The village was in silence as they surrounded a small house. Everyone was anxious about the new member they are going to have. Inside were three people, which were all busy doing their work. The father encouraged the mother while the midwife was busily handling all the work needed to deliver the baby safely.

As the baby started to come out of the womb, the mother said, "Mabel, am I going to be okay? I felt hot and tired." She was breathing heavily.

"Adelaine, relax. We are all here to help you." Mabel said as she rubs the belly of the mother.

Slowly but surely, the baby was out, and Mabel cut the umbilical cord from the baby. The baby cried out, and everyone was relieved. The sound it made was oddly soft and pleasant, making everyone delt like they were in bliss.

They started to cheer and dance around. Everyone was celebrating because it was a success. The mother held the child in her hand and said, "Your name will now be Arke Viotto." as she gave a warm hug. It was supposed to be a happy moment for the family, but it didn't last long.

Just four minutes after the birth, Adelaine fell again. Mabel and Adam were shocked as they were about to bring Arke to let everyone see. Mabel immediately checked the mother for any scars that could have happened, but that wasn't it. She felt a kick from the stomach, and it meant that another baby would be born.

"It couldn't be a twin?" Mabel was shocked but quickly regained her composure, "Adam, this is your child, so I want you to decide. I can get the child out, but they might get discriminated by the villagers because of the belief."

Adam was in a difficult situation. The villagers viewed twins as bad omen sent by the "Gods." They considered twins as a demon's child and supernatural beings that could bring devastation upon society. But he didn't hesitate and answered.

"Please let the child live. I will bear with all the consequences." Adam firmly responded.

Mabel just nodded as she starts to get the baby out. It was like battling on a battlefield. While making sure that the baby gets out safely, she needs to make sure that Adelaine stays conscious. Adam was also trying hard to encourage her while making sure that no one could enter. After a few stressful minutes, the baby was born successfully without any damage.

As the baby starts crying, the villagers began wondering. "Why were there two cries?" Out of curiosity, some of them forcefully opened the door. They saw two girls, one with green-colored hair and emerald eyes, while another with blue-colored hair and sapphire eyes. The villagers were in awe as they saw the babies, but their expressions started to darken.

"These are the child of a demon!", "We have to burn them!", "Why has this disaster fell onto us?" The villagers screamed in fear as they stepped back from where they peeked.

Adam tried to stop them for further discussion, but it was too late. It was spreading around like wildfire.

"I know that it's your children, chief. But it will bring ruin to our crops!" Said one of the farmers.

"It might be better to end the children's life early. Throw them away to the forest, and don't think about it again." said the remaining villagers.

Frustrated by the thought of throwing his child out, Adam couldn't keep his calm and got angry at the villagers.

"How could you do this to us?!" He shouted, and it was so loud that it made everyone shook in the middle of the silent night. "We have done everything for the village, and this is how you treated us now?! This is my children, and I will keep them here no matter what you say!"

The villagers' discussion started to diminish. They couldn't say anything. How many times has the chief helped the village? It wasn't an understatement that the village would be in a difficult time if he weren't here.

"My farm was full of pests, but the chief help me took care of the crops." Said one of the farmers.

"We used to suffer because of the surrounding animals, but chief has helped lessen our work." said one of the hunters.

Despite having mixed feelings, everyone agreed that the chief had done so many things for them that it would be impossible to pay off. They would have no choice but to accept his decision.

"Well then, how about we have another toast?" The chief tried to liven up the mood. Everyone was relieved hearing it and started to dance again. After it ended, Adam walked off with Adelaine back to their house. Lying on their bed with their two new babies, Adelaine said happily, "Let's name our child Iris Viotto. I wish that both of them could live a happy life without suffering." She smiled as she saw her children fell asleep.

A few years have passed since the twin was born. Since then, nothing much has happened, so the belief about twins as bad omen has subsided over time. The villagers have come to accept the twin as a part of their community. Despite that, the twins were mistreated in their days of childhood. This has left them a bit traumatized and stayed at home most of the time.

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One day, as Adelaine was walking around the village to get some bread, the baker asked her a question:

"Good morning Adelaine, have your family been well lately?" The baker smiled.

"Oh, Mabel, we are still fine as ever. It's just that I can't get my daughters to play with the other kids in the village." Adelaine sighed deeply.

Mabel thought about it for a bit, then finally said, "How about letting them play with my son? They are about the same age, aren't they?"

"Oh really?" Adelaine was surprised, "It would be my pleasure."

"That's settled then." Mabel seemed pleased, "Come over to my house next time and let them meet."

Adelaine bought the bread then went back to her house. She saw her daughters playing hopscotch with each other in the backyard.

"Arke, Iris," She called.

"What is it, mom?" They asked curiously, wondering why their mother called them. Is it a toy? Is it sweet? They were wondering what it could be.

"Tomorrow, we will go to the baker's house, and you can talk to her son there." Adelaine said in a cheerful voice, "You might even become friends with him!"

"Fr...Frieends?" asked Iris, "What's that?"

"Yeah, mom, what's that?" said Arke as she tilted her head.

"Oh, my daughters, they are someone who you can talk and play with." Adelaine said in a pitiful voice and embraced them.

"But no one wants to play with us! They said we are weird!" Iris hugged her toy tighter at the thought. Arke stomped her foot at the ground, seeing her sister's reaction. "I would rather play with the grass and bugs!" They didn't want to feel being left alone like before anymore.

"It's alright, my daughters." She said calmly, "The villagers aren't like that anymore."

Comforted by their mother's soft voice, they agreed to come tomorrow. The word "friend" was like a new concept to them, and they see what it was. Playing with others might be more fun than playing with plants and insects all the time anyway, they thought.

The next day, they dressed up with a brown gown woven by their mother. It was plain and full of patches, but they still stand out with their beautiful eyes and faces. As they strolled through the street, people were looking at them. The villagers thought that they looked like dolls because of their flawless white skin and smooth hair. Despite that, Iris felt intimidated by their gazes. In response, Arke stood in front of her little sister to block their gazes.

"Adelaine, I'm here." Mabel chuckled softly, "Don't tell me you forgot the direction to my house?"

"Of course, I wouldn't forget it. I was just buying you a present, Mabel." Adelaine said while turning back to greet her.

"Ah, it's okay. I didn't need anything anyway. Our main reason for today was to let your daughters get along with my son anyway, right?" Said Mabel. She seemed pretty enthusiastic about it as well.

As they walked inside, they felt like they were in a new world. Arke and Iris knew that the bread they ate was from here, but they have never seen anything like this. A stone oven that was linking to a chimney above, with black spots all over it. This was one of the bakehouses that provide bread for the entire village. Piles of firewood were put on the floor while sacks of flour were stacking up like a mountain. There were still loaves of bread and oatcakes left on the table near it. Their eyes shined like a sparkling star as they came closer to it.

"Mother, what is that?" Asked Arke. She was fascinated when she saw the oven and wanted to try it out.

"Can we play with it?" Iris followed while grabbing her sister's clothes.

While pleased that they were interested in it, Adelaine couldn't permit it. "You two are a bit too young to play with this. You might get burned, you know?" She explained, "How about you go play with Erik out there while I go make some oatcakes with Mabel?"

Arke and Iris didn't want to trouble their mother, so they went out to find Erik. They saw him near the chicken coop, trying to feed them some seed.

"Hi there, are you Erik?" Arke asked him while he was still feeding the chicken.

"Oh, didn't you come with your mother to visit the bakehouse?" Erik asked when he saw the two alone.

"Our mother is currently baking some oatcakes for us inside there. She asked us to play with you in the meantime." Said Arke.

"I know a good place outside the gate. Do you want to go with me?" Erik suggested.

"Ooh, sure! I haven't gone outside for a long time." Arke said, "How about it, Iris?"

"I can... join?" Iris muttered softly, "Is it... okay for.. me to go..?"

"Oh, stop being shy, Iris. He is different from the others we met before." Said Arke. She patted Iris's head and comforted her.

"It's settled then! How about we race to the field outside?" Erik challenged them while sneakily taking a head start.

"Hey, that's unfair! Don't you run ahead like that!" Arke raised her voice and dashed madly toward him with Iris. Though she seems angry, she was delighted that she could make her first friend with her sister.

Going through the gates of the village, the three arrived at a green grass field. The sky was still bright, and the weather was windy. The twin's hair was flying through the wind like kites, and they spun around and around merrily. They noticed a big apple tree near there, and the three of them strolled over and sat down.

"Ahhh, how refreshing." Said Arke. She picked some grass from the field as she laid down.

"It is.. indeed nice." Iris loosened up a bit, "But I have.. bad memories here."

"Oh, come on, Iris," Arke cheered her up, "It's been a long time since then. Just relax and enjoy the weather with us."

Erik was curious and asked, "I heard that you were mistreated, but what exactly has happened?"

"It's quite complicated," Arke sighed. "Let me tell you about what happened here two years ago."