The Queens of Ida

8

 Emeline looks up at the two princesses. Neither of her mothers ever mentioned that they were twins. Identical, just like Aisha and Adi. But they don't seem very smart.

"What do you mean, nobody's ever tried to take over your kingdom?" Emeline asks them.

"Who would try to take over our kingdom?" One of the twins asks her. She's crouching at eye level, and Emeline can't help but notice her deep brown eyes.

"Your eyes are pretty," Emeline says. "Are they your real eye color?"

"Uh, yeah, they are," the twin responds.

"I want eyes like that," Emeline says, reaching up to touch the princess's face.

"Your eyes are pretty, too," the other twin says. She's standing a ways away.

"You can't see my eyes from over there," Emeline states.

"Well, I can see your eyes, and Mara's right, they are pretty," the crouching twin says.

"Thank you, they're emerald, like Mom's," Emeline responds, clasping her hands behind her back and swaying a bit from side-to-side. "Did you know Mom can make people into crystals with her eyes? Just by staring at them. I wish I had powers like that." As soon as she says it, she remembers that that fact about her mother is one of the 'don't tell anyone' ones.

"Really?" The crouching twin asks.

"No," Emeline says. She steps back. "I didn't say that."

"Yeah, you did," the twin called Mara says.

"No! I didn't!" Emeline says, running toward the door. The crouching twin tries to grab for her, but she pushes through the door before she succeeds.

Raya wanders the hallways of the large castle. Though much has changed since she was last here, she still remembers every passage, every room. Like the hallway that her sister swore to her was haunted, before it was discovered that Raya could clearly see it wasn't due to her powers. Or the rooms where she spent hours in confinement, trying to perfect a spell. The walls of the royal study are no longer covered in blood-charm stains, but she'd recognize her father's desk anywhere. But Emeline is nowhere to be found.

At last Raya hears the sound of frantic footsteps and turns to see her daughter running top speed toward her.

"Aisha!" Emeline calls.

Raya stoops to catch Emeline in her arms as she barrels into her. "Bushka, what's wrong?" she asks, giving her daughter a look over to determine her physical state. She doesn't seem hurt.

"I–" Emeline begins, then bursts into tears and cuddles her head into her aisha's neck. "Aisha!" she wails.

"What?" Raya says, patting Emi's back.

"Is everything alright here?" Raya recognizes Queen Luena's voice.

"Yes," Raya responds, turning. "Yes, my daughter just got lost. I'll bring her back to my chambers."

"Oh, that's okay," Queen Luena turns to the crying princess. "Are you alright sweetheart?"

Emeline doesn't respond, but continues crying into Raya's neck.

"She's alright. Just got scared. She is quite young, you know. I'll take her back to my chambers. Goodnight," Raya says.

"Yes, she is young. I suppose she is a bit young for formal occasions, but perhaps you could bring her to breakfast with you tomorrow. We could have a–a merely semi-formal-leaning-on-the-side-of-casual breakfast and put off the peace talks until the afternoon." Queen Luena says. She smiles at Raya, but Raya can see the anxiety behind the smile. Raya knows the Queen must only be anxious because every time she speaks it must be like walking a cursed graveyard. She doesn't want to upset her guests. Of course that's all. But as Raya nods weakly in a 'maybe' kind of way and turns, she can feel the Queen's eyes on her back.

Perhaps it's time for a second wife.