Witch Twins L – Dream and Nightmare
魔女の双子L・夢と悪夢
Authors Note:
This story takes place before the twins meet with Ace and the Romaria. In the Kingdom of Syrvana, where they were persecuted and sold as slaves to eventually land in Amarante South Orphanage.
People when under great stressed or is relieved from that very stress tend to get dream… or nightmares. Tonight I was experiencing both at the same time.
I knew it was a dream because, I was standing at a familiar place… a place I know I can’t return to. “Ah! This place, I have been here before” My thoughts let out from my own mouth.
The familiar place was a vineyard. It had 10 rows of Grenache Grapes vines. The fruits were gone as it was already harvested a few Moons prior. Some of the leaves had turned orange due to the cold.
As I ran towards the vineyard to have a closer look at the place, something painful yet strangely soothing hits me. “What a nostalgic place, I know this place…”
Right this place is where I used to live. Just past these alleys should be our house… “No, I don’t want to be here.”
Even though I said those words, strangely enough my feet kept on moving towards that nostalgic house, as if it longed for it.
“Len!” The voice came from Ran, my older sister. She apparently was looking for me. “It’s time for breakfast, what are you doing outside.”
“Ran, did you find Len?” the second voice that came after my sister sends a familial chill to my bone. It was husky, just hearing it made my heart all warm.
“Papa, get this he was outside. What was this guy thinking?”
“Ara, what were you thinking going outside, it is especially cold today since it is almost winter.” Another familial voice chimed in. It was silken and motherly.
The voices did not belong to Mama Anna and Papa Heid. Right, they belong to my –our lost parents Estuna and Albertos Dryshel.
“Mama! Papa!” Upon catching their image, I ran towards them as if my feet could not contain it anymore the longing and for all familial reasons, tears flowed down my eyes…
“Ara, did you get stung by the chills?” mama comforts me with her warm embrace. The warmth was so reminiscent it made me want to stay their foever.
“It is not that cold outside, you know?” I could see my older sister Ran pouting at my childish gesture.
“There is no need to be jealous Ran. Horya!” and as soon as my father saw my older sister’s pout, he then grabs her and embraces her from behind.
Right, before we were adopted by Mama Anna and Papa Heid, we had a loving family, and this is where me and my sister’s story began.
*****
The kingdom we used to live in was named Syrvana, a monarchy ruled by the same family for thousands of years and lies to the south-eastern most of the Jade Continent.
This particular kingdom greatly forbids interaction with other kingdoms. This in just poor communication with other kingdoms, this prohibition is to the point of detesting entry to foreigners. While independence of a kingdom from foreign elements is not too bad. The kingdom of Syrvana is ruled by a tyrant which made the lack of interaction worse. Due to that lack of connection to the outside world and tyranny from its king, this kingdom for lack of better words, is poor.
But despite being poor, my sister and I were happy living with our loving house mother, Estuna and hardworking brewer father, Albertos. There was nothing more we could hope and wish for as long as we are together.
However, it would seem that fate had another course for us. It was during our sixth birthday when some news started to spread like wildfire to our small village. This very news sent my father and mother in a frenzy.
“Len, Ran do you want to travel to the east?” the night before that very fateful incident our mother asked us a very peculiar question. “It would be like a long vacation.”
Truthfully, the change in both papa and mama’s countenance scared me… even my usually dense sister Ran noticed this sensation and could only nod in approval. No questions asked, both of us started to pack our things.
But… we were never able to leave.
“Open up, Albertos we know you are harboring a Witch! Get her out!” just when we were about to head for the back door a crowd came banging at our front door.
Yes, this was the news that spread like wildfire: a widespread Witch Hunt was instigated by the kingdom.
‘Witch’ is a term referring to the resulting offspring of a HUMA and an ELVEN. Many people considered this a taboo, Syrvana held it especially sacrilegious. HUMA and ELVEN have been enemies since time immemorial and their copulation is said to be banned in many kingdoms, this is especially the case for the foreigner hating Syrvana. Our father who is very open-minded however had loved our mother and hid her identity from everyone.
With no way to resist, the mob had captured, tried, and presumed us guilty. We would later find out that our mother was burned at the stake for being a Witch and our father was impaled to set as an example for those who would copulate with the ELVEN Origins, or their half-Offspring known as Witches.
For mere six-year-old children we could not understand why our parents had to die. But the two of us knew by instinct that we are now alone and should always be together for better or for worse.
As Quarter-ELVENS or you could say Half-Witches, we should have also met the same fate as our mother, but for whatever fortune, some greedy slave traders immediately sold us to the richest bidder who longs for unique bloodlines that spared our lives at the least.
The slave traders then sold us off to kingdom of Levantis, but this is where slave traders’ luck turned bad. The king who had recently ascended the thrown had despised slavery enacted an edict and routed the traders. This action had saved the enslaved children... had saved us. We were then sent to orphanage across Levantis. Both me and my sister had been sent to a small town… the town known as Amarante.
During our stay in Amarante with the good will from the king we would have been placed for adoption. There have been many couples who wanted a child for adoption, however since we are older it has been decided that we will be separated. There were just no couples in this modern day that would adopt two older children. Needless to say, we never got adopted.
Years passed by a change of orphanage director had greatly reduced our chances and due to the orphanage’s financial problem we were then used for many minor crimes: ransacking or setting houses on fire amongst others. They were especially on to us since they had found our weakness of not wanting to be separated and used that to blackmail us into doing those dirty deeds.
The physical abuse… the torments of destroying other peoples’ livelihood… No, I don’t want to be in here…
“I don’t want to be here.” I want to wake up; I want to see mama and papa.
“Len… Len…” then I woke up.
“Sorry to wake you up, but you were having a bad dream so…” The dream and the nightmare ended and now I am in paradise with Mama Anna’s Embrace.
“Crying again. Just like a child.” I also saw the same tears from my sister but was too obstinate to notice.
“Hahaha, you don’t have to be jealous Ran.” she too was in the warm embrace of Papa Heid.
How nostalgic. Mama Estuna, Papa Albertos we are fine and will live for the both of you as well together with this loving couple.