Once Upon a ….. Sometime.
By Skyflame
Darien had said that it would take about 4 days to get there but when it only took 2, Serena realized he must have meant by carriage. The kingdom of Sapphire Coast was beautiful and had the ocean all along one edge of it. The night that Lita and Serena had arrived they had discussed how they would go about meeting with the King and Queen.
Finally they decided that the best way would be to send them a note the next day saying they were friends of Mina's who were visiting the area and had been told all about the house where Mina had grown up, which wasn't entirely untrue. Not long after they had sent the message they received a reply saying that they were welcome to come and visit whenever they would like.
When Serena read this she began to worry and told Lita she didn't want to go and that they should just go home. At this Lita yelled at Serena
"What are you crazy? You have a chance to find out if they are your family and why they abandoned you in the woods that summer, and now you want to back out on me. Well guess what we have been friends too long for me to let you do that, we grew up together and I have always made you accept a challenge and I'm doing it again. We are going to get changed and go meet Mina's parents and I don't want to hear you saying you don't want to do it again" Serena nodded with a small smile on her face. Lita had always been the one to boost Serena's confidence when they were younger and even now and Serena was glad that Lita had come with her.
Later that day when they met the King and Queen, they remarked on how much Serena reminded them of their daughter then asked how they knew their little Mina. Serena said
"Well your majesties, I am marrying her brother-in-law Prince Darien in April, while Lady Lita knows her from attending the amazing balls she throws." The Queen smiled at Serena and said,
"So you are the one who is betrothed to Prince Darien, I must say I think he made a lovely choice." Serena blushed and said,
"Thank you your majesty" before Lita asked
"Not to be of any inconvenience to you, your majesties but we were wondering if it would be possible to see the room Mina grew up in. She was recently telling us all about it and the mischief she got up to in it."
"No problem at all I go up there all the time when I am missing Mina so would be happy to show her friends' the Queen said as she got up and motioned for them to follow her.
Mina's room was a beautiful golden yellow color, with sunshine yellow curtains and the cover on the huge four-poster bed matched the color of curtains but had gold embroidery all over it. On the bed were what must have been her favorite childhood toys and in the corner sat a beautiful unicorn rocking horse with the name Mina on the saddle.
But when Serena looked at the wall beside Mina's bed a painting of a pretty young girl who must have been Mina, seemed to call to her. She slowly walked towards the painting while Lita and the Queen talked about things Mina had done when she was younger, as Serena got close to the painting she saw the little girl had a heart necklace around her neck, which seemed to be cracked down the middle.
On one side of the crack was a picture of an angel with the symbol of Venus behind it, but when Serena looked at the other side of the necklace she couldn't hold in her startled gasp. It was identical to the necklace her mother had recently returned to her, the one she had been wearing when she was found in the woods all those years ago.
Hearing Serena's gasp Lita quickly moved to her side and saw what had caused the noise, the Queen came up behind them and told them that it was a painting of when Mina was 6 years old.
Serena turned and looked into the Queens sapphire eye's mirror images of her own and asked,
"What are the symbols on the necklace?" The Queen pointed to the side of the necklace with the sign of Venus and said
"The angel is our families symbol, it has represented the Angelique family for centuries and the Venus sign was special for Mina." Lita looked at the Queen and seeing she wasn't going to say anything else on her own asked
"What about the other side of the heart, the one with the crescent moon?" The Queen sat down on the bed and looked down at her hands to try and hide the pain in her eyes and keep the tears away, but it didn't work.
She looked up at the two girls and almost whispering said,
"The other symbol is that of Mina's twin sister who she never knew about. She was taken from us when she was only 6 months old. We were visiting friends in the kingdom where Mina lives now, and the nurse took both girls for a walk in the woods. When she came back she said that a wild animal had attacked her and it had eaten our youngest daughter. We were heart-broken and fired the nurse immediately. It had been that happiest day of my husband and my lives when our girls were born, two more angels, gifts from heaven and when one of them was taken away we didn't know how to go on, but we had to for Mina. That's why I painted the missing part of the necklace, in remembrance of her twin sister whose name was..."
"Serena" Serena blurted out tears rolling down her face. The Queen looked at her confused and asked
"How did you know her name? No one knows about Serena, no one at all we made sure" as she choked on her tears. Serena sat down on the bed beside the Queen took her hand and softly said
"No one except your daughter" the Queen shook her head and said
"Mina doesn't know anything about her let alone her name." Serena looked the Queen in the eyes and reached into her pocket for something and said
"Not Mina, your other daughter" and placed her necklace in the Queen's hand.
The Queen's eyes widened as she looked at the necklace in her hand then back to the girl sitting next to her and screamed before asking,
"Where did you get this?" Serena told the Queen about how her mother had found her in the forest wrapped in beautiful embroidered blankets and dressed in a dress of white silk covered with gold embroidery, with the only clue as to who the baby was the gold necklace around her neck. She told the Queen how her parents had tried to find where she belonged but no one knew who the angel symbol belonged to and had raised Serena as their own as she had been the answer to their prayers as they could not have children of their own.
Then she explained how after Serena's engagement to Darien they had decided to tell her what they knew about her past and let her decide whether to try and find her family or not. She told the Queen that after making her decision to find out she had asked Darien who the angel symbol belonged to which was what had brought her here, and she finished by saying that now she would have 3 families. At this point the Queen pulled Serena into a hug and stroked her hair whispering
"My precious angel I thought I lost you forever."
Meanwhile Lita just watched in amazement until the Queen finally spoke out loud
"You two must stay here for a few days. Serena there is a special room I'd like you to stay in and you will know why when I show you, and later on there are two people I want you to meet your father and your brother Greg." When the Queen looked at the girls' faces she laughed and said,
"I'm not surprised you don't know about him. Mina and Greg never have got on very well together, I think it has something to do with the fact that a piece of her was missing. Twins have a special bond and when they are separated, it is like a part of them is gone" as she continued to lead them down the hall. When they got to a locked door that had Serena's symbol beside the doorknob the Queen led them inside, the room was almost identical to that they had just left except it was done in snowy white with the gold embroidery. There was even a rocking horse that matched the one in Mina's room but it had Serena's name on the saddle.
On the wall beside the bed there was a painting completely different to the one in Serena's twin's room, it was of two babies with identical sapphire eyes and golden colored hair but there were two differences. One girl was dressed in sunshine yellow and her golden hair like a silken sheet around her face, while the other girl was dressed in moonlight white and her golden hair curled in ringlets against her smiling face. Around both of their necks lay half of the necklace that was in the painting in Mina's room. Serena looked at the Queen and asked,
"Does this mean Mina has the other half to my necklace?" the Queen nodded and said
"Whenever a daughter is born into the Angelique family she is given a necklace with her own symbol on it and that symbol belongs to her throughout time. Because only those born into the family have necklaces I myself don't have one as I married your father who was heir to Sapphire Coast as the kingdom is passed down through the oldest son of each generation. When you girls were born we split the necklace in half rather than give you one each because you are each a part of the whole even though you get your own symbols."
"Serena, I'd like it very much if you would stay here and Lady Lita can stay next door in the emerald room. I'll send someone to go and get your things but I'd also like to try make up for all the years we weren't there for you by giving you some things which are rightfully yours."
As the Queen left the room Lita sat down on the bed while Serena walked around the room tracing her finger over the things her birth mother had put in the room in remembrance of the daughter she had lost.
"This is amazing, who would have thought that all this time you have really been a princess and also that Mina is your twin. I mean I know you look similar but I thought it was just a coincidence," Lita said as Serena walked over and sat on the bed beside her.
"I know. I'm finding it real hard to believe myself, but everything seems to fit that's probably why I found Mina so easy to talk to when we first met. I guess that means I'm the same age as her and share the same birthday as Mina."
"Not to eavesdrop or anything but I heard you discussing your birthday when I came back in the room. Mina's birthday is the day before yours. You were born on December 16 while Mina was born on December 15" the Queen said as she re-entered the room, Lita looked confused and stated
"But I thought they were twins, wouldn't that mean they share they same birthday."
The Queen shook her head
"Not in this case although they are in fact twins and the same age Mina was born a couple of minutes before midnight on December 15 and Serena was born a couple after minutes after on December 16. So you see they get to have separate birthdays which in some ways can be a good thing for twins. If twins live together all their lives they get sick of having to share things like birthdays and so when my girls were born on different days I was thankful. It would mean that they each got to have their own birthday, but I didn't have them both long enough to experience the joy of them growing up together."
"So it is my true birthday in a week and I will be twenty and Mina's birthday is the day before mine" Serena said and the Queen just nodded. She then handed her a small box and told her
"Even though you were not with us and we thought we would never see you again. Your father and I always acknowledged you and so whenever we bought something for Mina we always got something similar for you and secretly stored it away. There is clothing right from when you were a baby to clothing that would fit you now, which we want you to have, and you will find it in the closet. There is also jewelry almost identical to Mina's but mainly in your own colors, but the most important piece is in the box in your hand. It is 'The Star of the Moon' and was made especially for you the day you were born to give to you on your 18th birthday the day after your sister was given 'The Heart of Venus' ."
Serena opened the box the Queen had handed her and inside lay a beautiful diamond in the shape of a crescent moon on a diamond chain and nestled on a pillow of sapphire blue velvet.
Serena looked up at the women who was her birth mother and said
"It is beautiful and I'm sorry your majesty, but this is all too new to me for me to call you mother. But I would love to stay here for a while and get to know you all." The Queen nodded and said
"I understand, but please at least call me Celeste rather than your majesty, and I am so happy to have you here so anything the two of you need just tell me and I will get it for you. Anyway I suppose you both would like a little time to settle in so I will leave you alone but feel free to look around the castle for it is your home. Lady Lita your room is the next door down and is a room done in emerald greens so it shouldn't be too hard for you to find when you are ready" then she left the two girls alone.
Lita crossed the room as the door closed and opened the closet, letting her mouth drop open at the sight of all the clothes that had been bought in honor of a daughter that they thought was gone. Serena then spoke up and said
"Lita do you mind if we go to your room for awhile. All this strangeness is going to my mind and I don't even seem to know which is the right way to turn." Lita understood what Serena was saying and took the box out of her hand and left it on the bed as she lead her friend into the room next door.
Once the two friends were seated by the window in Lita's room Lita spoke up,
"The whole thing is weird if you ask me. I mean I know they missed you but they bought you things even though they thought you were never coming home. Serena are you okay, do you want to talk about this?" Serena shook her head and said quietly
"I'll be fine, but I am so glad that you came with me but I also wish that Raye was here too. You guys have always been there for me when I needed you even though you both were from upper society and I wasn't, until now." Seeing that Serena was close to tears Lita pulled her into her arms and said her voice full of love
"That never mattered to us, although our parents didn't like it at first they came to love you just as we did. You were always a princess in our eyes. I must say that Raye would be really proud of the way you are holding up, and I won't leave your side unless you want me to. Now do you want to go take a look at the gardens of the place you were born?"
That night Serena meet her birth father and her brother for the first time and she couldn't help but grab hold of Lita's hand for support. Her father had the same golden colored hair that both Serena and Mina had inherited, but instead of sapphire eyes his were dark brown and full of warmth and love as he looked down at his newly returned daughter. Keeping himself from pulling her into a hug that he wouldn't want to stop in case he lost her again. Her brother Greg had her father's eyes and his hair was the same dark brown color that their mother had. He looked at her like he was unsure what to think about this person that was supposed to be his other sister, but Serena could feel some love in Greg's gaze that he probably didn't even know was there.
After two days Serena was getting along with her family like they had never been apart and anyone who had entered the household would not have believed that Serena had only met these people a couple of days ago. But Lita had known it was possible, because Serena always seemed to create a happy atmosphere and get along with everyone as if she had known them all her life. Lita could also sense some sadness in her friend that the others did not as she had known Serena most of her life.
That night Serena asked Lita if she would mind staying with her as they had done when they were children and spent the night talking and kicking each other around the bed. Lita suspected that tonight it had nothing to do with childhood fun and everything to do with some of the loneliness and confusion Serena was feeling inside but didn't want anyone to know about. So she agreed and together the two of them slept in the big bed in the white room that had always been Serena's.
The next morning Lita woke up to see Serena sitting up in the bed staring sadly at the wall so she asked
"Hey Serena what's the matter?" Serena sighed an said
"Nothing" Lita looked into Serena's eyes and said
"Don't try that I me I know you too well. Raye isn't the only who can tell when something is on your mind, so spill"
"It's not that I don't love being here and getting to know my family its just that I miss everyone back home and it is getting close to Christmas so I want to be with them. I'm sure that you are missing Ken even though you haven't said it, I've seen the wistful looks you have been getting in you eyes when you think I'm not looking. I miss Raye and Chad, Andrew and Mina, Ken and Amy and my parents. But most of all I miss Darien. I have to tell him about this and I miss the way he would call me his angel or his princess. I want to go home, I want to get to know my sister and spent her birthday with her and I want to have Darien's arms around me and hear him say he loves me as well as spend my birthday there with him. I want to go home and I want to leave tomorrow. I miss everyone so much, its not fair, how can I get to know my family when I miss everyone back home when I am away."
Lita nodded because she knew what Serena said was true, she was missing everyone to and with Christmas fast approaching it made it a lot harder so she took Serena's hand.
"Alright we will tell them today that we plan to leave in the morning and we should get home just in time for Mina's birthday and your own."
When Serena told her family that she would be leaving in the morning they were saddened and thought that maybe it was something they had done but Serena explained.
"It isn't you, I love you all and I have loved being here but I miss my friends and I have to get home and organize my wedding which I would love all of you to attend. I also need to talk to some people about what I have learnt about myself" then the Queen had a suggestion
"Why don't we go back with you, if we leave the day after tomorrow we can get there in about a week and then spent Christmas at the Chateau with all our children. I would also like to ask one favor if you are going to get there before us. Please don't say anything to Mina about what you have learnt as I would like to tell her myself about the secret we have kept from her and why we did it before she learns that you are her little sister."
Serena nodded and replied that she would love for them to come and spent Christmas with them at the Chateau if they thought that Andrew and Mina wouldn't mind.
After the decision had been made Serena went up to her room to pack the things she had been given and wanted to take home with her as the Queen had insisted they would take it with them in the carriage. Serena packed up most of the dresses in trunks and a couple in her saddlebags while still leaving a few in the closet as a reminder for Celeste and also put all the jewelry including 'The Star of the Moon' in the trunk. While returning the heart necklace to her saddlebag so she wouldn't lose it before packing her own things and going to see what Lita was doing.
The next morning as they began to leave Sapphire Coast the first few snowflakes began to fall but Serena wouldn't let that stop her as she was anxious to get home to the people she loved most and feel their comforting arms around her. Lita had to practically drag her kicking and screaming to an inn when the snow starting getting heavy because she didn't want to be delayed because an extra day on the road was another day away from the people she cared about.
Because of the snowfalls it took them a day longer to get home than they had expected and when they finally arrived at Serena's house on the morning of December 16 they had already missed Mina's birthday. Upon arriving home Serena raced into the house and told her parents the story about what had happened. She also told them that today was her birthday before hugging them and telling the she loved them, before she grabbed Lita's hand and pulled her upstairs so she could change before going over to see Darien.
Lita was amazed at how quickly Serena's sadness had departed. She was suddenly caught up in Serena's joy as she helped her decide what to wear when she went to the Chateau tell Prince Darien the truth and hold him in her arms once more. She also told Lita that when they arrived to send word to Ken, Raye and Chad and tell them to come to the Chateau as she was going to convince Darien to throw her a birthday party that night. They arrived at the Chateau a short while after Serena had decided on wearing one of the new dresses she had been given by Queen Celeste, a sapphire blue velvet one that matched her eyes and gold embroidery on the sleeves. After they were inside the Chateau Serena discovered Darien was in his chambers so excusing herself from her friend ran with childlike glee towards Darien's room while Lita watched in laughter.
