Ail has never really had the capacity for forgiveness.
All things considered, it's really not hard to understand why. He grew up with no one to take his cues from but Ann, a woman who is easily far more vindictive than he could ever hope to be, if that was what he wanted. She taught him cruelty and spite, and he taught her grudges and an endless memory. They taught each other all the dark arts in relationships. According to legend, they learned the lighter side from outside forces.
He supposes some of the stories are true at least in part. Naturally, all of the pages are slanted towards the other side. Their motives for going down to Earth - for survival - are conveniently glossed over and the final showdown is endlessly emphasized, the injuries and attacks listed in such detail that it reads like a truly bad novel. But of course, nothing is glorified more than the moment Sailor Moon held her bleeding lover and pleaded with them to stop. Nothing is repeated more than the fact that she was what drove them to the side of good. Nothing is worshipped so much as the fact that the depths of her heart know no bounds and that she has always had an amazing capacity to forgive. She saved them with her mercy and sent them on their way to find a better life.
Ann's sacrifice and momentary death are included in a footnote.
He doesn't blame the monarchy for the mistakes. He wouldn't have even known about it had he not received word from Usagi - no, Serenity - apologizing for the mess. He knows that they have no control over the press, and so soon after the end of the Great Ice, it's no wonder things are slanted so violently.
Besides, he has other things to blame the monarchy for.
It's not for the years after Earth that he and Ann spent on an abandoned planet, the Makaiju flourishing over their love. He doesn't blame them for silence between their parties when neither one of them knew how to get in touch. He doesn't blame them for the ice that covered the Earth less than ten years after their departure, sending the rest of the universe into chaos. He doesn't blame them for the war they slept through. He doesn't blame them for the leaves and the locket he always has at his side, tokens of a pair who once again left him all alone to live out the rest of his days.
He only blames one person, one man, for the occasional distance between him and Ann, for the sleepy murmurs she never knew she spoke, for the dreams and daydreams where he was replaced. That is his grudge. That is his quarrel.
It is a King's blood he seeks.
"So that is why you've come," a lazy voice calls out from the shadowed throne, clothes emerging from the black like a white gem. The figure moves, the blood-dark merlot swirling in the glass that has been there since Ail arrived but never sipped. "The King, it seems, has made more enemies than I anticipated."
"I know of no others," Ail says cautiously, fearful of this being a condition.
"That's fine," the cool voice breathes out. "I do."
Ail nods, his fist curling inside his pockets. Dried leaves and hot metal graze against his fingers and the hole in his heart seems to grow wider. He doesn't have to wonder about what either of them would think about this move. He knows they would not approve. Perhaps that's part of why he knows it's the right thing.
"I simply want to be sure that this is what you wish to do," he says languidly, sounding perfectly royal even though Ail and everyone else knows he was born poorer than dirt. "You must know that I only plan on sparing her Royal Highness and taking her as my own. Knowing what I do about your history with her, I must be certain you won't attempt to... provide distraction from that goal."
Ail has to stop himself from saying that he would never be that stupid. "I have no interest in Neo Queen Serenity, Your Highness. Just like I have no interest in allowing any of her protectors to live if you should say they die."
"And their daughter," he adds, testing Ail's stomach.
"Especially their daughter," Ail counters, raising the stakes.
At that moment, the figure rose from his seat, and for the first time, Ail can see his face. The Prince of Nemesis is just as he has been described: pale in spite of the overwhelming darkness, though his pallor is really no different than anyone else's. And as he has been told, his attention is caught between two things - a pair of violet eyes and black moon upon his brow.
Prince Demando smiles and says, "Well, that settles that."
Suddenly, Ail's whole form broke out with cold, like a frost creeping through his blood and freezing him from the inside. For a minute, he's terrified that this is death and nearly starts to cry out for mercy. But then he notices where the chill originates, and as quickly as it comes, it goes. He looked back up at the Prince and sees he's still smiling. Ail shivers and reaches up to touch his tingling forehead. The Prince chuckles and inclines his head respectfully.
"Welcome to the family."
