Woot woot nxt chappie heeheehee anyway all that stuff bout me not ownin all of it and yada yada u no it so yeah hurry up and read lol !

Chapter 3

They woke in the morning, to find that a fire had been started in their room and clothes had been set out. Matching blue and gold outfits. They glanced at each other and started getting dressed without waiting for Mandy and Suzy. They were uncomfortable wearing colours, when they should have been wearing grey with black armbands, mourning for their father, but there was no other clothes to be found. They braided each other's hair as they had done for the last six years. Twin braids for twins, their father's voice seemed to whisper into their ears. The memory brought tears to their eyes.

Once they were dressed they ventured to the door and stood there, wavering between leaving the room that seemed so familiar and finding out what was going on. In the end, curiosity won over the need for security.

"Let's go, we aren't going to find out what is going on by standing here." Jade said, adding finality to their decision. Jazz nodded and started down the stairs. Before they got halfway though, Suzy and Mandy appeared and blocked the way off.

"Suzy, Mandy? What are you doing? Why aren't you letting us down the stairs?" Jade asked, her fear at their strange behaviour putting a tremor into her voice. It was too much after everything they had been through, to have their best friends acting strangely.

"Sorry misses, but we were told to take you to the audience room."

"Audience room? But only palaces have audience rooms…" Jazz's voice trailed off as realisation hit her at the same time it hit Jade. Suzy nodded at Jazz and Jade, telling them that their guess was correct. They were in the palace of Corus, home to the King and Queen of Tortall.

They walked in silence back up the stairs, and further down the magnificent hallway they had noticed last night. They kept walking; passing through halls that became more and more elaborate as they continued.

Finally, the four reached the most detailed doors yet. With what could only be described as master's work, gems had been placed on the doors with such expertise that they seemed to have grown on them. Carvings put pictures around the gems, making them fruit, jewellery or eyes that shone with a life of their own. They were at least two stories tall maybe three. Suzy and Mandy signalled to the steward that stood at the doorway. He looked at the twins, his eyes widening at the sight of them in their blue and gold. He stepped to the middle of the doors and flung them both open. They exchanged confused glances, as they knew from court lessons that only both doors were opened for royalty and they certainly were not royalty.

"The Princesses, Jade Marie and Jasmine." The steward's voice echoed down the long hall, startling Jade out of the fog of confusion that had started to weave around her.

"Princess? What?" Jazz only had time to say this before two sets of strong hands pushed them through the doors and down to the start of the carpet. They started down the long hall, towards the tiny throne at the end and the brightly coloured dots that were people. They continued down the hall, staying in step with each other the whole way. They reached the foot of the steps and stepped into identical curtsies. Hearing a gasp, they looked up to see the king laying a restraining arm on the queen, who had started out of her throne. Both wore stricken looks on their faces. Suddenly everything became clear. They were royalty, and their father hadn't been killed two days before…their father sat on a golden throne in front of them.

Later that night, much later, after all the excitement had worn off and they felt emotionally and physically exhausted for the second time in so many days. They had been taken back to their room and left to themselves. They just sat there, each on a bed and looked at each other, looked at the thin circle of gold on each other's brow. The ceremony that had gone with the placing of them was a blur; it was now official that they were the Princesses ofTortall.

With a sigh, Jade realised that Melissa had not taught her the spell on summoning. She began to laugh, laughing because of the strange time for this thought to occur. Jazz looked at her, and then started to laugh as well, catching her sister's thoughts. Still laughing Jade almost missed the quiet knock at the door. Trying to get her almost hysterics under control she went over to it, leaving Jazz laughing on her bed. She opened the door and saw who was there, her laughter stopping immediately. Jazz looked over to her from her position of sprawled on the bed, also stopping mid-laugh. For there, in the doorway stood the Queen and King, whom they had seen for the first time that morning.

"Hello, may we enter?" The Queen's voice sent the same feeling of familiarity that had occurred when Jade had entered their room. The tune rose unbidden to her mind and almost to her mouth.

"Of course Your Majesty. Need you even ask?" Jade asked boldly. She wanted to know why they had been taken from this place fifteen years ago and placed with people who weren't their family and told that they were.

They came inside the room and stood there, looking around as if they hadn't been there before. By now Jazz had stood up and waited with her hands clasped behind her back, Jade went to stand with her sister to provide herself with strength for the questions she was about to ask.

The Queen turned to them, standing side-by-side, identical in every way, right down to the freckles dancing across their noses. What she did next was totally unexpected by both Jazz and Jade. She stood there and held out her arms. They walked to those arms and to their mother. As she held them, they could feel the sobs shaking her slender frame and heard her repeating over and over again "Never, never again. You shall always remain here. I should never have listened to her, never." They then felt the King behind them, felt him put his arms around them and hold his daughters. For the first time Jade felt what had been missing, something that she hadn't even realized was missing, being replaced back into her heart. After what felt like forever, they let go and stepped back to view their parents. Jade looked into eyes that were as green as her own as she stood in front of their father, as Jazz stared at the flames of hair that framed their mother's face.

"My daughters…" Their father's deep voice startled them as much as his words did.

They glanced at each other for comfort before responding to their father.

"Yes?" Jade had nothing else to say to people that they had only just met, yet known their whole lives.

"We understand your confusion and…your anger" Now the Queen spoke, adding the last bit as Jazz's eyes flashed dangerously and the wind started to howl outside the twin windows.

"You see, fifteen years ago we were persuaded to let you two leave the palace and grow up normally, unspoiled by court. Your Aunt Melissa…"

"Who isn't really our Aunt at all!" Here Jazz interrupted the King before he could finish.

"Jazz! Be quiet and let them speak." Jade was shocked at her sister's behaviour. Actually not really that shocked, I should have known that she wouldn't be able to keep quiet about everything that had happened she thought.

"As I was saying, your Aunt Melissa, who is actually your godsparent, convinced us to do this. We never should have listened to her. "The King's bright green eyes looked at them as he tried to hide amusement at Jazz's outburst.

"Oh." Jade looked at her sister in amazement, that she could accept this so easily.

"Dear, we should leave and let the girls get some rest. They need it after all they have been through lately. We can tell them the full story later." The Queen pulled on their father's arm. He followed her to the door turning at the last minute, for them both to say goodnight to their daughters. Then they were gone.

Ohhhh cliffie wats gunna happen nxt? well not really a cliffie but u get wat i mean!

DominionJewel thank u for the cookies! lol glad u like it