I pulled the bow closer to my face, determined to beat my brother at this. Keon always won our competitions, other than the knife-throwing, where I still reigned champion.

We stood side by side, aiming at the small target. It couldn't have been more than a few hundred feet away.

"Think you'll finally beat me, dear sister of mine?" Keon smirked as he let the blue-feathered arrow fly. I let his remark pass by, staying silent. He didn't need to know how much I wanted to beat him at this. He was the perfect sibling, made for greatness. I... wasn't.

His arrow struck the board, thudding dully. It was perfectly in the middle.

Keon grinned as he glanced over, making sure I knew he was better. I suddenly dropped my bow, lunging over and tackling him to the ground. I started to slide my dagger out of its sheath, the one carefully positioned on my thigh.

Tumbling around, we merrily threw insults and curses at each other. I finally got my dagger against his throat, and he froze, feeling the sharp point. His breathing tightened, and his eyes widened, seeing something else. I realized what I was doing to him and rolled off, standing in the same motion. Keon lay on the ground, staring off into nowhere. He got like this sometimes, when he remembered. 

After calming down enough to speak, he says he's fine.

I disagree. He is my twin, and I will help him, despite what he thinks. I need to keep him safe. Ever since I found out who he really was, how important he is, I vowed to protect him at any cost. I would do anything.

"Vaia? Are you ready to go home yet?"

"Just a minute. I didn't get my turn yet, remember?" I sighed, not wanting to go to the house. It was only a few miles away, but was still a pain to walk.

I drew the bow close to my face again, pulling the string. I aimed, took a deep breath, and let go as I exhaled. I could hear the thin wood fly through the air, making a faint whizz as it flew. It hit the board just off from the bullseye. So close.

"Can we fly this time? I promise we can keep close to the trees. It won't be like last time." Keon stared at me, pleading.

I sighed. We were out of practice a little, and it would be good exercise. I began turning away so he couldn't see how pleased I was with the idea. I closed my eyes, feeling the wind on my face. It would feel so good up in the skies.

I gave in, hating myself for wanting it. "Fine. But we have to stay as close to the trees as we can. Okay?"

"Yes! This is amazing!" Keon punched the air above him, cheering. He looked so happy, carefree and childish. He was still so young. We both were, though we had aged beyond our years.

Unfurling his wings, he shot into the sky, spinning into a dive back toward the trees. I followed close behind, watching for any movement around us.

A figure waving in our direction caught my eye. Balanced carefully on a rock, they almost fell over before waving even more vigorously. Just a silhouette on the horizon, tall and skinny. Two more Fae silhouettes climbed up and spotted us as well.

I called out to Keon to stay clear and go home, that I'd catch up later. I tucked into a dive, hurtling toward the ground fast. I turned back up just in time to land on my feet. Once I stalked close enough to see who was perched on the boulder, I swore, grinning. Our friends had found us. That meant others could, too, but for now, I wouldn't think about that. 

Riake fell off the large boulder, landing unsteadily on his feet. His winning smile spread over his face, still charming and deceptive.

"Did you miss me?" His arms were held out wide, for a hug.

I strode over and slapped him. Hard. He recoiled, obviously not expecting that. Then I threw my arms around him, squeezing him tightly. Closing my eyes, I thanked the Myst he wasn't back at the palace or dead.

Dea and Alos crept out from behind the rock, looking slightly terrified. They probably heard Riake yelp when I hit him. I felt his arms tentatively curl around me, being careful of where my wings were still spread. 

"Finally admitting you like me, Princess?" His mocking eyebrow jumped up as he whispered into my ear.

"I don't know where you get these idiotic ideas," I scowled as I shoved him away, letting him fall when I folded my wings back. It created a strong breeze that swept him off his feet, quite literally. Riake tumbled down to his butt as I spun, hiding my blushing face. He knew exactly how to push my buttons, and it scared me. How could I protect Keon if a boy with fewer brain cells than a dandelion made me feel so unstable?

Riake chuckled as he picked himself up from the ground, smirking once more. Dea smiled sweetly, and though it wavered a bit, she knew better than to laugh. I nodded to her, beginning to smile a bit again. Alos began cackling immediately, even after I shot him a glare.

I ignored the boys. "Would you like to stay here, or shall we find the house?"

They perked up at my voice, and Dea confirmed that we would return to the house. I began walking away, knowing they would follow.

I heard them trip a little as they tried to catch up, and soon they were walking softly beside me. I took the almost-silence as a moment to think, wondering how Keon would react to seeing them. He probably thought I had just swooped down to hunt for dinner.

We hadn't seen our friends since Keon and I left the palace. We had abandoned them there after the events of last year. Dea was one of our servant's kids, and we had grown up visiting Alos' father, the physician, almost every other day. We had first met Riake when he was an orphan in the streets. We pleaded with Siefer to take him back to the palace with us, and Siefer gave him a job in the barracks. Riake had needed to help the soldiers with whatever they deemed fit. It certainly hadn't been a dream job, as Keon and I weren't the only ones visiting the physician's regularly.

On the few days that most of us were free, we got together and played games. The five of us had always been close, and we were all friends, though we all knew who was the favorite of the group. Keon. He was a ray of sun on our darkest days, even when Siefer had tried to break him.

I was the one that broke. I can remember the pain, the torture, that had run through my mind. I may not want to remember, but the agony is still there.

Dea came up beside me. The boys followed behind us, bickering and laughing raucously. 

"How has he been doing?" She looked over at me, worry etched on her face. I searched my brain for a good enough word, settling on one.

"Keon has been fine. He's improving, I think."

Her pointed stare made me repeat myself. I glared at my feet, hating how well she knew me. I kicked up a few stones, then walked faster.

"We're almost there," I called over my shoulder. Riake and Alos looked up, alert at last. They began peering around as if they could see the house standing in plain sight. I laughed under my breath, that we would be so stupid. "Of course we hid it," I voiced, answering their unasked question.

Waving my hand, I ripped open a gap through the glamour. I stepped inside, Riake following next. I snorted when he hit the glamour's shield. It was spelled so only Keon and I could get in.

I called softly for Keon, knowing he would be waiting nearby for me. He burst out of the house, moving quickly in my direction. He bombarded me with questions, asking where I had been, what I'd been doing, did anything happened. I shut him up by saying something did indeed happen. His eyes grew wide and he sounded a little scared when he asked, "Are you okay? What happened? I don't-"

I laughed and told him to let down the shields. He was better at putting up the shields, so he controlled them. I held the glamours, though.

He squinted at me suspiciously, but closed his eyes and focused, letting them down. When he was done, I threw down the glamour and smiled as his eyes opened, seeing our friends standing there. They were caught in the middle of a round of bickering.

He stood there, frozen, mouth partly open in shock. Then he broke the silence and began laughing. Soon, tears streamed out of his eyes and he began crying as the others moved over and gathered us into a group hug.  He could be incredibly emotional sometimes. We stood there, together, for a while, taking in the comfort of being with each other again.

The comfortable almost-silence was broken when Alos chirped, "So, what's for dinner?"

__---*---__

That was quite long, 1577 words, to be exact. It's from a book that I started writing then gave up on. I left it for a side project, as writers have a habit of doing :)

Hope your day -- or night, as I'm posting this at midnight -- is going well!

-lily the book