Moon and Shadow

CHAPTER 3

THE GIRL IN THE MIRROR LOOKED DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT WHAT YELENA HAD KNOWN HERSELF TO BE. The reflection was unearthly beautiful, as if carved by the Saints themselves. Her bright snow-like hair pinned away from her soft and rosy features, plump lips painted in a beautiful hue of red. The dark green of her dress complimented well with the green of her eyes, which appeared as if gemstones. The quaint Northern choker sat at the hollow of her neck, paired perfectly with the earrings which sparkled underneath the sunlight. She looked as if she was royalty; she belonged to royalty.

The reflection was far too perfect; a lady of the court. The lady in the reflection was the Eldest Daughter of Duke Vladimir Volkov; she was a lady vying for the King's hand in marriage, only to serve her duty to her family. 

She was nothing like Yelena, the girl whose heart was Northerner. She was beautiful, as everyone had always praised her to be. But it was more of the beauty of the warmth of a bright fire in a winter night or the smell of rain with soft music and a good book. She belonged in the constantly cold and snow-clad landscapes in Tsibeya, away from the world, tucked in a word of books and teas. She belonged in the pale dresses which provided more agility or perhaps in her leather riding pants. She was called by the memories of spending an entire afternoon atop her horse while the bow and arrow hung from her shoulder, sharing laughter and stories with her twin.

Yelena was plucked away from her thoughts when she heard someone clearing his throat, but she need not to turn to know who had entered. Viktor silently approached her, his sapphire eye trailing up and down her figure, jaw lightly hanging as he gawked. The girl flushed bright under his piercing gaze, blood rushing up to her cheeks as she thought of when had she last seen her brother so out of words, only to soon realized that it was the first.

"You look..." he trailed off, blinking away from the trance he was in. She could see the concealed awe on his sharp face, the obvious surprise but beneath all of it, she could see a glimmer of fear. And while she knew perfectly why that was there, she decided not to dwell on it. Thinking will only make it more true and scary than it is. 

"Beautiful?" The lady queried, tilting her head to the side with a small smile as she saw him nod before he took in a deep breath, turning his face to the side as he tried to compose himself. It was probably the first time she had seen Viktor so taken aback, and she had never thought that it would take her dolling up to do it. Because if she had known, she would have done it a few times already.

"Ravishing," he growled playfully, making his sister laugh as she shook my head, allowing her own eyes to rake through his appearance. Nothing much changed in the way he dressed, given the fact that he had always dressed marvelously back in Tsibeya. His coat was dark green, lined with gold at the cuffs and the lapels while a white shirt peaked out a bit. His leather breeches were almost lost under the coat which seemed to end just where his boats start. Hair identical to hers were sleeked back in a half pony, perfectly straightened. How can he have so pretty hair while mine look like they need washing every other day?

The eyepatch remained the same, the leather covering the worst of his scar which ran diagonally from his forehead to his right cheek. She remembered their father offering to order for a new eyepatch to be sewn for him when the preparations for our visit were being made, but Viktor had shook his said with a gentle "no".

"See something you like?" He queried, raising his eyebrow while his eye glimmered with mischief and for a moment, they both were back in the forest surrounding the back of our keep, playing around with wooden swords and making fun of each other. "No. You aren't my type," she teased with a wink, laughing as he placed his hand over his heart playfully. "You wound me, Yelena."

"I can admit I am dangerous."

A silence fell over as both of they stared at each other, trying to stifle the laugh which threatened to took over. "Not more than a dagger, I am sure," he said, crossing his hands over his chest as he tilted his head like Miss Svetlana used to do when she had not completed her fill of work. At first, it was a modest laugh, but soon, she couldn't stop laughing. She didn't know when Viktor joined in but at the end, they both were out of breath and panting from laughing for long.