"GUARDS! GUARDS!"
Clopin flinched, darting out of his tent as the lookout scurried past them, "Esme! Saphir! Here! Now!"
Thankfully, the twins had actually listened to him this time and were next to him in seconds, both clutching onto his legs… which of course, made running away very difficult.
"Alright, new plan!" Clopin lifted them into his arms, allowing another gypsy to grab his puppet equipment, "Hold on!"
…
"Clopin, we've been hiding for hours!" Esme whined, "Can't we go out and play now?"
"Not until we get the all clear signal." Keeping an eye on the twins and keeping them entertained wasn't his idea of a good time either, "Once we get that signal, then maybe you and your sister can go play in the courtyard, but only for a bit. We don't know how many guards will be on patrol this night."
The pair nodded, but it was clear that they were too busy thinking of that open courtyard.
There was no point in trying to get through to them.
As the lookout whistled again, indicating that the coast was clear, Clopin had to grab the twins before they rushed off. "When the sky turns red and purple, you are to meet me back here, am I understood?"
They nodded and were gone before Clopin could say anything else.
"Great." He whispered, "Just great."
….
"En guard!"
Esmerelda gave her brother a withering look, "You promised we could play Princesses today."
"… Princesses can have swords."
"If any Princess is going to have a sword, it's going to be me!" As she went to grab the stick, Saphir nimbly danced away, sticking his tongue out at her as she stomped her foot on the ground in displeasure.
"Give it to me!" She growled, "Give it to me!"
"Make me!"
The pair chased each other around the courtyard, Saphir just ahead of his sister. As he looked back, to see how close she was, he suddenly collided into someone, sending him flying to the ground.
"Hey!"
Saphir just stared up at the girl. She was probably around his age, carrying a book in her arms as she glared down at him. Wearing a light blue dress, brown hair tied back in a neat ponytail, the girl looked like every other child who came to the courtyard.
Not to Saphir though.
"S-sorry!" He stammered, pushing himself to his feet, "I didn't mean to- "
"- Belle? Belle?"
A short, older man toddled over, peering down at Saphir, a friendly smile on his face. "Have you made a new friend sweetie?"
The girl… Belle… frowned, before smiling shyly and nodding. "Yeah."
"Wonderful. Maybe you can stay here whilst I get us some supper for tonight?"
"Yeah, she can stay with us!" Saphir pushed himself to his feet, ignoring how Esme hissed his name behind him, "Me and Esme were playing Princesses today!"
"I can be the princess who needs rescuing." Belle volunteered, "If it means I can read my book?"
Before Saphir could answer, Esmerelda stepped forwards, "I was going to be the one who needed rescuing!"
It was a lie… a very obvious one, but Belle nodded in understanding anyway. "Okay." She whispered, "I can be… the sidekick?"
"How about you be the dragon?"
"Esme!" Saphir interjected, "Stop it! You can be the Princess next time! You're more of a dragon than she is anyway!"
Needless to say, no-one was really surprised when Saphir was tackled to the ground, Belle taking a step back in alarm as the other children crowded round, all cheering as whooping as Esmerelda pinned her brother to the ground, her nails trying to scratch at his skin.
"Get off! Get off!"
"Alright, that's enough now!" An exasperated voice sighed, grabbing their collars and pulling them apart, "I was going to ask what you wanted for tea. Gone for less than five minutes, and you managed to get into a fight!"
The twins ignored their brother, both snarling in an attempt to get back at each other, poor Belle watching on from the side-lines.
"Hey!" Clopin shook them, almost knocking their heads together, "What's got into you two?"
They both started talking at the same time, raising their voices in order to try and be heard over the top of the other.
"Alright, enough! Enough!" Clopin groaned, watching as the unfamiliar girl rushed away, "I wasn't gone for that long? What happened!?"
"Saphir got a girlfriend!" Esmerelda hissed, "And he was going to let her be the Princess!"
"If she was the Princess, then she could sit and read her book while we fought!" Saphir protested, "And she'd still be playing with us!"
"You just wanted to kiss her!"
"So?!"
"So- So- "Esmerelda stopped, before renewing her struggles to get free and get at her brother, "- That's gross! You're gross!"
It was with a jolt that Clopin realised exactly what was going on.
"Oh sweetie." He sighed, pulling Esmerelda closer to him, trying to trap her in a hug, "Right, I think I understand. Let's go home and we'll talk about this."
…
"But I want to see you shout at her!" Saphir protested, as he was forced out of the tent.
"I'm not going to- Look, just go and bother Imelda for a bit."
"Esme always gets to watch when I'm in trouble!"
"Not this time, not this time."
Once he was sure that his younger brother was out of earshot, Clopin turned to Esmerelda and sighed, "You know… Saphir will always be your brother. Is doesn't matter if he makes friends with another girl."
"I don't care."
"Yes, you do." Clopin sighed and took a seat next to his sister, "Maybe it's my fault… I should have let you two play with other children more, so that all this didn't happen."
"He's mine though."
"Esme- "
"He's my brother!" Esmerelda shot into a seated position, and glared at her older brother, "I don't want to share him."
Clopin stared at her for a few seconds, before shaking his head, "Why am I getting the feeling that I'll have to have this same conversation with Saphir when you make new friends."