A/N; Hmmm. Geez, I've already kind of figured out how I'm going to end this story… Let's hope by the time I get there I don't forget it. ^^;
Ah, thank you to all my reviewers, and happy holidays to all! (:
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"Surely they have to have separate names?"
"They are known as The Twins, Arya."
"But what exactly do you call just one of them? A Twin? The Twin? Twin the first and the second?" Though Arya had certainly changed in to a quieter person, it was apparent that she had not changed quite enough for her to ask just one question.
Brom chuckled and gave a shrug, but otherwise did not slacken his pace. "They are simply know as The Twins, Arya, and that is all. I suggest you do not inquire them about the matters of their name; you will understand eventually, or, in the case you do not manage to comprehend… you will learn to live with it."
This struck Arya as odd, but she resigned herself to falling in to step with Brom as he escorted her to finally meet the most powerful magicians that the Varden had. Still, she couldn't help but wonder—who were these magicians who bore the title of "twins"?
"I must warn you… The Twins are a flighty pair. Be careful what you say and do around them, for if you are unfortunate enough to do something that offends them… Well, they will take any of your actions in to account in order to try to cause some… problems for you."
Arya heeded this information and stored it in her mind, as she had learned over time that whatever Brom said—especially if it were an observation about people—was something important that she should remember.
"Greetings, Brom."
It came from the shadows of the hallway, and Arya was not quite sure where to look first. Extending her conscious out slowly, she was aware of two minds other than hers and Brom's. Whipping around, she heard the soft rustle of robes as two identical humans walked forward and made their presence known.
The flames from the torches stationed on the walls threw an assortment of shadows everywhere, causing an eerie effect on the faces of the Twins. Their beady eyes were unwelcoming, and they held themselves as if they were royalty—and perhaps they were, considering that many people feared magicians of any sort.
Arya watched as Brom exchanged guarded pleasantries with the Twins. She sensed that he was uneasy, but he did not let any sign of it creep in to his polite voice.
"And this is Arya Drottningu," Brom told the Twins, carefully using her title.
At the same moment, two sets of eyes belonging to the Twins flickered to her. The timed precision of this action made it appear as if they had planned it before hand—but no. Arya was now beginning to discover why exactly they were called the Twins. Not trusting herself to speak, she gave a simple nod in acknowledgement.
"Hello," the Twins said in unison, training their gaze straight on her until she wanted to shrink away from the sight of their eyes. One of them stepped forward, and looked her directly in the eye. "We trust that you are a magician, yes?" he asked.
Arya nodded. She threw a glance toward Brom, and saw that he appeared rather worried.
"Is it in order for us to test your abilities?"
At this point, Arya was exceedingly confused. Why would they, human magicians, feel the need to test her—an elf? It was common knowledge amongst most that even the weakest elf could overpower the strongest human. Though she had to admit it was a conceited thought, Arya believed in this fully. It was this prospect that caused her to respond, "I do not see why you need to."
Her tone was haughty—even she had to acknowledge that fact. From the corner of her eye, she saw Brom throw her a look, one mixed with both apprehension and admiration for her defiance of the Twins.
The Twins cleared their throat at the same time. The one who had taken a step forward proceeded to step back and let the other Twin take his place. "It is in our—and the Varden's—best interest to see what we have to work with. If you do not submit to our testing, we shall not do anything to you—but there will be a sense of distrust. So, if we may now start with an easy task, lift that pebble over there."
The fact that the Twins were underestimating her to the point where they needed to see if she could lift a pebble caused frustration within Arya, though she yielded. With a quiet murmur, she granted the pebble access to the air, and held it there, suspended. All the while, she studied the Twins closely, trying to glean some more information about them—but to no avail.
The Twins continued to set her with more tedious little tasks, and gradually they grew more difficult—yet she still failed to break in to a sweat. Instead, she became more and more annoyed, though she was careful to wrap it behind the mask of her calm, pleasant demeanor of the outside.
"Summon the essence of silver."
This request caught Arya off guard. She stared at the Twins as if they had lost their minds—and indeed, she thought that they did. In truth, part of her had to admit that she was relatively flattered—yet she was still surprised. A little ways off, she heard Brom suck in a large breath of air in shock.
Deciding to put off the task for a little while longer, Arya asked the Twins, "May I ask, can you two summon the essence of silver?" She attempted to make her inquiry in a sweet voice in order to coax the answer from them. Such a coquette, Arya. Stop it, she reprimanded herself mentally.
The Twins regarded her with an unchanging expression. "We asked if you can summon it, elf," one of them said. Through the blunt and sharp way he addressed her as well as how they deflected her question, Arya deduced that no, the Twins could not accomplish the feat. Somehow, this gave her a sense of security—the Twins weren't all powerful.
Stop it! A voice in her mind said. Stop! You aren't particularly talented at summoning essences either.
It was true. Arya still struggled with summoning essences—especially that of silver. It drained her strength too quickly, often leaving her unconscious or unable to lift even a finger. She was not about to let the Twins win, however, and she began to form the words in her mind. She opened her mouth to speak them—
"Stop!"
Her head shot up and she looked around her wildly. From further down the hall, she saw a figure running in her direction. When she saw whom it was, her heart warmed instantly.
Faolin.
"What are you doing?" the male elf roared, and Arya had to wince, as she was not quite sure whether all of his anger was directed at her or the Twins. Brom shifted awkwardly away from the small group, as it was obvious he did not particularly wish to face an angry elf should Faolin's frustrations stray.
"Summoning the essence of silver," Arya responded simply, as if it were obvious.
Faolin sent a glare all around. "You know how dangerous that is!" he snapped, his gray eyes flashing with anger and protectiveness.
"I wouldn't have died, Faolin!" Arya retorted, narrowing her eyes. "I'm not a weak little girl anymore!"
At this point, both the Twins as well as Brom began moving back, as two angry elves were even worse than just one.
Arya was surprised at how Faolin's anger was being directed; normally he was a laid-back type of character. The two halted their words, and continued to simply glare at each other, fighting with their eyes, green and gray. Suddenly, Faolin broke away and stormed down the hall with neither a word nor a glance back.
Something was plainly not right—normally Faolin would have never acted that way. He would have preferred to solve things peacefully—so why was he so uptight?
Arya furrowed her brow in thought as she watched Faolin's retreating figure.
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A/N; -snooze-
Boring, boring, boring.
Dx
Ugh. I'm failing miserablyyy.