*A few days later*
"Stazi, I don't know what always goes on in that head of yours, but please, talk to meeeee. We've been walking for forever. Do you even know where we're going?!"
"Aki, trust me. I know where we're going."
"Well then, wouldya mind filling in the rest of your party, i.e. ME?!"
"It's simple Aki, truly. First, we have to learn more about who has the power right now. Then, we have to rally not just an army, but a separate nation willing to fight for us. And ya know why Aki?! Because we are the heirs to the thrones of Light and Dark. We are the ones who should be preparing to rule. Now. Not in 20 years, when we're getting old and should be at peace, but NOW!"
"Chill Stazi. That still doesn't answer my question. Where. Are. We. Going?"
"We are going to start by finding a town or city that simply reeks of nobility."
"And just why do we need to find some city that has a bunch of lazy people who order others around?"
"Because they have money. And not only do they have money, they always want more."
"I'm still not following."
"Remember back a couple of months ago when Maman was talking to Tatie Reli and being all secretive? Well, I remember overhearing them a few times, and they said that the rich cities were starting to enact a new way of entertainment for the rich people, one that definitely could be used to make them a lot richer if they bet right."
"Bet?! You mean those fights for glory or whatever?"
"Yes Aki, I mean those fights. Part of my running around has been to find the nearby towns to see which ones would put the fighting arenas in first so that we could go and fight. Those who get a high enough rank in these fights have a chance to face one of the Knights in the Force of Midnight. This is not only a chance to be sponsored by the nobility. We can also earn money, food, and a place to stay, as well as potentially the support of the houses in our uprising."
"....You've really thought this through, haven't you?"
Ana didn't answer, but Dahak could see the dark gleam in her eye, and he knew the answer. Just before they topped the next hill, Ana stopped Dahak, and he knew they must be close to the city that Ana knew was there.
"Listen to me Aki, we need new names and faces for a while. If we stay the same, there's a chance that someone might somehow recognize us or see our parents in us. We can't have that. We also have to hide our weapons and make new ones that aren't so recognizable."
"So.....magic?!"
"Yep. Magic to change our hair and eyes, and to hide the weapons, and then we'll pick new names to go by. So, before we go into town, we should do this now."
"Did you have any ideas, or....?"
"The only thought I had was that we go in as siblings, as twins. It'll make us more appealing to the crowd, who will get to see, and bet, on more fighters in the ring."
"Do you really think that's a good idea Stazi? After all, they could try and break us that same way."
"I'm betting on it."
At this, Dahak turned to face Ana, since he had been surveying the area up til that point. In her eyes, her dark, blood-red eyes twinkled, and he understood why Mirage and Ana had bonded so well as weapon and wielder. Dahak then took a moment to truly analyze his cousin. He hadn't seen much of the world, except for a few times when Stazi snuck him out with her, but he did know people considered her beautiful. He always thought she was equal parts terrifying and annoying, but he had never analyzed her physical appearance before. He had always teased her for being short, which she was, but she was a woman. He hadn't really noticed because there wasn't any noticeable difference between how she acted as a kid and now, but looking at her, with her long silver, almost white really, hair, her blood-red eyes, she looked like some tiny child's nightmare.
"So, what do we change ourselves to Stazi?"
"It all depends on if we still want to draw any attention at all or enter completely under the radar."
"I vote attention."
"You would. But this time, it makes sense. We still have to catch some attention before any fighting actually starts."
"I vote red hair. Amma had it, so it's a small way to honor her."
"When you guilt trip that way I have to say yes. What about eyes?"
"Hmmm, what color were Tatie Ari's eyes?"
At this, Dahak felt Stazi stiffen, and he knew that while she had played off her grief, she was still grieving all the same. For the first time in almost 5 years, he saw tears slip down Ana's checks, and small sobs break up her normally confident voice.
"The...they.....they wer....they are.....they.were.deep.blue."
Dahak pulled her into a hug then, his own heart breaking again for his cousin, for both of their loss. As they sank down onto the ground, he slowly petted her hair and rubbed her back, never saying anything, just letting her cry. After a while, he spoke again.
"Then that's what we'll do. How about names? And how were you wanting to hide the weapons?"
"Umm, yeah. I guess for names....I'll be Deianira and you can be....Dearil?"
"Yeah, we can do that."
"As for the weapons, if we use magic for them, we can bind them as tattoos on our bodies that can only be summoned by us."
"We need a family name, you know."
"......Casimir."
"Destroyer of peace."