Renée and Reinels' mother, Duchess Bellatrix Ascot, is the only daughter of the former Duke Ascot and sister to her younger twin brothers who became professors at Starlight academy.
Lady Bellatrix had always been strong, smart, and calculative despite her willful, flamboyant, and arrogant attitude.
She was the one who really ran the duchy's informant business and other secretive businesses but nothing illegal and so was always away on business.
She was very domineering even to her own husband who changed his last name per her request.
"Here! Mother loves it when we deliver letters to her this way!" Renée took out a vile of a fire that looked like a rainbow-colored flame.
"What should we write?" Renée asked excitedly.
"Hm, let me try to start," Said Reinel.
'Dear Mother, me and Renèe have taken a fancy to a certain girl. It's been a while since your last visit and we haven't told you about her yet. If you could spare some time for us we'll be so happy to tell you everything we like about her.
-Reinel & Renèe'
"How's this?" Asked Reinel as Renèe inspected the letter.
"Mhm, looks good to me!" he said rolling up the piece of paper, stamping it with their family seal, and shoving it into the vile.
Once all the paper was turned to ash all you needed to do was shake it until the ash was one with the flame.
Then to get your target right you needed to infuse a bit of magic into the flame and say the target's first and last name.
"Bellatrix Ascot," said Renèe as he released the glowing flame.
The message was always instant so lady Bellatrix, while in her office in the Slade kingdom, was holding the paper in her hand sealed with the Ascot symbol.
"Oh, my darlings have sent me a letter! What joy! They even sent it to me via flame mail, hmm... It looks like my cheeky darlings need something,"
Bellatrix slowly unrolled the piece of paper as her face brightened up suddenly smiling brilliantly.
She flung the doors of her office almost off their hinges and gleefully strode to the exit of the building.
"Lady Bellatrix? Lady Bellatrix! Where are you going?!" Panicked her butler.
"Home, Kendrick. My boys are waiting for their mother," she said joyfully walking to the door.
"Lady Bellatrix! You can't possibly leave now! We're almost done with this mission!" her butler said, closing the door with his magic and dropping all the paperwork he was holding.
"What? Lady Bellatrix is leaving?"
"No fair! I want some days off too!"
"Lady Bellatrix! You can't leave us all here!"
There was suddenly an uproar and Bellatrix was starting to get annoyed by their whining.
"You dare?" She asked emitting a dark aura.
"Maybe I've been too lenient on you all to whine like this..." Lady Bellatrix took the whip from her side and broke a nearby table with it.
"Now... Tell me again, who dares stop me?" She asked without a trace of sympathy.
Everyone had not seen Lady Bellatrix like this in a long time and the last time they saw her like this it was a nightmare so everyone shook their heads as Lady Bellatrix put back her whip.
" Good! Now, I want everyone to make much progress while I'm away so I'll leave Kendrick in charge. Don't forget, I know everything," she said eerily.
"Open the door, Kendrick," the door burst open as Lady Bellatrix made her usual grand exit.
She walked to a nearby carriage and tossed a small sack of gold to the driver.
"I'll pay double if you can get me to the Ascot duchy in Sterling within the day and quadruple if you can get me there before nightfall," she said entering the carriage and sitting down.
"Yes, Madame! Right away! Hya!" the reigns of the horses had special magic on them to make them run faster than normal horses.
Lady Bellatrix looked out of the window dreamily and sighed, "It's been so long since I last saw my boys,"
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The twins played chess in their private library for 5 hours straight waiting anxiously for their mother.
A knock on their door made them jump excitedly.
"Come in!" Said Renèe.
"You must really be desperate to get that snake weed if you involved your mother in this, young masters,"
"Michael, always a pleasure, now where is mother??" Asked Reinel.
"Do you even have to ask?" Said Michael with a tired smile.
The twins rushes out and went straight to their mother's room.
"My darlings!"
"Mother!" the twins jumped on their mother gleefully.
They hadn't seen her in years and missed her so.
"Now tell me all about this girl," she said excitedly seating them.
"Oh, but-"
"If you're worried that your father will be interrupting us don't be. I asked Michael to keep this a secret for at least an hour," she smiled.
The twins excitedly told their mother how the twins first encountered the princess who didn't seem to care about what they had to say to her.
How they found it interesting that faced with insults she couldn't care less.
How everyone they sent to paint a portrait, get a description, or even just a glimpse of the princess would each come out with a different answer.
Whether they said she was angelic, beautiful, cold, cute, or devlish the twins never heard an answer that satisfied them they knew they had to see it for themselves.
It was like a game. A game of hide and seek that would soon end. But even so the twins hoped for another reason to play with her even for just little while longer.
Their mother listened blissfully, twirling her fire like orange hair around her finger.
She looked at her boys with her snake like cyan eyes.
"She sounds special," she said with a smile.
"She is!" The twins said in unison.
Their mother gave a nostalgic look.
"And such a girl should be by your side but... You'll have to be open to the fact that you might not get what you want this time, boys,"
The twins knew that. Nevertheless they wanted to try. How couldn't they?
Just then their father opened the door with a hint of displeasure in his eyes.
"Trie... I didn't think you'd drop by. Is everything settled in Slade?" He asked coldly.
"Liam, my love, don't be so cold," Bellatrix laughed as she stood and kissed his cheek.
"Boys, why don't you step out for a bit? I'll be out in no time," she smiled.
The twins hastily agreed and went to go get ready for their outing.
As the twins ran out of earshot Bellatrix looked up at her cold husband and stroked his short raven hair.
"I think they're ready to go into the Certrious forest," she said with a smile.
Liam her hand harshly away from him.
"Are you out of your mind?" he glared.
She laughed slightly at her husband's rough behavior.
"Why not? There's been nothing dangerous around there since our last expedition,"
"Nothing dangerous? Might I remind you the time I almost died in that forest?" he said squeezing her wrist.
"Then put a charm on them. It's not hard. Pfft, don't tell me you're jealous of your own sons are you?"
"And might I remind you, my love, that you still owe me a favor," she said happily.
Liam looked confused. "What favor?"
She leaned in closer to his ear and whispered. "The favor you promised me when I agreed to marry you, my love,"
He abruptly let go of her wrist and his cheeks were graced by a soft pink.
"You... Don't tell me you're dangling that promise in front me now..."
Bellatrix looked lovingly into Liam's emerald eyes.
"... I'll think about it..." Said Liam walking away only to be pulled back by his wife to a nearby chair.
Bellatrix sat him down and trapped him in the chair.
She looked down at him their noses almost touching.
"You didn't really think I came all the way over here just for the twins did you?" she asked flirtatiously.
Liam looked surprised for a moment then took Brllatix's hand and put it on his cheek.
"... How could I say no to you, my queen," he leaned in with a gentle smile.
"If so, let's send the boys out with Michael first, then I can take care of you," she said happily as she flicked his forehead.
Liam laughed happily as they walked out of the room hand in hand.
"Michael, if you don't mind, we'd like the house for ourselves today. And please take good care of the boys,"
"Of course, duchess, I'll tell the servants,"
The twins were already outside of the mansion with a small bag of tools waiting for Michael.
"Alright, boys, you've won this round, are you both ready?" Asked Michael.
"Yes, Michael!"
The twins and Michael arrived at the edge of the Certrious forest within the hour.
Michael took out a thin piece of twine and tied it to Reinel's hand.
Michael cut the twine then tied a piece to Renèe's hand.
He then tied both strings to each other and tied one more string to connect the three of them.
"This, is a life line. I can't accompany you inside the forest because I have to stay here and hold the line," Michael explained as he took out two pairs of scissors.
"If you are in any danger at all cut the string and you will be teleported back here to me. You must infuse the scissors with your magic, if you try to cut the string without using your mana the string is indestructible," he said pulling the string with a small 'ting' sound.
"Your mother made this string exactly 250 meters, according to information the snake weed is 175 meters due east, here's a map,"
The twins happily took the map from Michael and rushed to the forest.
"Let the fun begin!"
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°and cut!°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°