Shadow of Mind

Chapter 1

- 🌌 T a l i a 🌌 -

"Presenting, his Majesty, King Malcolm, and her Highness Queen Fantina!" The announcer yelled into the microphone, and I fidgeted behind the curtains. My parents insisted that they would be announced every time they made a public appearance, and I was getting sick of it. Mother's dark skin glowed, her violet eyes gleaming as I saw the pink shimmering off it. She was glamouring up herself, adding extra layers to herself to make her seem glamorous, perfect.

Mother couldn't help it. She was born with a Fairy gem, with a family of those who twisted the heart.

Then you had Father. He too, twisted his image, making him seem taller, broader, and his pale skin became slightly more tanned, his eyes less sunken and more blue, to hide the fact that he kept himself to himself, with his books, with his toys. He couldn't help it either. He was born with a Psychic gem, with those who twisted the mind.

"Do they have to do this all the time?" A voice beside me asked. My dark skinned little sister, a mirror image of my Mother, gazed up at me. She was young, only 12, but she wasn't stupid. Her gem was a Ghost gem, mysterious, ever changing, and not known to many, sly.

"Sorry, Daeva. You know them. And you know how they usually work." I said, my heart softening. I had grown up without any comfort or love, until baby Daeva was born when I was 5. I became like a mother to her, more than our real mother ever was. "They're the wow. We just stand back, follow they're orders, and then we'll be sent back to the Palace while they deal with affairs."

"But Talia, they do this every single time!" She complained, and I sighed. I didn't like my name. Mother gave it to me, and it was probably ironic when my gem was revealed at the ceremony when I was 4. The fair skinned princess, with a Dark gem. She had called me the dew of God, and I had ended up being a Devil's spawn.

"Hush, it's our turn." I whispered, and the announcer began again.

"Presenting know, the beautiful princesses, Princess Talia and Princess Daeva!" The crowd cheered as we entered, cameras flashing, all of them greedy reporters, hungry for a picture of the princesses. I too, like my parents called on a disguise. I was like my father, one that twisted minds, while my sister was one that clouded sight and judgement.

Instead of going for beauty, I went for modesty. The dark blue gown I had been put into had a swooping neckline, and I pulled it up, making it a sleeveless gown, the neck becoming a turtleneck that reached up to my necklace, my black gem in plain sight. The light lilac of my sister's gown contrasted with her dark skin, and complimented her lovely cinnamon curls, and I watched as she put a mist around the bottom of her dress, creating a gradient effect on the bottom of her gown.

"Thank you." Mother spoke to the press at the stands. Her gown was magenta, while her silver crown sparkled in her dark hair. "Thank you all very much. People of Peritia, I welcome you. Soon, we will be celebrating our 18th anniversary of the birth of our eldest Princess, Princess Talia, and will mark another year of prosperity for the future of our country!"

The crowd roared, and my trained eyes flickered from one reporter to another. Many of them were those of Psychic gems, like my father, to peer through the gaps my mother left them to meddle with. I surrounded my mind with a dark aura: no Psychic was getting in there soon.

"What will be of her future? What alliances have you thought of? She will be of marriageable age soon, and there are many fine suitors out there!" The reporter asked.

"Well, I guess my daughter will be there to explain this. Talia?" My mother looked expectantly at me, and I groaned in side. Of course I had to do a speech.