"I might let you see them one day, after you learn some manners, my darling" He snarled, as he rose to his full height. I raised my voice, annoyed with his names, and that he dare speak of my family.
"I NEVER HAD A BROTHER OR SISTER! My whole LIFE I was ALONE. I only ever had Erik! My parents where never there, they worked all day, and sometimes into the night. I had NO ONE."
The King sat back down. He was silent for a moment before quietly saying,
"You... you don't remember us? You don't remember...me? May-maybe if... When we were little, you were about 4, we would creep upstairs and steal cookies from the kitchen while mom and dad worked. You remember that right?"
"Why are you talking like my parents are yours? I don't know you. I would sneak upstairs with Erik when we were little, and steal cookies."
"No we didn't." Erik said. I had nearly forgotten he was there. "We never did that. You always did that with your brother, Alastor." The moment Erik said that name, memories came back to me, memories I didn't know I had. Eating cookies, climbing up on the roof to watch the stars, stealing pieces of metal from my parents, trying to make tools like they did.
"I- how? How could I forget? But, you aren't my brother. He had a kind smile, and dark brown hair. He wasn't a king." I whimpered, horrified that I could forget my favorite person, from my childhood. I crumpled to the floor. He turned in his chair, facing the dark wall next to him.
"To you I was. I was your king, and you were my little starlight. My beloved little girl. Like I said, I've changed in the past 26 years. I found a castle, and a crown. I found a mirror, with a spirit inside, promising to give me anything I wanted. Even revenge on my parents, that kicked me out at 18, because I was destined for terrible things. To get my sisters back. I only got one though. Only one because the other had her memory replaced. I was removed, and Erik took my spot. Now you remember, now you know." The King said, nonchalantly.
"Wait. You said revenge on our parents. What do you mean by that?" I inquired.
"Mom and Dad kicked me out of the house, I kicked them out of life. Simple. It was quite easy really. I jus-" he paused, whipping his hand up to catch a knife that was hurled at his head.
"Nice shot. You almost killed me. To bad you weren't quiet when you unsheathed it." the King said, turning to face us. I gaped up at Erik, who was absolutely fuming, arm still outstretched. "Take him away if you don't mind." Suddenly two guards appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Erik's arms, and dragged him away, screaming and thrashing, out of a small door that was hidden in the walls. Just before the door closed, I heard him yell,
"I WILL KILL YOU ALASTOR!"
I was shaking. I couldn't comprehend that my parents were dead at the hands of my favorite sibling. Now, that same man had taken my bestfriend, my boyfriend away. I truly had no one anymore. I felt a hand gently lift my chin.
"Don't worry, starlet. He won't be hurt, even though he tried to kill me. It was a cute attempt, and an understandable reason. I've simply sent him off to the room he will be staying in while you both are here. All my servants and guards are yours to command, but they cannot help you 'escape'. You can come and go as you please, but you will not be able to leave the castle grounds until I allow you, understand my dear?" Alastor said, a gleam in his eye. I nodded, unable to say anything, or do anything against him. He wiped a tear that had rolled down my face, and stood up, turning away from me.
"You may go now. That soldier from before will escort you to your room. Go through the door you saw Erik go through."
I slowly rose to my feet, and trudged towards the door, still in utter shock. As my brother said, the foot soldier from before took me to my room, and said Erik was in the room next to me, and a door connected our two rooms from the bedroom. He left, shutting the door behind him, as I took in the room around me. I was standing in a bright, lavish living space, with a dark wood table in the center, chairs surrounding it. A plush sofa sat opposite a fireplace, and a black board sitting on the mantle. I walked over to the board, and touched it, and noticed it was glass. The board suddenly light up, and started spewing information. A man stood on screen, holding a stick in his hand, and he looked like he was talking to me. It took me a moment to realize, this was a television, and that man was a news anchor, and the stick was a microphone. It had been so long since I had any contact with technology, that I forgot what it was. I picked up the remote, and changed the channel to a childish cartoon, and let it run in the background. I walked past windows with translucent drapes, and into the bedroom. There was a large four-poster canopy bed in the center of the room, set atop a soft, fuzzy rug that took up nearly the whole floor. The sheets were cream colored, made out of pure silk, and the covers were pale blue filled with down, matching the walls. The walls throughout the castle were so thick that they were completely opaque, and a deep ocean blue, while the windows were thin enough to see through, but thick enough that they were impenetrable. A large bathroom was off the bedroom, and the bath was so large, at first I mistakenly took it for a small pool. A large walk-in closet was through a door in the bathroom, and it had cabinets and clothes racks along the walls, and an island sat in the middle. Every rack, and cabinet, even the drawers in the island were full of clothes, and accessories. Anything you could possibly imagine, was in this closet. Necklaces, earrings, bracelets, handbags, dresses, pants, shirts, jackets, tennis shoes, high heels, and sandals. Stepping out of the closet I walked over to the sink, and splashed some water in my face, trying to cool myself down from how angry and upset I was. I opened cabinets and drawers searching for a towel, and instead finding every kind of makeup product that a girl could possibly need, whether it was for Halloween, or a Gala. I finally found the towels, and as soon as I touched it I didn't want to let go. It was the softest, plushiest towel I had ever felt, and it was like drying my face with a cloud. I started thinking, maybe we should stay here, just for a little while. No, we couldn't. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of thoughts of staying in the stunning palace, and strode out if the bathroom, to a near invisible door next to the bed. I touched the door, looking for a door handle and I heard a faint click. The door swung open in silent hinges, and I stepped into a room mirrored to mine, except for the grumpy Erik sitting on this bed. I walked over, and sat next to him on the bed. He jumped a little, before saying,
"Oh, hey. How'd you get in here?"
I pointed to the door behind me and asked,
"Are you still mad?"
"Yeah. I remembered Alastor perfectly. I thought you did, but just didn't want to talk about him, since he left, so I never brought it up. I didn't know you had a sister though. The fact that he is the reason your mother and your father are dead..." He stood, putting his hand across his chest and said, as if reciting a script,
"I, Erik Barin, swear to kill Alastor Cessair for the murder of Adalie Lidia-Brandn, and Ekon Brandn, if it's the last-"
"ERIK please. Don't finish that sentence. I understand that my parents were there when yours weren't, and that you are angry about it, but please. That man is my brother, but not. He looks like my brother, but you know Alastor. He doesn't act that way. He said he looked into a mirror, and a sprit promised him anything he wanted. Don't spirits usually want something in return? Alastor always told me, that I was the most important thing in the world to him, and that he was secondary."
"So, your saying if the spirit asked for the thing that was most important to him, he gave himself, instead of you? I suppose... that does sound like something Alastor would do, if he were in that situation." Erik pondered, as he sat down on the bed again.
"Exactly. Anyways, we can find out tomorrow, since we can go anywhere on the grounds, but not leave apparently. Take a quick nap now, and at midnight we will meet Aysh at that tree she mentioned. It is starting to get dark, so we will need to leave soon." I said with a new determination. Erik leaned over and kissed me, and I stood and walked over to the door. I disappeared into my room, after shooting a smile back at Erik. I managed to find a cotton nightgown in the closet, and I curled up under the covers, and fell asleep quickly, but not deeply. The full moon flooded light into the room through the large windows, and it woke me up. I checked the time on the small clock on the nightstand, and it was 5 minutes til midnight. I got up, and put on a thick robe hanging on the bathroom door, and opened the door between Erik's room and mine. I found Erik standing at the door, hand raised as if he was going to open the door. I gave him a sleepy smile, and he crossed into my room. I shut the door, and we walked out of my apartment sized room, into the hallway. Following the hall down to the throne room, we stopped, searching for a different way out, instead of going through that dreaded room. I found a door hidden in an alcove, and opened it. The door led outside, so I whistled softly to get Erik's attention, and we crept outside. We ran down the steps to the gardens, and found the tree, and underneath it, Ayshlin sitting in a white dress, and dark cloak. She beckoned us over, looking around nervously, as if she was being watched.