"WHAT DID YOU SAY?! YOU'RE PREGNANT?!"
Adora couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked at her sister in shock and confusion.
"Adora, p- please calm down. I'm sr- sorry!!"
Gwen tried to calm Adora down while on the verge of tears unable to say anything else. She didn't plan on telling her sister or anyone for that matter. Her eyes started to well up with tears and she brought her hands to slightly tug on the sleeve of her sister's dress while the tears rolled down her cheeks to ask for support. Adora didn't have much patience at this point so she lifted her sister's face that was facing the floor.
"Who is it? Who is the father of this child?"
"T- the father is Maximus. We met at the engagement banquet two months ago. He said he loved me. I- I told him I was pregnant at the wedding and he accused me of seeing another man. Then he had me dragged out."
"WHAT?!..."
Adora shouted is utter disbelief. She didn't want to cause a scene or risk other people hearing so she took a deep breath and tried to calm. She didn't want to scare her sister into hiding anything. She was known as a cold person by everyone in the royal palace. Rumors of her ridged demeanor even flooded the ears of commoners even in the neighboring kingdoms. Although Gwen knew best that her sister was actually a kind and loving person it'd be a lie to say that the rumors of her were complete lies. She hated needlessly spending her time and energy on things that were outside the realm of her duties as a royal. She was beyond livid, but she didn't want to make her sister feel bad. She loved her twin sister dearly. She hugged Gwen, patting her sister back to calm her down.
A thought crossed her mind at the moment. Many woman swooned over Maximus because of how extremely handsome he was. Even Adora couldn't disagree with that fact. He was so tall it felt as if he was a tower standing next to her. He kept his golden hair long, as per Grimhilld traditions for members of the royal family. He had the same colored eyes as his father and siblings, but his eyes were much more deeper and richer in color. He took any woman he could as a lover including married women, which made him hated amongst the noblemen. Adora brown furrow with disgust. 'His filthy hands dared to lay a finger on my sister.' She was seething with anger. She wanted to beat him with her bare fists, which was a very rare, because she never let anybody get her that angry. What made matters worse was he's the brother of their new sister-in-law. 'He's a royal so he can challenge his brother at any given moment and put Gwen and her baby in danger.' She thought letting out a heavy sigh.
"Get up, Gwen. Wipe your tears this instant!"
Marina, please come here"
"yes, your highness. Is there anything you need."
"Send word to our brother that Gwen and I will be leaving the castle to our summer home in Dwindle as soon as possible. Say that we have been feeling stressed and would like to go on vacation. Have everything prepared so we can leave as soon as possible. Nobody must know about this trip so only select the most trusted maids who can accompany us."
Five days later the sister were on their way to their summer home. They had made the trip to château Dumont multiples times in the past. They spent most of childhood in the beautiful castle. It was built on a hill facing the sea with huge windows in every room so when the sun set on the sea it would be visible to everyone. Neither Adora nor Gwen said a word to each other. Adora looked out of the window at the view of fields that slowly turned to rolling hills. The sunlight kissed her skin like she was a goddess. The cool breeze blew against her face but the sun made it bearable.
The sight and sounds of the commoner children playing in the hills made the memories of their childhood play in her mind. They used to run through the courtyard like the fun would never end and sometimes spied on their brother hoping that he'd ask them to play with him, but the day never because he was always busy due to his studies to become the ruler of Norland.
No matter what the twin sisters always did everything together. Adora was always quiet, poise and polite. Gwen on the other hand was always loud, careless and free. Adora would often wish that she could have been a little more like her sister. She was very timid as a child, but thanks to Gwen and her charming smile they'd always get treats from the baker before they'd head off to spy on Angelo.
"I want to see Angelo beat up Sir Monbell! I bet our brother could beat Sir Monbell to a pulp, huh Adora!"
Gwen asked still angry from the incident that had occurred just a bit ago. Her fists were clenched punching the air while the sisters walked down to the stable where Angelo would be practicing horse riding after making their escape from Quint. While Gwen was getting treats from the baker he was harassing Adora.
"All you do is sit in your room and study all day acting as if you're better then me! You're just a girl. You can't fight, you can't rule over this kingdom, and you certainly aren't any better then I am. You should be treating me with respect because my father is the head knight whom is teaching the crown prince swordsmanship."
At only ten years old the heart and feelings of a child is quite fragile. When quint kept saying one nasty thing after another all Adora could do was cry. After Gwen had gotten a basketful of food and deserts she used both arms to balance her weight and carry the heavy load out the door. When she left the kitchen she couldn't see her sister but she heard crying so she followed the noises until she found her sister crying in a corner while Quint was hovering over her. Her eyes lit with fire and she threw her basket down and jumped right onto Quint pulling his hair and punching him while screaming at the top of her lungs to leave Adora alone. Adora knew that Gwen would be punished and put on probation and confounded to her bedroom for using violence so she quickly grabbed Gwen and ran off.
They slowed down to a walking pace once they got closer to the stables. They heard a commotion but they didn't think much of it and kept walking towards the stable care free.
"What out girls! The horses got loose!"
"Watch out Adora!"
Screamed Gwen, but Adora was frozen by the shock of three massive horses coming their way so Gwen pushed Adora to the side out of harms way. It was too late for Adora to reach for Gwen, but in that moment Angelo riding his horse was also coming from the opposite direction and picked up Gwen by the collar to safety. Gwen didn't ahead a single tear while she was saving Adora from the horses but after she realized she was safe in Angelo's arms her tears welled up and she started crying harder then anybody had ever seen her cry.
It had occurred to her that day Gwen wasn't as strong as she showed everyone she was. Because they were twins and had known each other all their lives she thought she knew her sister, but just as easily as she used to cry her sister almost never did. So on that day Adora swore to herself that she'd do everything to love and protect her sister who fearlessly saved her life even though she was afraid of losing her own life.
It was late afternoon and the sun was starting to set by the time the sisters arrived to château Dumont. They walked through the big black doors with brass doorknobs into an even bigger foyer with staircase that lead to the upstairs area on both sides of the room. The floors were a beautiful light pink toned marble and the walls were white with gold colored molding. There were flower arrangements through the hallway leading down to the dining room. The table was able to seat 12 people. It was decorated with flowers and candles and the deceptive plates were all in their places. To avoid further condemnation from her sister Gwen sat herself on the furthest end of the table leaving enough room between the two of them to avoid the impending conversation.
All the servants felt awkward because neither of the sister weren't talking at all let alone to each other. They found it odd because the sisters almost never were quiet when in each other's company.