Kingdom of Night

Chapter 1

A flame burst to life in the training ring of the palace in Orynth. Followed by the shrieking of two twin girls. The fire was put out by a sudden breeze, sucking all of the oxygen out of the fire.

Aelin watched as her mate went to mediate the quarreling of their daughters, Whitney and Brinley. Both girls were born with tremendous power. Whitney taking after Rowan with wind magic, and Brinley taking after herself. The two elements when together perfectly, and this time, no one was scared of that power.

Aelin trotted over to the training ring to watch the battle unfold. Instead she was greeted by two twelve year old girls ambushing her from behind. "Rarrr! Scared you!" Shouted Brinley. "Ahhh! I will let you pick what we have for dinner three days from now if manage to scare Rowan!" Whispered Aelin. Knowing very well that there was little chance he would frightened, but that they would be having some form of chocolate confections for dinner in a few days. Although Aelin had no problem with that!

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After the girls finished their gruesome training for the day, they walked back to their rooms in the royal suite. "Ugh! That was so tiresome! We really should have listened to father when he said that we didn't want to be trained like mom." Complained Whitney. "Agreed! I don't know how she did it! I feel like I am a shield that is being wielded on the losing side of a battle. I just keep getting pummeled over and over again but I can't give up!" Replies Brinley. Once the girls finally got to their bedroom, they both bathed and settled down in their cozy bed to read their books.

"I am so excited for our visitors later this week! I especially love playing with Thalia and Lydia." Said Brinley when she finished reading her story.

Whitney closed her novel and set it on  the bedside table. Their room was large, with a bed big enough to fit four people without even knowing the others are there, an entire wall filled with books, a large closet, and a washroom with a tub for two.
"I find the antics that you and Lydia pull to be quite childish!" Countered Whitney. 

"It's just like mom says, you are never too old to prank a grouchy male!"

"Mom has never said that."

"Maybe she just doesn't say such things when buzz-kills like you are around!"

"Just go to bed Brinley! It's late!" grumbled Whitney. The only reply she got was a deep snore.

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"Rowan!" Aelin murmured, "Darrow is coming tomorrow and we have to go to a court meeting about the trade of rice."

"Why? Of all things, rice?"

"Don't look at me! At least Aedion and Lysandra will be there."

At that Rowan gave a grunt of agreement and pulled Aelin close. His lips brushed against hers and in a few minutes they were both asleep.

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All of the Lords and Ladies of Terrasen were gathered around a large table in the great hall. They had all been talking for thirty minutes about the cultivation of rice, and the number of grains in one sack. The king was starting to get suspicious because Evangeline was giddy with excitement. The young woman had started to attend the court meetings because she would one day inherit Caraverre. "I think that if we increase the amount of wool we trade, we should have enough money to afford rice for the poor!" Evangeline chimed in. "Very good! I think that would be beneficial for us!" Replied Lord Darrow. The conversation went on but not even five minutes later, Rowan's eyes had glazed over, and he was about to doze off.

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When Rowan finally fell asleep, Aelin whipped out her supplies, and got to work with Lysandra, Elide and Evangeline. Not even a minute later their job was done and everyone returned to their seats.

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The familiar scent of lemon verbena, jasmine and crackling embers and a gentle shaking roused Rowan from his rest. "Hey! Wake up! The meeting is over!" said his mate. " It's about time!" he replied. Completely oblivious to his new hairstyle, Rowan dragged himself from his room to the training ring.

While Rowan was teaching his daughters the best ways to shield themselves with magic, (with the ladies supervising to make sure no one got locked up on a frozen lake with an immortal mister underneath) he noticed that they kept trying to hold in their giggles. After fifteen more minutes of this, he finally caved and demanded to know what was going on. "Why does everyone keep laughing at me!" It was Brinley who tried to respond but all that care out was a handful of hearty laughs. "You-your-your hair!!" She finally managed to get out between laughs. "What do you mean 'my hair'" Rowan demanded while grabbing a mirror from the nearest guard. "Aelin!!!" He bellowed, turning around, but the girls were gone!

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Aelin ran like her life depended on it! Probably because it did. As she passed the servants hallways she sent her scent down the other passage. As she flew past she beseeched the servants and guards for help, to try to slow down Rowan when he passed. The rainbow hair would only stay for a couple weeks, but she knew their would be a large target on her back for a while. Eventually Lysandra shifted into a wyvern, picked them up and flew them away.

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After losing the girls trails, Rowan eventually gave up and tried to wash out his hair dye. No matter how hard he scrubbed, the colors would not come out! Knowing that he wouldn't be getting much sleep that night, because he had to punish Aelin somehow, Rowan took and nap.

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Uncle Aedion walked up to Brinley and Whitney after he heard a commotion in the training ring. "Rowan found out about the hair didn't he!" he asked. "You betcha!" responded Whitney! "Well, we won't be seeing much of Lysandra, Aelin, Evangeline or Elide anytime soon!" "If I remember correctly, your father's hair will still be colored by the time Rhys and Feyre get here!"