Arizium

Chapter 2

"Who do you think she is?" Amaria asked with arms crossed. They had brought the mystery girl into the castle just moments earlier, she was lying unconscious in the infirmary with the twins surrounding her.

"I don't know," replied Lucius, who was holding a warm rag on his bruises "I don't think she's a serving girl, since I've never seen her around here, and she can't be a commoner since commoners aren't allowed into the garden."

"Maybe she snuck in?"

Lucius started to shake his head, but decided against it when a lace of pain shot up his neck "No. The guards around here are heavier than any other place on the continent. I doubt that she could have made it through."

Amaria took one last long look at the girl. She was young, maybe at about her sixteenth name day or so, but lord, was she tall. She had to be taller than the king himself. Her short black hair was curly and ruffled, obviously she didn't try very hard to keep it neat and brushed. She was wearing wools and linen instead of silk and lace like a proper girl, which was a curiosity to Amaria. Dressed very simply, with a grey tunic that had a hood stitched into it and black trousers, she could have been mistaken for a boy if you looked at her at a certain angle.

Amaria tore her gaze away "Summon me immediately once she awakens." She informed the apothecary, who bowed in response and set about sorting tonics and salves. She walked out of the infirmary wing with her twin, as the king had requested their presence in the throne room moments ago.

They could hear muffled voices as they approached the massive room, and once they swung the wooden double doors open, the voices could be easily heard.

The king sat on the throne, lazily of course. He was an old man, maybe already fifty years of age. He never spoke of his age, it was rumored that only the queen knew of it. He had a grizzled grey beard and hair to match. The crown that rested atop his brow was gold studded with small sapphires and rubies to represent the royal colors of the Vlivians.

"You will abide by my rules or suffer the consequences!" Boomed Endrew Vlivian.

A knight stood in the middle of the room, obviously the one who had invoked the king's wrath, "We're only asking for a tenth percentage of your huntings, Your Grace."

"I barely have enough to feed my own people, and yet you have the audacity to mock my intelligence by saying that a tenth percent is a meager number. I will have none of it. Leave! Before I decide to lock you in irons, Movriasian." The king spat the last word.

The simple knight seemed to know that he wouldn't be able to change the king's mind, so he bowed and took his leave, trying to hold on to what little dignity he had left. The twins took that as their cue to approach, the only sound besides the king's sigh was their footsteps that echoed eerily throughout the hall. The two bowed before their lord and father. Amaria spoke, "You requested to see us, Your Grace?"

The king only scoffed "Please, you two are of my own kin. Damn the formalities and come here." he opened his arms wide and the twins were glad to embrace him. Endrew Vlivian was the first to break away, saying "It feels like it's been an eternity since I've laid my eyes upon both of you. How are your studies going?"

They both shrugged and blushed. The king merely smiled and said, "I knew you two would be impossible to deal with the moment I laid eyes on you both. Anyway, I didn't summon you just to catch up on old times. There have been rumors going around about wildlife being found dead in the woodlands."

"Well that's not uncommon," Stated Lucius. "Hunters forget to pick up their winnings quite often."

"Very true son, however all of the animals have been found brutally murdered. This is not some casual stray arrow, Lucius. They've all been skinned, maimed, torn apart, made unedible."

"And with our food supply already so low, this is not a welcoming sight." Amaria said matter-of-factly.

"Exactly," Endrew stated, "and who better to put a stop to it than the future rulers of the realm?" He smiled again and ruffled their hair.

"You want us to go off into the forest chasing rumors?" Lucius questioned uneasily. "Precisely. I'll be putting ten of my best men under your charge for the journey. They'll be ready by dawn tomorrow, and try not to get them killed, they are my best men after all."

Lucius stood up straighter, "Not a hair will be missing from their heads."

"Good." The king grunted "Think of this as a test, a measure of your ability to take charge." When they scurried away, it was already dusk and there were preparations that had to be made. When all the servants were notified of the surprise journey, the twins set off into their own private bedchambers.

As Lucius was about to close his eyes, a raven cawed right outside his window.

(A/N: Stupid friends making me update half an hour later. It's still the exact same, people. There's no extremely drastic changes until like Chapter 10 okay? Okay)