Broken Sisters

Excerpt 1

     I find it easier to start by recalling the place Pire and I were born. I don't know much, but my dear Jundo filled in the blanks that I couldn't remember.
     It was a large town, located just outside the kingdom grounds. There was no decent hospital, so my mother birthed us at home, with the aid of a midwife. According to Jundo, our father had our mother take a blood oath that she tell no one about our heritage. 

     We were raised as common peasants, and would occasionally visit the royals, although we were never told why. I was told that I took great interest in the castle gardens, and would spend hours playing in the vast sea of rosebushes, hedges, and flowering plants. I had also, apparently, been infatuated with the library, and would stare up at the shelves which towered over my small body. I'd pick books at random and peruse through the pages. Of course, I didn't understand the lettering at the time but was entertained nonetheless. 

     Unfortunately, the visits to the castle were short-lived, as the king and queen, as well as my dear mother, were brutally killed. The four of us, Mikudasu, Jundo, Pire, and I were relocated to an allied kingdom. With no one able to rule over Estaron, and Mikudasu being too young to take over the throne, the kingdom fell to ruin. 

     The queen, whom we called "Hana," treated us as if we were her own. Her husband we rarely saw, as he was too busy and important. Hana had only one child; a son named Atacante. He was older than Dasu by three years, who was eleven at the time of our parents' deaths. Our adopted brother was kind to us, but after only a month Dasu began disliking him. She never told why, although Atacante was nothing but amiable to her. We spent the next six years in this manner, and Atacante took his father's place on the throne. Mikudasu fell ill for almost a year and rarely left her room. After eleven months Dasu regained her health, although she looked thinner, tired, and more sullen than before. I asked her multiple times if she was feeling alright and if she needed more rest, but she had snapped at me and insisted she was fine. I left her alone after that. 

     Around this time was when Dasu started having physical fights with me and Pire. It was sudden, and she had only thrown insults at us and stated that we should have never existed. This behavior shocked me, and I wanted to tell Hana, but Dasu threatened me with my life if I should try to tell anyone. I disliked conflict, so I kept quiet. She would attack Pire more frequently than I, and as a result, the poor girl became mute and apathetic. I have the most sympathy for my darling sister, but she constantly pushes me and others away. However, I do not resent Dasu for this. For this documentation to make sense, it must stay in chronological order, so I shall explain later. 

     The abuse persisted for another year before Dasu came of age and we could return home. After several nights of arguing between Jundo and Dasu, she agreed to let us return with her, under the condition that we stay in the village and never set foot on the castle grounds. I agreed while Pire had just stared blankly at her. And after eight years, we finally returned home.