The Loop (Book 2)

Arrival

Soon, the six siblings took off. The horses neighed loudly as they ran and dragged the long bus-like carriage through the forests with great speed.

"Hyah! Hyah!" The ryders shouted, whipping the horses to speed up. It only took a day for them to reach the Imperial City.

Noises soon penetrated the carriage as the siblings and their servants could hear people shouting market prices, greetings, bars shouting out orders and payments.

'It's just as I remembered.' Cass sighed quietly in the corner as she opened her eyes to look out the window. Her actions were disregarded to all the siblings but one.

"Hey hey? Why the sad face dear twin sister? Aren't we at the Imperial Capital City now? Didn't you say you've always wanted to come here?"

Shanhei, her twin brother asked questions with a witty smile as he walked towards her.

"Who knows? You might get chosen by the Eldest Royal Princess to be the Holy Protector in two months! You need to keep your head up high, twin sis! Like me!"

Shanhei laughed and pointed at himself as he sat beside her and raised his feet, placing them on the table that shook just as much as the carriage did.

"Mind your own business, twin brother.  Try to keep it in your pants when we arrive, we wouldn't want you to get executed now. After all, you are the soon to be heir." Cass taunted back as she flicked his hands away from her.

She stood up and walked to the corner of the carriage that was empty. Shaji sighed and smiled wryly.

Sitting next to her with a straight attitude, he whispered back as he arched his back and stared towards Cass like a threatening viper spying on its prey.

"Don't you dare stand in my way, little sister. Even though we are twins on paper, I am the chosen heir. It disgusts me to even call your my 'twin sister'. You girls belong in the kitchen, not out at the battlefield, cleaning and not learning martial arts."

Shanhei specified his words especially towards the end of his short monolgue.

The siblings didn't seem to hear what he was talking of as Shanhei moved to the very back of the bus-like carriage, back in his usual 'cheerful' persona, laughing, smiling and confident.

'So annoying. But then again, he did get chosen by the princess in the end. But that's not what I'm worried about. If this truly follows all I remember, then everyone will suffer and perish after the Rite of Reaunation just like they did last time.

If the people who sent me back here were able to change parts of my memories, then they should be partly, if not, fully responsible for my father's sudden ability to speak.

Meaning, I can change this outcome. But I'll have to be careful. One mistake is all it'll take for everything to crumble like a pyramid of cards blown by a butterfly.

How despicable. They thought sending me back here could trap me. But I'll come out victorious with this tangled mess all figured out.

Though Cass's face showed a neutral expression, she was grinning ear to ear in her mind as she started scheming devious plans.

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"Open the gates!!" The guard shouted as he stood to the side. As the large iron gates lifted, the row of guards along the walls moved themselves.

"Attention!" The head guard ordered, giving a salute and slamming the end of his halberd to the solid hard ground. To which the others reciprocated and did the exact same thing.

As the carriage passed, Cass and Shanhei suddenly felt a pair of eyes glare at them, causing both to jolt in shock from the sudden intrusion.

'Sh*t. I forgot all how terrifying she was...' Cass cursed in her mind as beads of sweat rolled down her cheek. She looked at Shanhei with a scowl.

'Tch. If you didn't do so well in the Imperial Literature Exam, you wouldn't have dragged us into this mess.' Cass cursed once more

Shanhei was shaking all over, his clothes were soaked in sweat and another kind of liquid drenched the bench he was seated on.

The siblings looked away and pretended to not see nor notice a thing. Though they were curious at what would possibly make him enter this state,

'Cowards.' Cass thought as she looked out the window only to see that they just pulled over at the entrance of the palace.

Soon, the six of them were walking through the large and grand halls of the Imperial Palace. After letting Shanhei do a quick change of course.

Guards stood, lined up along the walls every 5 metres. Long stipes of silk cloth hung over from the ceiling made the hall look grand.

Each sibling of Cass's felt curious and nervous, even she herself felt nervous. After all, they were going to meet a member of the royal family.

Just a few moments later, the six of them stood outside a pair of large wooden double doors.

The guard that had escorted them here had left immediately without a sound. Even Cassandra couldn't sense their presence anywhere nearby.

"Sooo, do we just knock?" One of the siblings asked with a hushed tone, trying to not attract attention from the guards

"What? No! Knocking isn't enough. We should announce ourselves first before knocking."

"How are we supposed to know when to head in though?"

"Hey, Nova, you're the smart one. What should we do here?"

"I-I...I don't know...haven't studied...royal..."

"Geez, can't you speak louder? How are you going to get a wife like this? You're a man! Talk louder! Speak up!"

While the siblings were busy fighting/brainstorming/insulting, Cass shook her head and turned around before sneaking away. The siblings were all too busy to notice that Cass was missing.

Walking around, she found herself lost in the wide and grand halls. Suddenly, she heard the sound of bells jingling and branches blown by the wind.

Following the direction of the faint and short noise, she found herself in a small garden. In the middle was a large bonsai tree with multiple bells hung over its large branches.

The pink flowers fell off the branches and onto the ground as the wind gently brushed the tree.

"I can chill here. Doesn't seem like anyone's going to come here." Cass said to herself as she observed the overgrown roots and grasses, the dusty floorboards and the murky waters in the pond.

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