>>6054327Elle stares at you in horror for a long moment, her lips forming silent words. “I'm sorry, what?” she manages at last, “Your father locked you both up? For... for how long?”
“It wasn't long. A few months, perhaps,” you shake your head, “We didn't make it easy on him. For a few days, we managed to sneak messages to one another – one of the servants helped us. But when my father found out, he had her dismissed. Not long after that, he had us both sent away. I went to Coral House, and Gratia went to the Distaff. At first, I held out hope that some day, I would see her in town but... I never did.”
“I wonder if I met her at all...” Elle thinks aloud to herself, “Um, what did she look like?”
“Like me. Silver hair, she always wore it long, and silver eyes. She was always slender... delicate,” you recall, surprised at just how painful it is to picture her face in your mind, “That was a long time ago, but she wouldn't have changed. I know she wouldn't.”
Elle tilts her head slightly, studying your own features with curious eyes. “I'm sorry for asking you this,” she pauses awkwardly, “Were you... twins?”
Even as she asks this question, you can see that she already knows the answer. “A bad omen from the moment we were born,” you say with a humourless laugh, “I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that things turned out the way they did.”
Elle first puts her hand on your shoulder, then her arms around you in a cautious, chaste embrace. “You're not a curse,” she whispers, “Omens don't decide our fate.”
“Funny thing for an oracle to say, isn't it?” you murmur back. Elle laughs silently, the tremor running through her body as she pulls back from you. Tears shimmer in her eyes as she looks up at your face, only to hastily turn away and dab her eyes with a handkerchief.
“I think...” she stammers, “I think we should go and see if Master Seidel needs any help in the kitchen, don't you?”
>That sounds like an excellent idea. Let's go>There's something I have to say first... (Write in)>Other 