Dealings with the Owl Sorcerer

Chapter 1: Bittersweet Beginning

Blood pooled at Signy's feet as she watched in horror. She tuned out the sounds of the panicked guests - all she could hear was her own heartbeat.
This can't be happening, she thought, as tears began well in her reddened eyes. Her trusted friend and her betrothed lie at her feet, twisted in pain, but there was nothing she could do but wait for the medics.
This could have been avoided. They could have found a way if only Aldous hadn't kept so many secrets from her and if only that damned sorcerer wasn't so hellbent in his selfishness. Every passing second was agony for her. She prayed this wasn't real, that maybe she was trapped in some hyper-realistic nightmare. She brought her hands up to either side of her face in a white-knuckled grip and began muttering incoherently. Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die, she thought.
It didn't take long for the medics to arrive, but that did not ease her mind.
"We need to get them to the infirmary for the anti-venom immediately," one of them said. "We need to move these men immediately," one said hurriedly. "Please back away, your highness." He just barely afforded Signy a brief glance as he got to work helping move the brothers onto stretchers.
Signy stepped out of their way without hesitation. The seriousness of the situation and the rushes all around her made it impossible to focus on any one thing - she tried her best to process what the medics were saying but to no avail.
Signy..."
There was no sign of acknowledgment from her.
"Signy!"
"Wha-?" Signy said softly, now looking up from the puddle of blood.
The Chief Minister, her uncle, was staring at her with deep concern. "We need to get you out of here." He gently pulled her away from the scene, outside to the great hall. They were met by Roslin. She and the minister exchanged a few pressing words before Roslin escorted Signy to her bed chamber.
Before Roslin could say anything, Signy said "I need to see them."
Roslin frowned. "I'm not sure that would be best right now, Princess. You nee-"
"Please, Miss Roslin." Signy met her tutor's gaze.
Roslin sadly shook her head. "Tomorrow you should be able to. For now it would be best if you distanced yourself from them." There was an air of warning in her tone.
Signy shifted with unease but nodded in agreement. "Then if it's alright, I'd like to be alone."
Miss Roslin stared for a moment then sighed. "You know where to find me should you need me." She left the room, closing the doors behind her.
The silence in her room was unnerving. What the hell is going on? Her head dropped slightly as she paced. This was all too much.
      Signy sat at her vanity. She caught a glimpse reflection in her peripheral, remembering the occasion she was dressed for. It made her stomach turn.
Why would Aldous do this? She thought. He never mentioned this Curse of Twins before. He never mentioned they were twins at all...He was obviously telling the truth...otherwise Audwin would be fine...but to hide such a thing from me...He promised I could trust him. But after stabbing himself-
Her brows furrowed as she stifled her tears. "He stabbed himself," she whimpered. How could he not have told to me.
  The image of the Aldous and Audwin bleeding out before her plagued her mind; their pain, the agonized expressions on their faces, all of it. She never saw that coming, especially not from Aldous.
After what seemed like an eternity in the hell her mind created, Signy's crying slowed, and she fell asleep, but it did not last. For the third time that night, Signy was awoken by gruesome visions of the twins. She couldn't take it anymore — she had to see them. Signy made her way through the dimly lit halls to the infirmary and snuck in as discreetly as she could.
Audwin was closest to the door. His eyes were shut but she could see his chest rise and fall ever so lightly. He's asleep, Signy thought. Well there's no doctors or nurses here. They must have been declared stable enough to not need overnight monitoring. Someone will check-in soon though, I'm sure. She gently moved his arm away from the bandages around his torso. Upon closer inspection, she saw Audwin's wound appeared to be very well tended to. She felt hopeful.
Her eyes moved up to his face. He looked peaceful, almost in a deceptive way.
"Even in your sleep you seem to be plotting, sorcerer," she whispered. "Regardless, it does bring me some peace of to find you alive...even after everything." She shook her head. "I wish I could say why."
       She moved a few stray strands of his overgrown bangs away from his closed eyes. Audwin suddenly inhaled sharply, catching Signy off guard. She quickly retracted her hand and took a light hop away from his side. She waited a moment to see if he'd open his eyes but there was nothing. She let out a relieved sigh.
She turned her gaze away from her fiancé to see Aldous on the opposite side of the infirmary. She was quick to his side and scanned him thoroughly. She raised her hands over her heart. The tension in her core finally let up. He's fine. She stood there still as a statue, paying no mind to the passage of time, before finding a chair to sit in.
"I wish you would have told me, Aldous," she muttered. "It's hard to know what to think of you right now."
Unbeknownst to Signy, Audwin was awake, listening to her. Hearing her second guess Aldous's character came as a surprise to him, but it put a petty smile on his face.
"I don't know what to do," she continued. "I value the bond you and I share...but now I wonder if marrying you would be as reckless as you stabbing yourself...You damned fool. I don't understand why you couldn't tell me Audwin is your brother...nor can I understand why you thought stabbing yourself would solve anything..." There was a brief silence.
Audwin opened an eye to watch the princess, making sure to remain as still as a corpse. When he saw tears glistening on her cheeks, he frowned.
She should have seen this coming from that posturing bastard, he thought. Pity...Though I suppose there's plenty of blame for me to bear. Granted, without me she may never have known how the Swan Prince really is...Conceited. Unintelligent. Perhaps even more selfish than I. Audwin continued to mentally list off insults for his brother to justify his own wrong doings, no longer paying attention to Signy.
"You're awake?"
Damn, the sorcerer thought.
He turned his head fully in her direction meeting Signy's gaze. "But of course," he replied with a sly grin. "Have you come to try killing me again?"
She gave him a piercing glare. "No. Quite the opposite." Signy stood up with feigned composure and approached Audwin's bedside. "How do you feel?" Her tone was cold.
Audwin raised a brow and folded his arms. He stiffled a wince at the movement. "Oh, so you care?" He snickered dismissively. "I'm alive...despite your would-be lover's disappointing efforts to off me. But how do you feel, my bride-to-be?" His smile grew sinister. "Do my brother's dishonest, secretive ways trouble you?"
Bastard, Signy thought angrily.
"I think you know," She didn't hide her irritation at his question.
"So is that a yes?"
Signy didn't reply.
Audwin pouted mockingly. "Oh, you poor thing."
She snapped at him, "Much of this is your fault, Audwin. You need to take accountability."
The sorcerer rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "For what? They got what they deserved."
Signy looked at him disapprovingly. "Am I a part of this 'they'? Because if so, please enlighten me as to what I did to deserve such hostility from you," Signy demanded. Audwin's bitter gaze snapped back to meet hers but he was silent.
"I though as much," she said. "You've been like a knife at my throat from the moment I learned who you are."
"Ironic," he quipped.
"You wreaked havoc in this kingdom. My kingdom. Making everyone around you suffer will get you nowhere. I'd expect someone of your intelligence to recognize that." She softened her tone, but her expression remained cold as winter. "Audwin, I need you to work with me...for I refuse to play into this sadistic game of yours just to be miserable for the rest of my life."
       Signy inspected the sorcerer's face closely. He fixed his gaze to the ceiling. She caught a slight glassiness in his eyes as his features subtly shifted. Audwin sat up in his bed, looking at her once more - they were almost eye to eye. They stared at each other in silence for a long moment until he finally looked away again. A heavy sigh escaped him. Signy swore she noticed a hint of longing hiding in his disdain.
"I don't want to make you miserable, Signy."
Signy was taken aback. She didn't think he'd respond. She crossed her arms as if to shield herself. "You would have told me differently not too long ago."
"I'm aware..." he replied. There was a hint of shame in his voice. "But it would have been lies. It's never been about you." His fingers wrapped around the edge of his bed as he pushed himself up with some strain. Despite his height over the princess, he seemed almost meager. His weakness was apparent - try as he may to hide it. Audwin inched closer. The space between them was almost non-existent. His gaze darted all across her face, unable to land on any one feature as he tried to find his words.
  "Signy." Her name was barely a whisper. "Would you grant me another chance?"
Another chance? Am I willing? She thought. I cannot leave this chaos in the past and just move on. He could be trying to manipulate me again...
"Signy..."Audwin pulled her from her pondering. He inhaled a shaky breath. "Please?" A pang of empathy rang in Signy's heart at the quiver in his voice.
  She exhaled sharply. "I believe with all my heart that most are capable of penance...I want to believe..." she paused. A million possibilities of how he could break her trust raced through her mind. Her lower lip scraped between her teeth as a frown tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I want to believe you could too."
A gulp anchored in his throat in anticipation as a glimmer of hope danced across his face.
"I will allow you a chance to redeem yourself. Do not betray my trust." There was desperation in her tone. "I don't do this lightly."
There was silence for a moment as Audwin searched for words. He parted his lips as though to say something, but nothing came out. He gave a small quick nod. His eyes fell to her hands as his head ticked to a slight angle. His fingers twitched as though they were fighting to graze hers, but he didn't allow them to. With a quick glance, Signy noticed, but she was hesitant to act herself.
    "Thank you," he said. It was almost inaudible.
     Signy's hand slowly left her side and reached for his. He reciprocated, closing the gap with the light grasp of pinky finger.
     "I'll do anything," he breathed.
     "I believe you," Signy replied. She tenderly intertwined their remaining fingers together. She was so close, she swore she could hear his heartbeat. The faintest hitch in Audwin's breath tickled her skin. A small voice in her head scolded her for enjoying this closeness. Signy was sure her cheeks were flushed - she hoped the few sources of light there were didn't expose it.
     She was unsure of what would be appropriate to say in that moment. She finally landed on "Goodnight, Audwin. I'll come to see you both again tomorrow."
     He gave her a small smile. "Goodnight, Princess."
       She hastily snuck out of the infirmary and back to her bed chamber.
     She groaned in exhausted frustration. It had been a taxing day, to put it mildly. Her emotions had been thoroughly tossed about like a makeshift raft in the open sea during a storm.
      Go to sleep, dammit.

Author's note

First and foremost, thank you so much for checking out this story! It was a very impulsive decision on my part — because dark evil sorcerers are something I will always be on board with — so we'll see where this goes. More than anything though, I wanted to rework the ending of the original version and do a continuation because it seemed there was a lot of unresolved plot points. I want to take this in a direction that would be reminiscent of something you expect from a Dungeons & Dragons campaign so lots of magic, lots of adventure and lots of fantasy.

Also the amount of times "Signy" auto-corrected as "Soggy" is unsettling. Cant say I'm a fan.