Title Pending

4

IV

The sunlight was harsh, heating the tower of ice, turning it into a clear lake, hiding it's very existence from the waking world. The large man was long gone, but the thin woman remained, sitting at the bottom of the lake. Her own long hair floated around her in the invisible current. Part of her wished that it would wrap around her neck and kill her, but she knew it never would. She was forced to live in this wretched world until the large man was done with her. Only then would she be free, discarded like a doll that a child has grown bored of.

4Aiyden

A loud and clear slap reverberated through the forest, and Aiyden felt himself wake as if he was stuck in a dream he couldn't remember. He turned his head forward to the person who slapped him. She was a strong looking girl, she was hunched slightly, and the palm of her hand was red from impact. She had a knife stuck in her other shoulder, and blood all over. Her long hair was matted with it, and it was all over her shirt like she tried to wipe blood off herself, but other than the knife in her shoulder she didn't have even a scratch on her. She wasn't wearing clothes from the faerie realm, rather a ratty looking t-shirt that may have once been white and a loose fitting pair of gym shorts. The fresh blood from her shoulder made the shirt stick to her, and he saw the ridges of corded muscle beneath.

Realizing he was staring he snapped his head up to the face of this unknown person. She had freckled skin, and her jaw was clenched from the pain of the fresh stab wound. Her brows were furrowed and beneath them were angry eyes. Her iris' were what caught him off guard. They were a vivid red, lighter than Jane's, but still the same eyes he knew, but they were different too. There was contempt in this girl's eyes. She was nearly as tall as he, so their gazes were practically level. "Were you sent to kill me?" he asked before his brain to mouth filter could stop it. She barked out laughter before responding. "You were the dickhead that stabbed me and you're asking me if I was sent to kill you?"

Aiyden's eyes widened, and he finally looked down at himself. He too, was covered in blood, although not nearly as much as the strange but familiar girl in front of him. "What happened?" he asked, looking back up. "You tell me! First I get in a car crash and now I get stabbed by a total stranger who doesn't recall doing it just seconds after," she snarled.

Well that explains all the blood. "Where were you going?" He found his brain to mouth filter failed him. Again. "Oh I don't know, to babysit a spoiled little prince's ass because my sister is dead!" she started sarcastically but ended with an angry shout. Better not tell her that you are the "spoiled little prince." Aiyden only hung his head trying to remember what happened. Didn't we have enough knights? There's no war. Who died?

The red eyes. He snapped his head up so fast his neck cracked loudly. His sudden actions surprised the girl before him and she took a step back. "Who was your sister?" he asked, finding himself breathless for some reason. He felt like he knew even before she responded. But his stomach still dropped when she answered.

"Jane"

The world was still. There was no breeze, and the creatures of the forest were all scared away by the ruckus. He stared right into those familiar eyes and began to see other features that were shared between the sisters. The sharp bow of her upper lip. Her slightly upturned nose. However, she was also her own person. Where Jane had pale gold, straight hair, this girl had wavy, honey colored locks. She also seemed to spend significantly more time outside, as her skin was tan and freckled. She had old scars from chicken pox, a human disease on her arms, but she was clearly a faerie. "What are you?" brain to mouth filter, we need to have a long talk. He thought, but was put off guard again when she answered him.

"I was a regular human living my regular human life, but what do you know, now my sister's dead and I need to fill her role, so now I need to give up what makes me who I am to become a copy of my sister. A mere replacement. Do you know how shitty that feels?!" now he knew. All the most elite nights of the palace were half-fae. They had something human that the fae didn't. They had loyalty, but they also had greed. This angry girl in front of him was only born to become a knight for him and his mother to order around like a chess piece. Well. chess pieces are useful, there hasn't been war in so long that they served more as a decoration than anything else.