What Used To Be

Since their very birth Emir and Lana remind close, one could not be without the other. If Lana cried Emir followed in suit and would cry, not for himself but rather his sister. Of course they grew out of this since they were babies when they did that. But together they would grow new habits, but there were times the two had to be separated, in which the two twins were not happy about and usually the people around them had to pay the price.

Like when Lana and Emir were six years of age, Lana had to study while Emir had to sword fight. Lana, who was already upset, ended up ruining the books she was meant to study by burning them, but she still had the knowledge that was in the books. While Emir, who was more sad, barely picked up a wooden shortsword he beat the older students around him with little effort.

However both twins would later claim they didn't do it, Lana would say the books lit in flames themselves, while Emir would claim something had his hand and was guiding him.

The more times this would happen the more the King would become paranoid, more worried about what the entity said back at Water-Wind. Mael would have dreams about the words of the entity, he would dream about two people who had weapons in their hands though the king could not recall the weapons when he'd wake up. But he could always remember what they would say. "We are the Eye of Dusk."

The king would have almost the same dream other nights, two figures who held no weapons but would claim that they were "The Star of Dawn."

Soon the Queen herself would notice her husband's paranoia.

"My dear, what troubles you?"

"These dreams I have been having recently they-..they have been cryptic and dark, something haunts this kingdom, that I have known since I was a boy. But never has it ever threatened the future of the kingdom our bloodline never let it-. But now I fear I will have to bow down to it, before my children have to."

The Queen listened to the King in pity and would grow the same worry for her children.

___________

Emir sat on the floor of the painting room, his sister Lana sat beside him on the colorful wooden floor. Emir had a paint brush in his hands as he was thinking what to paint, soon enough an idea finally came to play. The Aurora Borealis.

Emir stood up and walked to the wooden panel and started to shape out the landscape, he thought of a river that ran through the mountains that shimmered due to the moonlight with Aurora as well.

"Whatcha gonna paint?"

"The Aurora Borealis, the pretty lights we see in the sky every night in winter."

"That's what those are called?"

"Yeah, I asked mother what they were, and she told me the name and since then I've been feeling the urge to paint."

"You are a very strange brother."

"You say that like you have other brothers." Lana shrugged in response as Emir chuckled as started to paint.

___________

Emir and Lana sadly sat beside the King and Queens bed as their mother lay sick and in pain. "Mother?" The eight year old boy said as his mother coughed like her lungs were hanging on for their lives. "I-I'm" another cough came from the queen as this time blood came out of her mouth. Emir and Lana stood up now looking at the blood that came out of the queen's mouth.

Lana soon enough ran out the room while Emir stayed beside his beloved mother.

As the door slammed open it revealed Mael with Lana in his arms with doctors around them, rushing to the bedside of the queen.

"Mother?" Lana and Emir questioned as she continued coughing blood.

"Tamaya? My dear?" Slowly the queen's eyelids got heavy as she soon stopped coughing, her lips played a small smile as she slowly turned to her family beside her.

Soon the beautiful smile of Queen Tamaya turned into a sigh, her last breath.

__________

The kingdom was silent. Lana nor Emir spoke as their mother was lowered into the ground. The king took a shaking breath as stood behind his children as the people of the city awaited his words.

"With a..heavy heart I announce that Queen Tamaya is now dead." Sweat started to form on the king's body as he started to feel light headed. "Within this kingdom she had many roles, The Queen, A Wife, A Mother." The King stopped and put his hands on his children's heads as they cried. "May she rest peacefully forever."

With that the Mael ended his speech to his people, he picked up his children and left to the castle doors. But of course the council existed and simply did not care about the death of the queen.

"My King, perhaps we marry off Princess Lana?"

"It could help the kingdom alliance with another-"

"My Lord-"

"Silence!" The King shouted as he looked around tired.

"Out! Out Now!" The council soon left as the king sat in despair.

____________

Lana sat quietly and held her head up with pride and arrogance, while her brother Emir sat next to her quietly and formally. The two of them said nothing to each other. It had been five years since the death of their mother and since then the two never really spoke to each other so often. After a while wait, King Mael and the council walked in. The king looked guilty and Lana noticed immediately.

"What's wrong Father? You look quite guilty." Lana taunted her father as he held up a hand symbolizing her to be quiet.

"There is no easy way to say this. My children." As the king stopped the council smirked. "Emir, You are engaged to Princess Ece of the Kingdom of Memories." Emir wanted to react but he kept his cool and simply nodded his head. The king then turned to his daughter. "Lana, You are engaged to Prince Azael of the Kingdom of Mist." Lana's arrogance dropped and soon became rage.