Two of the Same

Prologue

The light trickled in from above, the Kingdom was awash within its warm rays, gleaming with pale blues and silvers the buildings and path ways shimmered. The laughter of children bubbled with the fluidity of a rushing stream as it filled the air. A young girl raced through a path way sheltered over head by the long, pale reaching branches of twisted knobby trees that were planted in rows on either side of the walkway.

"Gwyneth." The young girl turned towards the sound of her name being called, he long thin legs whirling her like a top sending the skirt of her royal blue dress into a twirling motion. Her midnight black hair whirled from her shoulders, gleaming in the light with bright hues of silver and blue that was weaved within her brilliantly dark tresses. A boy ran to meet her, his body moving beyond the speed of what was expected of a child. He wore a tunic of the same blue as the girls dress, the silver crest of a spear with a piercing light crossed with two swords and encircled by a wreath of interwoven vines glimmered prominently upon his chest; the crest of the Fane Kingdom. The two children's faces were so strikingly similar there was no denying their relation. They had long thin faces, their high cheek bones that gave them a slightly feline look to them accompanied with large brilliantly colored yes. The girls were bright green with a ring of gold around the pupil and the boy's were pale gray with streaks of green slashing through them, gorgeous but alien even among their own people, eyes such as these were a clear sign of power and birth, greatly revered and as equally feared. Their skin, the color of faded gold, was almost translucent and lined with markings across the bridge of their noses that were almost tribal like. The two looked at each other, from an outside perspective, in silence but beneath the surface these twins shared more than just blood.

Gwyneth smiled at her brother Tyrain, but the serene moment was shattered by the sound of the Kingdoms gates opening; shouts and jeers filled the air. The two looked at each other and dashed off towards the gats. They slipped their way through the gaps within the pressing hoard.

The guards are bringing in the criminals Gwyneth thought as she peered around the leg of the man standing in front of her. The guards filed in past the crowds, escorting their captives. Some passed by slowly, heads bowing in silence as they withstood the taunts and jibes of the relentless crowd before them. Others were dragged, their feet leaving tracks in the dirt and their heads lolling from one side to another as if they were rag dolls that had been played with too roughly. Gwyneth pressed closer to the front of the crowd, craning her neck for a better look, her curiosity insatiable. There was a flutter in the back of her mind, like a brush of a dove's feather, soft and barely noticed; a warning whispered through her consciousness. Gwyn, be careful but her own mind over rode the intrusion. Ignoring the word of warning she pushed ever more insistent until she stood at the front of the massive group of people. There was a sudden burst of activity at the back of the procession, close to the gates opening. The crowds surged forward for a better look, the excitement in the air was like a fire, spreading and gorging upon itself, growing stronger and more dangerous with every passing moment. One of the prisoners being brought in was resisting the guards, flailing about and fighting back. He fought and pushed against their iron vice grip as they pulled, dragging him down the path. The screams from him were deafening, as though the touch of the guards' armor burned his flesh and seared his very soul.

"The darkness. The shadows, you fools the shadows shall devour your souls. They will tear you apart limb from limp, steal your children and harvest their blood for their ale! Fools you may kill me now but you are already dead yourselves! My death will be of little consequence to what horrors await you at the hands of my masters!" he laughed, his eyes huge and blood shot, the eyes of a mad man. His mouth foamed and his raving became more and more delusion and incomprehensible until they were just pointless screams to fill the shattered stillness that seemed to be marred beyond repair. This man, this creature, was possessed by demons whose existence was beyond the aid of anyone present within the court yard. The fire of the mob had cooled suddenly amongst the people who had just moments prior been rapid for blood; now a fear cold as ice began to settle like a fog amongst the bystanders as they watched and listened in silence. As he drew closer to Gwyneth she could see how frightening the man actually was. His hair was ragged hanging in dirty clumps in his face; his eyes bulged and had a sickly yellow hue to it. He was wearing rags that showed his skin, taunt and leathery, stretched too tight across his boney body. Gwyneth cringed away the closer he came and heard him cackle again.

"Oh look at all the little-" he stopped short when his gaze reached Gwyneth's his toothy grin transformed to a sneer of hatred and his face took on a look of animalistic rage. "A little princess; an innocent soul of Fane?" he asked mockingly his gaze freezing Gwyn to the ground like a nail being driven through a board, there was no escape. It seemed like everyone melted away, leaving Gwyneth and the man in front of her as the last two in the world.

Gwyn the voice murmured again in the back of her head but louder than before; a lingering warning that was too late. It took a moment, a split second, before everything was flipped upside down. In a flash of movement the prisoner had pulled away from the guards, somehow slipping through their steel like grip. He had lunged forward, his hands outstretched. Finger nails like talons, sharp and fast as they dug into Gwyn's arms, tearing through the fabric of her Kingly gown. She cried out in terror as the fugitives face came chillingly close to her own, his breath smelled of death and his hands were grimy as he held her painfully tight.

"The little princess, the light of the Kingdom," he cooed mockingly his cynical smile turn to a grimace. "You are no match to my lord, my little puppet; you won't have what it takes to change anything." Gwyn whimpered unable to tear her eyes away, transfixed by fear and left to meet her capture's bewitching gaze. "I've seen it, I've seen all of it, and I know what will become of you if you try to stop the rise of the shadows; of Fane's rightful King. So heed this warning my little strumpet, unless you want to lose everything including you worthless little life you'll not go meddling in things that are not of your concern." A jolt leapt from the prisoner to Gwyn, like a lightning bolt to her temple, a shock passed through her mind burning images into her consciousness. The conversation which had seemed to have passed by in lifetimes had only lasted moments and the guards were pulling him off of her. People rushed to Gwyn's side while the ground rushed to her face. The last thing she saw was Tyrain's grey eyes piercing her through the sea of black and the prisoner's haunting words ringing in her ears.

I know what will become of you. And then she was lost to everything else in the world.

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<3 G. R. R.