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A week passed. We hadn't gone further than hugging, but it seemed to be fine to him. One day, I heard the door open then close, which was strange since no one was suppose to come here before noon. Excited murmurs floated to my ears as I warily exited the balcony. I saw two almost identical figures sitting on the couch and pointing at the ceiling. They were twins, about 8 years old. They probably got lost during their school visit and had entered our bedroom by mistake. This didn't make any sense, however, because our bedroom was protected by physical barriers. I sat on a chair in front of them, amused by the fact that they still hadn't spotted me. Their hair were long and black. Their wolves would be like Rilos'.
"The globes are beautiful, aren't they?"
They jumped and turned their head towards me.
"It's the Queen! We have to bow," said the first one.
"How do you know that she's the Queen?" asked the second.
"We saw her portrait in the hall, remember? Next to the King's. The lady told us who she was."
The first one was a girl and the second, a boy. She took him by the hand and made him go down the couch. She bowed and her brother did rolled his eyes before doing the same. I chuckled.
"You can get up, both of you."
They looked up. The girl was anxious while the boy was curious.
"What's your names?"
"Mine's Zyl and my sister is Zar. What's yours?"
"I'm Lyra. Nice to meet you Zyl and Zar."
"You look young for a queen."
"Well, I'm only eighteen years old."
"Why aren't your lips moving when you speak?"
Zar shoved her elbow in his rib cage.
"What? It's just a question."
"It's okay, Zar. If he crosses the line, I'll tell him. When I was a baby, a bad man kidnapped me and the day I turned 18, he told me that he wanted my powers for himself. I refused so he stole my voice."
"What happened to the bad man?" timidly asked Zar.
"The King came and cut his head, obviously," replied Zyl.
"He's in jail until his trial, then the King will cut off his head. I have a question for you. How did you get inside our bedroom?"
"By the door."
"And you didn't feel anything strange?"
"Well, I couldn't go in at first," said Zar.
"When I took her hand she could," finished Zyl.
Had the protections fallen?
****
"Rilos?"
"Yes, sweetheart? Is something wrong?"
"Are the protections around our room still up?"
"Yes. Why?"
"I have visitors."
****
The communication was cut and he appeared in front of me, growling. I chuckled and took his hand in mine.
"Relax Rilos. They are children. And stop growling, you're scaring them," I added tapping his nose lightly.
He kissed the tip of my fingers and looked down on the twins, a severe look on his face.
"Zyl, I should have known that you were the one who came in. What did I tell you the last time I saw you?"
"If I feel something poking my forehead, I stop."
"And you, Zar, didn't you see the protections?"
"It's not like I was searching for them, my King."
"Are you giving me attitude, young lady?" he said, rising an eyebrow. "Do you know what happens to kids who do things like that?"
She shook her head. I squeezed his hand.
"Rilos..."
"They fly to the ceiling until they apologize!"
She shrieked in joy as she flew to the lights.
"Me too, me too!" shouted Zyl.
He chuckled making Zyl float until he reached the same level as his sister. I let out a sigh of relief knowing that he wouldn't hurt them. He was looking at them laughing with them as he made them do flips in the air. I kissed his cheek before sitting down on the couch. He put his hand over it and smiled at me in aw.
"Look at what you are doing. You're going to drop them."
"You just kissed me. There is no way I'm looking at anything else but you. Beside, I don't need to look at something to make it move."
"It was just a kiss on the cheek. No need to exaggerate."
"Baby steps, Lyra, baby steps. And you touching me always makes me happy."
He put the twins down.
"I still have some work to do, so I'll send you back to your group, alright?"
"Please, my King, can't we stay here and play with Lyra? I mean, the Queen," pleaded Zar.
"Please, my King!" said Zyl.
Rilos turned to me, an eyebrow raised.
"It's fine, Rilos. I'm alone until dinner anyway."
He crouched to their eye level.
"I'll let you stay until dinner. After you're going back. I want you to make me two promises. One, you'll come back soon with your parents so you can train with me. And two, if you ask Lyra a question and she doesn't want to answer, you don't pry. Deal?"
"Deal!" they shouted in one voice.
"Good," he said, ruffling their hair.
He got up and smiled at me.
"I'll see you for supper, okay?"
I ran in his arms, hugging him tight.
"Okay."
He rubbed my back lightly.
"I love you."
He disappeared. I turned around to look at the twins.
"What do you guys want to do?"
"Tell us a story," demanded Zyl.
"What kind of story?"
"The story of the first werewolf."
Zar nodded enthusiastically and both sat down on the couch. I sat on the other, facing them.
"Once upon a time, there was a great woman called Alany. She was the leader of a big tribe that lived near mountains. Since she was the leader, she didn't allow herself to show her emotions around the members of her tribe. With all of her emotions stuck inside her, she wasn't happy at all, but couldn't tell anybody in fear that she would lose her position. One day, she found a wolf pup that was crying near the body of its dead mother. Alany couldn't leave it there to die, so she took it back to her village. She raised the pup and it soon became a beautiful animal who played and listened to her. She found that it was easy to convey her emotions to the wolf and wasn't unhappy anymore. Time passed and their bond was stronger than anything in the world. Wherever Alany was going, so would her wolf. The tribe had noted the changes in their leader and were very happy as she was now better at her job. Years went by and her wolf passed away. For the first time since she was a child, Alany cried in front of her tribe. Seeing their leader so defeated brought them to tears as well. Through their tears, they saw the spirit of the wolf rise and enter Alany. It spoke to her and told her that from now on, it would stay within her and would change her into its form when her emotions would need to be freed. Other spirits rose and flew inside every adult of the tribe."
"Why not the children?" asked Zyl.
"It's because their emotions roam free. They don't need a wolf to make them come out. This didn't happen only to Alany's tribe. It happened to one tribe of each continent. Soon they developed powers, were able to visit each other and mix the tribes. Five became four and are the kingdoms you know now. The end."
"Do you have to stay in the kingdom you are born in?" questioned Zar.
"No, you live where you want to. Sometimes, an Alpha will ask if you want to work for them. You can accept or refuse. Your life, your choice."
"Can the King force someone to do something?" she inquired.
"It depends. If you're a good person, no. He can suggest you to do something. He knows what is best for people. If you're a bad person and you hurt others, then, yes, he can force you to go to jail. You'll learn more when you grow up."
"Can you make us fly like he did?" Zyl asked, hope in his eyes.
I made us float high and we played tag until Rilos appeared for dinner.
"Want to come and play with us, Rilos?"
"Yes, please," begged the twins.
"I can't, sweetheart. We have to go eat in the banquet room with the other kids."
I pouted.
"Just one game, then. I really can't resist you."
"Alright!" we shouted.
We played for fifteen minutes and landed on the floor. Rilos picked the twins in his arms, tickling them. I felt a twinge of pain in my heart. I placed my hand on my stomach. I won't be able to give him that. I can't have children. How will he react when I'll tell him that? Will he react like Dark-Soul had? No, he wasn't like him. I'll tell him tonight. He deserved to know. Someone knocked at the door.
"Your girls are here. They have food. I'll get going with those two tornados. I'll eat with you tonight, Lyra."
"Okay," I smiled tentatively.
He exited by the door, letting the girls enter.
"The King is as firm with adults as he is soft with kids. He would make a great dad," said Felia.
"He would," I said, guilt gripping my insides.