Protector was reborn as Andrew Kuyaris, second son and third child of the King of Emerali. He now has an elegant older brother, a doting older sister, and a rough younger brother. The king and queen are both genuinely kind; they both make regular trips into the castle town to converse with their people.

Despite all of this, watching him grow for the last almost four years has been boring. Healer has been snuggled up against me or Mother for most of it, seeming to enjoy the time spent with family, but she’s the only one of us who doesn’t seem bothered by the long wait. Lady seems like she’s about to go completely insane if she has to stay up here even one more day. She wants to get out and do stuff. She says the world below looks like “so much fun!” I have far more patience than Lady does, but even I’m starting to get sick of seeing infinite gray in every direction.

Today is the day that Lady and I are officially reborn. I know Andrew is looking forward to it, and Lady seems excited too. I’m torn between wanting to get out of this gray space and not wanting to leave my sister, but Mother has promised to keep her entertained.

Suddenly, Goddess speaks. “All right, you two,” she says, “it’s time. Try not to get merged into the same body this time, okay? I can’t split you apart once you’re born.”

Lady laughs and prepares to dive through the hole now appearing on the floor, but Healer grabs her hand and points at me. I offer them all a barely-there smile, hug Mother and Healer, and tilt backwards into the swirling gray. I can see Lady jumping not even a minute later and smirk inside since I know there’ll only be seconds between us.

I see blackness ahead and close my eyes. It feels like I pass through some sort of gel-like barrier that gives only slight resistance before I hear, “Congratulations, Your Majesty! It’s a girl!”

I wonder how I should act. Are they expecting me to cry? Should I cough? Or scream? Will they be worried if I stay quiet? My train of thought is cut short when I hear a woman start gasping again and then the same person as before announcing, “Another girl, Your Majesty! Today you have truly been blessed.”

My sister doesn’t seem to share my concerns as she immediately starts crying. I reach out blindly toward where I can sense her, but it feels like I’m moving through gelatin. The woman holding me gasps. “Oh! I think they want to be together!” I almost sigh in relief as she sets me down beside my twin.

“Your Majesties,” I hear the person who announced our births say, and I note the sudden plural. Huh. So the king joined us. “What will their names be?”

I hear some quiet murmuring that’s probably the king and queen discussing. “In order of birth, Chayana and Sikhara respectively,” the king says quietly. “Chaya means shadow and sikha means flame in one of the forgotten languages. I believe it was called Bangla, and they used interesting symbols that we don’t use to denote sounds. I can’t remember how they actually wrote it…” The king trailed off. “Anyway, those will be their names.”

“As you say, Your Majesty,” the announcer-person says. “When will they be taken to the temple for their blessed names?”

I remember when Andrew was taken for his naming ceremony. It didn’t make sense to me until Goddess explained that the temple calls upon the spirits, including her, to provide a middle name for a child. It is a privilege provided to all who ask, nobles and commoners alike. The given name embodies a characteristic that the child will have in abundance, offers them advice, gives them something to strive for, or provides them with comfort, depending on the person receiving the name. Andrew’s blessed name is Tueor, something I didn’t understand until Goddess told us that all blessed names are in the language we call Latin, and tueor means to guard.

“In two weeks. The older one will be named at midnight beneath the full moon, and the younger one at high noon as the sun peaks in the sky. Of course, the ceremony will take place in the highest temples, the temples of the sun and moon at the tops of the twin hills. Then we’ll introduce them to the public at sunset, as the light fades from the sky.” The king hesitates. “Unless that will hurt them?”

I’m surprised at the concern in his voice and the cynical side of me wonders if he’s just worried for appearances’ sake. I shift my head on the pillow slightly. I should know better than that. We’ve been watching for four years; the king honestly cares for everyone.

“Not all all, my king.” It’s the announcer-person again. I really hope someone says their name soon, because with my eyes still closed I can’t even tell the person’s gender; their voice is in that perfect range of could-be-either. “In fact, with their coloration, I daresay those might be the best times to name them; one is as pale as the moon and the other as golden as the sun.” There’s another pause. “Should we invite their siblings? Prince Andrew in particular has been quite excited for the birth of his new sisters.”

“Yes, of course,” says a woman’s voice. “My daughters should be introduced to the rest of their family as soon as possible, and having family nearby may help calm them during the naming ceremony.” Ahh, she must be the queen… no, Mom. She’s our mother now.

“Well of course she is, you dolt! What else were you thinking of calling her?”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

My sister’s voice in my mind startles me enough to make me twitch, but not enough for me to cry. “Ouch. Sudden.”

“Sorry. I only just figured out how to reach you. You know, they’re probably getting worried with how little sound you’ve made. How about crying a little? You don’t have to get very loud, just make sure they know you’re alive.”

“I don’t need to. I plan on staying relatively quiet until this body can properly speak. I’ll practice my sounds once we’re alone. You can practice with me if you want.”

I hear a telepathic gasp. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you speak in complete sentences! I will absolutely practice with you.”

“I don’t speak in complete sentences. You’re hearing thoughts, not words, and I think in full sentences, just like you.”

“Oh.”

While we’re having our mental conversation, the adults start discussing how to announce our births, and when to hold the next ball. Finally Mom clears her throat. “I believe I said that they should be introduced to their siblings as soon as possible, did I not? Why has no one let them in?”

“Ah! I knew I was forgetting something,” the king says. “I apologize, dearest. By all means, let me get the door. I’m sure our children are getting impatient.”

Sure enough, as soon as the door is open wide enough, two small boys come zipping in. The princess and eldest prince are a bit more graceful, waiting for their father to finish opening the door and thanking him before running over to us. I can feel the weight of their stares for a solid minute before one asks, in a soft voice like he’s in a church, “Why isn’t that one crying too?”

“I don’t know, Conor,” I hear one of the others say. This one sounds older. “Maybe it’s because she’s the elder twin?”

I almost laugh at his logic. I hear a voice that is unmistakably Andrew’s say, “Hey Colin,” and the older one reply, “Yeah?”

I can practically hear Andrew’s smile. “What if she just doesn’t want to make noise right now? She could just be a naturally quiet person.”

“I didn’t know there was such a thing as a quiet girl.”

“Hey!” The new voice is clearly that of the princess, our elder sister.

“Aahh!” There’s a thump. “Crazy sis, get off me!”

I hear Sikhara laughing in my head. “Oh, this is gonna be fun,” I hear her say, chortling.

“Yeah…”

Two weeks later finds us bathed and swaddled, waiting on top of a hill as the full moon rises. My new mother, the queen, carries me inside the temple and lays me down in a basket floating on a small pond. I stare at the moon as it crests, feeling something start swirling around me. The water starts glowing and I think I hear the royals gasping but I’m so focused on the moon that I can’t really tell. All I can see is silver.

Bellator.

I startle at the sound of a whisper as the moonlight wraps around and lifts me bodily out of the basket. We are your friends, Bellator, the voice says. Look around. We are Moonlight, and Shadow, and Water, and Earth; we are Fauna, and War, and Ice, and Cold. You have our allegiance. Learn to use us, and we will be your guides.

I hesitate before calling out. Are you the elements I chose while I was speaking with the Goddess?

The voice seems to chuckle. Yes, child, it whispers. But even your Goddess could not have forced us to choose you. We chose to be your strength, and we will guide you. Our counterparts will guide your twin. The one named Tueor, the one you call Andrew, already has our protection. Now go! The moon is moving and we cannot stay here any longer.

Thank you, I whisper. Can I find you in my magic?

Yes, little one. Now have a good night’s rest.

I feel myself sliding back into the basket and blink when I realize I’m still staring at the moon. The queen walks in and lifts me. “May I introduce,” she says in a hoarse whisper before clearing her throat and continuing, “Chayana Bellator Kuyaris, daughter of moon and shadow. All hail the Shadow Princess!”

The cheer startles me. Shadow princess, what an interesting title. I wonder if she knows the meaning of my blessed name, if she recognizes that being christened as warrior means my life will be dangerous. Based on the tears sparkling in her eyes, I’m guessing she does.

Twelve hours later, as the sun peaks in the sky, I witness something very similar happening to my sister. She glows gold and floats in the sunbeam, and I know that she’s staring at the sun in all of its intensity but won’t get burned, only stronger. She says her name in my mind as she settles back into her basket. Domina.

I guess it’s a good thing that I went first; had she undergone this ceremony without my explanation of the events at mine, she very likely would’ve panicked. I’m calmer and was able to soothe any concerns she may have had before she started floating. The queen lifts my twin into the air. “May I introduce,” she says, in a much stronger voice than she had for mine, “Sikhara Domina Kuyaris, daughter of sun and flame. All hail the Sun Princess!”

It suddenly occurs to me to wonder what the first princess’ nickname is, if we each have one. She catches me staring at her and smiles. Leaning in close, she says quietly, “I was the Sky Princess, little shadow, so now we have Sun, Sky, and Shadow. Is Mom choosing all S names on purpose, or do you think that’s just coincidence?” She smiles at me before muttering, “Not like you have any idea what I’m saying, but saying it makes me feel better.”

We survive the sundown introduction ceremony - everyone seems so happy to meet us - and Sikhara falls asleep as soon as Mom pulls her away from the crowds. I, on the other hand, am wide awake until the sun rises, a fact which appears to bother the advisors quite a bit.