The Twin Beauties

1 | Survival

They say twins are two halves of a whole, having a bond deeper than other siblings; to be either auspicious or ominous some say, or that once they are born, they reflect as opposites of one another.

Two girls, alike in all but personality walked down the wooded path that they took. One girl wore a long dress, not caring about the mud and whatever else that would attach itself to the elegant fabric. She held onto her sister's gloved hand as they walked deeper into the forest. The Other girl wore a dark uniform with a cape with the Empire's emblem on it, flowing behind her as she held her sisters' hand with one and the other held her glistening sword still tainted with blood.

What they had in common were the rose-colored eyes that everyone said their mother had. The other was that they had was their father's caramel-colored hair.

The eldest, Aileen, wore her hair loose in wavy locks that reached towards her back with small jewels and pearls decorating her hair. The youngest, Levine or Levi to those close to her, had hers cut despite protest from her sister. It was much better to have short hair when you wave a sword around and so your opponent doesn't have a chance to grab onto more.

Not long after, Aileen complained about her feet hurting and Levi stopped to rest at a pond they came across. To Levi, there should be no pond in the forest she knew for it had ruins, traps, and mounds the Britannian Army created to fortify the palace grounds. It did have dirt paths that lead to the city but that was about it.

'Cowards.' Levi thought, clenching the hilt of her sword.

"Will Father be okay?" asked Aileen as she sat on a boulder and looked up at her younger sister while she looked around and held a semi-relaxed pose.

"Father is strong. He'll bring down our enemies single-handedly, just wait and see." Levi smiled gently, looking at her sister's feet to see any blisters and thankfully there weren't. Still, she could never be too careful as she knelt, patching up her feet before looking around again.

There was still nothing.

"I know. I'm also worried for Jung-Hwa and Gerald... Jung-Hwa disappeared to lead the people away while we stayed behind and Gerald just... we got lost here."

"Everything will be okay. The woods may have changed but we certainly won't lose hope." Despite being the youngest, Levi took the role of the protector – a sword and shield for the future Empress of the Britannian Empire.

"I already feel better now that you're here, Levi. You're as strong as Father after all." Aileen's happiness has always been Levi's happiness. It had been that way since they were children. Levi has always seen her older sister as an optimistic woman, who saw hope in many situations.

With the protection of Levi's sword and her fighting skills, they are bound to be prepared for whatever the forest threw at them.

"What if we encounter wolves? Or bears? Or worse like... Giant Snakes?!" Aileen cried out and hid her face in her sisters' shoulders as Levi laughed gently.

"There're no such thing as giant snakes, Your Highness. In these forests, the most dangerous thing out here would probably be wolves and maybe bears. Our best chances would be to climb the trees and luckily for us, we're great climbers."

Aileen giggled and began to take in the view of the forest, in awe and telling herself that she should come back here once everything calmed down. It looked so peaceful and magical despite magic now being rare in both their home and other kingdoms.

"It's beautiful here."

"And unknown. We must be especially careful since I know nothing of these parts of the forest." Levi stopped by a decent-looking tree with branches that can hold two people, high enough that predators wouldn't be able to catch them. With the vines on the tree, she made a makeshift rope, thick and strong enough to climb faster.