Princess Jewel & Shadow

Chapter 1

Once upon a time in a land far away... umm no. Sorry but I'm not that kind of princess. Yes, I know of many fairy tale princesses, and please don't stereotype me as the 'damsel in distress.' My name is Jewel, and this is my story. Let me start at the beginning.

In the magical kingdom of Amethyst, there lived King Dimitri and Queen Artemis, the whole kingdom was over joy because Queen Artemis was pregnant with not one, but two babies, twins, a prince, and princess. Well, that is what Athena said anyway and it turns out she was right.

The day finally came for the babies to be born. King Dimitri, who was as tall as ever and his black hair was sticking out in every direction because he kept running his hand through it. His chocolate brown eyes were full of worry, excitement, impatience, and curiosity to find out if his children will have magic or not. It was not very common, but not unheard of. It was random, every once in a while a child was born with it, so he ordered his sorcerers to find out if the children would have the unlikely gift. He had a hunch, so he had to go with it.

After they were born and dressed they were ready to find out if they had magic. The first baby that was tested for magic was an adorable baby boy with black hair and chocolate brown eyes and a dark complexion. One of the sorceresses, named Athena, ran to King Dimitri with a wild look in her eyes and yelled "Your son has magic! His powers deal with darkness and shadow!" And with that, they decided to name him Shadow.

The other baby was a beautiful girl with blonde hair and blue eyes that sparkled like jewels and so they named her Jewel. Queen Artemis was sure that she had power. She didn't need anyone else to tell her that Jewel had powers, but King Dimitri was insistent that she had to be tested. As Artemis had expected, Athena again ran in and shouted: "Your daughter has magic!" "I knew it!" Artemis yelled interrupting Athena. "What?" Athena asked in confusion. "Nothing," Artemis said, "What does she have power over?" Dimitri asked Athena. "She has power over nature and she has the rare ability to talk to animals." Athena said as Artemis gave Dimitri an 'I told you so' look. He rolled his eyes at his queen and she just giggled, which made him smile.

King Dimitri and Queen Artemis decided that they needed to have trainers for their children because of their magical gifts. Artemis insisted on throwing a big party in celebration of her newborn children. "We can invite all of the witches and wizards to the party." Artemis told him "Okay, but the trainers must have powers that will work well with the children's." Dimitri sighed.

But Queen Artemis went bigger than just witches and wizards. She invited the entire kingdom! "Artemis! I thought you said that you were only going to invite witches and wizards." Dimitri yelled in exasperation. "No, I said I would invite all the witches and wizards. I didn't say that I wasn't going to invite anyone else." Artemis said happily. Everybody came and gave Jewel and Shadow gifts of silver and gold. Silver for Shadow, gold for Jewel.

Everyone was having fun, partying, talking, and dancing. Queen Artemis was talking to a group of ladies in waiting, and King Dimitri was interviewing several witches and wizards at once, for the post of training his children. He would ask them what they had magic ever, they would say almost anything, water, fire, light, earth, you name it, b ut no one with powers same as, or even similar to Jewel's, or Shadow's.

But when the party was nearly over, a wizard in a gray cloak came into the castle. "Who are you, and what do you have power over?" asked the king. The man replied "I am the wizard Gonzo. I heard that your son had magical power over darkness, so do I. I am from out of town, so if I was going to train him, he would have to come with me. It is important that he is raised in the darkness to become one with his gift. I am the only one that can give that to him." The king's eyes got wide "I don't like the sound of him going with a stranger, so far, and he is so young." He said with a sigh. "I see." Gonzo said with disappointment in his voice, "Then I will let you think about it, and talk to the most beautiful Queen Artemis." He said looking at Queen Artemis with new hope. Then King Dimitri sighed and gestured for Artemis to come.

"I don't like the sound of that," Artemis said after Dimitri had explained the problem. Artemis had not been expecting the compliment from Gonzo about being the most beautiful queen, which had made her get really flustered and blush. "I know, but what can we do? He needs a teacher, and this might be the only chance we get," he argued. She pleaded with her husband and with Gonzo, that there had to be another way. "After all, he is just a baby and he needs me." Gonzo insisted that it was the only way for him to know the full extent of his powers was to be detached from the rest of the world. "Well, okay, but I don't like the fact that Jewel and Shadow will never get to know each other." She said, looking sadly at her baby boy. Gonzo told her, "They are twins, they will always have a connection and be able to sense the other, but you must not tell Jewel about Shadow."

They decided to send him with Gonzo to learn about his powers, and how to control them. They packed a bag for their son with clothes for now, and when he got older. The clothes where magic so they would fit him no matter how tall he got. Some magic items were also put in the bag, a silver locket with a picture of Dimitri and Artemis inside, a letter of explanations for when he was older, and a silver and gold ring that was enchanted to protect him when he was in need.

Queen Artemis hugged her baby boy, and held him for a few minutes more, then handed him off to King Dimitri. He kissed his son's forehead and gave him his blessing, and then he quietly handed him to Gonzo. Jewel began to cry, and then so did Shadow. Artemis quickly picked up baby Jewel and tried to comfort her, while crying herself.

Gonzo left with Shadow and his bag from his parents, he started to walk out of the castle, but when he got to the door he melted into shadow and disappeared. Jewel cried loudly knowing that something was wrong.

Dimitri and Artemis didn't know it, but Jewel and Shadow, like all twins, have a mental connection, but theirs' is enhanced with magic. Jewel was often told it was a mood swing or something because she would be all happy and her normal self, then she would be frustrated about nothing. And without a teacher Jewel's parents never told her about her powers or her brother.