So-Called Destiny

The Compromise

                       Y/N awakens to the slightly emptier household. She goes to shake her brother awake. "Ethan. Get up." She tells him. Ethan's eyes open, then close, then open again, then close. "Ethan, I swear if you don't get up!" Y/N demands, shaking him harder. No reaction. "You asked for it." Y/N assures as a loud smack is heard. "Owww." Ethan says as he gets up. "I'm up, I'm up." He reassures as he sits up from his position. "What's wrong?" He questions as his eyes adjust to the light in the room. "When did it become morning?" He inquires as he looks to Y/N, her eyes red and puffy. 

                     "She's gone." Y/N tells him, holding out the unopened envelope. "Read it." She demands as she shoves it toward him. He nods, and opens the envelope, careful to keep it intact at least a little. The paper inside was stained with tears and crumpled to show it was made in a rush. Ethan unfolds the paper and begins to read,

                    "My dearest children, by the time you read this letter my body will have left this Earth Land. I feel it is time I tell you of who I truly was, and the truth behind the Zodiac rulers. My name is Nin, and I am or rather was The Zodiac Queen. My life as queen was plagued with useless quarrels between my subjects. Of which there was only thirteen. Still, I acted as their leader in times of peril. But I was still a slave to my key holders with no sense of choice or control. That all changed with your father. You already know how that story played out. As of now, you are the rightful rulers of the zodiac. Your powers will become harder to control as you grow older. Still I must warn you that using these powers will stunt your growth. You will no longer be able to age and experience growing up. Please think before you act my children.

My past life as ruler is not yours to withhold. I failed so that you both do not have to. Please take this chance to find your own paths in life and figure out a future for yourselves. Just know that I will always love you both, and I support each and every decision you make no matter what.

Love,

Your mother."

Y/N stood over her brother, eyes softening as he read the last sentence aloud. Find my own path. That was their mother's last wish. Y/N stepped towards the key that lay on the floor ahead of them. The night before, it had been broken in two. Now it lay before them, sporting an all new design. "What do we do now?" Ethan held the letter in his hands. "I don't know."

Y/N bent down to better examine the key. It's similar to their mother's original design, but different. Atop the key sits two crowns, seemingly stacked together. Underneath lay two heads with snakelike bodies that led to intertwined hands at the bottom, shaping to form a heart of sort. She picks up the key, why did it look so weird? Her brother approached her. "What do you suppose we do with that?" He asks as he squats to her side. "I don't-"

She is cut off as the key begins to spark, it flies out of Y/N's hand and floats in the air. The twins find themselves within a bright white cloud, unable to move. Then, it alters itself. A night sky forming all around, as if they were floating with the stars. Y/N looks to her brother, fear evident in her eyes. He grabs her hand, taking a deep breath, she mimics his actions. A man with a large white mustache to match his large stature stood before them.

"Twin Rulers!" He booms before them. Y/N gulps as she and her brother reside in front of him. "Welcome back to the Celestial Spirit World." He smiles cheekily. Y/N furrows her eyebrows, slightly confused about his phrasing. "As of today, you belong to the spirit world." Her eyes widen. "Now wait a second!" Y/N shouts at the man. "Why would you accept us but not our mom?" She confronts him, wanting answers. "Your mother paid her price, now you will take her place." Y/N grows angry at this statement. "That's not fair! What if we don't want to take her place? What if we have different plans for our future?" She replies, her voice growing louder with each statement. "Why not? It is your destiny after all." He booms back at her. "What if we" She gestures to her and her brother. "What if we don't want this so-called destiny?" The man's smile turns into a frown. "That is not your choice to make. Your mother was a celestial spirit! That makes you one as well!" He answers. "We aren't spirits, we're human! Born to a human mother and father." She begins to cry. "Our mother told us of her life here. And well, we don't want it. We don't want to be slaves..." She glances her brother. He flashes her a smile. "Our mother wrote us a letter. She told us to choose our own paths, to live out our own lives. And we want to do that. We want to live!" She cries out the last point, pushing emphasis on the word live. The man stares down at the pair of children, silent, angry.

Ethan finally speaks up. "Please, this is all we ask. Could we maybe compromise?" He inquires, offering the elder a bone of sorts. "You wish to compromise with the Spirit King!?" He questions, an eyebrow raised. "Yes... your majesty. We do." The boy answers, performing an awkward bow of sorts. "We propose that..." He pauses, not knowing what to say. He looks to his sister, already preparing to yell. "You let us live, sir!" She shouts at him. Ethan nods to himself, that's right. "Yes... sir. Let us live out our lives. We are still very young! Too young to be rulers. Maybe you could let us have a chance to grow up? Possibly promote a regent of sorts?" The boy offers, hesitation in his voice. He rubs his beard, as if mulling over his choices. The old man then stares at the twins, before grinning widely. "Alright then. While you both are 'growing up' as humans do, I will have a new leader in place." The twins respectively bow and curtsy before their elder. "Thank you." And with that, the twins were back in their home. A locked box lay before them, could this be where the key is held? Ethan wonders as he sits up.

Back at the celestial world, the king calls over a spirit. "Leo the lion!" He booms at the spirit, "As of today, you are the new leader of the Zodiac." The cat-eared spirit bows before him, "Thank you sir." As Leo thought back to the two children from before, he couldn't help but smile. Nin's daughter was quite the hot-head it seems, just like her mother. While her son seems very calm and collected, similar to his father. Then again, he could be over analyzing. Still, "Let us live!" That was a very courageous thing to say, especially in front of the king. He couldn't help himself, still wondering about these kids. What are they like, these future leaders of the zodiac? 

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Authors Note!:

Thank you for reading so far in the story, I noticed the chapters are really long, very sorry for that! I am working on making them shorter, but for now just to convey all the information the chapters may remain a little long! Feel free to comment on how the story makes you feel so far, or if you are confused about anything I am always willing to answer. As always thank you for reading So-called destiny!