The Twins' Secret

001. Commencement

"Asagi, this is a nice town, don’t you think?"

My twin sister, Asagi, exclaimed in absolute wonder.

“It is!” I replied just as enthusiastically, beaming as I carefully took in the sights around us.

We had just entered one of the royal towns---and without a doubt, the scenery and landscape would be absolutely breathtaking. Towers shone with such brilliance and magnificence underneath the sun of day and cozy-looking houses dotted the roadsides. The market was fresh and alive with people hustling here and there, chattering amongst themselves like little birds. An enormous, white-laden castle stood gloriously in the centre of the kingdom, like a polished pearl that shone with light.

And though numerous guards of sorts guarded the castle, we could still get a good glimpse of the decorations and gardens that surrounded the palace. Roses bloomed in all sorts of shapes and shades and willow trees shook along with the wind. Marigolds, daisies, primroses, peonies---any sort of flower seemed to be at home at the palace. But who wouldn't be, really?

The sudden sound of a horn blast rupturing through the air startled both my sister and I. When we tried to find the source of the noise, we had finally realized that we had been so absorbed in observation that we hadn't noticed the galloping marching band passing by, the trumpeteers blowing their horns as hard as they could until their face turned beet red.

Two regal-looking figures, presumably a King and his daughter, stood above the crowd within the depths of the marching band from some sort of open carriage.

The king wore a long robe with a fur trim, practically exuding the typical image of royalty. However, his crown seemed to be a couple sizes too large---and would topple of his balding head every time the carriage shook a little too hard.

The princess, on the other hand, was the definition of elegant. Her dress fanned out around her in numerous blue layers of the finest silks and fabrics, and a crown of blue flowers circle her bun with a small tiara settled at the front of her head. Though she looked absolutely stunning, she seemed a little sad---and would force a smile everytime she met the gaze of one of the ecstatic citizens waving at her.

“What I would do to get a dress like that!” Akari cooed, ruffling her hair in frustration. 

To both our surprise, the young princess abruptly looked in our direction. She smiled serenely at us before she turned away again. Akari and I exchanged perplexed glances.

“My goodness... she has the hearing of a bat!" Akari whispered to me, amazed. “I said that really quietly!”

“I don't think so, sis. We really do stand out from the rest of the crowd.” I whispered back, glancing at the ogling eyes around us.

We really did stand out from everyone else. In comparison to most of the other folk, being adventurers, we wore differnet clothes. A thin bandeau of fabric covered our bust and cargo pants went down to our knees. Our navels were exposed, yes, and our collar bones, and a fair deal of skin---but walking for days on end, you needed a little heat relief once in a while. And of course, we had gathered our fair share of spoils during our journies, and various such accessories dotted our clothing, hair, and bodies. A couple tattoos of symbols here in there were also exposed.

All the women here wore old fashioned dresses with aprons and a hat with flowers and the men wore casual pullovers and breeches. I saw eyes watching us, glaring at us. I elbowed Akari.

“I think we should get going.” I mumbled to her, feeling an awkward tension starting to settle in the air. She nodded.

We had only taken a few steps when the sound of someone yelling at the top of their lungs echoed from behind us. We turned around hesitantly, afraid that some eccentric was chasing us until we realized it was none of the than the king himself, running towards us admist the crowd.