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"Miss Àimèe, get down from there!"

Giggles and melodies of laughter surrounded the grassy hill, along with the sounds of distress from the tired nanny of Àimèe. The five year old toddler was proudly living up to her title of being a hyperactive child, unfortunately for the babysitters.

With a pout, the young child begrudgingly decided to climb down from the tree she was on top on. Once she was on level ground, young Àimèe was bombarded with scolding from the elder maids.

Everly, Àimèe's unfortunate nanny, soon brought the said girl back into the Ginemoux Manor, promptly ignoring the pout the toddler had.

Once inside the Manor, Àimèe ran up the stairs and into her room, eager to ignore Everly who had started to shout at her to slow down and walk carefully.

Inside the room was another toddler of the same age as Àimèe, but unlike the energetic child, this little girl was calmly sitting in front of the mirror, silent as her nanny brushed her blonde locks.

The door opened, earning the attention of the two females in the room. A small brunette head emerged from the other side, a cheeky grin planted on her face, along with a look of mischief.

Àimèe walked in, her face masked in faux innocence, as the if she had not done something again. But, of course, almost everyone already knew that if she had that look, she had definitely done something.

Catherine, who was already very familiar with this look, giggled and asked, "What did you do now, A?"

Àimèe giggled as well, but said nothing. Instead, she skipped over to her bed, and just as she sat down, the door reopened, showing a distressed Everly. Catherine's nanny, Margo, gave Everly a pitiful look, knowing well what Àimèe was capable of.

Which is mostly about giving the servants gray hair.

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If there was something that everybody could agree on, it was the fact that Catherine was the favored twin. She did not complain, she was not stubborn, and most of all, she could easily rein her older sister back.

Catherine was the epitome of kindness and softness. Even though she was merely five years of age, everyone could already see that she would grow up wonderfully and beautifully.

"Àimèe, Momma and Papa are gonna be angry if we're not ready." Her older sister's words were all it took for the young brunette to pout and walk over to her vanity after a long while of running away from Everly.

Everly sighed in relief that she did not need to run around the room any longer. With a content smile, she brushed Àimèe's straight brown hair.

Mary had just finished putting on Catherine's blush pink ombre dress that had layered ruffles on it. Catherine smiled in thanks at her caretaker and twirled around the mirror, giggling happily at her look.

She turned around and walked over to her sister who at the same time was wearing her mustard yellow tulle dress. Àimèe grinned once she was set and twirled in front of her sister, Catherine eagerly giving the older one a compliment.

Everly had wanted to make Àimèe wear something more extravagant for the occasion, but Àimèe would squirm and complain vehemently. Catherine also helped her plead the caretaker, which left Everly no choice.

Hands clasped together, the twin toddlers happily skipped downstairs to the drawing room where their parents were waiting at. Aldwyn and Odelia smiled at the sight of the sisters and soon enough, the four of them were inside the Ginemoux carriage.

"Momma, where are we going, again?" Catherine asked, attaining her parents' and Àimèe's attention.

Odelia softly smiled before answering, "We are headed to the Royal Palace, Cath. There is an annual celebration the King and Queen of Macrocosmus, and all nobility is invited."

Cath and Àimèe frowned in confusion. "'Macaron-nus-cos'?" Àimèe said, stuttering at the word. Cath nodded in agreement, as if also asking what it meant.

The adults chuckled at the youngster's way of saying the word. "It's 'Ma-cro-cos-mus', sweetie. It is the name of Kingdom that we are living in. Haven't you learned this yet from your tutor?" Odelia questioned.

Àimèe had the decency to look sheepish. "Uh... I forgot?" She stated in a way of question, which earned her stern looks from both adults. "Fine. I didn't listen."

Aldwyn shook his head, but had a small smile on his face nonetheless. His face mirror red Odelia's. The two of them didn't expect anything less of the said younger twin.

"There are five -or was it six?- Kingdoms in our nation; Macro-cormorus, Infrenos, Ziferus, Terra, and... Aqua!" Catherine exclaimed.

By the end of her statement, Aldwyn and Odelia were stuck between being in awe -because Catherine knew all the kingdoms- and being amused -because she pronounced most of them wrong.

"It's not very correct, but it is very wise of you, Catherine. When you grow older, you will learn more of the history of our Nation. And I expect you to pay attention next time, Àimèe." Odelia sternly said to Àimèe.

Àimèe grumbled in response.

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"Momma, Papa, look at the castle! It's so big!" Àimèe pointed out, in awe at the castle they were entering.

Before their carriage were other carriages filled with nobilities from all the kingdoms throughout the whole nation. The Annual Ball had been starting ever since the five kingdoms were founded, and they will run on as long as the kingdoms continue to have peace.

The white and gold castle was gleaming with the sun's rays; the royal violet designs stood out amongst the clear colors theme of the palace. Another thing that stood out were the various colors of the people's clothes. It was as if a rainbow had landed on earth.

Everyone invited in the Annual Ball were not required to wear a certain dress code that told of where they were from. This celebration was a moment of peace between the kingdoms.

Sure, they were only one nation, but that did not stop the five Kingdoms from being hostile to each other. They might have an allegiance and peace treaty, greed and pride is still in their hearts.

But that isn't the case for this day.

Finally, the Ginemoux's carriage rounded the fountain, and stopped at the small batch of stairs which lead to big, oak doors that were wide open for the people to enter.

The coachman opened the carriage doors, and the first who exited was Lord Aldwyn Ginemoux. He next escorted his wife, Lady Odelia Ginemoux, down from the carriage. The coachmen next helped Young Lady Catherine Ginemoux, and then Young Lady Àimèe Ginemoux.

Taking each children into a hand, the family walked into the oak doors, and into the direction of the ballroom. Given that they do not know where the ballroom is, they were lculy enough that there were people ahead of them, so they followed.

Soon, they were third on the line for the entrance, while the caller yelled out the names of the families before them.

"The Arden family!"

"The Courteney family!"

"The Ginemoux family!"

The family of four entered the ballroom and stood at the top of the stairs for a mere two seconds before descending down. Only a few heads turned at the mention of the family, while everyone else was preoccupied doing their own things.

The Ginemoux's easily made their way to a family that they knew and soon, they were chatting up with each other, just like most of the people in the ballroom.

Meanwhile, Catherine and Àimèe were astounded at the sight before them. Their eyes flew from place to place, taking in the beautiful surroundings they were at. As naive children, they and most of the young ones brought were in awe at the massive room.

After roughly ten minutes later, the twins had started to get quite bored at the happenings. Or lack of happenings, actually.

Suddenly, their eyes latched on to a barely open door, and like twin telepathy, they looked at each other and gave a determined nod.

As careful as they could, they eased away from their parents' grips and slowly started to walk towarss the ajar exit. Stifling giggles through the back of the hands, they successfully got out of the stuffy ballroom.

"These are so boring." Àimèe complained, flooding her arms and pouting, Catherine nodded as well.

Suddenly, Àimèe's face lit up, as if she had a wonderful idea.

"I know, I know! Catherine, let's play a game." Àimèe proposed, jumping on her heels. Luckily the twins wore flats.

Catherine smiled in return, "What game should we play?"

"Oh, how about... Hide and seek!" Àimèe suggested, making Catherine smile in agreement. "I'll be 'it', and you hide while I count to one hundred!"

"Okay, now turn around! Turn around!" Catherine cheered. Àimèe followed her sister's wishes and started counting to one hundred.

Once fully checking that her sister was counting and not peeking, Catherine ran in a random direction in the dimly lit hallway. She ran and ran until suddenly, she tripped on er dress and fell down.

She then felt stinging sensation on her knees, making the toddler cry in pain. Being a small child, her pain tolerance was quite low, so naturally she would feel very hurt even if it was just a scrape.

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Stefanos was bored. Very bored. Being a mere six year old at a ballroom party wasn't something that he would like to be at. He would prefer being inside the library right now; or his room.

Making sure that his mother wasn't looking, he snuck out of that stuffy area and started walking to a direction that he thought was the library.

Finally, he found the door leading to the library. As he put his hand on the doorknob, he suddenly heard a cry, making his head snap into that direction. The cry was young, he estimated that it may be someone of his age.

Stefanos suddenly remembered that the children his age were very spoiled and ill-mannered, which was why he didn't usually hang around children in his age group.

He knew he should help this child, however bratty they may be, but then he glanced to the library.

'Maybe that child's parents are there?' Stefanos thought to himself. The pained cries only proved that, no, the parents weren't there.

So what would be his choice? Would he go to this person, or would he choose to ignore them?

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Map up top made by @ZaiPenworld
Thank you!