Realm of the Sun

Chapter 7

Gwen nodded. She turned her attention back to her father. "Why are they here?"

"Because," her father replied simply. "You're going to learn new lessons."

It was weird, at first. Not having her powers, the freedom to aim wherever she wanted was gone. She had to actually learn to aim, to track, to listen. Li Ng cautioned that one day, her powers could not help her. She learned how to use her skills without help from Arachnos, and by the next year, she was just as good as she was with her powers. Every day, her father brought Aiko in the morning to absorb her energy. In the evenings, Mariko would redirect it back into her body. Gwen always felt a rush of euphoria whenever the blessings were returned to her. What was more interesting, was that apparently, Gwen had a natural resistance to Aiko and Mariko's powers- everyday, it grew harder for Aiko to take energy. Eventually, she teamed up with the girls to make herself completely invulnerable to their powers. By the time she turned seventeen, she had been fully able to resist Aiko's recall, and Mariko's attempt to just redirect the energy out of the body.

In that time, she had found out that they made for good friends. Aiko was an artist, and Mariko was a writer; as if the twins couldn't be more of a perfect matching set. Of course, they were mostly quiet, but Gwen didn't mind too much. She enjoyed their silence more than anything. She loved reading Mariko's stories about heroic warriors who fought dragons, and loved Aiko's gorgeous scenery when she took out her pencil and sketched outside. One time, the duo had surprised Gwen with a story about herself- her life, accompanied by drawings. The trio often wandered about the palace, indoors and outdoors. Mariko made friends with the servants, allowing them access into all of the servants quarters and the kitchen when they wanted snacks. Aiko befriended Sylas from House Lai, and from then on they were able to access House Lai's exclusive training field on their estate property. Gwen enlisted in the young army, as she knew she would always have wound up doing. As she rose through the ranks, she gained access to more and more toys for the trio to explore. It was a good system- Aiko befriended children of high houses so they could explore their lands, Mariko got them access to all the secrets and rumours in the palace, and Gwendolyn had gotten them access to restricted military zones. They were just silly kids and teenagers then. Now, she was twenty-one, and the twins were eighteen. They didn't see each other as often any more, now that she was a general and the twins were used as punishers for the king.

A sudden sound at the door in her room snapped her out of her reminiscing.

The person on the other side didn't bother waiting for Gwen to open the door. The knock served more as an announcement of arrival- she already knew who it was.

"Gwen, dear, you're going to miss the fête. Hurry up." Roza Zhelvakova strode through the doorway, letting the door shut loudly behind her. She paused, standing behind her in the mirror. Their reflections were starkly and drastically different- Roza's bouncy brown curls, her silver eyes, and a clunky pair of diamond earrings paired with a flattering deep blue glittering gown made her look like royalty. Meanwhile, Gwen had just returned from running drills and facilitating sparring matches between soldiers- her uniform was rumpled and wrinkled, and the side of her blonde hair that wasn't shorn was completely tangled. She had dark circles beneath her amber eyes; it was as if she hadn't slept in days. It wasn't a false assumption.

Roza made some kind of clicking noise with her tongue, and shook her head. "You haven't even started getting ready. You're lucky you have me." Without thinking twice, she marched on towards Gwen's closet, throwing the doors open with such force that she should've ripped the doors right off the hinges.

A moment later, she poked her head out. "Gwen. You. Have. No. Dresses."

She scoffed. "Why did you think I had any?"