"Han. Han!" Kierana shrieked, while banging her fists against the mahogany door that held that separated her closeted sibling from the rest of the world.
Inside, the boy was far from ready to come to a royal dinner with the rest of his family. The color of his hands were barely noticeable under the slick grease of the oil he had been using, his hair was matted from the steam of his mechanical work, and his face was covered in soot, ashes, and a pair of goggles. Yet no matter how much dirt or grime was on the young man's face, there was nothing that could tamper with his striking features. Even in this state, he could easily surpass any other royal in the galaxy in terms of looks, charm, and wisdom. It may have been hard for someone as old as 40 to be doing what the adolescent was doing now, but with his skill, he needed only the right tools to complete the impossible. With extreme caution, the youth grabbed the final lever and slowly lowered it into his invention, a devilish lopsided grin appearing to take pride in his accomplishment.
"Han! Get your kiffin ass out here!" The boy may have been in complete silence, but he had been totally oblivious to his sister's past 14 minutes of calling for him.
Muttering words I would rather not mention (his father had quite a colorful vocabulary), Han flung the goggles from his face and made his way towards the door of his room, pulling it open with such ferocity it was a surprise Kierana was still standing.
"What?!" He growled loudly, resting his hands on his hips in a courageous struggle to intimidate his older sister.
"Your excellency is needed at dinner. And you and your terrible case of oblivion is making us both late for it." She snapped back, half in jest and half in agitation. If there was anything the two siblings enjoyed more than their hobbies, it was out-doing one another.
They would never admit it, but they were close to being carbon copies of each other, in practically every way except their appearances. Sure, they both had similar face shapes, their features were lined up in similar ways that one could understand how the two were siblings, but other than that they looked very very different. Where Rana's hair was chocolate brown, (identical shade to her father's), Han's was light chestnut (a mixture of the two parents). In Kierana's dark eyes, it seemed the weight of the galaxy-hell, of the universe was on her shoulder's, yet Han's bright, hazel pupils were filled with innocence, optimism, and knowledge. The princess' eyes were only one color, yet seemed to vary in intensification and shade at her command. On the other hand, it was impossible to guess what color the prince's were to ever be. On some days they seemed brown, others green with golden specks (also similar to their father), but on most they seemed to take on the light blue of the queen, a significant trait of her family heritage (you'll find out why later).
As the two stood there, in identical stances, it would be preposterous for someone to mistake the two as anything besides siblings. Both gorgeous pairs of eyes were glaring deeply into the other's, as they fought about who was at fault for their current situation.
"If you had just come out of your room when I first called you, maybe you would have been ready by now, and we could have been at dinner!"
"This is not my fault! You should have called me down earlier, maybe if you had simply been here you could have done so!"
"Oh so now it's being put on me? C'mon Han you're being ridiculous! I would bet anyone would have failed to get you out of your room, Your impossible!"
"Me? I'm the impossible one? You're the one having secret rendezvous with her fiance! Don't you have years of marriage to do that?"
"Please don't bring Cahjac into this, I would think you were smarter than that. Now the more we argue, the more farkled we are with mom. So just you fix this-" She motioned her hands around his soot-covered face, "I'll get dressed and we'll be ready for dinner. Fine, hot shot?"
"Fine!" The future king barked, and pivoted grandly back into his room, slamming the door with as much force as he had opened it. He marched royally back into his room, and made way for the fresher. With no time to spare, he sloshed a plethora of water across his face, the dark patches being washed away to finally expose his immaculate, tan skin.
The doublet he had been wearing had - thank the great gods - remained unscathed, and his hair returned back to it's normal culminating state after a couple of brushes. He then proceeded to put back all his tools he had been working with, each fitting perfectly in the place he had made for it, if one were out of place it could mess up the whole system. Rushing out of the room, the boy almost forgot the crystal crown lying atop his mahogany dresser, and tripped over a rouge wrench in order to retrieve the sparkling headpiece. Finally, he regained his pride, and proceeded to exit his room.
Four doors down, the princess was rummaging through her closet for something to wear, something that would prove to her mother she could be a mature and proper royal. She decided on a high collared navy gown, with scarlet red and bright yellow (the colors of the Solo empire, which has been in power now for over 4 centuries) diamonds that lined the collar of the dress. The fabric was a thick velvet, that stuck closely to the princess' skin, The skirt billowed out slightly, however was not playful or super feminine. It was a sophisticated, responsible, and proper choice, one she was sure would please her mother greatly. Accompanying the dress, she chose a silver crown filled with the same colored diamonds as on the garment, and put her hair in a tight bun with two strands falling in front of her face.
Wiping any last reminiscence of her journey earlier in the day off her face, she left her room to reunite with her brother.
"Well your worshipfulness, as much as I thoroughly enjoyed waiting for you, I believe we need to get to dinner."
Her hand flung out before she could think about it, grabbing him by the ear, and her voice taking a "threatening" tone. "Don't you dare talk to me like that!"
"Your highness! Was that a threat?" The young prince probed lightly, relishing in his sister's anger.
"Y'know maybe it was." Her grip loosened a little, yet her stance became competitive and intimidating.
"Hmm...too bad you won't be able to go through with it!" With a fleeting maneuver, he twisted her arm, and planted a soft blow in her gut. Before she could even react, he took off down the stairs, leaving her in a state of shock and anger.
"You are so dead!" Gritting her teeth, she ran after him in a fit of frenzy, her beautiful blue eyes ablaze.
The two engaged in an extreme cat and mouse game, rushing through the complex, twisted staircases of the palace with ease. Paying little attention to the fact she was in heels and a dress, Kierana gained considerably on her younger brother in little time. Han made his way quickly for the dining hall, knowing Kierana would most likely not beat the crap out of him in front of their parents (yet with her ego, it was still a possibility).
He rounded the corner, frantically prying the stone door to the hall open. His sister caught it before it closed, slipping her slim figure into the room alongside the prince.
Inside, the marble columns were draped with the red and yellow of the dynasty, the crystal table was filled with several platters of mouth-watering dishes, and the Solo family crest was adorned in several pieces of furniture.
King Jonash Solo didn't even look up from his food, but simply smiled widely, his emerald eyes eventually falling onto his wife.
"You're late." The rich voice boomed throughout, the man in which the voice belonged to staring straight into his terrified children.