In the decade since I first wrote and then later rewrote Sister, Sister, Oh So Fair, I have grown substantially as a writer. Because of that, I considered returning to this story a few years ago, but I never went through with it. With the imminent release of the second Mortal Kombat video game reboot, I decided to return to this story and finally finish it for the people who have continued to read it through the years. Thank you all for your comments and reviews. I truly appreciate all of them.
The main plot of the story remains mostly the same—Kitana and Mileena trying to forge a sisterly relationship—but I have combined parts from all three timelines of Mortal Kombat to craft what is essentially a new story. I hope you all enjoy it.
As always, constructive criticism is appreciated.
I do not own nor do I claim to own NetherRealm Studios, Mortal Kombat, or the characters created by the former.
A soft wind flowed through the diaphanous violet and blue drapes in the Great Hall of the Royal Palace, illuminated by the light of the full moon.
The tranquility of this scene is broken by a woman wailing aloud in the pains of childbirth. Her groans echo throughout the corridors of the Royal Palace. Behind a large rosewood door at the end of the Great Hall, the woman lies on a bed, surrounded by a cadre of midwives. A bearded man, dressed in violet robes, sits on a stool in the corner, away from the women.
The woman heaved a sigh of relief as she is delivered of her child. The infant is taken away by half of the midwives, as the other half remain focused on the mother. A couple of moments pass by before the woman is delivered of her second child. The twins appear to be healthy, hearty girls. The midwives wash and swaddle them before laying them at their mother's breast. The man in the corner stood up and walked toward the bed, gently approaching his wife and their children. He kissed his wife's forehead, moving her unruly black–and–white hair out of her face. They smile at each other as she nursed their twin daughters. After a moment of blissful silence, the man asked a question.
"What shall we name them, Sindel?"
"Oh, Jerrod. . . ." Sindel trailed off. "Do you have any in mind?"
As Jerrod looked at their firstborn daughter held in his wife's left arm, he said, "Mileena."
"Mileena," Sindel repeated to herself. She looked at their secondborn daughter in her right arm, and she said, "Kitana."
"Our daughters."
As is custom for royal births, Lady Olwen, a senior member of the Edenian nobility, read a proclamation to the crowd standing beneath the Royal Palace's balcony.
"On this day, Her Majesty Queen Sindel of Edenia was delivered of twin daughters, Princesses Royal Mileena and Kitana. Her Majesty Queen Sindel and His Majesty King Jerrod wish to thank all of their subjects for their love and well wishes."
Waving to his subjects as Lady Olwen finished reading the proclamation, King Jerrod retired to the Royal Bedchamber with his wife and their newborn daughters.
No one knew that this would be the last time Edenia would know peace.
The twins were not yet a week old when Edenia was invaded by an army from Outworld, led by General Shao, a low–level commander who seized power in a military coup d'état. Although the Edenian Guard tried valiantly to repel Shao and his army, they were outnumbered and eventually overwhelmed. General Shao executed the head of the Edenian Guard, and he and his army proceeded to storm the Royal Palace.
Although there were attempts by the nobility to safely evacuate the Queen and the Princesses from Edenia, Queen Sindel refused to leave her husband at the mercy of mercenaries. Consequently, the Royal Family was captured by General Shao, who saw an opportunity to seize even more power. He ordered the execution of the Royal Family in order to fully usurp the Throne of Edenia, but he was persuaded to spare Sindel and their daughters by King Jerrod, who offered himself instead.
From the barred window of her prison cell, Sindel witnessed Jerrod's execution by beheading. On the following day, she was forced into a marriage with General Shao. Although she was heartbroken by the loss of the love of her life, Sindel rallied herself to protect her daughters from Shao as best as she could.
Having usurped the Throne of Edenia, Shao had himself crowned Kahnum, or Emperor, of Outworld, annexing Edenia in the process. However, this was not enough power for the megalomaniacal Shao. He began consulting with his army on plans to invade and annex Earthrealm, thus bringing all realms together under his iron fist. When she learned of these plans, Sindel began to despair, but then she realized she might have the power to save Earthrealm. Could she do it? Should she do it? Would she do it?
She made her choice.
No one else would suffer this fate.
With all of the magic within her, Sindel cast a spell to create a barrier over Earthrealm, which Shao and his army could not penetrate. Since she gave all of herself into casting the spell, Sindel died in the process, but she died knowing Earthrealm would be safe.
Shao Kahn was enraged by his bride's betrayal, but he had an even more pressing issue at hand. What was he supposed to do with Sindel and Jerrod's twin daughters? He was not their father, nor did he want to be. However, surviving members of the Edenian nobility tried to persuade him to spare the twins, raise them as his own daughters, and have an heiress to the throne. After he thought about it, Shao Kahn agreed. Mileena and Kitana would be raised as his daughters, Princesses Royal of Outworld, with Mileena as his heiress apparent, due to the fact she was born first. They would know nothing of their real father, and their mother would be a distant, albeit tragic, figure, who died in childbirth.
As Mileena and Kitana grew up, they were trained as both martial artists and proper Princesses. Kitana was specifically raised to protect Mileena at all costs, along with their friend, Jade, the daughter of a high–ranking member of the Outworld Guard. The sisters were identical twins, but they differentiated themselves as individuals in style, among other things. Kitana preferred the innocence and simplicity of the color blue, while Mileena believed violet suited her status as a Princess Royal and future Empress.
They were undyingly loyal to their father, Shao Kahn, who raised the twins with an unfeeling hand. Although they did not know affection from their father, Mileena and Kitana were both considered kind and loving girls, who grew into compassionate and caring young women. They were beloved by the people of Outworld. However, shortly after their eighteenth birthday, Mileena began acting uncharacteristically, which concerned Kitana. She was growing more aggressive and impulsive, as well as prone to bouts of serious anger. Unbeknownst to the sisters, Mileena had been intentionally infected with Tarkata, a rarely fatal, but life–altering disease, on Shao's orders, in an attempt to ensure her absolute loyalty to him. As a child, Mileena had an impulsive streak, but her aggression and impulsivity grew to the point that members of Outworld nobility called on Kitana to replace her sister as heiress to the Throne of Outworld in an effort to preserve stability. Kitana disregarded the nobility, and she pledged her loyalty to Mileena, despite her own concerns about her sister's recent behavior.
As the Princesses gave an official address on the ongoing Mortal Kombat Tournament between Outworld and Earthrealm in which their father was competing, Mileena constantly interrupted Kitana, mocked her tone, and forcibly ended the address early after she perceived a slight on Kitana's end. Pushing her hurt feelings aside, Kitana followed Mileena's lead, finished the address, and waved to the crowd of Outworlders below the balcony of the Royal Palace before she and Mileena withdrew into the Sitting Room.
"What happened, Mileena?" Kitana asked. "Did I do something wrong?"
"'Did I do something wrong?'" Mileena mocked. "You know what you did."
"No, I don't," Kitana insisted. "Tell me."
"Not only did you begin the address, you practically gave it all by yourself, and then you ended it. Why was I even there?"
"I'm sorry, Mileena," Kitana said. "I didn't intend for you to feel unneeded."
"Who said I felt 'unneeded,' Kitana?" Mileena snapped.
"Mileena. . . ." Kitana trailed off as Mileena continued.
"You only want what is mine," Mileena said. In a huff, Mileena walked out of the Sitting Room, but Kitana followed close behind, down the Great Hall.
"What do you mean?"
With a heel turn, Mileena answered, "Don't feign ignorance. It's beneath you. I've heard the calls from the nobility. They want you as Empress, not me. That's what you want, too."
"That's the farthest thing from the truth."
Raising her hands to strike her sister, Mileena reins herself in after she sees the fear in Kitana's eyes. What was she doing? This was not at all like her. Mileena would never even think of harming Kitana, yet here she was, ready to attack her for a perceived insult. She lowers her hands, and Kitana lowers hers. Mileena begins to apologize, but she is interrupted when the bells toll from atop the Royal Palace. What was happening?
Without any notice, Mileena and Kitana were swiftly taken away by their attendants, who escorted them to the foyer of the Royal Palace. As the bells tolled, Mileena asked, aggravated, "What are you doing?"
One of her advisers said, "There is an important announcement from Earthrealm."
"What?"
Before one of her advisers could answer her, Mileena and Kitana are directed to walk out to the courtyard, where they are surprised by the appearance of Raiden, the Protector of Earthrealm, who serves as its representative in the Mortal Kombat Tournament. He walks toward the Princesses, who respectfully bow to him as he does the same.
"Your Highnesses," Raiden greeted the sisters.
"Master Raiden," Kitana greeted him.
Despite her decorum, Mileena smiled subtly, as she expected Raiden to inform the Princesses that Outworld had defeated Earthrealm in the Tournament.
"What is your announcement, Master Raiden?" Kitana asked.
"Has Earthrealm been defeated?" Mileena interjected.
"On the contrary," Raiden began. "Liu Kang, the Warrior for Earthrealm, defeated your father, Shao Kahn, Emperor of Outworld, in the Tournament of Mortal Kombat. As its representative, I am here to announce that Earthrealm has defeated Outworld."
As she felt a sense of dread rise within her, Mileena asked, "What?"
"Your father, Shao Kahn, Emperor of Outworld, was executed by Liu Kang, the Champion of Mortal Kombat, at the conclusion of the Tournament, keeping with tradition."
In shock, Kitana held her hands over her mouth, but Mileena stood as still as a statue. Her father was executed by Liu Kang? That could not be. He was the executor, not the executed. Raiden was lying. He had to be. No one could defeat her father, let alone some unknown Shaolin monk–warrior from Earthrealm. This was not happening. Was it?
As tears trickled down her face, Mileena closed her eyes firmly as the bells continued to toll. The world—the ground below her, the sky above her, and even the bells toll, toll, tolling the death of her father—faded away. Reality did not feel real anymore. It came crashing back to her as her subjects began to bend their knee in allegiance to their new sovereign.
"The Emperor is dead," Outworlders proclaimed. "Long live the Empress!"