Tarot Belladonna stepped out of the carriage with his single attendant and approached the gate of the King's Palace.
No longer in his flouncy pink shirt, he was almost unrecognizable. Tarot had on a royal robe of deep blue with gold tassels on his shoulders, indicating his Grand Duke status.
His shoulder length black hair was gathered at the back of his nape with a small blue bow and on his finger was the signet ring of his family crest.
He tried not to give a whistle of admiration for the sheer size of the place but it sounded anyway from the guy standing next to him.
"Wheeew! What a place!"
"Close your mouth Moe." Tarot steeled his eyes. "You look like you're trying to catch flies."
His attendant and long-time friend Maurice, cackled with choked laughter.
"You don't think this is a grand place? What's wrong with you?"
"I'm trying to look like a Grand Duke here, okay?" Tarot spoke with a deadpan face. "I can't go around ogling at everything with eyes that are about to pop off and roll on the ground or they will think I'm faking my title."
Moe laughed and clapped his friend's back. Although their positions were quite disparate, he and Tarot had grown up together and were more like brothers than master and attendant.
As the two reached the gate guards, Tarot held up a gold pass which the guards glanced at and moved aside to let him pass.
"Well that was fast." Moe snickered and whispered as soon as they were through the gates. "And you were worried they would give you a hard time."
"They were expecting me." Tarot muttered in a low voice. "Mother has pre-arranged this meeting so I wasn't worried about getting past the gate guards."
In truth, it was the next part that concerned him.
Not only did he have to deliver the important message to the Alpha King of Faria, he also had to find a way to connect with his sister before they threw him out of the palace.
Tarot was still walking up the path towards the palace with Moe when he saw from a distance, a palace attendant approaching him.
He gave a quick sigh of relief. He didn't have to figure out where to go. A guide had come for them.
"Your Grace." The attendant approached them with a quick bow.
"I am here with a message for the Alpha King from my mother, the High Seer Sibyl Belladonna."
"Understood. This way please." The attendant gave a gesture and the two young men followed him through the garden path until they reached the main doorway of the palace.
Once they were through, they began zig-zagging through a dozen hallways until Tarot began to lose his sense of direction.
How big was this place???
Just when he thought he was being given the runaround, the palace attendant stopped by a set of doors and gave a careful knock.
With a click, the door opened and another palace attendant appeared at the doorway.
"I have The Grand Duke Tarot Belladonna with a message for the King."
The attendant nodded. "Please enter."
The two young lads stepped through the doorway but the first attendant held out a hand and stopped Moe in his tracks.
"My apologies. For the safety and security of the King, only the Grand Duke is allowed entry. You will need to remain outside in the hallway."
Tarot turned back and gave Maurice a nod. It wasn't going to take too long and Tarot himself was in no danger.
Alone with the second attendant, Tarot moved quickly through another set of rooms to arrive at what looked like a sitting room.
By the window, he could see a young woman playing with a little boy. The woman had long wavy black hair and a body that was so small that even at his age, Tarot was already taller and larger than her.
She turned towards him with brilliant blue eyes and a heart shaped face that was so familiar in the tilt of her head and the curve of her jaw that it cast all doubts from his mind.
The two of them were like peas in a pod. They had the same face, the same set of bright blue eyes, and the same mouth. Even their hair waved in the same way, only hers fell to her waist and his hair barely touched his shoulders.
"Wow." The woman stood up and slowly made her way towards Tarot. "It almost feels like I'm looking in a mirror and see myself as a guy."
Tarot was slightly taller than she was, and as a male, his body structure was different, but he was only thirteen and his growth spurt had not yet kicked in so their height difference was negligible.
"Same. But in my mirror, I look like a girl." Tarot replied.
The two of them stood there, staring at each other for a moment.
Suddenly, they both laughed.
It was the same laugh, made even more poignant by the fact that they covered their mouth with the same gestures.
"I can't believe we look so much alike." She grinned as she stared at his face. "Wow. You've got the most incredible blue eyes I have ever seen!"
Tarot laughed. "You do realize, we have the exact same eyes, right?"
She covered her mouth with amazement.
"How is that possible? You look like you could be my twin except that you don't look much older than thirteen or fourteen, and I'm twenty-two."
Tarot laughed. "There's a really good reason for this, I promise you."
She smiled. "Don't tell me we're long-lost cousins. That would just be too freaky especially since I'm not even from Faria."
"You're close, but not close enough." He laughed. "You are Talia Belladonna, my sister and I am your little brother, Tarot Belladonna."
"My what???"
"Your—"
"I heard you the first time dude, but you can't be my little brother. I'm not even from here."
"You weren't born in Faria, that is true," Tarot nodded. "But your mother was. Her name is Sibyl Belladonna."
Talia opened and closed her mouth, unable to say anything.
"How—why?" She sputtered.
"She took you over to the other side of the veil and gave birth to you there to protect you from danger."
"My mother is most definitely NOT a Farian." Talia laughed fondly, thinking of her parents."
Tarot was not smiling.
"The couple who raised you are not your biological parents. They were close family attendants who were left behind and charged with caring for you."
She stared at Tarot, not saying anything.
Tarot pressed his lips together in a grim line.
It was obvious that he would need to prove what he said, but Tarot had come prepared for this. He could not expect her to believe him without proof.
Tarot reached out, thrusting his palm so that it faced her.
"Hold out your hand and touch my palm with yours."
"Why?" She gave him a suspicious look.
"To prove to you that we are full blood-siblings."
She raised an eyebrow. He looked harmless enough.
She reached out and gently placed her palm against his. Their hands were almost the same size although his was slightly chunkier and stronger looking.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Suddenly, a glow of yellow light passed from his palm to hers. It was warm and not unpleasant.
And then the light died down.
Tarot's eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Do you see now?"
She pulled her hand back and stared at her palm.
"I don't see anything on my palm. Was I supposed to get a mark or something?"
Tarot blinked at her in confusion.
From beyond the entrance into the room to their right, a low chuckle began.
"Welcome to the palace, Little Brother." The Alpha King of Faria stepped out from the shadows.