Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom, there were twins.

Rin awoke lazily in her bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She didn't want to alert her servants that she was awake quite yet, as they would bring her food and she had no appetite upon just waking up. She sat up, however, and simply...rested. Nothing to bother her little head about. Seeing the light through the window, she was able to tell it was early in the day. Good- she thought- she wanted to have plenty of time to have fun in her day. Some of her servants were taking care of the horse and carriage. Finally bored of just sitting, Rin got out of bed, taking off her nightgown and putting on clothing that was a bit simpler than her usual attire; a slim yellow gown that sparkled in the right light, with straps coming down so that her shoulders were bare. In the center of her breasts was a large, black flower. It covered her body down to her shins, as it was considered improper to show more than what she was already. She was going out today, and didn't want to dirty up any thing she might need later.

The girl became the selfish, evil leader of the yellow kingdom, and as for the boy...

Len finished combing out the last bit of Josephine's tangles. There weren't many, as they kept her well taken care of, and after having the dirt brushed from her and the white saddle put on, she looked lovely. Fitting for the princess. He, however, didn't. He chuckled at his rather worn, dirty appearance, acquired over the amount of time he'd spent cleaning out the horse stables. Luckily, it was just his work clothes; he could change into his more presentable clothing anytime. He patted the horse one last time, then tied a knot so she wouldn't run off. Josephine was a very tame horse, but he wouldn't let it be his head should any thing happen to her. The blonde then re-entered the castle through the servant's entrance (they weren't allowed to dirty up any where else in the house), and changed into his more presentable clothing.

...he became her loyal tool; a servant of evil.

By now, the princess had finished her breakfast. Len quickly passed the throne, smiling his good morning at her. She gave him a smile and a nod, then returned her attention to the woman in red and her neighbor. His smile to them was more sympathetic, but he wasn't going to stick around and let the rest of the servants eat his food, so he quickly scurried off.

The table was large, although it was only the princess that ate there most days. There was usually enough room for all the servants. Len sat down beside one, silently eating. "How are you all?"

They responded begrudgingly. He sighed then, turning back to his food. They didn't like him at all, couldn't trust him as they did the rest of their own. 'He is her lapdog.' he had often heard them say, attempting to conceal it. It wasn't any thing that broke his heart terribly. If they thought about it, they were all dogs, eating the scraps of the princesses breakfast. Once he had had enough- or what he considered his portion- he met Rin at the front door of the castle, as were her orders from the night before.

"Good morning, your highness," he said, bowing in the designated fashion.

"Good morning, Len." she said, her face unchanging. He was the only servant she would address by name.

"You look lovely," he told her, admiring the way the simplicity of the dress emphasized her beauty. "Where would you like to go?"

"Len," she said, stepping out of the house, heels clicking against the ground; "I would like to go into town."

"Which one, your highness? I will take you there immediatly." he said, lowering the steps on the carriage and holding her hand as she stepped inside. Even as he spoke, he smiled; it was a quality he had developed. She never saw him with out a smile.

"I wish to go to the central town." she told him, relaxing in a dignified fashion against the well-polished carriage seat. The central town was the place where all of the kingdoms met; blue, red, green, yellow; people from all over played music and held stands throughout the day.

"Right away, Princess." he told her, mounting the horse. He did find it strange that she would want to go to such a place; she had never wanted to before, but he wouldn't question her.

The castle, itself, was only about an hour from the town by horseback. Len rode at an elegant pace, the horse contentedly trotting along with the wooden wheels gently going over the rocky ground. He hummed softly, smiling as the horse trotted.

"Len," the princess said suddenly; "what song is this? I wish you'd sing it."

"Yes, of course." he smiled, taking a breath; "It's the lullaby we used to hear when we were younger...

Chitchana te no hira ha

NEMOPHILA no hana

Pukkuri hoppeta ha

ERICA no tsubomi

Atatakai haru no

Soyokaze mitai na matsuge

Saa oyasumi no jikan da yo

Suteki na LADY ni naru

Yume wo mite hosii yo

Suyasuya ude no naka

Kawaii negao

Mamoritai zutto

LUPINUS no hana no you ni sotto..."

Rin closed her eyes, opening them every now and then, trying to point out where she had heard the song before.

"Mom sang it to us," Len told her softly. She merely nodded, resting her head again. It was only a short while before she said;

"Will you sing it for me again?"

Smiling, he replied; "Sure."


As they arrived in the town, Len finished the song one last time. Rin was quite relaxed, but happy for a chance to get out when he opened the door and lowered the steps. She took his hand, allowing him to lead her down the steps and on to the ground. "I brought your purse, Princess," he said; "in case you might like to buy some thing." he handed her the small, velvet coin purse.

"And how am I to believe you stole nothing?"

"Well..." he stopped there, then said; "I suppose, you could do whatever you wanted. You could make me take off my clothes right here...or beat me."

"I could do both," she replied, with an almost malicious snicker, though it was clear she was joking. Where would Len spend the money if he'd stolen it, any ways? "But I'm joking. I'd like to see the shops."

The blonde servant escorted her all around that day, taking her to whatever shops she pleased. She didn't buy much, but what she did buy, he carried. At 3:00, when the bells sounded, he took her to a bakery stand, where she bought a rather large slice of cake and sat down with him in the designated area to eat it with the green tea. "This peasant's food..." she muttered; "If I don't like it, Len, it will be your head."

"Then I certainly hope you like it." he laughed softly, sitting down. He knew she was joking. Rin looked at him oddly, but said nothing. It was just strange for him to sit with her. She took a bite of it, thoughtfully chewing, then swallowed it. "Your thoughts?"

"This peasant's food..." she said thoughtfully; "It's terrible." she continued on eating it, to Len's surprise, and when she'd finished said; "We will have to get the recipe."

She'd liked it. His usual smile became brighter as he said; "I was absolutely certain you'd like it."

"It was a good choice." she told him; yellow cake with chocolate frosting was her favorite. "I want to walk around some more before we go home."

"Certainly," he replied, cleaning the frosting off of her face and dusting the little bits of crumbs off of her shirt. She took his hand again, and he held a parcel over her, to keep her from getting sunburnt. She stopped where she heard a man playing an accordian, watching the little monkey dance.

"Ahh! Len!" she squealed excitedly upon seeing the dancing critter; "Look!"

The servant looked over to see it, smiling yet again. "It's an accordian dancer monkey."

"Take out my coins!"

Len nodded, taking a few coins out of the purse. The monkey danced over to her, taking the coins from her gratefully. It make a few cute chirping sounds. Rin smiled, beginning to dance with the music. Len stood patiently, watching his sister as she seemed to be enjoying herself. A young woman with long, green hair and a simple green gown soon made her way into his presence. She had a beautifully sincere smile, Len couldn't help but think she must be a very strong young woman- living in the near-poverty of the green kingdom.

"Hello." she said to him kindly, holding out a green apple she bought from one of the stands. Blushing, the blonde grabbed it, staring at her. He didn't want to offend her by rejecting it, but he didn't want to take some thing she had spent her money on, either. "You looked hungry," she told him, prompting him to take a bite. When she turned, seeing the people dance, she looked back at him. Len wasn't used to people being indiscrete, as whenever Rin wanted some thing, she would simply say it. However, it did look as if she wanted to dance. Tossing the core in the garbage, he smiled at her, no longer hungry, offering her his hand.

"Would you like to dance?"

"Yes!" she replied, giggling excitedly. Len didn't know such beauty and perfection existed in the world as she, until he took her hand and it was all made real to him. He felt weak, and still, she smiled at him. The green woman took him around, dancing with him, and he with her, some times going round and round and some times jumping. However, it was all too short when the music stopped- the accordian player saying he had to go home or the monkey would get overheated.

"That was fun," she told him, a man from the Blue kingdom approaching. "It was nice to meet you!" The prince, perhaps? It was said that his subjects rarely left the kingdom. To be polite in either case, Len bowed as one would to royalty, and the blue-haired male simply smiled at him.

"Did you dance?" he asked, apparently having a limp in his leg that kept him from dancing with her. She smiled, following him, and Len could hear their chat like gibberish, listening until he could hear no more.

"Len," said Rin, her sudden anger startling him; "I want to go home now."

"Ah-o-of course, Princess." he smiled, looking nervous, blushing as he picked up the supplies.

"What is it with you?" she snapped. "Nevermind, just take me home."


Len was silent on the way home. Rin simmered silently in the back, every so often snapping at him to drive faster. He would obey, making it go faster and faster. They missed crashing by only an inch, which was when she insisted;

"Go slower!"

"Yes, Princess."

When they got to the castle, the servant- on orders- put Rin in the cage. He was the only one she would allow to watch as she had a complete meltdown, yelling and screaming. She cried, screaming things that sounded foreign, and Len often had to bring her a rag to wipe her face with.

"That man--! THE NERVE!" she shrieked, finally beginning to make sense. "A prince, refuses my marriage proposal, to live- WITH A PEASANT?!" she tugged on the bars of the cage, thrashing about in the biggest tantrum Len had ever seen.

"Your highness," he said softly, kneeling down by the cage; "are you alright? Is there some thing I can do?"

His twin moved to a corner, pulling her knees up to meet her chin, coddling them. She seemed to think, looking at him only out of the corner of her eye. Len didn't dare make a move, unsure of how his sister would react.

"Rejecting royalty for a peasant..." she muttered, running her fingers along the bars in thought. "She must have some allure to her, some charm..." the servant didn't speak, didn't even try to talk some sense to her. He simply waited, allowing her to do what she needed. She'd told him to stay here, so here he would stay. "Len," she said, now seeming to regain her mind a little.

"Yes, Princess?" he asked, relaxing, smiling at her as usual.

"I want...I want you to kill her, that woman of green." she hissed through gritted teeth. "Not just the girl, I want the entire country BURNED TO THE GROUND."

Len's face turned to shock and despair. He said nothing, but sat simply, just staring, waiting- hoping for her to give him some sign that she didn't mean for him to do it. Nothing. She looked at him, finally, and- upon seeing his shock- her own face turned. She'd never seen him with such a look. Standing shakily, the servant mustered up his best smile- though his lip quivered- placed his hand over his chest and said;

"Of course I will do it for you, your highness."

He turned to leave, hearing her say; "Len..." softly.

"Yes?" he hoped for a 'don't do it' or 'stay here' or some thing. Nothing. She simply made a small, high-pitched grunting sound and sat back. As he walked out of the room, Rin watched two small tears hit the ground.

"Wait--" she tried to call, but he was already out of her vocal range.


Len roused the army, giving them the order from Rin. They may not have liked him or trusted him, but they knew not to ignore it when he told them there was an order.

"Go," he told them all; "Her highness wishes to see the entire green country burnt to the ground. Kill every last person you find. And find where the woman of green lives. Do not kill her. Instead, report back here immediatly."

The army was dispatched. Len sat in their quarters that night, crying, unable to stop. He wore a cloak, one of the monks had left it by the river, and didn't seem to concerned about getting it back. The kitchen knife he had taken would work, but it felt so heavy. His muscles contracted every time he would try to pick it up. He even tried to sleep, but was continuously roused by one thing or the other. All night he sat, waiting for some one to come back and tell him where the woman of green lived, hoping they wouldn't. He sat throughout the day the next day as well, as if unable to move, as if his undrying tears had some how produced a type of glue. He sat limp, knowing every moment they were gone was more of them they were losing, the more people in the green country were being killed. Had they not suffered enough?

It was near sunset when one of the army-men came back and located him. "We found the Woman of Green." he said, pretending not to notice Len's distraught appearance. The blonde stood, looking at him. "Her house is the only one by the river." he brought a horse in, a pure black horse- quite different in appearance than Josephine. "Ride safely."

Len mounted the horse half-heartedly and, wordlessly, began riding her. An hour into the now-deserted town, then down the path to the green. When he saw the fire, his tears were renewed. Blood on the ground, some pieces of people...they didn't even spare the babies. He clutched the horse's fur, sobbing desperately. The horse walked, trotting at an even pace as Len led it. It was another hour or so before he located the river, and then her home. It was a normal, innocent home. He walked up to it, stilling his shaking, hiding the knife as he tried to smile. He then knocked, only to see the woman open the door.

"Oh, good evening sir." she said, never having gotten his name. His stomach knotted, he felt sick...it felt like some one had turned all of his warm blood into ice. He couldn't move, but he had to. Oh, god, how could he do this?! She smiled sadly at him, saying; "If you've come for some thing, I'm afraid I have nothing." her crops and every thing she had ever owned

"Ah, no, I just..." he fumbled; "I rode my horse in. I thought you might like to come some where else...you're welcome to live in my home, until this is all over."

She gave him a knowing smile, as if she knew he were lying, as if she knew what he was up to. But she didn't decline; she simply stepped down out of the house, saying; "I would very much appreciate that."

He took her hand, leading her to the horse and helping her mount it. For a moment, every thing was alright. Len walked the big horse away from all of the disaster, struggling to hold back, feeling every step of the way like his legs were cinderblocks and the rest of him was rubber. He stopped abruptly by the well, inviting her down.

"I'm going to get the horse some water," he lied again; "Come on." she walked with him, over to the well. He pulled up the bucket and took it off, giving it to the horse. They sat in silence a moment, and the green woman noticed that he was shaking.

"Quickly," she whispered, seeing the knife hidden in his cloak; "please, end this."

Devastated, beginning to cry, he pulled out the knife. She watched quietly as his hand trembled, then stilled. He was unable to move it. Her maternal, some how peaceful smile shot Len's heart further as she reached out, grabbing his hand. She then moved it, with his, thrusting it into herself. Blood spurted out onto her dress, covering the rest of the knife, onto his hands and onto his clothes. Her smile turned weak, but it was genuine, as she said;

"Thank you."

Those were her last words.


Len didn't get back to the castle until late in the afternoon the next day. It wasn't quite snack time, though, so he was there in time for that. The whole of the previous night, he hadn't slept. He had sat out, letting the rain cover him, hoping it would wash away some of the blood. Now, he was damp and bloody, coming in through the servants entrance. He hung the cloak up on a rack, but didn't have the time to change out of the bloodied clothing before the church bells rang. He ran, grabbing the silver tray with Rin's snack on it, running to the dining table outside she sat in during snack. She was sitting there, rather dismayed, until he came to her, opening the lid off the tray.

"Today, your snack with tea is brioche."

She smiled a wide, bright, innocent smile at him, squealing; "Len!" as he sat the tray down, serving her.

"I'm sorry it took so long, and I am unpresentable. It was difficult to locate the woman."

Rin didn't reply for a moment, simply taking the bread and biting off of it. "I haven't seen you in days," she told him, whining a little. In truth, it had only been the one whole day, but he could see it felt longer than that to her. He rubbed her shoulders a little, causing her to relax. "I see, though, you did as I ordered?"

"Of course I did." he said, smiling brightly. She ate her snack, leaving a bit of it for him. He ate it carefully, then stood. "Ah, I should go change. Excuse me." she followed him, going to her throne, sitting. He left, making it only as far as the walk-in closet before he fell again, crying. Her blood was on him, he thought. Her blood, her innocent blood! His body trembled, every inch felt a pain that was part burning and part freezing. Like he was dying. Like he should die.

He was taking an awfully long time, Rin thought, walking in on him. As she got in, he had just taken his shirt off, and was still crying. She stood, shocked in the door way, before he looked up, stuttering;

"S-sorry!" and covering the top of his body with the cloak. "Was I taking too long? Is there some thing urgent?"

"Len..." she whimpered, walking in next to him, throwing her arms around him. She didn't want to embarrass him, so rather than say any thing about it, she just said; "I missed you."

He smiled his usual smile, ruffling her hair. "And I missed you, princess." he said, lifting his change of clothing to put it on.

He pulled it on over his top, and Rin left so he could change his pants. It felt nice to get out of the blood stained clothes...he shivered, unable to stop thinking of the feel of the blade sinking into the girl's stomach, or the feel of her blood, or her face...he had killed an innocent woman!

Turning back to the window, he saw some thing he never thought he'd see; a gathering of the country's people. Their army had just gotten back, and were fighting as best they could, but getting slaughtered. Again frustrated with him taking so long, Rin entered his room.

"I was thinking," he told her, smiling, taking her hand; "maybe we could play a game like we did when we were kids?"

"What?" she replied, smiling a little as well. "Sure..." she was a little shocked at his strangeness.

"How about dress-up?" he suggested. "I wonder if there's a difference between us now?" he led her to the bed, sitting her down. "Don't worry, I'll do it."

Rin giggled at him, only saying; "Len sure is acting strange."

He didn't want to alarm her, so he just laughed in response, grabbing the hair brush. He sat behind her, taking the beehive out of her hair, setting his own hair up in the same fashion. For a while, he brushed her hair, straightening it out and placing it in the ponytale he usually wore his in. Then, seeing all of the servants escape and the front door get kicked down, he grimaced- forced a grin- and took his clothes off.

"Princess..." he said, standing in front of her, handing them to her. She gasped at seeing him in only his undergarment, but soon relaxed. "Here," he said, smiling sadly; "take my clothes and put them on."

It was then that she realized when she'd heard the lullaby; long long ago, on that night...

***Flashback****

"Len," whimpered the young Rin, holding onto her brother by his pajamas in the bed they shared; "I'm scared."

"What's wrong?"

"Mom and dad said...only one of us can go to the castle. "

"Yes, I know." he said, still confused.

"They're gonna pick you." she said, holding him closer, crying a little. "I'm scared, I don't want to be taken away!"

"Why would they pick me?"

" 'Cause you're a boy, Len! Haven't you heard them say 'the yellow kingdom needs a prince'?"

Thoughtfully, Len sat up, and took off his clothes.

"What are you doing?" his sister demanded as he picked them up, holding them out to her.

"Here," he said, smiling; "take my clothes and put them on..."

***END Flashback***

"Then, take them and escape. I'll be fine, so you have nothing to worry about! We're twins, so no one will notice if it's me instead."

He kissed her forehead, now adorned in her clothing, making an entirely convincing...her. Looking up at him in shock, it was now her turn to cry. Len began to hum the tune of the song and, as he walked away- she reached out to him, only for he- in a heightened voice- to say;

"Leave me."

It was exactly her voice.

"Chitchana te no hira ha

NEMOPHILA no hana

Pukkuri hoppeta ha

ERICA no tsubomi

Atatakai haru no

Soyokaze mitai na matsuge

Saa oyasumi no jikan da yo

Suteki na LADY ni naru

Yume wo mite hosii yo

Suyasuya ude no naka

Kawaii negao

Mamoritai zutto

LUPINUS no hana no you ni sotto..."

"Len!!!" she cried out as he left, but he ignored her, leaving her to run.

Just as he exited, in entered the red lacy mercenary in armor. He smiled cynically at her, as the sword reached his throat, saying; "You're no gentleman, you're awfully disrespectful." and, then, he was pulled away- tied up and placed in a bumpy carriage. He remained with the cynical smile, even as they dragged him inside the prison.


He sat silently in the dungeon, the smell of mothballs nearly suffocating him. "You won't get away with this," kept on the voice of the red woman. In response, he said- in the princesses voice-

"But I already have."

And she would be quiet a while, until the urge came to speak again. No food was served to him, but he paid no mind to that. His sister was free. That was what mattered. Even if he was scared, even if he was going to die...he was a servant. Nothing more than one ant in the universe. Dispensible, and fully unnecessary. It came that it was close to the afternoon, and he was led out by the restraints to the guillotine.

He didn't want to die. That was a fact. But, his life would be much less than the princesses. And that was what mattered. He even smiled- albeit grimly- as they shut his head in the object, keeping his hands firmly tied behind his back. The wait seemed forever, until the bell rung once. Twice. A third. Remaining with the smile, not looking out to the crowd of people that had gathered, he said;

"Oh dear. It must be snack time!"

Enraged at the lack of remorse for [her] sins, the red woman said; "Now, we are the same." as she slid the sharp blade through the wood. Len didn't even recognize her as the woman who had previously been in the castle.


Rin, crying out as she saw her own brother's blood- her own, her own...she cried. She had just watched him die, it was the same as watching herself. She ran, as not to be taken for strange. "It's just a servant," people said in distaste as they bumped into her. No one knew, no one knew.

"Hello, Len."
"I'm actually Rin."

They played that game all the time when they were kids. Dressed up and confused their parents. Some times they even wore the same thing, and would lie, telling their parents they had gotten it wrong. Some times, they actually got it wrong all on their own. That was fun, then. But she never knew...

Rin ran and ran, crying and running, unable to stop. She had to get out of here. The green country, burnt to the ground still had the beach they had gone to as children. Where they had built sandcastles, and swam, and...she hit the ground roughly, looking up, seeing a rock. She must have run for hours. She was tired...she was so tired, and she had no where to go. Rin crawled over the black rock and hugged it as though it were her brother, crying, feeling ill...so horribly ill. A glass bottle shone in her eyes and she reached out to grab it, pulling it in.

Inside it was a note. She yanked out the cork and dumped it out onto her hand, unfolding it to read. On the note was written, more scrawled and chicken-scratched, the writing of a small boy. Barely legible, but she could read it;

"I want to see my sister again some day.

-Len"

And she realized that it was a wish he had made as a child. A wish that had landed here.

She clutched the note to herself and cried, and cried, and cried.]

Note: The Japanese song is called Onpu's lullaby and can be watched on Youtube. The English translation it;

Your tiny palms are like nemophila flowers
Your plump cheeks are like erica flower buds
Your eyelashes are like the warm breeze of spring
Now, it is time for you to go to bed
I hope you dream of becoming a beautiful lady
Now, you are asleep in my arms
Looking at your beautiful face
I want to protect you forever, like a Lupinis flower.