The Extra Wants Control

" As you know we serve the royal family. But... We choose our master you both have a right to test him and see if he\'s qualified... Even if he is and you still don\'t like him you can choose your path... I\'ll support and shield you."The image of Bianca flashed in my mind – my stoic older sister, her hand resting on my shoulder and Constantine\'s, a promise of support.

Ever since I was born, I was drilled in the art of service. Unlike Bianca with her spatial affinity or Constantine, a prodigy with shadow and space magic.

I was deemed the failure within the Twilight clan. Cause I lacked the spatial affinity, well lack is a strong word. My affinity is very poor that I can\'t control it.

But didn\'t matter. As long as my brother excelled, I\'d stand as his shield, no matter the cost. I decided it as my purpose as the older brother. To protect.

When our 180th birthday arrived, it came with a life-altering decree. We were to serve the Vampire Prince. I panicked and was nervous. I had met and heard of arrogant nobles, treating their servants like disposable pawns, like dogs.

I didn\'t want that. Not for Constantine atleast. Never. Even if it meant going against the prince and our sister\'s wishes, I would ensure his happiness.

So, here we were. In this road. Facing the one who would dictate our fate.

We watched him ever since he arrived, from street to the ballroom party.

Then Constantine attacked when he was he was alone.

How he tore off his mask, revealing a face both youthful and but changed face. How he was surprised and angered when he recognized and he spoke to Constantine.

How I attacked and he dodged.

Then he quickly recovered his composerm How this prince of ours, stood firm as his gaze met mine with a surprising intensity. Not arrogance, but a quiet authority that reminded me of something.

Then, a memory surfaced. Him, the prince, extending a greeting on our first meeting. Polite, yet unmistakably authoritative. He made it clear who was in charge, but it wasn\'t suffocating. It felt…right?

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I spent time with him, following his weird orders and slowly, I began to like him...

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[Constantine\'s POV]

They called me the prodigy, genius, a blessing, the better half. Honestly it hot on my nerves everytime they said that. Sure, I could move through the shadows, teleport across vast distances, but that all they saw. And cause of that I was given those names.

It was suffocating.

Where was the freedom in constantly being labelled the "better twin"?

Kael, my brother, my rock. Now with his broad shoulders and heavy armor spoke of his dedication and duty, he always been like that.

Ever since we were young, he shouldered the burden of expectations and disappointments, becoming a knight when I decided to become a mage. If I can teleport he became faster to catch up to me. He worked so hard that he didn\'t care what others thought about him when they called him a failure. He has always been my role model, my rock.

"Leave it to me," he\'d always say, wanting to take all of my burdens not that I had any to begin with. I wanted to be there for him like he had been there for me.

Then that day came. Serving a vampire prince? Not exactly how I pictured spending my 180th year. Freedom, that\'s what I just wanted– flitting through the shadows unseen, exploring the world beyond our clan\'s lands and the Vampire Continen. I wanted to see it all.

I thought about running away. But that meant abandoning Kael? Never. I would have asked him to follow me... but my brother the disciplined rule follower, wouldn\'t have had any of it.

Besides, our clan had this good rule about testing our masters before we officially served and accepted him as master. It was perfect, I thought. Make his trial hard and make him miserably fail, then bounce.

Except… things didn\'t exactly go according to plan. The prince, Neveah, turned out to be a bit different. He wasn\'t some trash pampered noble. We met him on his journey through the wars and we were there to protect him from any dangerous attack.

Sometimes he disappeared completely... I was told he was with the queen.

The point is he wasn\'t a tyrant. Serving him wasn\'t some suffocating nightmare. In fact, it was… kinda interesting. Traveling with him opened my eyes to a world beyond our cloistered existence. His whole Babel project, uniting all these different factions? Crazy, maybe, but it sparked a flicker of hope.

Then there was that weird girl I met while delivering invitations for Neveah\'s Null. She was strong and sharp, she almost sliced me right out of my shadow form! Meaning she noticed me.

Now, people in my rank or below don\'t usually don\'t even notice me when I\'m like that, except Kael. But, she was different. And intriguing.

The more missions I did for Neveah, the more I saw. He wasn\'t just a leader, he was an innovator, a leader who dreamed big. And somewhere along the way, I began to like him. Not the kind forced by duty, but a loyalty earned through shared experiences and surprising respect?

Sure, I still craved freedom, but... he gave me that. When I wasn\'t following orders I was free to do what I want. Ohh and there\'s also Keller in Babel who I like. I met interesting people thanks to Neveah.

**********

" Yes, I like him... But I don\'t know about my brother. If he wants to continue being a servant. He never said anything... So just incase he wants a way out. I\'ll make a path for him and ensure his happiness.

If he somehow fails I\'ll trade places with him. So I can\'t fail. I must win this bout. For my brother." Both Kael and Constantine had the same thought as they drew their weapons, Kael\'s great sword and Constantine\'s twin shadow daggers and pointed it at Neveah who looked at them with an expressionless face.