Prince Zadkiel was put in an arranged marriage with a woman he didn't love and he was forbidden to marry the woman of his choice and was rather forced to marry the quiet Kasumi.
As he watched her, he felt something he had never felt before, a strange feeling inside of him. He tried to push it away because it wasn't right, he could not fall for another girl. But it was hard to ignore this weird feeling that grew every time she got up on her horse and rode past him. She smiled at him, waving as she passed but then looked back when she reached the gate. He waved at her too, wondering what made her so happy to be out here riding in such weather.
He was brought out of his thoughts when someone started yelling at him, pointing at him. When he turned around it looked like he was about to get hit by some random person, so he quickly darted off, running into a small room where people were playing cards and other games in an attempt to pass the time.
"Sir, you're needed immediately," said one of the men who had noticed him enter the room. Zadkiel frowned. What did they need him for now? They hadn't even given him enough time to change from his armour and boots.
He sighed and followed after them. When he reached the door, he heard loud cheering and shouting coming from outside, telling him he had arrived just in time.
Zadkiel walked through the crowd, following the guards. The closer they got the more excited they became until suddenly all attention was focused on him.
"Well?" Someone asked.
"I think the prince is arriving!" A voice shouted.
Everyone began to shout and yell excitedly about how handsome he was. Some women squealed loudly in happiness.
"What happened to the girl that lives with the prince?"
Zadkiel frowned, "I don't know."
It seemed like no one understood what he meant. One of the men came to take Zadkiel's hand in order to lead him towards the front of the crowd.
Once he married Kasumi Zadkiel learned to respect her but he made it clear to her that his heart belonged to another. His mother, Empress Inaya Zadkiel, disapproved of their marriage but couldn't force Zadkiel to break it off, so she let them live together. As long as he kept his distance from Kasumi Zadkiel he knew everything would be fine.
Unfortunately, his family was not so understanding.
After the wedding Kasumi became pregnant almost immediately. When they returned home Prince Zadkiel told his father about the matter and they both decided that since he already lived with Kasumi the marriage had been annulled.
Kasumi gave birth to a daughter and they named her Niran. As soon as she was old enough her mother taught her how to fight and ride and taught her how to make jewelry from the rocks she found along the road. When Kasumi was nine years old she discovered a book of magic that contained the secrets of the world and her parents took her to the royal library so that they might learn.
One day, while exploring the library, she discovered a room that housed ancient books about the ancient world. The walls had markings carved into them indicating that it was once part of a shrine but the priests who guarded it left many decades ago.
She went inside and carefully read every page of the books.
King Zadkiel and Queen Kasumi loved their daughter very much and three years later Kasumi got pregnant again hoping that it would be a boy but instead she gave birth to twins who were girls they named them Lynette and Jodelle.
Jodelle was only three years younger than her sister Niran and although they weren't as close as they used to be, Jodelle was still willing to play with her. Lynette, on the other hand, was shy and afraid of the world. Even though she had been learning how to protect herself and fight she was very scared.
Their mother worried that Lynette wouldn't have anything to do with her but they both agreed that she should learn how to read as well.
They found a teacher and started tutoring Lynette in the evenings, trying to encourage her to reach her full potential. While they waited for her results, they visited the city and saw all sorts of different places. There was the town square where they met the king and his wife and there were the temples which showed off the wisdom of the gods. Every night as they lay down in their beds, they talked about the things they had seen.
They had their fourth child and it was girl they named her Lilith she was different from her sister's because she had blonde like her mother while her other sister's had dark brown hair. Her skin was pale but smooth and her blue eyes shone.
Lilith and Lynette both adored their new nanny, Gertrude who loved them unconditionally. Although Lilith was young, Gertrude was always willing to help her and tell stories.
In between their lessons with Gertrude, they practiced fighting with each other using sticks and stones, throwing rocks at each other or jumping around playing hide and seek. It wasn't easy for them but eventually Lilith grew confident and Lynette joined in on many of her games. They would often spend hours chasing each other around trying to catch the little girl.
Lynette always won, she could see it in their eyes. Whenever Lilith lost, she ran over to the bed and jumped on top of Gertrude, laughing. Sometimes she would crawl under the covers with Lynette cuddling up next to her, but she usually ended up on her own, sitting cross legged on the floor looking out the window and drawing.
Even when they were alone, the twins remained close. Whenever the two children were together they played whatever game they wanted without being told. They had a lot of fun.
At the age of five, they were allowed to sleep in their rooms with their toys in order to study. They studied together, taking turns going first and getting to ask a question, and sometimes even having a contest. They loved doing it but Gertrude was beginning to worry about losing her charge, especially if Lynette continued growing as fast as she was.
Gertrude decided one night that she would talk to the princesses tomorrow and hopefully convince them to spend the rest of the night together. This morning, the nanny awoke early, knowing that tonight would be the night. She quietly tiptoed into the room where she found her charges sitting on opposite sides of the bed staring blankly at the wall.
"Girls," she called. The sound seemed louder than usual. Their heads whipped round so fast Gertrude thought they would break their necks.
"Nanny," they chorused.
"Why are you awake?" Gertrude asked.
Lynette looked at Lilith and then back at Gertrude. Her brows furrowed and she bit her lip.
"We're supposed to sleep together tonight," she admitted.
"Is that true, Lynette?"
Lynette nodded, "Our room is too big and I'm scared to sleep by myself because my nightmares scare me."
"Well," Gertrude hesitated. "You can share your sleeping space with your sister, alright? You don't need to leave your bed if you're scared."
"Okay!" Both girls cheered. Lilith bounced to her feet and skipped over to her younger sibling and pulled her arm tightly, pulling her up.
"Let's go! We'll race you!" Lilith declared as they raced each other out of the bedroom, giggling the whole way.
It was a cold day.
A freezing chill hung in the air, causing the trees around the castle to groan and cry softly. Snow covered the ground and it was hard to walk across the courtyard. The snow crunched beneath their feet as they walked, making it difficult to hear the footsteps of anyone else.
The wind blew harshly against their faces, sending shivers down their spines. They huddled closer together, trying to keep warm.
"Are we almost there yet?" Lilith whined from behind her older sister.
"Almost," replied Lynette as she tried to hold back the tears threatening to fall, "you'll love this place! Once we get there you'll never want to come back here."
"Really?" Asked Lilith hopefully.
Lynette grinned, "really."
Suddenly Lilith stopped dead in her tracks, her hands grabbing onto Lynette's jacket to stop her too.
"What is it?" Lynette asked.
"Do you hear that?"
Lynette listened closely. Sure enough, she caught a faint melody. Her ears pricked up when she finally recognized the song.
"It's an old folk tune," Lilith whispered,
"come on, let's go find it. The melody seems so familiar!"
Lynette smiled and held out her hand for her younger sister. She took it and together they began walking through the courtyard.
As the melody slowly became louder and clearer they heard words coming from the distance:
If you want the answers
Ask the questions of the stars
There'll be no turning back now
When the time comes
And you're done listening
Lynette laughed softly and Lilith copied her.
"Hey! Come here!"
"Hush, silly! Don't you want to know what the melody means?"
"No, I really don't want to."
Lynette just rolled her eyes.
After a while the song changed to one which reminded them more of spring. The flowers bloomed and birds sang happily.