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Queen Amylia noticed the strangers as soon as she had stepped off of the stairs. They were not anyone she had seen before and from the way they held themselves, she could tell they were not from anywhere nearby. Amylia quickly said her hellos to the guests and then made her way over to the twins, eyes full of curiosity as she watched their reaction.
“Um… Why is the Queen coming over here?” Serenity asked, panic showing on her face.
Melody blinked twice, staring at the queen in confusion. It made no sense for the queen to take any interest in them, especially since they had not done anything to catch her attention. Was it that obvious they were different from the others in the room? She looked over at her sister, her face pale as she muttered a “I’m not sure.”
The two drew closer together, holding hands as they feared for the worst. Even though it had been recorded that Amylia had been a kind-hearted person, she probably wasn’t going to like two strangers crashing in on her party.
Queen Amylia stopped in front of the two, a large smile on her face. She curtsied and after the twins had repeated the action, said, “I’ve not seen you two before. Are you from around here?”
Serenity opened her mouth to reply, but Melody squeezed her hand and jumped in instead. “No, milady. We travel from far off lands to visit your castle. We’ve heard only the most wonderful things about your lands.”
Serenity glanced at her sister, a little confused at the quickness of the reply. Melody’s eyes sparkled as she glanced at her twin, knowing the reason for the look on her face. She hadn’t told a lie when she spoke… just not the whole truth.
“I am very pleased to hear this,” Amylia spoke, a look of amusement on her face. “From what land have you traveled?”
Melody bit her lip, her brain racing as she tried to think of a land she knew had existed in the past.
“Exalia,” Serenity quickly said, her head down. “We’ve come from Exalia.”
“Oh, my! This is extremely far away. And you two are royalty from there, I presume? You look exactly like the pictures I’ve seen of the twin princesses, Trinity and Reala.”
Melody looked at her sister, impressed. That had been a quick save and very smart. Serenity didn’t usually come up with such things, so surprise had filled Melody.
Queen Amylia paused, looking the two up and down. As she waited for an answer, barking could be heard from the passageway outside the ballroom. The twins glanced at each other and cursed their bad luck. The only reason for their arrival… Poofles.
Serenity ran out of the room, her face full of concern as she raced to cuddle her loving pet. Melody quickly excused herself, following only after the queen had nodded a yes as curiosity bubbled up inside of her. The girl met her sister outside the door. Serenity was on the ground, her dress scattered on the tiles, the black dog held tight to her chest. Tears ran down her face as she laughed with pleasure.
Melody chuckled at the sight, helping her sister up and setting Poofles on the ground. “I’m glad that we’ve found Poofles, but we can’t go home yet. Even if we knew I way, I feel like something is stirring up here that shouldn’t be.”
Serenity nodded. “I feel it too. When the queen started talking to us, I noticed a strange presence surrounding her.”
The two stared at each other, deep in thought. Suddenly the doors at the entrance were thrown open and a boy with wild red hair stepped into the castle. The girls looked at him curiously, both blushing when his sparkling brown eyes looked right back at them. They both curtsied, and he only smiled.
“I’m assuming the ball has already started? I’m very late, I must say… I dearly hope the queen will forgive me.”
Without another word he brushed past them and entered the ballroom. Melody reddened as he bumped into her, her heart racing as memory of his face ran through her thoughts. She shook her head, trying to clear it of such things and then looked at her sister, who was very stiff.
Serenity had felt a strange hatred as soon as the boy had gone past them. She had no idea why, but dread filled her when she thought of him. Suddenly she began to shake, her eyes wide as images of the future raced through her head. Fire, blood, and mutiny filled her vision and before she could say anything to Melody, the world went black.
