Hey everyone!

It's Erelion here (pronounced Air-eh-lye-in)

This is my first fanfic, and I hope you all enjoy. It takes place after the Golden Age, but before the Telmarine Invasion. To be exact, the year 1450.

Everyone know of the High King and his siblings, but how many know of the High Queen and the Twin Kings?

Read and Review please!

-Erelion

In world of Earth, in the country of America, there was a big city, called Richmond, in a place known as Virginia. And in this town there was a mansion that was owned by a certain Mr. Ezra Banks. Ezra had been a treasure hunter, and had unearthed a treasure that had become his fortune. Ezra Banks was now getting on with his age, having just turned sixty-four.

Mr. Banks, or Professer Banks as some called him, was a widowed man. His wife, Jane Davin Banks, had died of cancer a few years back. The Banks' had three children, two daughters and a son, all who had children. His eldest daughter, Mary, had married a man, Joseph, and they had three children; Isabella, David, and William.

Mary Russo, formerly Banks, had moved away from her parents and Richmond when she was merely twenty. She had met her husband in New York City, and there they had settled. At the start of the Second World War, Joseph Russo had been called back into duty in the military, and in March he had been tasked with the mission of secretly delivering supplies to Britain. Mary had been left to take care of the children alone.

When the children had finished their term at school, only a few days ago, Mary had called her father, asking him if the children could stay with him for the summer. Ezra had cheerily accepted, happy to see his grandchildren again.

So, on this drizzly day in June, the three Russo children stood on the doorstep of the Banks Manor. Isabella, the oldest, stepped forward and banged the knocker three times. Her twin brothers stood on either side of her, their faces matching the somberness of Isabella.

"Bella, do you think Grandad will be nice?" questioned David.

"I don't know. You were there when I saw him last." she answered.

David shrugged. The door flew open, and man in a butler suit stood in the doorway.

"You must be the Russos, I assume. Come in, and dry off from the rain. My name is Maxwell. And yours are?" said the kind butler.

"I'm Will, this is David, and that's Bella." answered Will.

The butler smiled and nodded, and told them he would return shortly. Maxwell disappeared up the stairs, then returned with a man with balding gray was Ezra Banks.

"Children!" he said when he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Come here and give your Grandad a hug!"

The twins rushed forward and embraced Ezra, with Bella right behind them.

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The twins entered their room and dropped their suitcases next to their beds. David sat on his bed and leaned back, exhausted from their day of traveling. It was dusk, and dinner would be served shortly. Will was looking at one of the pictures on the wall, a painting of a castle by the sea. In the picture the sun shone brightly on the crystal water, unlike rainy Richmond.

"David," Will said as he turned to face his brother. "Why do you think Mom sent us here?"

"Because she needs a break. Ever since Father left, Mom has been very busy, with work and taking care of us full time. And we can't afford a vacation right now, so she figured she could send us to Grandad's for the summer."

Will nodded. "Bella doesn't seem that happy to be here."

"That's true. I think that she wished to stay home, with Mom. Maybe get a break from us."

Someone knocked on the door, and David opened it. Maxwell was there, and he told them dinner would be ready in five minutes.

After the butler left, David and Will went to go wash up. They were fraternal twins, and each other's best friend. They had golden-colored hair and icy blue eyes, except for David who had one grey eye. They were thirteen years of age, and were short for their age, standing barely above five feet. Will was slightly taller than David, although David was the older of the two.

When they left the bathroom, Bella walked out of her room, her raven black hair pushed back with a headband. Bella was two years older than her brothers, and was the second oldest of her cousins, with Kathryn being eighteen.

The three siblings walked through the long hall together, then came to the grand staircase, which was very large.

"This is so big. We have a lot of exploring to do, Will." David muttered.

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After dinner, the twins decided to do what they planned to do: explore the Banks Mansion. Their grandfather had told them that they could use anything they wished, as long as it wasn't very expensive.

"This house was built many years ago, during the times of the Civil War. There are many secrets that remain hidden from even me. You are free to look for any hidden treasures in this house, if you wish." He had said.

To start off, they would cover the east side of the second story, and so on until they had searched in every room. The first few rooms proved to be empty or just plain bedrooms, but in the fifth room, there was an object at the end of the room covered by a canvas. Will ran forward, and pulled the canvas off. It was a giant painting of a forest with an army of mythical creatures marching past it. Centaurs, fauns, dwarves, some animals, and a few men made up the army. In the front of the procession was a kingly man, garbed in rich robes, mounted on a white palomino horse. He looked straight at Will and David. His features were strangely familiar, and Will then realized who this was.

"Why David, it's Grandad!" cried out Will.

"Yes, it looks like him, but I doubt this is him. Why would he have a portrait of himself painted with a group of fantasy characters?" David wondered.

Will was about to say a retort, but he stopped himself. "Well then, let's move onto the next room."

So the twins explored the rooms until Ezra found them, and told them they should go to sleep. They agreed not tell their Grandad about the painting, and bade him a goodnight. So the twins clambered into bed some thirty minutes later.

I think I'm going to like it here, David thought as he dozed off. That night he dreamed about centaurs, castles on the sea, and his father.

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