heart, and chose to save my life, and destroy the monsters that we called our friends. No matter your choice, I would still love, and forgive you as my brother." She ended, with a warm smile, and some tearing in her eyes.
Tristezza face was awestruck, as he stood there silently. After Felicita wiped away the tears in her eyes she looked to see, a smile form on Tristezza face. He then said, with rosy cheeks, "Thank you, Felicita." Then life returned to normal between the two. Felicita went on to rule for a long time, and Tristezza remained by her side, as a viceroy, a friend, a body guard, and a brother.
That is the end of this story, but there will be others.

The End