Guess I've made my choice. ^ ^
Boy is this chapter going to catch you by surprise. ^ ^

******

" My name is Jordyn, and I'm..."
" Ah," The lionesse's eyes narrowed, and a grin beset her face," You are the carrier of the Calamarais. You bear a heavy burden."

Jordyn blinked. Calamarais?

" You have been chosen, because you harbor a dark past."
" Great sorceress," Elar piped up," That is why we have come to you. As far as we know, this girl's past is no more darker than mine."

The Sorceress, who Jordyn realized was Grrega, frowned.

" What do you know of her past? You were only a child."

She raised her paw, and suddenly the room darkened. Slowly pictures began to drift about the room.

" One and one half decades ago, (That's fifteen years, for those of you who don't feel like converting ^ ^)
A King and his Queen were blessed with two children, a son and a daughter, neither older or younger than the other - to put it simply, twins. They loved these children dearly and were overjoyed at their birth. To celebrate, they invited three of the Great Sisters to dine with them in celebration."

" Who?" Jordyn looked confused.
" The Sphinxes. Of which Grrega is, or was one of them." Edvi murmured.

" Yes," Grrega continued," but in their haste, they forgot to invite the fourth sister."

" That's impossible," Prince Elar shouted," There are only three Sphinxes."
" Yes," The Sorceress murmured," There were only three sphinxes. But, there are four sisters. She was not a Sphinx. She was human."
" I see."
" The last sister was horrified and angry that they would overlook her. So she came to the ball, as all of the others did, and snatched up one of the children, the son. When two of the Sphinxes tried to stop her escape, she killed them. I am all that remains of that line."
" I'm sorry," Jordyn murmured," But, what became of the child?"
" The fourth sister told the royal family that she would take the son and raise it as her own, making him come back to one day pay for what the parents had done."

Prince Elar looked puzzled.

" Which King and which queen was this?"
" Why, your own parents, foolish Prince." Grrega smiled, showing many sharp teeth.

" How could that be?" Elar murmured," I'm standing right here, and I remember being raised by my parents..."

" I wasn't finished." The Sorceress narrowed her eyes, then continued when all had quieted," You see, the day of the feast, both the children were dressed by the exact same maid. But, unfortunately, when she'd gone to put on their blankets, she couldn't remember which child was which, for they both wore the same sleeping gowns. Feeling to tired to undress and redress them all over again, she wrapped the blankets around them, one blue, and one pink. But, she got them mixed up."

" Oh, I see. So, when the evil woman grabbed the baby, she must have grabbed the blue one-"

" -Thinking it was the boy child." The Sorceress finished, " I imagine that she got quite a surprise when she returned to her home. Queen Ella and King Char were heartbroken, and searched far and wide. But, the woman had disappeared. Nobody ever saw the baby girl again...until now."

Edvi raised an eyebrow.

" What does this have to do with the Calamarais?"

" Nothing. What I'm telling you, is her story," She said, looking at Jordyn.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Prince Elar paled, which seemed to happen quite a bit.

" But, but," He stammered," How can that be? That was the story of MY parents. If she's the other child, that would make her..."
" Your sister, and your twin." The Sorceress grinned.

******

Gwenalene watched the myriad of reactions. The Prince looked ready to pass out. Jordyn had bit her lip in the surprise, and a little blood welled up. Edvi still had one eyebrow raised, and seemed to be looking at the two of them. Gwen looked from one to the other as well. They were, actually, very similar, except that Jordyn's hair was blond...or blondish. Actually, more of a dark wheat color, with streaks of pale yellow.

" Twins?" Gwen murmured stupidly.

******

Were it not for his training, Edvi's mouth would probably be hanging half-way down to the floor now. TWINS? Brother and sister? Well, that was a bit disturbing. That would partially explain why they got along so well.

" Well, it seems you two have a bit of catching up to do."

Both of them looked at him.

" You can't seriously believe all this, can you Edvi?" Elar looked desperate in need of an explanation.
" Well, it is a lot of news to take in, but it makes a lot of sense."

" Jordyn, I would like to speak with you," The Sorceress commanded, and Jordyn nodded.

******

" What is it?" Jordyn asked curiously.
" I sensed you had another question that needed answering. Ask me."
" Well, it's about why I'm so afraid of men. I mean, I thought it was just me, and a rather...uncomfortable experience I'd had before...but it didn't go away. And I've known Edvi and Elar long enough to know I shouldn't be feeling this way."
" Ah," Grrega laughed, rather cruelly in fact," That, I believe, is the fault of Calamarais."
" Who is Calamarais?"
" ...I suppose it's a better time than any. You've already heard the legend of Calamarais."
" It will only choose a girl with a dark past, yes, I picked that up from your first speech."
" Well, the Calamarais searches far and wide for a host, wasting a lot of energy. When he finds one, he will sleep to regain part of his strength. After the Calamarais has awoken, he will feed off your sorrow and your pain until you are nothing but a shell of the person you were, and he's back to his full power."
" I don't understand what that has to do with men."
" Don't you? If you were to fall in love, you wouldn't feel sorrow any more, certainly never pain."
" And that would kill the Calamarais." Jordyn murmured. " So...in order to escape this fate...I have to fall in love?"
" It's a little more complex than that. But, yes. You must find your destined love, and proclaim your undying affections for one another."

Jordyn thought about this for a moment.

" But, you have very little time. The longer Calamarais stays attached to you, the more negative feelings you'll harbor. And since you seem to have had a prior bad experience, it will be even more difficult."

" I understand."
" Here. I can help you some small bit."

The Sorceress raised a fang to Jordyn, who flinched, but suddenly the Sorceress stopped, and looked at her arm. Then, a smirk covered her face.

" Well, I'll be...that sneaky devil got to it first..."
" Pardon?"
" Did you get bitten by a man that looked like a wolf?"
" Actually, I did. Why?"
" Because that's my father."

Jordyn suddenly went pale.

" But, we killed him!" Jordyn cried before she could stop herself.

The Sorceress blinked. For a moment, Jordyn thought she would kill her. Suddenly, the Sphinx woman burst out laughing.

" Ha! The old coot had it coming! I told him he had to learn to be a little more subtle."
" How can you laugh?! Your father's dead?!"
" Was he killed with a staff of silver driven into his spine?" The Sorceress murmured.

" No."

Edvi came up from behind, drawing his sword and laying it flat before Grrega. Grrega looked at it, sniffed it, then grinned.

" Then, he should be back on his feet before long. Scary, huh?"
" You're telling me..." Jordyn muttered, feeling the bleeding wound. " What did he do?"
" Well, unfortunately, his teeth were the only magic bones he had in his body. He put a spell on Calamarais. Not a big one, just enough to keep Calamarais asleep for another few weeks."
" Oh!"
" You have approximately a week and a half left. Better make good use of it. You need to get to the Silver Mountain on the ridge."
" Silver Mountain! That's all the way on the other side of the country! We couldn't get there in a month, much less a week and a half!" Edvi protested.
" Don't worry. My servant, Merlis, will show you a different route."

******

Well, didn't I tell you it was a surprise? ^ ^ Kinda like Star Wars...only Elar never kissed Jordyn, which makes my writing all the more easier...imagine having to explain that...