Twin brothers Frei and Qionne are separated by a cursed mirror. The younger is forced to shoulder the burden of the throne, while the older must learn to have courage and return to his world. In their wake is an empire at the brink of war, and a dar...
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It was hard getting a wink of sleep knowing her master was walking toward danger.
Almira knew she was not the only one worried. She could hear Sola toss and turn on her bed muttering different ways she was going to murder Qionne if the barmaid killed him. Almira would have giggled in amusement had circumstances been less pressing (and she briefly wondered how one could murder a person who was already killed.)
She turned so that her back pressed against the floor. She stared up at the criss-cross patterns of the ceiling and the flickering shadows of the beams surrounding the room. A small, oil-lamp was slowly losing its flame on the table top near the closed window, casting ominous shadows over the corners of their chamber. As comforting as the idea of shelter seemed to be, Almira felt more tense as the seconds ticked by, and the quietness within their quarters only added to her restlessness.
What is taking him so long, I wonder?
"What are you doing sleeping on the floor?!"
Almira broke from her thoughts with a jolt, immediately sitting up to face Sola. The princess sat on her bed, hair tangled and arms crossed with an incredulous expression.
"There's an empty bed across you, you know!" Sola whispered, sounding like a hiss. She gestured to the empty mattress on the other side of the room. "Take the bed! You'll get a cold if you sleep on the floor woman!"
Almira shrunk into herself, biting her bottom lip as she looked the other way. "Lady Talisa would be needing her bed when she returns."
Sola scoffed. "You needn't worry about that girl! She'd figure out a way to sneak into Qionne's bed with or without her own cot."
"But what if she decides to return and sleep?"
Sola waved her off, planting her bare feet on the floor one after another. "Eh, she'd probably throw a fit and kick me off my bed." She shrugged, a smirk on her face. "That is, of course, unless I let her."
Almira frowned. For some reason, that information didn't seem to sit well with her.
"That's it! I'm going downstairs!"
Sola stood up abruptly, her skirts billowing while she stormed to the door. Almira quickly grabbed for her wrist and pulled her back–perhaps a little too hard as the princess stumbled and fell on her rump.
"Ow!" Sola narrowed her eyes at her, rubbing her bottom to soothe the pain. "Watch your strength, girl! That hurt!"
"I'm sorry, your highness, but I can't let you. Robin said we should leave him be," she told the princess, urgency and apology in her tone.
"Look, sweetie, I know you might have sworn allegiance to do whatever he says and all with all your Karavani mumbo-jumbo and whatnot," Sola let out a sigh, holding Almira by her shoulders, "but sometimes, doing what that idiot says all the time might bring him more harm than good. You got it?"
