Between Kris and Ralsei and Susie and Queen as siblings.
The sun dipped low on the horizon of Hometown, casting elongated shadows that crept along the streets and alleys, the world bathed in the gentle glow of twilight. Kris walked alone, the evening's chill nipping at their skin, the echoes of their footsteps mingling with the whispers of the wind. There was anticipation in the air, a prelude to change, to something inevitable and unseen.
As usual, the day had been filled with the unremarkable—school, homework, and the same well-trodden paths. But under the calm surface, something was astir in Kris, a restlessness that couldn't be quieted, a thrumming call from deep within that resonated with the darkening sky.
They found themselves at the library, the windows glowing like beacon's in the night. Pushing open the door, the familiar musty scent of aged paper and ink greeted Kris. Amongst the shelves and the quietude, Kris was drawn to a section they seldom frequented, where the tomes of history and ancient legends lay forgotten. It was there that their fingers brushed against the leather spine of a book, etched with strange symbols and a crest—a crest that mirrored the one they had always carried on a faded lanyard, around their neck, hidden from the world.
The crest pulsed as though alive, reacting to the touch of the book’s cover. Kris's breath caught in their throat as the room seemed to hold its breath with them. Hesitantly, they opened the book to a page marked by an aged ribbon—a depiction of two figures stood before them, one cloaked in darkness and one in light, both bearing the exact crest that now lay warm against Kris's skin. The description beneath the image spoke of a legend, a pair of siblings born of both Light and Dark, intertwined by fate, destined to stand at the precipice of world-shattering events.
“What’cha readin’?” The sudden voice shattered the silence. Kris flinched, snapping the book shut as they turned to find Susie standing there, a curious glint in her gaze.
“Just some old fairy tales,” Kris muttered, stuffing the book back into its place.
“Those are the best kind,” Susie said, her eyes lingering on Kris, searching for an emotion they always held carefully at bay. “Well, whatever it is, you’re missin’ some real dark stuff outside. C'mon,” she beckoned with a nod. Kris followed, the weight of the crest, and of Susie's unknowing gaze, heavy upon them.
Outside, the night had fully taken reign, the darkness not quite natural, leaving an uneasy prickling sensation on their skin. They walked in silence until they reached the town square, where a portal, a rift in the very fabric of their world, swirled ominously—a gateway to the Dark World Kris knew all too well.
“Looks like we’re up for another round,” Susie quipped, but her voice wavered with apprehension.
Kris nodded, ready to leap into the familiar unknown, but as they approached the portal, a figure emerged, a figure they never expected to see there—Ralsei, the Prince from the Dark, whose gentle eyes found Kris’s with an intensity that belied the calm they usually held.
“Kris,” Ralsei began, “I must speak with you. Alone.”
There was a solemn urgency in his voice that gave Kris pause. Susie shot them both a look but reluctantly walked ahead into the portal. Kris turned to Ralsei, their heart pounding, the secret of the crest burning in their mind, screaming to be acknowledged.
And as Ralsei reached out, revealing the same crest upon his own chest, the same Kris wore hidden, the world around them breathed a secret into life, a truth that unspooled the threads of their existence with three simple, world-altering words:
“We are siblings...”