Chapter Six - Fractured Bonds
The grand halls of the Phoenix estate bustled with activity as the family and their guests moved toward the dining hall. Lavish spreads of mana-infused delicacies, exotic fruits glowing faintly with natural energy, and crystalline goblets filled with ambrosial nectar adorned the tables. Servants moved with practiced precision, ensuring everything remained flawless.
Yet, beneath the grandeur, tension simmered.
Zelda and Maxima walked side by side, but there was no warmth between them. Each step carried the weight of the past, their unspoken words pressing against the space between them like an impending storm.
Finally, Maxima spoke, her voice laced with restrained emotion. "Why didn't you ever visit me, Zelda?"
Zelda stiffened. "Maxima—"
"No," Maxima interrupted, her tone sharp. "You left. I understood your reasons. I stood by you. But then you disappeared. Not once in all these years did you try to see me. Did you even care?"
Zelda exhaled slowly, her heart heavy. "You think I didn't want to? Maxima, I—"
"Then why didn't you?" Maxima's voice wavered, though she kept her composure. "Do you have any idea what I endured after you left? The clan turned on me, blaming me for your departure. They said I was weak, unworthy of the Aquira name because I supported you. I was alone, Zelda. And you... you never came."
The air between them grew thick with emotion. Zelda felt her throat tighten. How could she explain? How could she justify her choices when she knew that, deep down, Maxima was right?
"You know, after you left, Sasha and Lida began bullying me, calling me all sorts of names and involving me in their schemes. I was innocent at the time because I always had my elder sister, the unstoppable Zelda, to protect me. But now, that same protector had left the clan to find her happiness. In their anger and helplessness, the clan chose to blame me for what happened, claiming it was I who convinced you to leave, to be selfish. Anytime I reported to the clan, including Mother and Father, about the bullying I was put through, they would brush it off as childish pranks or plays. I was forced to grow up and fend for myself as nobody cared enough to worry about the sister of the girl who left the clan for her so-called love. For a time, whenever I went to bed, I would cry out for you, hoping you would remember your dear little sister and come for me. That you would save me like you always did—but you never came."
"I made mistakes," Zelda admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "I should have come for you. I should have fought harder for us. But I was scared... and selfish. I let my own pain blind me."
"Zelda, five years—that was how long I waited, hoping you would at least come to see me, to know how I was faring in your absence. But no, not even a letter, not a phone call, nothing. You know, I actually began to despise you, began to hold a hatred in my heart for you. I decided I wasn't going to be that weak girl that needed protection from a useless sister like you. I was going to become strong—strong enough to surpass you in the eyes of the clan and our parents. So I trained. I trained harder than anyone else. Do you know how many times I almost died going against those rabid beasts?"
Zelda flinched at the finality in Maxima's voice. She wanted to say something—anything—to fix this. But the words wouldn't come.
"My dear sister Zelda, you better have a good explanation for why you abandoned me all these years. My daughter may not know, but this is the only reason I came here. Since you would not come to me, I would come to you. So tell me, sister, why did you abandon me? Why did you leave me to fend for myself after promising to protect me?" Maxima's body shivered in agitation, tears falling like rain.
Zelda, at this point, was a crying mess. She was extremely heartbroken. What made matters worse was that she had no excuse.
What she did back then was extremely selfish—at least that's what she felt. Though she didn't regret her decision, it didn't mean that the repercussions didn't leave her heartbroken. The real reason she never went back was as simple as it was complicated. She couldn't face Maxima.
Many times her sisterly instincts pushed her to go see her sister as she felt she wasn't doing so well, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it—to face the sister she decided to leave behind for her own happiness. She couldn't possibly tell Maxima this now, could she? She knew the moment she did so, it would destroy any chance she had to make this right. There would be no turning back. She looked at the shivering Maxima, who looked every bit like a wounded animal with deep internal wounds that never healed. You could literally feel her pain and trauma just by looking into her eyes.
This broke Zelda even more as she realized how her selfish decision had hurt one of the people she loved the most. She tried to gather her thoughts to come up with something—anything she could say to resolve the current situation or at least keep it from becoming worse—but she couldn't think of anything. So she said the only thing she could.
"I'm sorry, Maxima. I'm so sorry for what I did to you. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry I never came back for you. I'm sorry you had to go through what you did because of me. I know there is nothing I can say that can make up for what I did, but please, please, dearest sister, give me a chance to make it up to you, to fix what I broke."
"Is that all you have to say? I REMEMBER I ASKED FOR AN EXPLANATION, NOT AN APOLOGY."
"I have no excuse for what I did. No matter the reason, I shouldn't have left you there by yourself. I cannot hope to atone for what happened, but I know I can fix this if you give us sisters a chance to regain what was lost."
"I'm no longer that weak little girl that idolized you, Zelda. I'm no longer the girl that would follow you around as if you were her entire world. I am now Maxima Aquira, Matriarch of the Aquira clan, an emperor core stage awakened.
"So tell me, dear Zelda, what can you do for me? Hmm? What?"
Before I came here, I held on to a last iota of hope, saying that knowing my sister Zelda, there must have been a good reason she couldn't come. But now I realize the real reason you wouldn't come. You are a selfish person that cares for no one but herself, and I, Maxima Aquira, do not want to be related to such a person."
Turning to go back the way they came, Maxima straightened her posture, her regal presence fully restored. "We are here as guests. Let us not ruin the evening."
Zelda nodded stiffly, cleaning her tears and forcing herself to swallow her emotions. She softly mumbled, "Of course."
The two slowly headed back to the dining area, both grappling with the weight of what had just happened.
Soon, they arrived and promptly took their seats, Zelda beside Blaze and Maxima beside Tasha.
Ryker sat beside his parents, quietly observing the guests. He was too young to fully understand the tensions between the adults, but he felt the weight in the air. His grandmother's sadness, the coldness in Maxima's eyes—it unsettled him.
He leaned closer to Lila, whispering, "Mom, does Grandma not like Grandma Maxima?"
Lila smiled gently, brushing a hand through his hair. "It's not that simple, little one. Sometimes, even family can be apart for a long time and forget how to find their way back to each other."
Ryker furrowed his brows, his young mind trying to grasp the meaning behind her words. He didn't like seeing his family like this.
Across the table, Tasha watched him, amusement flickering in her blue eyes. "You think too much for a baby, little prince."
Ryker pouted. "I'm not a baby."
Tasha chuckled. "Then what are you?"
He straightened his back. "I'm Ryker Phoenix."
Maxima, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke. "Indeed, you are." Her gaze was calculating, yet not unkind. "Tell me, young Ryker, what do you wish to become?"
Ryker thought for a moment before answering with certainty. "I want to be strong. Strong enough to protect my family."
A brief silence followed before Maxima gave a slow nod. "A noble answer. Let us see if you can live up to it."
Aiden, sensing the underlying challenge in her words, met Maxima's gaze head-on. "He will. A Phoenix never fails."
The evening continued, conversations shifting, but the undercurrents of unresolved history remained. For all the smiles and pleasantries, some wounds were too deep to heal in a single night.
And some, perhaps, would never heal at all