Cai had to prepare himself for their reaction. He didn't know how they would take the truth, or its delayed arrival. He could only sit, solemn, as their faces changed to shock. Cai hated surprising them like that, he hated that he had had to hide this for so long, but what choice had he had?
To his surprise, Amalia recovered quickly. Her words made him smile, knowing that she was a true friend. Even after news like that, she still wanted to be with him. After all, you're one of us. Was he? In the short weeks since he had met the two, had he already become so close to them? Cai was glad to count Braxxon and Amalia among his closest friends now. That made him more worried for the future, more worried about what would happen once his business at the Boiling Rock was finished.
The smile faded from the earthbender's face when Braxxon asked Amalia to step out. Cai remained silent, nodded as Amalia passed. Once she had, he watched Braxxon carefully, a question remaining unasked upon his lips. It was soon answered when Braxxon opened his mouth, asking the questions Cai knew were coming, but had hoped would be avoided for just a bit longer. He turned his attention back to the window, where again he could see that tall fortress steaming in the distance. "I am sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't mean to keep it from you so long. I just couldn't find the right time, and I needed your help. I had to mislead you, and I cannot blame you if you are mad at me as a result."
It went against his character, dragging two kids along across their country, making them think they were going to visit perhaps a worker there, or a researcher, not at all a prisoner. He had forced them far out of their comfort zone, and the life lessons along the way could not begin to make up for what he'd done. Cai felt bad about that. He felt bad about using these poor kids to get him where he needed to be. And for what? He had promised them rewards, and he had the money he had set aside for them, money he had not let himself use despite his rumbling stomach's protests. But would that ever be enough? Cai looked back at Braxxon, and he began to confess the answers the boy sought.
"I needed you to come along." It was a simple statement, but one filled with shame. Cai kept eye contact, though there was a sorrow in his own. "If I had told you I needed to be escorted to my killer of a brother, what would you have thought? You'd probably think I was insane, or more insane than you already did. You might have thought I was a criminal too, and might have never trusted me. You probably would have turned me down on the spot, regardless of how much my coin purse was willing to talk for me. I had to plan my words right, not something I'm good at mind, but I knew enough about people to know what wouldn't have worked. I'm no fool, Braxxon, I knew what I had to do to get here. And it worked, in the end. I got an escort here, and I didn't have to tell you why I was coming. Well, until now. But I feel like... We earned something throughout this trip, haven't we? You've come to trust me, you and Amalia, and I appreciate that. I've come to care a lot about you, too. It makes me happy that you're not waiting to hightail it out of here right now." He looked back to the window, where his brother was unknowingly waiting for him. "I mean it, though, when I say Remus is no killer. He's a lot of things, but he would never just... kill someone. Think whatever you will of me, think me a sneak and a liar, some evil man trying to send a couple of kids on a wild goose chase, but... Just believe me when I say Remus is a good guy, yeah? Believe me when I say I had to come here, and I am truly sorry I had to bring you into this."
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