The Twins

Nine Months Later

Time had passed by in a blur, and the evil deeds of the past were swept under the carpet.

It was daytime, but the clouds were gloomy, and the wind blew heavily. The people of the kingdom of Eldrador hid themselves in their various houses, not daring to step outside in fear. For a long time now, whenever the rain fell, it always brought afflictions and plagues together with it, so rainfall, which was a natural occurrence, and sometimes seen as a blessing from the heavens, was now seen as a curse that brought forth trouble.

Unlike the commoners who were busy shivering in fear in their houses, there was actually joy in the castle. News had gone around that the Queen had fallen into labour, and everyone anticipated the arrival of the new born.

The Queen had been taken to the laying-in chambers, where the midwife and her attendants immediately attended to her.

Groans and whimpers filled the room as the Queen pushed hard, while the midwife said some encouraging words.After a while of pushing, the baby was finally birthed.

The midwife, and her attendants smiled as the midwife gently carried the crying baby.

"Congratulations, your majesty! The future Crown Prince has been born!" She exclaimed in joy as she placed the baby next to the Queen, and bowed to the newly born Prince.

Queen Namarie sobbed in joyed as she looked at the very small and cute baby that was beside her. She was about to touch him, but she stopped. Her face twisted, and she started whimpering in pain once again.

"Another head is coming out!" One of the attendants that were holding on to the Queen's legs, exclaimed.

The midwife immediately ran in shock to attend to the Queen, as she pushed for the second time. The baby came out easily this time around, and the midwife carried the baby, while still looking shocked.

"Congratulations, your highness. Here is the princess." The midwife said, her voice less joyful, but she still placed the new born Princess next to the Prince, and bowed.

"Princess?! I gave birth to twins?" Queen Namarie asked, dread written all over her face. "Call Nimueh immediately! Now!"

….

The twins had already been bathed and dressed up in fresh clothes. They had also been fed and were sleeping in the Queen's chambers. All the Queen's attendants were no longer in the room, just the Queen, the twins, and Nimueh.

"I gave birth to twins just like that girl had said." Queen Namarie said, while looking at Nimueh with worry in her eyes.

Nimueh bent over the twins, and inspected them. She frowned when she noticed a black mark in the shape of a cross behind the right ear of each of the twins.

"What is it?" Queen Namarie asked.

"It's a curse." Nimueh replied.

"W-what did you say?" Queen Namarie couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"There is a curse on the Crown prince, and the Princess, your majesty." Nimueh answered.

"Oh no! What do we do now?" The Queen's eyes got teary in despair. "How… how can I save my children?"

Nimueh thought for a moment, and then she said without hesitation, "We must transfer the curse to one of them, and kill the one with the curse."

Queen Namarie raised her head in alarm, looking at Nimueh in shock. "Kill my own child? How dare you say such an unreasonable thing? I would never harm any of my children, no matter what!"

Nimueh raised her eyebrows. "You only wanted an heir to the throne from the onset, isn't that right? So all you have to do is kill the Princess." She spoke without any remorse, "You must make a decision: Will you lose both of your children, or will you save the crown prince by killing the Princess?"

Queen Namarie couldn't bring herself to say a word as she began to sob as she looked at the sleeping princess. She caressed the Princess's face, and muttered, "My baby… not my baby."

….

Queen Namarie gave in at the end, and at night, the twins were brought in their cradles to Nimueh's quarters. Nimueh then put their cradles close to the alter she had set up.

She brought out her box of ash and stained her hands with it. Moving her hands above the twins who were in their cradles, she then began to mutter some incantations, and when she was done. She bent down to inspect their left ear.

The Prince's mark had disappeared causing Nimueh to smile in satisfaction, and when she checked that of the Princess, her smile became even brighter. The once black mark on the Princess had turned blood red.

Nimueh heard the sound of footsteps getting closer and she turned around. "Queen Dowager." Nimueh said as she bowed her head.

"Is it done?" Queen Margaret asked.

"Yes. The curse has been transferred to the Princess, and therefore, she must die." Nimueh said.

"Go ahead with it. It's for the sake of keeping the Crown Prince safe, after all." Queen Margaret said it so easily that one would think she was just commenting about the weather.

"However, we can't kill the Princess just like that, or else the curse would only return to the Crown Prince." Nimueh explained, "To kill the Princess together with the curse, she has to be killed by the Crown Prince."

Queen Margaret frowned in confusion. "How is that even possible? The Crown Prince is still a new born. Isn't there another way?"

"There indeed is, your majesty. It's either the Princess gets killed by the Crown Prince, or she gets burnt to death by the holy fire, and we all know that only one person wields such power… Ronan."

"Do you think he would do it?" Queen Margaret asked in worry.

"Ronan cares for the well-being of this kingdom more than anyone else. If he's still the same Ronan I know, he won't be able to refuse." Nimueh spoke with confidence.

….

In front of the dungeons where criminals and law breakers were kept, Nimueh stood with two of her assistants, one of them was holding the Princess in her arms.

The dungeon gates were opened, and two guards came out with a man that was chained up. The guards then unchained him, and stepped backwards.

Nimueh smiled when the saw the man. "You should rejoice, Sir Ronan. The Crown Prince has finally been born today." She said.

Ronan stayed silent, and his eyes strayed to the assistant that was holding a baby in her arms. Nimueh then signaled for the assistant to come forward.

The assistant came forward with the Princess, and placed her in Ronan's arms.

"That is the Crown Prince's twin sister. We ran into some complications, and her body carries a curse." Nimueh explained.

"What did you say?" Ronan asked, as he looked down at the Princess who happened to be smiling in her sleep. "I told you that using dark magic would have terrible consequences, didn't I?"

"One must sacrifice something in order to get something extraordinary, and now we need your help to eradicate this curse." Nimueh carelessly said.

Nimueh saw the hesitation in Ronan's face, and she pushed further. "If the curse on the Princess begins to take shape, the Crown Prince will die together with her, and that won't be good for the kingdom. This child has to die for the sake of this kingdom's future."

Ronan remained silent, but the expression on his face showed that he was considering what she had said, and that made Nimueh to smile in victory.

….

The sun shone brightly the next day, and the people saw this as a sign that perhaps, the calamities that befell the kingdom were finally coming to an end.

Meanwhile, in the heart of the sacred grove where the sacred fire circle used to pray to the heavens, Ronan, clad in a white garment could be seen performing a ritual, while Nimueh and a few of her assistants watched him from afar.

After he was done with the rituals, he picked up the Princess who had been laid on a mat, and looked at Nimueh. Nimueh, in turn, smiled and nodded.

Ronan looked away from her, and approached the alter. A pyre in the shape of a basket which was made of tree shrubs was already on the alter and he placed the Princess in it.

He stepped back a bit, and then stretched his hands towards the pyre, and in the blink of an eye, it became lit up in flames.

Seeing this, Nimueh smiled in satisfaction, while Ronan turned around, and walked away from the alter, ignoring the cries of the Princess.