Frozen in shock, the two twins stared up at the masked man standing in their doorway.
"A… A clover?" Rin stuttered.
"Yes." He replied simply, his emerald eye narrowed smugly.
"It… glows?" Staring down in amazement, Len wiggled his fingers and studied the faint illumination on his left hand.
"Yes." Ciaran replied. "Now if you don't mind, it's a long journey to the Kingdom from here and it'd be best not to keep her waiting. She can be rather… impatient." His mask seemed to hide more than he was saying but as he turned and walked away, the twins glanced at each other before hopping down the steps to follow him.
XXX
"Hey, you're like, a high up official or something, aren't you?" Len probed.
"Yes. A Queen's Child is the term I believe you're looking for. But yes, even within them I am of a higher rank." He replied, not looking back at the children following.
"So, tell me again… Why are we walking to the castle?" By now the town was far behind them and the fields carried on past the horizon. The twins were exhausted and the sun was setting, mist had begun to swirl around them as the clouds above turned grey.
"Exercise is good for you, Alice." The black tail of his jacket flew gently in the rising wind.
"Stop referring to us as Alice!" Rin stropped. Her frustration had finally allowed her to come to her senses and she stopped gushing over him a while back as the weight of her legs grew heavier and heavier. "We're two separate people!"
Panting, "And how far is it anyway?" Len continued to conversation.
"Far."
"Ahh, just tell us how far far is!" Growling, Rin stomped her feet and glared at him. "If you don't then we'll just sit here and not go anywhere!" And with that, she plopped to the ground and sat cross-legged. Len turned and sighed down at her; she had good reason to be upset and his mind was too sleepy to argue properly. Luckily though, Ciaran decided to stop instead of completely ignoring her and carry on so Len didn't have to bother choosing who to stay with. However, he didn't turn around. Lowering his head, he muttered back to them,
"Just until the door, please. Just walk with me until the door." There was a pause as Rin looked down at her feet guilty, something about his voice made her feel sorrow. Suddenly his head snapped up as lights began to appear from the mist infront. "This way, Alice." And with that he strode forwards, towards the light. Rin's anger ceased as Len looked on in curiosity. Pulling her to her feet, he jogged forwards to just behind the general as they walked nervously, hand in hand.
"A village?!" The gasp was whispered.
"But there was nothing in sight before?!" The confusion turned to questions as they bugged the older man for an explanation. But he stayed silent, never halting in his stride through the roads; never looking to the side. He reached out his hand and (pushing Len off) grabbed Rin's right hand, making sure to cover the half-heart with his palm. Gripping tightly, he did the same with Len's left hand on the other side.
"Don't look at them." He spoke under his breath. Faded townsfolk had begun to appear, all looking out at the walking trio. The mist made it hard to see their facial expressions but the twins were too perplexed by the sudden people to listen to their guide. The clouds above parted ever so slightly, letting a sliver of moonlight slip through. Len gasped as wherever the moonlight hit, that part of the person's body suddenly turned to bone whilst the rest looked like flesh in the dim light. Every house hit by the small stream of natural light seemed to be rusting and old, falling apart with nothing inside; as if the town were a thousand years old and abandoned.
"No! Don't! Please!"
"Akumu?!" Rin's eyes shot upwards as she heard a call in the distance. Ciaran sharply hushed her quiet,
"Don't make any noises." He hadn't seemed to hear the invisible cry.
"Stop it!" Suddenly a large face appeared in front of Rin's face, pushing closer with twisted eyes and a sharp grin.
"Let me sing to you?" It breathed as she fell back in shock with a squeak.
"Rin!" But she'd let go of his hand… Within the second, every villager was closer; they were surrounded by a meter radius of blank faces.
"Wh-What is this?!" Her eyes wide as she freaked out on the floor she'd fallen to. "Ah!" Crying out, she winced and looked down at her right hand. The half heart was shining brighter than the sun as she withered in pain, groaning as she clutched at her wrist. Len winced as the grip on his own half heart was tightened, reddening his hand.
Moaning, small droplets of blood sprung from where her nails pierced the skin as she was holding too tight. Her whole body was twitching and her eyes squeezed shut as the clouds finally parted, letting the moon light through completely. To Len's horror every single villager turned to a standing skeleton, their skulls warped to an unnatural grin and their town in ruins behind them.
"Cover it!" Ciaran yelled at Rin, "Cover the heart, Rin, now!" The shock of not being called Alice brought her eyes to snap open as she forced her left hand to move towards the boiling source.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Akumu's voice cried out from next to her as the mist thickened and the trio watched as the skeletons began to struggle as it pushed them back. A path opened before them, they saw the sunken floor and a few meters away was a dark green door. "I'm sorry!" The voice called from where the skeleton's outstretched arms began to crack and fall apart. Taking the lead, the twins grabbed Ciaran and tugged until he fell in after them, through the closing portal.
XXX
"Excuse me, Sir Sionnach. May I ask what you're doing?" Sprawled out on the pavement just outside a huge city, the three rubbed their injured heads and looked up at the man standing over them. "I'm sorry; it's just that I heard you were going on an important mission so I wondered why you were lying in a heap here." Pushing the twins off, Ciaran pulled himself up and brushed off the dirt. Narrowing his eye, he pulled out a handkerchief and carefully cleaned his mask.
"Need I explain myself to you, of all people, Gakpoid?" His expression was of one looking down at something extremely distasteful that they were being ordered to eat.
"Heyy, come on, it's Gakupo! Don't be so cold, Ciaran." His formal façade was dropped after realizing the blonds on top of Ciaran were just children.
"We are at work and I am your superior and so you shall refer to me as such, Gakpoid." His voice was ice cold whilst talking to the co-worker. "Putting that aside, have you any idea where my lady is?"
"Ah, yeah. She's planning a feast I heard, for tomorrow. She said she wanted it for when you're back but she didn't know when it'd be. Apparently she underestimated you." Smirking, Gakupo put his hands in his pockets and slumped to a more relaxed stance.
"So the castle?" He verified.
"Yeah, the meeting room probably. Ask a maid when you get there." Ciaran nodded and turned back to look at the twins.
"Come on." He called, leaning forwards to offer a hand as they got up and followed him into the busy city.
"You know, considering your formality when talking with him, I was surprised to hear you say 'my lady'. I mean, you were referring to the Queen, right?" Len looked up at the man in curiousity.
"Yes. But I'll let you onto something; there are many levels of social ranks, even within the castle quarters. Because of this we are forced to put on many acts depending on what's suitable for the situation. While Gakupo is indeed of a lower rank than me, he is still pretty high up. (I refer to him that way now as the situation is more relaxed when simply talking to children.) Because of our ranks, we have the right to call her majesty my lady. This is applicable when in her presence and associating with someone of high rank. While he was polite as there were others with me, he dropped it assuming you were just silly little children. Whereas you being someone the Queen asked for specifically, I cannot drop the formalities when conversing with another of the Queen's Child. Though I do when just talking with you because it seems softer, more approachable. I don't hate Gakpoid, we hang out often when off duty. But that's just the way things are."
"More than that, may I ask a rather important and perplexing question?" Len's eyes surveyed the busy rush of the city, the stores and the smiths. Looking down with interest, Ciaran raised his eyebrow but nodded yes. "Why are there only men here?" Rin blinked in surprise and looked around, why hadn't she noticed before?
"Be careful." Jumping slightly, the girl glanced around. Len didn't seem to have heard the small voice of warning and mist wasn't appearing to give them any more details. Careful?
"What are you? A foreigner? You really don't seem to know anything about this country…" Rolling his eyes, Ciaran shook his head in frustration and massaged his temple with his left hand. "Everyone here is either a Child of The Queen or of incredible rank within their own profession. Not that I'm saying girls can't be experts," He glanced warily at the feisty girl to his right, "but only the males are invited to move in here. Also, Children of the Queen are all, with no exception, completely male. You won't be able to find another female unless you travel quite a few miles from the Kingdom's centre. That is also why, if you've noticed, so many are glancing at you, young Alice."
"Are tourists not usually allowed in here or something?" Len asked, unconvinced. He subconsciously pulled Rin closer to him; trying to prevent the gleaming eyes.
"Well, they're allowed. Just no females. The only reason they're not bombarding you with questions or shoving you out is because I'm here. Those of higher level would also know I was sent on a special mission therefore deserving the utmost respect on my successful return." Putting two fingers to his lips, he whistled as they reached a corner. A horse and carriage rode to a cease in front of them.
"Sir Sionnach." The driver said, lifting his hat and bowing.
"To the castle." Was the monotone order as the three climbed into the carriage.
After travelling for about an hour, the horse slowed to a halt and the drived jumped down to open the door for them. Now they had a closer look, they realized he was shorter than all of them despite being well-built. He had a jolly smile as he bowed repeatedly at them as they walked away, following a silent Ciaran.
"This," The general paused at the foot of a long winding path. "Is her castle."
Behind them were towers of smoke and metal, mechanics and engineers of the most skilful hands hard at work in their polluted city, but infront of them... that was something else entirely.
The path was that of silver pebbles, none larger than a newborn's fist, all a different shade of grey to create an interesting pattern. The distinct scent of caramelized sugar was a perfume trail towards the towering maroon doors, a gold clover-shaped knocker sat in the middle of them. Walking steadily along, a symphony leaked out from the surrounding gardens, niches in the leaves showed fluttering wings and shining beaks. The green grass was a canvas for the rainbow thrown messily to create a magnificent portrait of swirls and twirls, the petals sat boldly in the sunlight; embracing their deserved warmth. Unlike the rest of the city, the air wasn't humid and throat-scorching, it seemed... 'pure', like a stream of ice cold water from the very tip of a snow-topped mountain, the kind of picture you get on water bottles. The strong bronze bark had layers of lines and its cinnamon branches held up masses of jade leaves. The shade created seemed like the perfect spot to sit under for afternoon tea or even to climb up into for a cozy place to read in secret. The ash grey castle loomed over them, infinite windows placed at every floor. The sweltering sun shone fiercely above and the rooms were cast into darkness. Dressed in a black and white tailored suit, a young boy appeared at the door still a little while away. His head bowed low as the twins took in every sense around them.
Hidden in an unlit room, slender fingers gently held the curtain back, creating a gap the shadowed figure could spy through.
"My, my." The face flickered repeatedly between that of a baffled child and a distorted grimace. "What on earth have you done?"
XXX
Considering I put this under Mystery/Horror I feel it's not gory enough… I mean, Meiko's arc had way more blood than Kaito's and her's was also way shorter than his! Maybe I should have had his wife kill herself more… darkly? What do you guys think? More blood? (This idea spawned the skeleton town by the way.
Anyway, thank you for reading! And I hope you enjoyed this chapter:) Sorry for it taking a while, busy in the real world e.e
