When the servants heard the screams they came into the room and saw an unforgettable sight. Kali was kneeling next to Kendi, applying ointment found in the mistress’s drawers to his burnt skin. If it had only been that, two siblings caring for one another, it would have been a fond memory for the servants to have. But the mistress was burning.

Not too far from the siblings the mistress screamed, curled up in the chimney’s fire. It was a haunting sight, she was clearly in agony and yet refused to move. Her entire body was still except for her mouth, which let out chilling sounds of pain. The servants had begged for her to come out but Lehana didn’t, opting instead to cry out until she took her last breath. By the time they brought water up to put out the flame their mistress was gone, her body nothing like it once was.

When the funeral came the children didn’t shed a single tear. They hadn’t cried, yelled, or done anything to mourn Lehana’s death, though the servants didn’t blame them. They too wouldn’t have wept for such a horrifying mother. It was peculiar, however, to Rashidi.

Everything had been odd, to the Lady’s death and the twins' indifference, that had caused the head butler of the royal palace to question what had really occurred. He had been sent to bring the twins over to the royal palace, with Lehana’s tragic death even the nobles couldn’t argue with the king wanting to bring his illegitimate children under his fold.

Looking at the twins now, Rashidi wished they could have come to them sooner. They were smaller than most their age, clearly a sign of neglect and malnutrition. Rashidi didn’t even want to compare them to the king’s legitimate children, who were larger and stronger than most people in the empire.

It was their mother’s funeral, yet they still wore old, plain clothes as if they had no others. Their faces were worn as well as if they had experienced as much as an adult would in their lifetime. What had Lehana done to these children? Rashidi wasn’t sure if he truly wanted to know.

“Your highnesses, it is a pleasure to serve you. I am Rashidi, head butler of the royal palace.” It was a few days after the funeral that he introduced himself to the twins. They had spent the past days moving the twin’s things into a room in the royal palace. It hadn’t taken too long, the twins had barely anything to call their own.

Now he stood before Kali and Kendi, feeling somewhat irked although they were only children. Something was off, he was sure of it, but another part of him screamed not to investigate, or next it would be his body in a fire. So he simply greeted the royal children and left their new room, claiming to come back once things were more settled.

“I think he knows,” Kendi muttered it first, though he had already spoken the same thing silently to Kali when Rashidi was there. It was more so because it needed to be said aloud that he spoke, watching his twin sister nod her head in response.

After she had compelled Lehana to throw herself into the fire, her appearance had returned to normal, and they had both vowed to hide the truth of what had really happened that morning. The twins knew it was suspicious, no one would ever burn themselves alive on purpose, but who would believe that Kali had controlled her own mother?

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Both Kali and Kendi hadn’t experienced the feeling that pushed Kali to control Lehana since that day as well, though they tried many times on the servants, gardener, and even the stray animals nearby. The connection to another’s soul never came again, and they both wondered if it was either good or bad.

“He’s suspicious, but he doesn’t know anything. He’s just a butler forced to take care of two misfortuned bastards.” If she were him even she would scurry away from them. She heard the rumors of how they drove Lehana to madness and were cursed because of their blood. The maids whispered when they walked by, stealing glances of malice and disgust as they passed.

“They don’t know any better. Don’t let them affect you. At least now they’ll stay away from us.” Her brother’s words echoed in her head, and she smiled softly.

“How’s your wound? She dug pretty deep with the poker.” As if reminded of it Kendi winced, shrugging at his sister’s question.

“It’s getting better. Do you still feel it too?” Pain wasn’t something the twins experienced alone, and Kali felt the sting of the iron poker as Kendi had. It was softer for her and would disappear sooner than the actual wound, but Kali felt it nonetheless.

“A bit, it’s still fading. What do you think will happen to us now?” Kendi knew what Kali really meant when she wondered those words aloud. Were they going to survive? They were in the palace of the king himself, the man who cast out their mother and drove her to insanity. He had never shown a sign of interest in his two youngest children until now, and Kendi was sure it wasn’t out of the goodness of his heart.

“Perhaps he plans to kill us quietly and sweep this whole matter under the rug.” The suggestion caused Kali to groan, allowing herself to fall backward and onto her plush new bed.

“We need to get out of here. Lehana was bad enough, but the king? Not to mention his children.” Lehana wasn’t hated by nobles only because she was lowborn, but because she did not have the blood of the blessed in her. Only those in such a lineage, blessed by the Goddess Niche herself, could govern entire kingdoms.

Blessed ones were stronger than the average human, with unique gifts of their own. They didn’t age past 25, and live at least double the years of most humans. According to legend, each personal gift they possessed were unique to their kingdom's time of need. To keep the blood strong the king was only supposed to love other royalty also blessed by Niche, but he had set his eyes on Lehana instead.

They weren’t just worthless children, but entire abominations to the rest of the kingdom, a stain on the king’s legacy. It was no doubt that the legitimate children hated the twins, and would do everything in their power to see their downfall.

“Have we escaped the smoke only to be thrown into the fire ourselves?” The question from Kali echoed in Kendi’s mind and he grimaced. As if to confirm their suspicions a quick knock came at the door, and Rashidi announced himself before coming inside.

“Your highnesses, the king has requested you come to dine with him and the rest of your siblings. If you would allow me to help you prepare, I would be honored.” Kendi looked to Kali at Rashidi’s words, wondering what “prepare” meant. Why dress them up if they were only going to meet their deaths?

Nevertheless, they agreed, bathing in baths full of sweet lavender and dressing in expensive silks. Both wore red, though Rashidi gave them jewelry that helped distinguish them from one another. Kali was given golden waist beads and a necklace while Kendi was offered golden arm cuffs and a headpiece. While they would have preferred something to tie their twists and braids up and out of the way, Rashidi refused, claiming that it looked better for their hair to be down.

With the transformation complete, both the twins felt like frauds. They had never touched such expensive things before, let alone worn them. Awkwardly they walked, following Rashidi as he led them to the dining hall.

“The king understands that Lehana was not...attentive to your highnesses, so there is no need to worry about etiquette and following customs. That will all be taught to your highnesses at a later date.” Rashidi went on for quite a bit as they walked, and whether it was out of nervousness or boredom, the twins couldn’t tell.

“Later? So do they not plan to kill us?” Kali silently spoke to her brother, receiving a shrug in return.

“I don’t know anymore Kali, this is all so new.” She felt his uneasiness then, he was worried that they would be used in a different way, a way worse than simply a punching bag for Lehana.

After turning various corners and walking up a flight of stairs, they finally reached the dining hall. Rashidi nodded to the guards before he cleared his throat, exclaiming loudly.

“The royal highnesses, Kendi and Kali your majesty!”