The introductions were short and sweet, I already knew their names and had a vague idea of what they looked like anyway thanks to Aurora, but the way they eyed me up made me feel a little more on edge… I’m not sure if it was a good thing or bad thing but I kept my mouth shut and head down. Aurora wanted to talk to Roman in private; I assumed it was to go over details that she learned about the pending attack, so I decided that I would tour the castle a bit. I needed to get used to the environment that I was going to live in for the next six months. The place still felt cold and empty to me, but maybe that was because I wasn’t near Dante… the man I loved.
As I wandered through the vast halls I searched the walls, there were so many pictures of this family that it made my head spin. If my dad had been accepted here… would we be on this wall in time? The picture that was of my mother must have been decades old as she was dressed in a very old fashioned frock… and she did not smile or even look happy. I reached up and touched the frame; the dust that cached it was astonishing, a huge clump of it rubbed off on my finger. Shaking and tutting I continued onward, it didn’t feel right here.
“Are you lost?” a voice echoed behind me, I spun around to see the twins holding hands and staring at me.
“No I am fine thank you” I muttered back to them before turning back around. As I began to walk I felt a hand press down on my shoulder, jumping I spun back around to stare at them both with frightened eyes.
“Sorry” Nina chuckled, Nikki remained silent as per usual.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack” I breathed, slamming my hand to my chest “Are you ok Nikki? You’re really quiet”
“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you”
“She is always quiet; it’s just the way we are. I don’t know if my little sister explained to you or not. But we are known as the celestials’ because of how opposite we are. I am warm, bubbly, friendly and outgoing. Nikki here is quiet, restrained, conserved and very intellectual. We were also born with a blessing and curse, we can see into the future. She sees all badness and I see nothing but good. We draw strength from the moon and sun. Aside from the doppelganger child and the Key… we are the only Vampires in this realm with a gift.”
“Wow” I breathed “That’s… well that’s quite something”
“Yes. Now if you would like to follow us… we have something that needs to be done”
I followed them along the halls, the twins walked side by side and did everything in unison. Should the one laugh then the other did the same. They were linked by mind, body and soul in a sense… but to know that they could predict the futures of the lost souls in this world… it was frightening. We reached their room, I was about to follow them inside when they both stopped and turned to face me
“If you enter, you agree to us foretelling your future… are you sure you want that?”
“What do you mean?” I asked them and they both looked at each other before sharing a giggle
“You’ll be told certain aspects of your future, like per say… the whole doppelganger prophecy and what you will be required to do?” Nina was deliberately trying to lure me in… it was working, I really wanted to know what was going to happen, it wasn’t fair that this was all going to be thrown on me.
“Sure” I smiled at her “ it can’t be much worse than finding out that everything in your life was both a cover up and lie” Nina nodded at me, grabbed Nikki’s hand and lead the way into their room.
The entire place reflected their personalities, there were two beds dead in the centre of the room… but the room was split into two colours and moods, Nikki’s side of the room was a mixture of violet, navy blue and blue with subtle hints of gold scattered along the wall which I guessed were meant to represent stars because when I looked over to Nina’s side of the room, there were clouds in the stars place, her side was painted a mixture of light blues, greens, pale yellow and Rose. Nikki’s side spelt out that it was more practical and intellectual whereas Nina’s side practically screamed that it was creative and fun… these two really were different, way to follow the myth of twin’s guys!
“Please, take a seat over there” Nina instructed, pointing to the green chair in her corner of the room whilst the two of them grabbed a few trinkets.
She pulled a table over to where I was situated, placed a small cloth over it before scattering the objects she had collected all over it. The objects included an assortment of gems in a little brown box, a quartz crystal and a lavender scented candle. The candle was lit and a few of the gems were scattered around it. She then grabbed my hands so that the candle was directly positioned between our arms whilst Nikki held the quartz crystal above us and chanted in a language I didn’t entirely understand
“It’s Romanian” Nina answered in response to my thoughts “It’s so that we are blessed before the reading. I have no idea if it’s even relevant but it’s a tradition and sorta taboo”
“It’s fine, but how did you know what I was thinking?”
“Your guard was down” she smiled “You may need to work on that”
“Shall do” Nikki finished chanting, bowed her head and placed the crystal behind her before fully joining us at the table. I had seen readings on the television… always thought they were a con or a spam but… with the way things were now, I guesse anything was possible.
“Ready?” she asked me
“Sure” I breathed
Nikki ran to turn the light. It left us with nothing but the candle light and the dim shine that came from the blinds in the room.
“I will warn you, this could be freaky”
“Just go, I can deal with it” I replied in monotone. She inhaled deep and closed her eyes, Nikki mimicked her actions not long after and I was left to ponder in my thoughts in silence. I was lost in thought when a bright light caught my attention, I glanced over to see the twins had opened their eyes and what filled their sockets was nothing but bright white light.
“Child of two. We are the celestials. For generations we have waited for you. For generations we have waited for the key” they spoke in unison and it was a little more than creepy “The key that would unlock a chain of events, necessary for the salvation of two worlds. Two worlds that have been at war. Two worlds which you are bound by blood. Much like us you are one of two. Your twin is internal.”
“What do you mean?” I asked them
“You gave her a name. Tatiana.”
“Yes”
“By giving her a name, you released her from an ageless curse. Every life she has been a shadow. Now she is a friend. Now she is family. An internal twin that splits your mind. She was originally meant to be nothing more than a subconscious, but her personality grew too strong to just be a voice. She could take control. She chooses to stand back this time. You gave name to nameless”
“But what does this have to do with being a doppelganger”
“Should you wish… you can create her”
“How?”
“When the time is right, under difficult circumstances you must make a choice. Become her or set her free.”
“What happens should I choose to set her free”
“She shall not be able to control the thirst such as you have. She will kill”
“And if I become her?”
“One of two. You become blood thirst and ravenous, thus loosing yourself forever or… you lose her and become a new breed. By becoming a new breed, you shall not crave blood… it shall become a choice. But you will lose Tatiana forever”
“What if I should do neither?”
“You shall”
“The future isn’t set in stone”
“Yours is”
“There must be another way!” I scowled at them. This wasn’t their fault but this wasn’t fair. I wasn’t entirely sure if Tatiana was real but now they were telling me I would lose her… something in my stomach knotted and convulsed… I didn’t want to lose her, not at all… even if she wasn’t real. The twins looked at each other and their eyes shone to a shade of a pale rose.
“One way. There is one way”
“Tell me!” I pleaded
“Give birth to her”
“Excuse me!?”
“Forgive us child. It’s not how it sounds. You must in a sense give birth to her by changing her from subconscious to real.”
“But how do I do that?” I asked them, getting a little more than annoyed
“A war is coming child. You will know what to do”
They let out a gasp, the candle extinguished and they both flopped down to the floor. Panting and gasping they rubbed their head and shared a glance. There was something they weren’t telling me… maybe it was because they were protecting me, but whatever it was it wasn’t good.