Iftia: Lyx Palace Medical Office

• Elianna •

"How's Thethia?" Elianna asked.

"As usual," Thunder sauntered into her medical office and settled down on the couch positioned in front of her desk. He rested his cheek lazily against his palm and mentioned, "I heard that Elizabeth is coming to Iftia again."

"Any agenda stated?" she inquired, feeling urgent at the sudden news.

"No," he replied simply. "Only her knights were mobilised. If anything, I'm guessing that they're travelling incognito."

Elianna stood from her seat and folded her arms in front of her chest. Her thoughts were flooded with the endless deductions before her mind settled on one conclusion.

"He knows about me now," she bit through her words that pushed beyond her lips in harsh whispers. "And they're here for me."

"Most probably," Thunder commented.

Then, a knocking sound on the medical office door startled Thunder as he arched his back while stretching to transform himself back into his panther form.

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"Am I disturbing you?" Matthias sneaked his head into the door. Scanning around her medical office, he scratched the back of his head in confusion, "I thought I heard someone talking."

"Come on in," Elianna chuckled. Her hand brushed Thunder's fur and it purred in satisfaction. "It's just us."

Matthias entered through the door and his gaze fell onto the couch which Thunder was lazing lazily on. His brows raised in amusement, "Surprised to see it awake in the day."

"Only when it decides to spend time with me," Elianna laughed. Thunder remained laying on her lap, but it swung its tail indolently at Matthias to greet him before exhaling a nonchalant yawn and closed its eyes. Flapping its ears forward, Elianna ran her hand across its fur again. "What brought you here today, Matthias?"

"Has brother told you that we are leaving for Rivia tomorrow?" he asked.

Surprised, she replied with a question while observing Matthias attentively, "Did something happen?"

"No, nothing happened," he assured her. "It was a celebration invitation. They added that officials from the Royal Medical Department should also join in."

She immediately breathed a sigh of relief and Matthias continued, "It's the Second Princess' birthday, Naailah Nouraei."

"The Princess with the gift of foretelling."

"How did you know?" Matthias looked towards her, surprised at her knowledge.

"Gifts are no secrets, especially if one is a member of royalty."

"Not the case here," Matthias said. "Iftia doesn't reveal our gifts to all, they were only known amongst the royals of each Kingdom."

"Well, I wouldn't mind knowing if you would like to tell me."

"Fire."

She shot her head up and looked at him with wide eyes, not expecting him to tell her so straightforwardly. Matthias returned the look but with a confused expression on his face, "I'm telling you because you asked, but I can't possibly show you since you aren't good with fire."

"I just didn't expect you to tell me so easily, especially when you hold onto an elemental gift."

"I trust you," he smiled. "You do have a gift, don't you?"

"Yes," she responded, but her voice fell lower than a whisper and her fingers tensed.

"You can choose not to share, I wouldn't mind," he ascertained.

She paused for a moment, not saying anything. Deep down, she always knew of Matthias' sincerity towards their friendship and that he had been nothing but honest and genuine. She should have no qualms about trusting him. So, she was done hiding. Other than her gift, there was something else she wanted to let him know first.

Her hands lifted to remove the thin satin covering the other half of her face. She saw how his eyes widen at the same time the veil fall from her face. He breathed, "Elianna, you—"

She smiled at him and he opened his mouth in shock but seemingly lost for words. She completed the sentence for him, "Look like Princess Elizabeth of Thethia."

"U-Um, what kind of gift is this?" Matthias asked, puzzled by what he witnessed. "Shapeshifting? But I've never heard of such a gift before."

"No," she burst out laughing, pleasantly entertained by his bewilderment. "I am her twin and I hold the gift of darkness."

"Wait, wait, w—" he rubbed both of his eyes and held onto his head with his hands. "Give me a moment."

"Take your time," she mentioned, waiting patiently for him to recover from her sudden revelation. But Matthias sat in silence for a moment too long and Elianna wondered if she should've just kept everything to herself.

Then, Matthias shifted again to face her. His hazel eyes shot right through her amber ones, seemingly finding traces of lie which he failed to acquire. "You're a princess?" he gasped. "But Thethia only had one princess. There was never news of two."

"I wouldn't ever consider myself as a princess," she shrugged and continued to explain, "I am born as a sacrificial soul."

"What does that even mean?" he inhaled sharply, horrified.

"The ancient ritual of power transfer between twins," she said. With that, tensed silence was invited back into their exchange. Matthias dropped his head low, not meeting her gaze any more. Raking a hand through his hair, he closed his eyes for a moment before straightening his back slightly again.

"No." He held onto his chest, and she saw how his face paled. "It's not only between twins."

"Matthias?" Elianna got up from her seat and moved towards him. He flinched at her touch and moved away immediately. Stumbling to make himself stand, he apologised, "I feel sick and I guess I shall return."

"Matthias," she called him from behind as worry washed over her. "Please come back to the office if it gets serious?"

"Sure," he smiled weakly, his words trembled and his face was paler than the sheets. She watched as he managed excruciatingly to drag himself out and close the door behind him.

She wondered if she had made a wrong move to bombard him with these abrupt disclosures but it also seemed too late to take all her words back.

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Thethia: Thethia-Iftia Border

• Elizabeth •

"Your Highness, up ahead would be Iftia," Quinn said.

"Great," Elizabeth settled down with her four knights. "Let's rest here for tonight, we'll head to Iftia when morning comes. They will be heading to Rivia for a few days to celebrate the Second Princess' birthday. Meanwhile, we will scope the town."

"Yes," all the knights replied in unison and they chanted in Thethiac, shining a barrier around them to protect them from the beasts that roamed the woods at night.

Elizabeth sat near the campfire in front of her, watching as the glowing embers leapt and twirled in a fiery dance, twinkling like stars in the hot swirling air. The flames rolled and swayed in their grace as they burned the firewood to ashes. When she dropped her head, she stared at the teardrop-shaped birthmark on her left wrist.

Everyone saw her as a blessed princess who was showered with affections and luxury for her life. They saw her in beautiful dresses and adorned with the most expensive pieces of jewellery. They envied her. No, some were even jealous of her. Being the only royal descendant of Thethia, she was regarded as the Kingdom's treasure.

Yet, what they don't see was the twisted part of her life. Beneath every smile that Father showed her was his thirst for power to overthrow the other Kingdoms and be the sole ruler of the entire magic realm. She was his triumph card that he flaunted to others. Her gift of light was seen as a symbol of adoration by the Goddess herself, but she'd always laugh to herself at his absurdity. Adoration? It felt more like pity.

She was gifted around the time Mother died. Mother's death sparked a bloodbath in the Royal Grounds of Thethia. The moment she manifested her gift, Father pulled her by the arm and forced her to purge everyone who used to serve Mother. Not only that, she massacred the whole Veilstein family and burned their house into ashes.

Unforgivable. She did so many unforgivable things but she dare not defy Father. He would do anything to make sure he killed any ounce of humanity left in her. Those remains of humanity that she so preciously grasped onto.

Nobody wants to be a monster, nobody would choose to be a monster.

She will bring back her sister to him as she was told, while secretly hoping that would be the last thing he would request of her since Sister was all that he ever wanted ever so badly since that day.

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we're travelling to rivia!