Lights, Camera, Action!

Chapter 42: The Bat, the Wolf and the Owl

"My sister wasn't always my enemy. She was once one of my closest friends. Yet her blood ran rich with that of Rosetta Rose, a woman forced to chose between love and life, and Thorn Rose, a possessive man who used the power gifted to him by a ring. It was inevitable really, that Star would turn out the way she did. I just didn't expect her to turn on me. As for Shift, he was a lot like Sonic and Shadow, actually. If you were to combine the two and add a few extra ounces of confidence, carelessness and ambition and you would get Shift. He cared a lot about Sarah, would have done absolutely anything for her. That protectiveness is a trait shared among those who run with his blood. Myself, you know me. I'm the woman who plays both the victim and the villain. The greatest villain, one could consider. The world gave me a part to play and I have played it to perfection so far. In this particular strand of my life though I'm most definitely both: A victim of a broken heart and a villain to a otherwise seemingly very happy family. To you two, I'm the evil witch who killed your parents. That is fact."

"When a Rose turns twenty, she is given a celebration. A coming of age thing I suppose. A way of saying: You have lived on this planet for two decades. You know how it works so now we can call you responsible for your own actions. She is gifted numerous gifts at this celebration, from friends and family alike. I had little of either but I still got a lot of presents. Shift gave me a CD that had him singing some of our favourite songs. Mother gave me a tiara encrusted with black diamonds. Sarah gave me a book filled with pictures of our childhood and friendship. Star, she gifted me a series of make-up kits. We weren't as close by that time so didn't really know what the other one liked. Thorn obviously, gave me nothing. Not that I would have accepted anything from him. Towards the end of the party, you're expected to make a speech. To declare what you intend to do with your life and who you want to be remembered as. At this point in time, Dagger had been growing at a rather rapid pace. I was spending long hours between being her and being me. As I was about to give my speech, she took over. In that regard, it helped me to make one of the most memorable Rose promises in history. It's the one time a Rose would give you their word on something and you would know they would deliver. Other than that, you have to have a backup plan and don't start blaming us when it turns out we've unfortunately been unreliable. It's in our blood."

"In my speech, I stated how in order to restore our village to it's former glory, we would have to make a big mess. My exact words were something like 'To try and clean up little messes, is easy. Small, minor inconveniences that take a couple of days to fix. Yet they are difficult to find. They hide in cracks and corners, festering away until the structural integrity of the building collapses. When the debris clears, people ask 'Well why wasn't this caught earlier? It's so obvious.' The answer to that is: No one wants to go scurrying around in the dark looking for trouble. They believe trouble is contagious. It's not, it's just a fear of things going wrong. To truly fix something, first you've got to break it. Unearth the cracks, make it a wide open canvas. More people might get hurt but there's a zero percent chance of something being missed and coming up again. So this is my promise to you: That regardless of what a big mess I make, no matter how long it will take to clean up or how many people get lost along the way, I will clean it up. And afterwards, we can all bask in the glory of a free world.' It was something like that at least but it got a massive reaction. People called me a visionary, a madwomen, a killer, a leader. To say that there was a difference of opinion would've been an insult to the divide I caused that day."

"Shift could tell when I was Beauty and when I was Dagger. He knew that Dagger was speaking and that she had extreme views on things. But he agreed with her, knowing that I would keep my word. For Thorn had been in charge before me and it was his rule that I was undermining and insulting. Shift knew I would do anything to prove him and anyone else who called me a monster, wrong. Star, of course, disagreed strongly along with her Father. They said I was dillusional and unfit to become mayor of our great town. For as I'm sure you know, the Roses' were the polictial, spiritual and physical leaders of Rosepetal. That's why it's called 'Rosepetal', it's named after us. Unfortunately, Thorn was the last mayor to have the last name Rose. I realised that I had the right ideas and would eventually have the support of the people. But I didn't want my children to have the pressure of challenging my rule or upholding it when the mantle was passed down to them. So I stepped down. Yes?" Beauty had been uninterrupted this entire time until Starlight raised her hand.

"What does this have to do with us?" She asked, while the story was intriguing, it had nothing to do with them.

Beauty waved her question away. "Everything! In a minute I'll get to what I did to my family and why you ended up being orphans. These moments that lead up to that help others to understand why and who you are! Now, please, no more unnecessary interruptions." She took a deep breath and continued.

"As I was saying, I stepped down from being the Mayor of Rosepetal. Someone else would eventually take over. Yet on that day, I was still mayor. I had ultimate power over the village and in those days, such measures as executions were still in place. Not that Dagger or myself would ever go for something so long-winded, boring and old-fashioned. I believe the death count was something around thirty that day; my Mother and Thorn included. I didn't kill Star then though, her death came a couple of years later. No, instead, I cursed her. I could see that she was doing something to Shift, changing him and making him become someone he wasn't supposed to be. I suppose you could say what I did was an act of petty jealousy but I prefer to think of it as an act of mercy to a dear friend. I cursed her so that she would see that she wasn't the same person as she had been. If she was to bear Shift's children then Star would have to choose: Her life, or the life of her child. Seeing as she is dead and you aren't, Star actually made the right decision for once." Beauty let her words sink in as the siblings looked at her in shock. "Then Shift and I looked after you both for the next few months before I killed him and left you both at the orphanage. And that, is the story of Sliver and Starlight Holograms."

The silence that followed her words was deafening. The only sound was the shallow breathing coming from the Twins. They had dreamt and imagined as children that their parents were extraordinary folk who had no choice but to let them go. That one day the lives of their parents would catch up to them and they would learn who they truly were. Well, as they say, reality is often disappointing. Their parents were universally hated by their new family here, they were infamous in the village for their behaviour. They weren't special; they were idiots who were cruel and power-hungry. "Seeing as we didn't grow up as Roses', is it fair to say that their legacy will not affect us?" Sliver asked, knowing what type of thoughts would be racing through his sister's head.

Beauty nodded. "I see no reason why this knowledge would affect who you are as people. You are passed your formative years, you have been moulded. Only under extreme circumstances now, could you change drastically. While I hope my story brings you closure on who you are, may I give you some advice?" The Twins nodded, rather curious to hear more. "Don't let it define you. The blood that runs through your veins is theirs, but that doesn't mean you are them. It just means that the journey they went on in their lives led to the creation of you." She smiled at them as she saw a light spark in their eyes. They couldn't be their parents even if they wanted to, the Twins had far too much goodness in them to stoop to their level.

Sliver and Starlight got to their feet, returning the smile. "Thank you, for telling us." She grabbed her brother's hand and pulled him into a tight hug.

"It was a story long overdue." Beauty sighed, lost in her memories. "Now I suggest you both get out if here and focus on getting Bloodshed to where it needs to be. Orphans, geniuses, scientists or my niece and nephew, you still work for me and I pay you. Therefore, I expect good work to be delivered. Go." The Twins did as suggested, waving goodbye as they Rab back to the lab.

I hope you enjoyed this rather long chapter, up on time. So the Twins finally know who they are and why. I hope you all thought that this reveal was satisfying. I'll most likely update again tomorrow. Until then, adiós.