FicWad

We stumble in a tangled web, decaying friendships almost dead
And hide behind a mask of lies.
We twist and turn and we avoid, all hope of salvage now devoid
I see the truth inside your eyes.

(Savage Garden; Savage Garden; A Thousands Words)

They should have called him Abel.

Seriously. They might as well have; he couldn't be more Abel than the man himself. Martyr. Paragon of virtue. The one who exemplifies redemption by discovering the origins of his past and overcoming them. He who 'hoists the light and the dark' and 'the still land'. And who better to hoist it than the straight arrow, the shining star?

Cecil, he should have been called Abel.

I suppose there's no profit in bitterness. He can't sway the hand of fate-no more could I. Everyone's friend, that's him. Paladin of light. Oh, how I liked you more as a Dark Knight. On an equal playing field. Neither of us worthy of her.

Rosa. My dear sweet girl, I never should have told you. Now I've lost you both...things will never be the same with the three of us again.

Why did he have to come out of this so perfectly intact? Married to her, ruler of Baron, the hero of the Crystal War. It all seems so unfair somehow. Everyone approved of you as a Dark Knight while the king frowned upon my occupation as a Dragoon. And people quickly hailed you as a hero when you ascended to paladinhood. Damn you, Cecil, everything I want you have. Everything I want to be, you are.

But how can you damn an infallible man?

Ah, I saw the hurt you tried to hide. I knew you feared my presence on the team after the Tower of Zot. Why didn't you strike me as I struck you? Why don't you hate me as I hated you? How can anyone be so devoid of evil?

Abel. Maybe not such an appropriate name after all.

Abel didn't survive.

But you did.

And, forgive me, I hate you for that, Cecil.

...

They shouldn't have called him Kain.

Honestly. Who could have been so cruel? They might as well have marked his life's path with that mistake. The Traitor. The one who is 'born of a dragon' and 'rises high up'. And who better to rise up high than the infamous dragoon, the henchmen of Golbez?

Kain, he should have been called anything but that.

Nothing's to be done about it, I suppose. He can't sway the hand of fate-no more could I. The dark one, that's him. Can we not return to our childhood days when names remained insignificant and every slight passed without suspicion? On an equal playing field. Neither of us worthy of her.

Rosa. My beloved wife. Sometimes I think I never should have told you. Now I've lost you both...things will never be the same with the three of us again.

Why did he have to come out of this so bereft of everything? Unrequited love, sole survivor of the Dragoons, the traitor in the Crystal War. It seems unfair somehow. They didn't approve of your occupation though I admired you for sticking it out 'til the end. And people swiftly denounced you when Fabul was assaulted with you as their commander. Damn you, Kain, how can things end up so terrible for you when everything is right with me?

But how can you damn an already damned man?

Ah, I saw the hurt you tried to hide. I knew you felt shame in my presence on the team after the Tower of Zot. Why did you strike me, as I've never struck you? Why do you hate me, as I never hated you? How can anyone be so be devoid of humanity?

Kain. Maybe not such an inappropriate name in the end.

Kain betrayed his brother.

And you did.

And, forgive me, I hate you for that, Kain.