Hearing them from downstairs, Demas couldn't help but giggle. He ordered Marie to prepare a meal for all four of them, while he waited in the living room.
*******
The twins had finished bathing and were putting on their clothes.
"It seems Father bought new clothes for us as well," Raten said pulling up his trousers. Looking over at his brother, his expression changed. "Must you always do this ?"
"Do what?"
"Must you always wear the same clothes as me ?!" He yelled.
"If you don't like it, you can change your clothes," Kiyan responded.
"Why do I have to change? I wore this first."
"Since it's that way, you'll just have to accept it. It's not like I am doing anything bad. Besides, if you don't like it, you can always tell your father. He's the one buying our clothes this way." Kiyan replied, walking towards the door.
Raten followed. They went downstairs and met their cousin.
"You boys are done," Demas stated.
"You are our cousin, right? How well did you know our late mother?" Kiyan, moving closer, asked.
Demas picked him up and placed him beside him, on the chair before answering. "Though I didn't meet her until two years before your birth, I knew her to be a kind, loving, courageous woman. She was very protective over the ones she loved. She was smart too."
"Really?" Sitting on Demas' other side, Raten spoke. "Father hardly talks about her. Most times, it seems he avoids it. I began to wonder if they had a falling out."
"No, they did not," Demas affirmed. "How well I've known your father, he is probably still grieving the death of his wife. One thing I know is he loved your mother very much."
Agnar, on hearing their conversation, stopped in his path while coming down the stairs. He was indeed grieving, he was still in mourning. Given the circumstances his wife died, he could only blame himself. To him, he had killed her. Having conversations about her only reminds him of his incapability to protect those he held truly dear.
Taking deep breaths, he eventually came to the living room.
"I see you took your time Agnar." Demas smiled at him. He only nodded in response.
"Your food is served." Marie walked in and announced.
"Alright then, let's go eat." He said. Kiyan stood up from his lap so he could stand as well. They went to the dining area and sat ready to eat.
The dining room had a somewhat large, circular table at its centre with five seats around it. They each took one.
"Why do you have this many seats if you live alone?" Kiyan asked with his mouth full of food.
"You do not talk with that much food in your mouth. How many times must I say it?" Agnar spoke calmly but gave a cold stare.
"I don't exactly live alone, I have a family. My wife and our three children." Demas replied to the question.
"Really? Where are they ?" Raten asked.
"Different parts of the kingdom," Demas replied. "First son, Gabriel is a knight. Second child, Nathaniel is still in the academy, while my daughter, Rose, is in Darkmoon academy."
"They are in different places," Kiyan said.
"What about Mirabelle ?" Agnar asked.
"She went to see her father, he's ill." He replied.
"Is Mirabelle your wife ?" Kiyan asked.
"She is." He answered and they resumed eating.
"Don't you get lonely? You're here all by yourself. Your children, will we get to meet them? Have you been to the academies? If you have, how big are they ?..." Kiyan kept asking.
"Can you just keep quiet?" Raten spoke. "You talk too much. Didn't even give time to answer one question. Blabbermouth."
"I don't see why you're the one complaining." Kiyan rolled his eyes.
Kiyan resumed stuffing his face with food. "Oh, and one more thing, your home is beautiful." He said to Demas, not looking up from his plate.
"Why, thank you." Demas smiled.
After the meal, the men returned to the living room to discuss, while the twins insisted they would help Marie with the dishes. She would wash them, Kiyan would rinse them, while Raten would keep them in the cupboard.
"How long have you worked here?" Kiyan asked Marie.
"Just a few years." She answered in her ever-soothing voice.
"Do you like it here ?" He asked again.
"You ask too many questions, you know that," Raten said before Marie could answer.
"Marie doesn't seem to have a problem with it, or do you?" He glanced at her. She gave a smile and said nothing else.
"Kiyan ?! Raten ?!" Agnar called out to them from the living room.
"Yes, Father!" They replied.
"We have to go now," Kiyan said and they ran off.
Almost bolting into the living room, they found both men standing close to the door. Agnar had put on a cloak, they noticed.
"I hear from your father you both didn't leave home, except on errands," Demas spoke.
Hearing the words "errands" the boys glanced at their father. Did he tell Demas about their involvement with Maxwell? They wondered.
"How would you like a tour of the city?" He asked.
"Really? We're going out ?" Kiyan asked, excitedly. Both men nodded. "We would love a tour." Kiyan grinned.
"I thought we would be trapped inside," Raten said, moving closer. Kiyan hurriedly ran forward and opened the door. The others walked out with him.
Putting the hood of the cloak over his head he said, "One more thing, while we're here, do not say you are from the Teferi family. Do not use that name ever. Rather use Silverstone. That was your mother's maiden name."
His sons didn't understand why they were now being prohibited from using their names. But they had learnt to respect and obey their father's orders. It always was to protect them, but from what?
They only nodded.
Walking through the city, Kiyan said, "This place is a vast difference to our village. Who knew the world was this big."
"I assure you, it gets bigger," Demas said with a smile.
Kiyan and his brother seemed fascinated by everything. Just then, Raten caught sight of something.
"It's huge!" He cried out, looking at a large building ahead.
"So cool," Kiyan said. Almost pulling his hair. "I wonder how it is on the inside. It must be lavishly designed."
"What is that place?" Raten asked. "I assume we can't go in there, it doesn't look like a building just anyone can enter."
"You are correct, Raten," Agnar spoke. Demas was surprised he knew which son spoke. Well, he is their father.
"You see, that building is the kingdom's prestigious Mulgard's Knight Academy," Demas answered his question. "So unless you both dream of being knights, you can't go in."
"Oh, well then I guess we're never going to see the inside of it." Kiyan sighed. "I thought the knight academy will be in Mulgard Central."
"Well, it isn't," Agnar replied.
"You boys don't want to be knights?" Demas asked.
"No, we want to be great wizards, just like Father," Raten replied.
"You can also be great knights, you know. Why not think about it ?" Demas spoke. He wanted to see if he could shake their resolve.
"Hmm..." The boys placed their hands on their chins, rubbing them as if in thought.
"We have thought about it and conclude." Raten started.
"We are going to be wizards." Kiyan declared. "Can we head off on our own now ?"
"You can. Just don't wander off too far. Also, you must meet us back here. Understood ?!" Their father spoke.
"Yes sir!" They answered as if in the army and ran off.
"Aren't you worried they will get lost?" Demas asked.
"Not in the least. Even if they do get lost, they know how to find me." Agnar answered stating there was no need to worry.
"Quite stubborn, they are. Just like their father. I take it you've been using magic still." Demas stated, a bit infuriated. "You know how dangerous it is for you to be doing that."
"I know, I know. I only do it to make them happy. Besides, I am still alive." Agnar smiled.
The twins ran around the city and roamed different streets. Amazed by everything they saw. Raldon was even bigger than Venus, they noticed.
"I wonder how big the wizard's academy will be." Kiyan thought.
There was a lot they wanted to try but didn't know which to pick. There were some children gathered in a spot, most of them seemed to be their age, while some were older. They seemed to be cheering on two boys. In the centre of a large space was where they stood, with a club each in their hands.
"Looks like they are about to have a little spar." Kiyan moving closer said.
"This should be interesting," Raten spoke taking a step forward. Just then a large shadow was cast over them.
"What the--" They looked up and behold, not just one, but five beasts fly over them.
Their tails and claws from the back limbs were seen. Their lower body looked like that of a lion, while their upper bodies were like that of a bird. The large wings on their backs aided their flight.
"It's, a real-life griffin." Raten squealed in amazement. Kiyan had his mouth hung open. "So cool!"
"You shouldn't leave your mouth open. Have you two never seen a griffin before?" Turning around, they saw a dark-haired boy, behind them. He was around the same height as them, just a few inches taller. But, looked older.
"We haven't," Kiyan answered. "We don't see much in the village we came from."
"They fly around here often." The boy said.
"Why did they go into the academy ?" Raten having seen them descend beyond the gates became curious.
"Well, they are usually ridden by the knights, they might have information to pass on. But, they were five..." He stopped as if in thought. "They must be planning for an event." He concluded.
"It must be cool to ride one of those." Said Raten. "Our father said a person who can tame one can keep it."
"That is true." He confirmed. "But, they are wild beats. It is difficult and dangerous to tame one. Still, a lot of people have griffins. I am one of them." He leaned closer and whispered the last sentence.
"Really?" Raten asked. His palms clasped together. His eyes seemed to glimmer with excitement. "Can we see it?"
"You can. That is if you're both willing to follow me home." He offered.
The brothers paused for a moment. They didn't like the idea of following the strange boy to his home. 'He was so young, how would he tame a griffin?' They wondered. They thought he must have been lying. But curiosity burned inside them so much so, they accepted to go with him.
"I am Lecter, Lecter Ackerman." He introduced himself as they walked. "You two are ?"
"I am Raten..."
"And I am Kiyan Silverstone."
Lecter stopped and turned around. He stared at them for a while, nodded, and resumed walking. He walked ahead of them, so he didn't know when one or the other spoke. Looking back at them, he realized even if he asked again, he wouldn't be able to tell them apart anyway even if he knew who spoke.
"I am sorry. You both are very identical, so I just want to confirm which one of you is which." He said.
"I am Raten. He is Kiyan." Raten said pointing. "How about this?" He asked. The edges of his hair then turned purple. "Now you can distinguish between us."
"M, m-magic ?" Lecter mumbled. A hint of surprise on his face. "You can do magic?" He asked.
"We both can," Kiyan said bluntly.
"Amazing. I have always been enthralled by magic." Lecter said, a smile evident on his face. They continued their path to his home.