A dark shadow loomed over Marco. He turned his head to see Jowy standing over him with a chair held over his head. The older Atreides' eyes - cold as ice and as blank as a clean slate - Marco read as total anger. He winced as the chair was raised back, then thrown forward at his direction. The younger Atreides flung his hands over his eyes and screamed...

CRASH!

The chair shattered a nearby window. Jowy ran towards the broken glass and stopped in an urgent battle stance holding his staff outstretched. Almost immediately, a nearby butler ran into the room. He gasped at the dead body lying in blood and the shattered window. "By the True Runes, what happened here?"

Jowy turned around, panting in false alarm. "An intruder was here! An assassin...a man in black... I managed to fight him off before he hurt Marco but he escaped through the window. However..."

"I understand!" the butler cried. "Guards! Search the grounds for a man in black! And hurry!" He quickly left the room to spread the news.

"Why...why?"

Marco was still on the floor shaking like a leaf. His trembling arms could barely support his weight. "Why did you do that? You could have turned me in like a common criminal. But instead...you defended me. I don't understand. Why did you defend me? Why?"

"Marco..."

"Shut up!" Marco cried. "I don't want to hear you anymore! I don't want to hear any more of you lies...you...you traitorous murderer! Get away from me!"

Tears springing from his eyes, Marco tore out of the room. Jowy called after him but in vain. He did not pursue his younger brother. He only gazed sadly in realization Marco will never listen to him. Numerous servants came in to gather Marcel's dead body as well as dote on Jowy's welfare. Jowy neither heard their voices nor felt the maids brush the broken glass from his clothing. Marcel's last words still haunted him.

"Jowy...is...my...heir..."

Why... Why me?

The news of last night's incident spread like a wildfire. Already by the next morning the press had gotten ahold of the news.

"Extra extra, read all about it! Marcel Atreides assassinated by a mysterious man in black! Read all about it! Get your newspaper here."

Morning already?

Jowy couldn't get a wink of sleep last night and he hated getting up in the morning. Ah well, nothing could prevent nervous servants waking him up. He went outside to meet Tim, the newspaper boy, at the front porch. Tim was an earnest and cheerful young lad who was luckily too young to have signed up for the Unicorn Brigade.

"Mornin' Jowy! Or should I say Master Atreides?" he greeted with a bow.

"Jowy...you know by now." Jowy mumbled wearily, trying to smile.

Tim laughed. "Still the same cheerful mornin' person, ain't ya? Guess some things never change. It looks like I shouldn't be the one tellin' you about the headlines. You wanna look?"

"Sure."

The young boy handed Jowy a copy of the newspaper in exchange for 5 poch. "Head of the Atreides Clan Assassinated." the article read. "Reportedly to have taken place the night before printing. A man in black was have said to have assassinated Marcel Atreides (43), influential leader of the wealthy Atreides Clan. Sons Jowy (17) and Marco (13) were have reported to be in the room at the time. Details on page 3."

"Some witnesses said that they saw a broken chair outside the window." Tim added. "Do you know anything about that?"

"Yes. I threw that at the man in black as he tried to escape. The chair must have went through the window with him." Jowy laughed sheepishly.

That's not exactly true. I threw the chair out the window to cover for Marco.

Tim nodded with a knowing wink. Was he nodding from Jowy's answer or did he catch on to Jowy's 'I'm hiding the truth again' look? "Gotcha. Well, I gotta take off now. Nice seein' you alive and well, Jowy. Catch you later!"

Jowy smiled and waved goodbye.

While reading, he went back inside. By the time he arrived at the door he had already finished reading the page-long article. Reading fast came naturally to him and thank goodness it could - as soon as he entered he was bombarded by multiple business representatives, friends of the family, many he had never seen before.

"Master Jowy! So sorry to hear about your loss! My deepest sympathies."

"You must be heartbroken."

"Master Atreides, please sign this form. You need to fill out these documents signifying your ownership from your father's."

"........." How Jowy kept his calm was anyone's guess.

An old butler hobbled into view and shooed everyone away. "Ahem. Master Jowy, the funeral for the dear departed Master Marcel will be held tomorrow morning. In that time, you are expected to make the final funeral speech. After all, according to your father's will, you are now the leader of the Atreides Clan."

"Leader of the Atreides Clan..." Jowy bit his lip. Funeral arrangements are made already? Father must have planned everything from the beginning. Either that or...

"Master Atreides! Young Master Jowy!"

"......... One at a time, please."

The day never seemed to end. To him, it was nothing but an endless day of signing documents, receiving sympathies, and quick funeral arrangements. As Jowy's thoughts suspected, Marcel Atreides had his funeral arrangements lined in his will. All that was left was to notify the people. But one thing prevailed throughout the day - Jowy was never allowed to look at his father's will. The lawyers claimed it was Marcel's wishes for Jowy not to see until ready.

Nonetheless, Jowy was grateful when dinnertime came. He and his mother, Rosa, sat at the usual long table covered in many different foods. Unsurprisingly, Marco was not present. According to Rosa, Marco was never seen since the incident last night.

"I see." Jowy said quietly. With the way Marco was acting, it's not surprising he hasn't returned. I wouldn't be surprised if he never comes back.

Rosa noticed the way her son was picking at his food. "Nervous?"

".........yeah."

She smiled. "Don't worry, Jowy. You'll do a fine job tomorrow."

"Thank you." His mother's smile never failed to help him feel better.

Silence prevailed once more as Jowy thought up tomorrow's funeral speech.

"Fellow citizens of Highland." he quietly muttered.

No, there will be other people besides Highlanders present. That won't work.

"My father was a great man..."

Do I have the right to call him father? Do they need to hear the good things he has done? But do they need to hear about his life again? The death of father has been too sudden. I am sure that the people are still upset over the Unicorn Brigade massacre. The Unicorn Brigade....was that really City-State treason? The City-States would do such a rash action. They're too busy fighting each other to fight Highland. But if I say that, most likely the people will be angered. People in general don't like to hear opposing beliefs.

Rosa giggled at her son's deep thinking. "You'll find the right words to say."

Dinner ended. Rosa left her son to his business.

Jowy returned to his room. He slumped unceremoniously on the bed, causing a nearby dresser to wobble and a framed picture to fall on his head. Rubbing his head, he looked at the picture. It was of him, Nanami, and Makoto.

"Makoto..."

In the photo, their bright innocent eyes shined with happiness. The picture held back none of their carefree aura. And now, thanks to the slaughter, Makoto was gone. Realistically. But he had to be alive. He had to...he's not the kind of person to die so easily.

The fact remained, however, that the Unicorn Brigade burned down. Countless other families have been hurt because of what happened. He had to help them somehow, and ease their pain. Because deep down, Jowy felt the same pain as well. With those deep emotions in mind, he began to write his speech, crossing and editing things out that people would rather hear. He had to make the people happy. He had to find Makoto, it will make Nanami happy.

And my feelings...?