Chapter Text
Act 2: First prelude – A new face
(em)I'm crazy, you're crazy – perfect friendship." – Unknown(/em)
Leo, a young man with blond hair and brown eyes, looked out of the window, behind which a beautiful park could be seen. The young man sat on a chair at a very long dining table in the middle of the large dining room. He had his arms resting on the table and was leaning back in his chair. Opposite him stood a young woman with brown waist-length hair and gray eyes, who was looking at the young man intently.
“Why now of all times?” she asked with a smile on her face.
“Why not now?” Leo replied.
“Until now, it seemed as if you didn't want me here yet,” was the answer he got, which made him smile slightly.
“It was his idea,” he said.
“Not only his,” the young woman noted.
She was still smiling, which made her conversation partner feel somewhat uneasy. The young woman crossed her arms in front of her chest while he continued to stare at her curiously. He wondered what exactly she had done to make Elara so afraid of her. After all, she had kept the young woman imprisoned in an underground dungeon for some time and had guards from the House of Arven posted to watch over her. Apart from that, she was still alive, which was strange. After all, the queen was not exactly known for letting her enemies live.
“So, what exactly will happen to me afterwards?” asked the young woman, who now let her gaze drift out of the window.
“You will regain your freedom,” explained the young man, whose gaze was still fixed on the young woman.
“And who says you'll stick to your part of the deal?” the young woman pressed further, now looking back at the young man and scrutinizing him with a questioning gaze.
“Giving you something in writing is too dangerous,” Leo replied.
“That's wonderful for you. After all, you could end up disputing everything,” the young woman commented on the whole situation.
She went over to the table and sat down on one of the chairs. Leo looked at the young woman before turning his gaze back to the window. He sat up straight and pulled his legs back toward him. He folded his hands, his eyebrows furrowing thoughtfully as his thoughts reorganized themselves in his head. He understood why she wanted to play it safe. The last queen had not only thrown her in the dungeon, but had also been in her head. The new king, on the other hand, had simply left her in the dungeon, but he had reduced the number of guards. Apart from that, the new queen was not exactly easy to deal with, even though neither Maven nor Evangeline knew why the young woman had been in the dungeon.
“I guess you have a clear idea of what we can do to earn your trust, right?” Leo asked, still looking out the window, with a questioning undertone.
“Of course, but I don't think you'll like it,” said the young woman, who now put her feet up on the table and looked at her conversation partner with an amused expression.
“I was afraid of that,” said Leo, whose gaze now shifted back to the young woman. “And what exactly is your idea?”
"Since I have the same goals as you to a certain extent anyway, I'm almost there. However, I'm out as soon as I've achieved that," she explained as she leaned back in her chair so that it was on its tip.
“That simple?” Leo asked, confused.
He had expected that he would have to do more persuading, even though his father assumed that this would not be necessary. His father assumed that the young woman would be so grateful for her rescue that she would help them without hesitation. Apart from that, she hadn't seen anyone for years, except for the queen who had visited her sporadically, so his father had assumed that she would want to show her gratitude for being allowed to be among people again. Leo himself had not assumed this, which now seemed to be correct.
“Of course, it's not that simple,” replied the young woman, who now sat up straight again and crossed her legs. “I want to choose my own people.”
“You want to choose your own people?” Leo repeated in surprise.
"Don't worry about that," she said.
“What makes you so sure that you can rely on these Silvers?” was the young man's next question.
“Who said anything about Silvers?” asked the young woman with a mysterious smile on her face.
*
The next morning, Leo watched his guest, who seemed to be helping herself heartily to breakfast. It looked as if she hadn't eaten in ages and didn't seem to know when to stop. Silently, he sat down at the table with her, helped himself to some food, and sank back into his thoughts. He wondered what exactly she had seen that had earned her such a punishment. For him, there was no question that it had something to do with the death of Coraine Jacos. In his opinion, the timing was just perfect. He doubted that the young woman had spent the past twenty years in prison. Moreover, it seemed to have protected her from a direct assassination attempt by Elara. It was too tragic that he could not ask Julian Jacos or Sara Skonos about it.
“...o? Leo?” He was torn from his thoughts.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I asked if it's always this quiet here,” the young woman repeated her question.
“If you mean that hardly anyone is seen or heard here, you're mistaken,” he said.
“I've noticed that one of you is following me,” she replied before picking up her cup of tea and taking a sip.
“You noticed that?” he asked in surprise.
“Of course I noticed,” she commented, “You're not exactly inconspicuous.”
The young man looked up from his plate at the young woman and scrutinized her. His family was good at operating in the shadows and remaining inconspicuous. If this were not the case, they would not still be in their current position of power. After all, they were a powerful family that had once ruled Norta, even if they had long since lost that claim. Apart from that, they were still related to many influential families. The Twin family currently has 325 members, all of whom were well married and held good positions without causing too much of a stir. Leo knew that his father, as head of the Twin family, was very careful about this; after all, he had a plan and would not be so foolish as to jeopardize it in any way.
“If you know we're watching you, why haven't you done anything about it?” Leo asked her.
“Who says I haven't already?” she replied.
He looked at the young woman with a furrowed brow before saying, “Have you?”
The young woman stopped loading her plate and looked up before answering his question: “You didn't just get me out of prison because there's something I know. It's also because I was in the war.”
“When were you in the war, please?” asked the young man, snorting.
The look on her face became serious, which surprised him. It was the first time he had seen her with an expression other than a grin or a smile. The young woman had always been in a good mood, and nothing seemed to be able to dampen her spirits. Now, however, she was surrounded by an aura of bad mood. Her expression became grim, her eyes darkened, and she seemed lost in thought. He almost felt sorry that he seemed to be reminding her of an unpleasant time.
“I'm sorry...,” he began.
“It was bloody. More than anything else,” she interrupted him. “You can be glad you were never sent that far.”
Leo swallowed and then asked, “How old were you then?”
“Old enough to end up there and young enough to know that children shouldn't be there,” she said soberly.
“I didn't know you were on the front lines,” he muttered to himself.
“Your father knows,” she replied, which made him fly into a rage.
“He knows about it?” he asked, more to himself than to her.
At that moment, he could have slapped himself. Of course, Victor Twin knew about it, which wasn't really surprising. This man was full of secrets and bitterness, he thought to himself. The fact that she was at the front was most likely the other reason why Victor wanted to have the young woman in his hands. That and whatever she seemed to know about Elara, Leo thought to himself before sitting back down in his chair and looking at the young woman again. He now understood why his father wanted her to lead the armed forces. Although his children would be a good choice with their abilities, the young woman with her experience was definitely the better choice.
“Of course he knows about it,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
“Was my father really on the front lines?” he now wanted to know from her.
“He was,” she assured him.
“He never said he knew you from there, Clara,” he said to her after they had been silent for a while.
“That doesn't surprise me,” she said in a dry voice.
“Nothing surprises you anymore, does it?” he asked her.
“Not really, after what I've been through,” Clara explained, shrugging her shoulders.
A knock at the door interrupted them before either of them could say anything else. A middle-aged man with dark blond hair and green eyes entered. His hair was cut short, and he wore dark purple and black clothing, identifying him as a member of the House of Twin. Even though he had a few wrinkles on his face, you couldn't tell his age.
There's a new message from your friend,” he said in a deep voice.
“Thanks, Iago,” said Leo, who took the message.
The older man nodded and left the room, leaving Leo to read the encrypted message. A smile formed on Leo's face, causing Clara to raise her eyebrows questioningly. It looked like he and his siblings now had another ally. Now they just had to make sure their father didn't find out. Apart from that, they had to make sure no one else found out either. At least not yet, the young man thought to himself.
“Good news?” Clara asked him.
“You could say that,” he confirmed.
“You could say that?” she asked.
“Well, I have another meeting I have to attend, so I have to leave now,” Leo explained to the young woman, who was now looking at him questioningly.
“I don't think you should go alone,” she replied.
“And why do you think that?” he asked curiously.
“My gut feeling, and it has never let me down before,” she explained to him.
“Never before?” was the next question.
“I was in the dungeon, right?” she asked rhetorically.
“You have a point there,” Leo agreed.
“So who are we meeting?” she asked.
“We?” Leo asked.
“Of course I'll come with you,” said Clara.
“And how do you plan to get rid of them?” he asked curiously.
“Oh, don't worry about that. I have experience with that,” she commented with a grin.
“I don't want to know any more details, do I?” he muttered to himself.
“No, you don't,” she confirmed.