The spider is hanging

Kiyan walked side by side with his brother and Lecter gleefully to the town's square. He hummed with every step he took leaving the other two wondering what got him that happy.

"What are you so excited about?" Raten finally asked.

"The griffin. I can't believe I finally rode one." He replied grinning from ear to ear.

"Were you not crying and screaming your lungs out a while ago?" Raten raised a brow. Lecter chuckled.

"That was only because it took me by surprise, and acted like it wanted to kill me." Kiyan pouted his lips.

"Say, since you both can use magic already, you plan on going to the academy?" Lecter asked.

"We do." Raten answered with a smile.

"So do I, but I have been unable to unlock my mana cells yet. I took it as luck on my side when the school suddenly went on hiatus."

"And the age range? Are you up to it?" Kiyan asked, looking at him from head to toe.

"Yes. I'm thirteen actually."

"You don't look thirteen." Raten said. Looking at his build, he was a bit chubby, with round eyes and curly brown hair. Anyone would have guessed he was about the same age as the twins or perhaps younger.

"I guess I'm a bit short for my age."

"That's not the only reason." Raten stated plainly and carried on walking.

Lecter furrowed his brows at his comment. "How old are you two anyway?" He asked.

"We're eleven." Kiyan answered. "If I could, I would make myself older. I just can't wait to go to Darkmoon academy and finally become a wizard." He sighed.

"Three more years of waiting then. It might be more since no one knows when they'll be back on again." Said Lecter.

"Isn't it just Darkmoon academy? We can go to another one." Raten said.

"No. I hear it's all the magic academies in this continent and two more continents in strong contact with 'the sovereign'." Lecter replied.

"The sovereign?" Raten froze and he began trembling.

Kiyan moved closer to his brother and squeezed his shoulder lightly.

"Breathe."

"Is everything okay?" Lecter asked.

Kiyan glared at him and he kept his distance.

"Are you okay?" Kiyan asked softly.

"T-the spider." Raten bent over and placed his hands over his ears. "Kiyan, the.. the spider. It's hanging."

"Is there any way I can help? What's wrong?" Lecter moved forward.

"Don't come any closer!" Kiyan snapped at him. The look in his eyes made Lecter stay put.

"Snap out of it!" Kiyan shook his brother. "That's never happening again!"

"Never?" Raten looked up at his brother, tears burned his eyes.

"Never." He reassured him.

After a brief moment of silence, Kiyan took a deep breath.

"Thank you for today, we'll be on our way now." Kiyan took his brother and left.

They finally arrived at the town's square. The twins could not remember where their father, along with Demas, was. Turning from Left to right, they searched for them. The brothers were beginning to think they had left the area.

"There! I see him." Raten pointed in a direction, not too far from them.

*******

"They've been gone for too long, the sun is almost setting." Demas stated his worry. "Don't you think we should search for them? They might have gotten lost, or even worse…"

"You might be right." Agnar gulped the last bit of drink from his cup. Placing it back on the counter, they stepped out of the pub they had gone into. "Which way do we go first?"

"That way." Demas looked to his left. "That is where they ran off to." Agnar nodded in agreement. They both were about to go off in that direction, when they sighted two boys running. in their direction.

"Father! You're here. We were looking for you." Kiyan said, as he neared, trying to catch his breath.

"We did tell you to meet us right here, didn't we?" Demas said.

"You certainly took your time. What were you out doing?" Agnar asked with a smile, seeing how happy they looked.

"Just a few things. We even made a friend." Raten answered. " He's right here.." he trailed off.

"Oh, right."

"Did anything happen?" Agnar asked.

"Well.. it happened again." Kiyan rubbed his hands slowly.

"What happened?" Agnar asked, taking a step forward.

"Nothing serious. I just got a bit freaked out by a griffin." Raten lied.

Agnar's eyes darted between the two.

"You're not lying to me?"

"Why would I?"

"If you say so. Let's head back then." 

The four of them then began their way home. "Why don't you tell me about your day as we walk?"

"Gladly." Kiyan answered with a smile. He looked at Raten, who was smiling as well. A relief for Kiyan.

The twins gave every little detail of their day as they walked home. Demas and Agnar chuckled a couple of times. Especially at their argument about Kiyan's ride on a griffin.

He said it was amazing and he wasn't scared at all. While Raten called his bluff and told the full story. They conversed till they walked through the gates to Demas' home.

After spending the whole day out, Demas had told Marie to prepare a meal for them all. The twins were, especially, hungry. They all ate when it was ready and now sat in the living room. The twins sat across the room from the men.

While they were having a feel of the city, Demas and Agnar were having a serious conversation. Agnar had told him everything they had faced, and how the boys were now, more than ever, eager to understand everything.

Not forgetting his promise to make things clear when they arrived in Raldon, he decided to tell them everything as soon as they got home.

There was no need to avoid the conversation any further. Especially now he stopped them from saying their last name, he knew they would be more inclined to know. Honestly, they deserved to know the reason for everything they faced by orders of 'the sovereign'.

"A lot of questions you've asked over the years and I provided no answers. The best I gave was that I made a 'mistake'. Giving it a lot of thought, there is no need keeping it from you both." Agnar took a deep breath.

He glanced at Demas who nodded for him to go ahead. The twins were beyond curious, and excited? They didn't know what they felt. They were just glad to finally get their answers. 

Whatever it was seemed to be hard for Agnar to say. Sighing, he looked up at his sons. "It began nearly four centuries ago..." He started.