From Grief to Colour| ✓

Prologue-Golden Childhood

Oh, the times when the sun was shining so brightly that I couldn't see the shadows of tomorrow and the day after that and after that. My childhood was a blissful one. It may be all crowns and glory, but as a young child, I rebelled against that. Or at least I tried. I always liked running around in the castle hallways, especially when you have a sister.

"Come on, Delaney!" I giggled.

My twin stopped right by me, resting her hands on her knees. "Deidra!" She panted. "Wait..a sec!"

I paused where I am, hopping on the spot. "Come on, twinnie! We got to see what the garden has in store for us today!" I started running again, Delaney smiled as she started pacing in time with me, both of us heading out the door to the grand, brightly lit orchard, filled with dragon fruit, apples, peach blossoms and a ton of lilies, the garden having its own special fragrance.

Skipping through the hedges and hedges of neatly trimmed bushes 'till we had arrived, a simple but elegant gazebo waits at the center of a semicircle of fruit-bearing trees. It's also the center of the whole garden.

"Hello, Robert!" I say to the old butler. He gave us a warm smile and bowed ever so slightly.

"Good morning, Your Highnesses." He replied. His baritone is slightly deep but you get a sense of warmth radiating from his voice. "How may I help you?"

Delaney skipped forward and asked, "May we help you pick the fruits, Robert?"

    He chuckled, "Why would you like to, Miss Delaney?"

Delaney gave the same chuckle back. "Because we want to, and because it's fun to get our hands dirty once in a while, right?"

Robert smiled. "Right." He pointed to a small stack of bamboo baskets, perfect for placing the fruits. "Get one of those baskets, and you may pick however many you want, Your Highnesses."

Smiling, I told him, "Thank you!" My twin and I laughed as we took one basket each and started plucking the ripe fruits from the trees or the ones that already fell. It was quite delightful to help Robert pick the fruits, learning tips and facts about them each time we came.

After that, we always help him carry the fruits back to the kitchen, where the humble cooks and maids help us wash and chop the fruits into pieces, allowing us to eat them as we please.

Another fun thing to do when you're nine years old at the palace was to learn to cook. Never know when you'll need those skills.

I remember the time when I had added too much pepper in a soup and my father had coughed up the fits, my mother and my sister worried but holding back their laughter for my first time trying to prepare a meal for them. My father had a good laugh too, after having a drink of water of course. It was good times for sure, everyday is always fun and exciting, with my sister and I. I took an apple off its basket and showed it to my sister. "An apple?"

She smiled and took it. "Why thank you!" She giggled. "My favourite."

We headed off to dinner and had fun in our rooms 'till nearly midnight. We were a tad bit grouchy even we awoke but we had fun.

Everyday was something similar, adding our little dose of fun in our parent's schedule, so we had time to be a family. As time comes and goes, our skills improved in the kitchen but so did our duties as heirs to the throne.

My sister was given the crown first, but she passed it on to me, wanting to be my right hand lady and general instead. I was hesitant in accepting the responsibility, but I did. I had to or else my entire extended family will be treating us like disgraced orphans. Ruthless, critical and powerful. I was still selfish then.

We may look close to identical, but we are not the same. Perhaps similar in appearance- long dark brown hair, chocolate eyes, fair rosy skin with a few tiny freckles here and there around the bump of our noses and delicate cheekbones with mine being caked with more makeup than hers as time went on but our paths greatly differed from each other. Or maybe not. I had understood the means of the crown and as a result, I was taught to be ready to do the job I was meant to serve.

Our parents accepted our decisions and began training the both of us by the time we had our 14th birthday, preparing us before they retired for a future that will weight heaviest on our shoulders.