I can't see the light yet/ 1
Nobody knows when a baby's soul goes into their body.
By soul, she meant their personality, their spirit. Semara wasn't being all religious or anything, but humans all have something that makes them, them.
Some people believe it's when the heart first beats. Some people think it's when the fetus first starts to form.
Semara's soul was put in when she took her first breath. How would she know this? Because she died.
She died, and was reborn.
Semara used to be called Hazel. Hazel Peterson was born in the fall, and grew up as a normal California girl, city-wise and careful. She had one little sister, five years younger.
When Hazel hit eighteen, everything changed. Her father's work was closing down, they were suddenly in debt, and alcohol seemed like a wonderful alternative to John Peterson. Hazel's plans for college seemed very far off, with no money. Gone were her hopes of becoming a lawyer, not that she ever told anyone.
That was when Hazel first saw her dad hit her mom.
Hazel became rebellious, acting out because she wanted attention. It was the usual psychologists' textbook story, the family falling apart. Hazel's little sister, Grace, immersed herself in books and fanfiction, choosing to ignore the real world, while Hazel took to walking around with some very unsavory people, doing some very unsavory things. The worst mistake of her life was joining that group. The term might have been gang, but Hazel didn't care. For a year life was like that, until she was halfway through nineteen.
Then, she got stabbed to death.
She might've deserved it, but there was no one to be the judge of that. A lot of people hated her, yet she hated herself more, so it was fine.
When Hazel was lying in that alley, (isn't that where everybody gets stabbed?) bleeding to death, she wished for several things. She didn't deserve to wish, but humans don't deserve a lot of things, and they still ask for them.
Her first wish was to keep living, but even in her pain-filled mind, she could see that wasn't going to happen. The blood was everywhere, all around her form. It didn't really seem like blood, in the dark light, but she knew it was.
Her second wish was to be more physically fit. It wasn't that dramatic of a wish, or feminine, and it wouldn't have helped her in that situation, but maybe if she was stronger, she could've fought them off, fought off the people who stabbed her...
Hazel's life fading fast, a third wish quickly came to mind. It was desperate.
Please let my death be for something. Please, let my death help someone.
It was an attempt to repent at all her wrongdoings, and she knew it wouldn't work. Her breath was catching, blood was coming up her throat, and all she could see was the dark asphalt. The girl was was facedown. Panicking, her heart beat faster, making more blood pour out on the ground.
Aren't people supposed to be looking at the stars when they die,? she thought to herself, and then died.
No one would be down that alley till late in the morning, and Hazel's mother wouldn't hear the knock on her door until nearly twenty four hours later.
What felt like a second later, Hazel opened her eyes. At first, everything seemed cloudy, and gray, but then she focused. The room she was sitting in could've been endless, since shadowy fog blocked her vision to anything more than ten feet away.
She felt the press of something hard against her back and bottom, and realized she must've been sitting in a chair.
Hasn't she been.. laying down?
She was dead. She had been laying down because she was dead.
Then why was she sitting up in a chair? Why wasn't she in that alleyway?
She immediately came to the conclusion that she was in the afterlife. It was a strange afterlife, but Hazel hadn't been religious in her past life, so maybe that was what the bible talked about, when it spoke of heaven.
The chair she was sitting in was a simple hard wooden one, like the ones that were in her mom's kitchen, but had chains wrapped all around it, holding her in. There were a couple of roses engrained in the wood of the armrests.
Crap. Chains meant hell, right? It probably wasn't a symbol of heaven, since chains were generally associated with bad stuff...
There were footsteps on the hard tiled floor, and she looked cautiously upward, expecting a demon or something else from Hell.
It was a young girl, about thirteen or so. She had pigtails, and was wearing a short, fluffy black dress. She grinned and waved at Hazel, long blonde pigtails bouncing. Her brown eyes reminded Hazel of her little sister Grace. Hazel felt dirty next to her, still wearing the bloodied clothes she had died in. In the girl's hands, there was a small notepad.
"Hey! You just died, right? Stabbed to death?" the girl asked, looking at the notepad.
Hazel didn't reply. She didn't know what to say. She tried moving her arms, to get into a more comfortable position, but the chains held tight.
"Yeah, looks like you got stabbed. You had a tragic past, family broke apart tragically, with tons of angst. You loved your little sister, but drifted apart from her, quite tragic, and were good at fighting." The girl read off. "Finally, you had a very tragic death in an alleyway, after killing a man."
Hazel stared at the girl, the 'tragic' still ringing in her ears.
"How the heck do you know that?" she asked.
"Yep! You meet the standards," the girl said, and then bowed. "I'm Shadow Star."
"Shadow Star," Hazel said, with a little bit of disbelief. The girl seemed disappointed in Hazel's lack of a good reaction. "That's not your real name."
"Wellllll, my parents named me Anne, but that is such a boring and uncool name. I mean, you never see anime characters named that, do you?" Shadow Star said, pouting.
"You didn't answer my first question. How do you know that stuff?" Hazel asked.
"You're a candidate for Character Placement. All candidates have their life on a notepad."
"What?" Hazel said, getting even more confused. "I'm dead. Shouldn't I be in heaven, or something?" She kept pulling on the chains.
"Ohh, you're far from going to heaven, Hazel Peterson. Besides, only some people go onto the afterlife. Most try to get reincarnated or something."
"Can I do that?" Hazel asked. Reincarnation sounded great. Maybe she would be born into a royal family or something.
"You are. Your reincarnation is different, though. It's going to be fated. You're gonna fall in love with someone from the world you're going into." Shadow Star giggled.
Hazel was getting really irritated. She had always hated when people told her what exactly she was going to do, without asking her.
"Can you get me out of these chains?" she asked.
"No. They keep Mary Sues in their place."
"Mary Sue?" Hazel felt herself grow pale. Her little sister, Grace had told her about Mary Sues, since she was obsessive with fanfiction. They were a horrible creature, perfect in every way, changing the canon at will, having everybody fall in love with them, and wreaking perfect havoc everywhere. Hazel had often been confused, since at age thirteen all the fanfiction Grace wrote seemed to be about Mary Sues. Grace adamantly protested when Hazel voiced her thoughts.
"I am NOT a Mary Sue!" Hazel said furiously.
"Yes, you are. You have a tragic past, and have great fighting skills."
"So? A lot of other people do too..."
"Not all people die at the lovely late teenage years. Nobody wants to read about an old lady."
"Who cares?" Hazel noticed something else. In addition to the chains, there was a small red ribbon tied around her pinky. She couldn't see the end, as it trailed off somewhere into the fog.
"There's only a few minutes left until you get born again. You know what you're supposed to do?"
"No, I don't want-" Hazel tried to say, but Shadow Star interrupted.
"Fall in love with a canon character. Simple."
"Who?" Hazel asked, getting more frustrated by the minute. Her brown hair was getting in her face, but she couldn't move it, her hands trapped. "What's this random ribbon thing?"
"That's the ribbon that attaches you to the person you're gonna fall in love with. He's out there somewhere. Oh, one more thing. Your name. It changes. I already have the report on what your mother's gonna name you." Shadow Star looked down at her notepad one last time. Then, she leaned close, pressing two fingers against the skin just beneath Hazel's eyebrows. Hazel shook her head, furiously trying to evade the touch, but the fangirl held firm.
"Have fun, Semara Rainsworth," she whispered, and then pulled her fingers down, shutting Hazel's eyelids. Everything went black.
Shelly Rainsworth was at her limit. Sure, having a child seemed like a wonderful idea at the time, but having twins was different. The room was hot, and all she could feel was pain.
"Shelly-sama, just a few more contractions!" The nurse was feeling the same way. The first child, a girl, had been birthed perfectly fine, but the second one...
Within an hour, though, all fears were erased as a second baby cry joined the first. Shelly looked down at the twins, both identical girls, and smiled the tired smile of a new mother. They both were sleeping peacefully, after nursing.
"What shall you name them?" the nurse asked curiously, as she put dirtied towels in a wastebasket.
"This one, the older girl, her name is Sharon. The younger one... She will be called Semara."
"Wonderful names, both. Sharon is quite a strong name, fitting for the older child. But, I must ask. Why Semara?"
The nurse had a right to ask, Shelly thought. Semara wasn't a common name, and meant "protected by God, or one who talks at night."
As if having heard her name and understanding that it was describing her, Semara opened her eyes. They were still a very dark black, and wouldn't show their true color until later on.
"She just seems... like a Semara. Just look at those eyes. They already seem so old," Shelly said wondrously.
Semara was not feeling so wonderful. Shadow Star had just shut her eyelids, and the next thing she knew she was gasping for breath, a loud and shrill cry ripping from her throat.
She had been reborn. As a baby.
She hadn't really been able to think about what being reborn entailed. Now that she thought about it, of course she would be reincarnated as a child. But why did she have her memories?
Semara could clearly remember her old life, parents and all. She could still remember being chained to that wooden chair, and that red ribbon tied to her pinky.
Wasn't a person supposed to forget everything?
The sudden warmth drew her back to the real world, or what was now her real world. Slightly opening her creased eyelids, she could just barely make out a form.
A woman looked down at her, with a tired smile. She had beautiful caramel hair, and light blue eyes. Semara felt a surge of familiarity.
That was... her mom. Her new mom.
Semara opened her mouth, tried to speak, but all that came out was a gurgle.
"How adorable, Shelly-sama. She's trying to communicate," someone else in the room said, and Semara felt angry. She was trying to talk, it wasn't funny. How did babies communicate?
Oh, yeah.
She started to cry, since apparently that was the only way to get anything.
There was another cry, from right next to her. Semara stopped, surprised. She tried to see who was crying, but her neck muscles were undeveloped.
I hate being a newborn, Semara thought.
Her mother's hand gently cradled her head, lifting her up, and Semara could suddenly see a round and flush face. It was the baby crying next to her. The child stopped as Semara's mom rocked her a little, opening her eyes and looking at Semara.
"This is your twin sister, Semara," her mother said, and Semara's brain reeled.
Is she talking to me? I have a twin sister?
"Her name is Sharon. Isn't she beautiful?" Semara felt her mother press a kiss to her small, fuzzy head. "You are too, Semara."
"Shelly-sama, your mother has arrived," a new voice said.
"Mother? Send her in," her mom said.
Shelly-sama. Wasn't sama an honorific? Her mother had a pretty name...
Semara's young body began to slowly drift off into sleep.
"They are beautiful children," Cheryl Rainsworth said. She sat in her wheelchair, holding Sharon. "They seem to be identical. This one is Sharon, right?"
"Yes," Shelly said. "She's the older one." They were both relaxing in the sitting room, about six hours later. A maid set down a tray of biscuits and tea next to the Duchess of Rainsworth, bowing. Cheryl gave her a nod of thanks, taking one.
"For some strange reason, I think Semara is going to be the one protecting Sharon, even though she's younger," Cheryl said.
Semara was sleeping peacefully, in the same tired state as her twin sister. Her face held no expression. Shelly rubbed her fingers over the small eyelids, adjusting the blue blanket around her.
"It would seem so," she replied to her mother, who swallowed a bite of soft pastry, and then met her daughter's eyes.
"Will they be trained for Chains?"
"It is their decision. It will be hard for me to watch their bodies not age, but I hope they will choose whatever path will make them happy." Shelly sighed. "I only wish he could be here to see them."
There was a pause, as Cheryl settled herself more comfortably in the wheelchair, shifting Sharon around in her arms. The room was dim, and warm, and the duchess found it hard not to feel the sleepiness in her own eyes.
"He will come home soon, and greet them, I am sure. Be of faith, daughter."
"Thank you, mother. He will be overjoyed to see his two beautiful twin daughters."
"He will."
Twelve months later.
Semara had learned a lot about the new world she was in. She was the granddaughter of a Duchess, known as the Duchess of Rainsworth. Cheryl, the Duchess' name, visited her daughter and granddaughters often, at least once a week. She was confined to a wheelchair, but had a very commanding personality.
Semara wasn't on the earth she knew anymore. She had expected to be in the same time period as when she died, maybe a little in the future, but the Rainsworth Villa seemed like it was from the 1800s.
She had also learned that there was a form of magic in that version of the 1800s. A lot of people had a 'Chain', a form of magical beast that could be called at will. Once people made a 'Contract' with a Chain, they drank the beast's blood, and stopped aging. Semara's grandmother had a chain, but Semara had rarely seen it.
Semara's voice box was nearing development to the point that she could talk a little more, but she kept silent, choosing the easy route of being a simple and naïve baby.
Being a baby was often a little bit awkward. It was hard not to feel shame when someone else was changing your cloth diaper, and you were totally bared to the world, often in more public places than she would appreciate.
Breastfeeding was also very, very awkward. She tried not to recall the first time, a few minutes after being born, her mother had fed her. Her body's instincts had automatically kicked in, while her brain screamed in frustration.
The most important thing she had learned was that she hadn't met anybody who seemed like a canon character. Even though she didn't know the name of the world she was in, she could guess that the plot and its main characters wouldn't show themselves until later.
Sharon would be an important character.
It was obvious. One of the signs of being a Mary Sue was to be related to a canon character, and Sharon was her twin sister.
Yet, the plot would not start until they were both older. If that world was an anime, it must've been about at least people in their teens (anime usually was). Semara had over ten years to come up with a plan to avoid being a Mary Sue.
Three years later.
Dear Mother,
The twins are doing wonderful. They just had their fourth birthday, and Sharon especially enjoyed the stuffed rabbit you gave her. Semara seemed more interested in trying to get into my husband's weaponry room than the plush kitten that she got, but that's just her personality, I suppose.
Semara sometimes worries me. She has strange dreams at night, and will call out names, usually just one name. She also is very smart for her age, and if I talk to her, and ask for her to reply, she will often reply in words I never knew she could use.
She shows an interest in more masculine things, like sparring, and hand to hand combat, but what worries me the most is how much she avoids wearing dresses.
I think I will let her start having sparring lessons, if it interests her, since I am aware that some of the best swordsmen are female. I will keep trying to override this phobia of dresses that she has.
As you said, Semara is definitely the protector in the twins relationship. She will often talk to Sharon for advice, though. They are very sweet together.
Sharon loves to wear dresses, especially anything in pink or purple, and I will often let her try on my shoes. Her and Semara will dress up, and play Princess, or some other fairy tale-based game. Semara will steal some of her father's suites, and shoes, and will play the knight fighting the dragon.
I think both my children will eventually make Contracts. Semara especially, and Sharon too. Both show an interest in them.
One last thing. The name that Semara calls out, I have never heard before. "Mary Sue." Is it the name of a toy, or a Chain, or anything you have every heard?
I wish to speak with her on this, but will wait until I hear your reply.
Love,
Shelly
Dearest daughter, Shelly,
I was overjoyed to receive your letter. I would visit you, every day if possible, but Pandora requires a lot of paperwork to be done.
I have never heard the term "Mary Sue." Perhaps it is the name of a person Semara met? It wouldn't hurt simply to ask her, but tread lightly.
If Semara shows an interest in male activities, I would recommend you encourage it. It may seem strange, but to have a female in the Rainsworth family who excelled at fighting could be useful for the future. Especially when Sharon inherits the villa, as Semara can protect her.
Will both of your children ever work for Pandora? It surprises me that Sharon would ever seem like she would accept a contract, but she must take after her grandmother more, which pleases me to say so.
Also, in a few days, I will be staying at the villa for a few months, without leaving. I will be bringing with me a valet named Reim Lunettes, who also works for Pandora. He is a very diligent young man, with a Chain. I hope this will be alright. He would be a wonderful older brother figure towards the twins, and might help Semara with her swordsmanship, as she grows older.
Love,
Mother
One year later.
Semara was five years old, but had the mind of an eighteen-year-old. She had been thinking for a very long time on the solution to not become a Mary Sue.
She had found one.
Her first choice was to be so disgusting that no guy, or canon character for that matter, would ever in their right mind fall in love with her.
She didn't really want to do that.
There were a thousand other options, including killing herself as a last resort, but that didn't seem logical or fun. She had grown to love her twin, Sharon, will all her heart.
The best option was to become a guy.
Not for real. She liked her girl-ness, and didn't want to get a sex change. No, Semara was going to cut her hair, resort to wearing trousers, and finally, when she got boobs, wrap her chest in bandages. Everybody else would think she was a boy.
It was foolproof. Unless the canon character she was 'fated' to fall in love with was gay, or bisexual, he would never go for her.
She had decided on her fifth birthday that it was final. The next day, she snuck into the office and wrote her mom a note.
Mom:
This is your five year old daughter Semara writing to you, to let you know that I need to disguise myself as a guy.
I know that doing this is unacceptable as a lady, (Semara snorted while writing this part, since she had never been a true lady) but I need to. I can't tell you why. Please, trust me.
Also, whenever I'm around other people while being a guy, please do not tell them that I am, in fact, a girl. That would defeat the purpose.
I assure you I'm not doing this because I prefer girls, I am very straight in my sexuality. I am doing for much more severe reasons.
Love,
Semara.
Once Shelly had seen the note sitting on her office desk, she had read it with growing fear, and then had run quickly to Sharon and Semara's shared bedroom. In the attached bathroom, a little boy had stared back at her. He had short caramel colored hair, pink eyes, and was definitely Semara.
"Semara! Why- Did you write this? The style is very mature, I wasn't sure-" Shelly demanded. Semara looked at her mom, and nodded.
"But this- this is much too old word use for a five year old!" Shelly had protested.
"Mom..." the little girl got off the stool she was standing on to look in the mirror, and hugged her mom's waist. "I'm.. not that young. I'm older."
Even though it didn't physically make sense, Shelly had to agree. Her younger daughter had always seemed much older.
Shelly bent down to meet Semara's eyes. "How old is your soul, then?" she said, nearly whispering. Semara seemed surprised, but then looked down at her feet.
"About eighteen-ish years," she whispered back.
"Hmm... Alright then. Why do you need to cut your hair?" Shelly said, as she looked into the garbage can. Caramel-colored locks peeked back at her. "I missed that adorable shoulder-length braid."
"Because, I need to be disguised as a guy- I mean man," Semara said, still surprised at how her mother had simply accepted the fact that Semara was nineteen.
"I know that. You said that in your note." Shelly turned away from the garbage, meeting her daughter's eyes again. "Why do you need to be a man?"
Semara took a deep breath, unsure of how to start. She didn't want to say everything, but couldn't leave most past events out...
"Mom... I, um.. I'msupposedtofallinlovewithsom eonefromthisworldandIdon'twanttookay?" she said in a rush.
"What?" Shelly said. "Slow down. I need to understand you."
Her mom grabbed her hand, and pulled her out of the bathroom, blowing out the candle that lit it. Then, she sat her daughter down on her bed.
"Just say why. It won't lower my opinion of you, or my love for you," Shelly promised. Semara was suddenly drawn back to her old life, when her old mother from 2013 had said much the same thing.
"Hazel, just tell me. I'll still love you the same," she had said, after Semara had come home covered in blood. But Semara had just pushed her away and run to the shower, tired of fighting. It had been a long night, for the gang she was-
"Semara?" Shelly's voice drew her back.
"Sorry. So, I'm supposed to, er, fall in love with someone from this world, and become someone I'm not. I don't want to."
Her mother seemed taken aback. Semara had never been that open with her before.
"You are... supposed to? Who said?" her mom asked.
"Someone very important. Before I was born." Semara sighed. "A sort of god." Semara could still remember the girl's face, the last image of Shadow Star engrained in her memory, right before her eyelids shut.
"Is that all?" Shelly said. Semara shook her head.
"No. I... I don't want to say anymore, though. Just, please, let me be a guy. For a little bit."
Shelly looked at her daughter, thinking hard. She trusted her daughter, and knew there must be a reason for little Semara to ask that of her.
"I will agree to this," she began, and Semara's cranberry eyes lit up. "But, you must promise to tell me why eventually."
Semara nodded emphatically. "I will, Mom. Thank you!" She threw her five year old arms around Shelly's neck happily, and Shelly hugged her back. She ran her hand through the short cropped mess of Semara's hair, wincing.
"You could've asked me to cut it," she said. "What will you do about your name? It's much too feminine to ever be a boy's name."
Semara pulled back, sticking out her tongue in thought. It was a habit she had as Hazel, and she had kept it through reincarnation.
"How about... Semar? It's not that much of a difference."
Shelly nodded in agreement, and was about to say more, when Sharon burst into the room.
"Mommy! I brought you flowers," the little girl said, running over to Shelly. In her grubby hands she held a few straggly-looking daisies.
"Oh, thank you, Sharon! They look wonderful," Shelly said, taking them. Sharon beamed, and then looked over at Semara in surprise.
"Semmy? Is that you?" she asked, using Semara's childhood nickname.
Semara nodded. She slid off the bed, grabbing Sharon's hands, not caring about the dirt.
"Sharon, my name is Semar now, okay?"
"Semar? But that's a boy's name," Sharon complained.
"I'm going to be a boy now. Don't tell anyone that I'm a girl." Semara looked into her twin's eyes. "It's really important."
Sharon, despite her young five years of age, knew her sister quite well. Semara was being serious.
"Okay, Semmy- I mean Semar. I got it." Sharon turned to Shelly. "You know Semar's a boy now, right?"
Shelly nodded, smiling at her daughters. She was proud of them both.
"Come, on, Semar. Let's go play! Reim said he'd play Princess with us, but I'm gonna be a queen now, okay?" Sharon said, skipping out of the room.
"Oh! That's right. Mom, can you talk to Reim?" Semara asked Shelly. Reim had been with the twins a lot, and knew her quite well, well enough to know she was a girl.
"I will, dear. Go and have fun, alright?" Semara nodded, and quickly followed her twin.
She took his eye.
His eye.
She was grinning.
His blood.
"Before you become Mr. Puppet, your eyes must be ripped out first," she sang, and
he
screamed.
He was still screaming, as she put his eye in the cat. He was going to die. He couldn't save anyone.
He saw her, asking him to stay, but he didn't. He didn't stay.
Please, let my death be for something, he thought, but nothing happened.
Kevin...
He would fight. He wouldn't die.
There were more people than just her now. A blonde boy, who had an eye just like him.
They were all mad. So, very mad.
He made a promise.
"If this is your wish, I'll give it to!" he screamed at her, desperate.
He called her name.
She granted his wish.
Everything went wrong.
Semara felt a stabbing pain in her pinky, and dropped the foil she was holding.
"Semar-sama? What's wrong?" Reim asked.
"My pinky. It... hurts," Semar groaned.
"Did I accidentally cut it? I'm so sorry, Samar-sama!" Reim said, looking scared.
"No, it wasn't you... It's fine. It'll stop soon," Samara said, picking up the foil.
She remembered five years ago, sitting chained to that chair, how the red ribbon had been attached to the same pinky.
The very same spot, in fact.
It must be a coincidence.
Semara would be sword training for a year, in another country. Even though she was only five(and half), she had begged her mother for it.
"Mom, please! I really want to learn!" Semara had begged, after learning about an old sword master who was looking for an apprentice. She had contacted him, and he said he would love to accept her. "He's famous! He said he would take me!"
"You're only five, Semar. How could I let you travel that far, and for a year?"
"You know I'm much older than that, Mom," Semara said, lowering her voice.
"You have the body of a five-year-old."
"It will help Pandora, especially when I get a Chain!" Semara said, and Shelly was taken aback. She had expected her daughters to eventually think about getting a contract, but Semara was so young...
"I- Fine. I'll think on it." Semara beamed.
She left the next day, with a tearful goodbye to her twin.
"When will you be back, Semmy?" Sharon said, burying her face in Samara's shoulder.
"A year. We'll be six years old, then."
"Whyyy? That's sooo loong," Sharon began to cry more heavily.
"I know," Semar said, sniffling. She was not going to cry.
Inside, she cursed the day she was told to be a Mary Sue. She wouldn't have been going to learn swordsmanship, and leaving Sharon, but there was a chance that the canon character she was 'fated' to fall in love with would show up soon... She would be in another country if he did show up, and he couldn't fall in love with a boy in another country.
Besides, learning how to spar with swords better would be fun.
"Sharon-sama, we should let your brother go," Reim quietly said, putting a hand on Sharon's shoulder. Semara's twin nodded tearfully, and stepped away.
"Bye, Reim," Semara said, nodding to the valet. He nodded back.
"Goodbye, Semar-sama."
Semara liked Reim. He was quiet, and nervous, but very loyal. He had pledged not to reveal her true gender, even though Shelly hadn't told him exactly why Semara was dressed up as a guy.
Semara stepped into the carriage, and was gone.
That night, Sharon was playing all alone in the basement of the villa, trying not to cry. She missed Semmy, even though it hadn't even been twenty four hours since her twin had left.
There was a loud booming noise, and Sharon jumped. It had come from the door at the end of the hall, the one her mommy had told her never to go through. The door with chains and roses engraved on it.
Sharon crept towards it, scared. What if there were monsters chained up behind the door? What if they had gotten loose, and the only thing between her and them was that door?
She crept up to the door, and grabbed the knob.
Should she? What if Semmy were there? What would Semmy do?
She opened it.
There was a man, a man covered in blood, a man with white hair, passed out on the other side. He had one hand pressed over his eye.
"MOMMY!"
Seventeen years later.
"What's got you so excited, oujo-sama?"
Sharon giggled. All morning she had been smiling, and nearly bouncing out of her chair.
"My brother's coming home! He hasn't been home in five years!" She looked out of the sitting room window, but didn't see any carriage coming up the road.
Xerxes Break took another bite of cake. "Your brother? I don't believe I've met him." He had known that Sharon had a twin, but whenever he was at the Villa, the twin was away somewhere.
"He rarely comes home anymore. He's off working for Pandora, going on long missions."
"Ah. What's his name?"
"Semar." Sharon settled into the sitting chair, after checking again to make sure there was no carriage coming up the road. "He got his Chain later than me, though. He's stuck in the body of a nineteen year-old."
"He has a Chain?" Break said, surprised. He hadn't heard of another Rainsworth with a Contract. He grabbed a raspberry lolli from a pocket in his jacket. "What chain is it?"
"Cardturner." Sharon pushed the curtain aside, and gave a small gasp. "He's here! Xerx-nii, he's here!" Break gave a small smile. Sharon rarely called him that anymore, she must've been really excited.
She leapt out of her chair, showing remarkable agility for someone in a hoop skirt, and ran out of the sitting room. Break stuck the raspberry lolli in his mouth, and followed.
"Mother, Semar's home!" he heard Sharon yelling. He barely saw her skirt flash around a corner.
He got out the front door of the villa just in time to see the carriage come to a stop, and the door open.
A young man hopped out. He had the same caramel-colored hair, but it just brushed the bottoms of his ears, instead of the long locks Sharon had. Even from his distance, twenty feet away, Break could see the same pinkish cranberry eyes that Sharon had on his face.
He looked so... girly. He was thin, and had very long eyelashes, for a man of nineteen.
"Sharon!" the young man cried, at seeing his twin sister. Even his voice was girly. It wasn't high, but it wasn't that low either.
The twins hugged tightly, and Break could see Sharon was starting to cry. No surprise there. Break turned around, stepping into the villa. He would call for tea and crumpets, but for now, he would let the siblings reunite.
His pinky throbbed slightly.
How strange.
Thanks for reading! :)
To be continued...