Red eyes glowed within the darkness of the throne room as the beast waited. His establishment in this realm had been a great victory. With ease, he had manipulated the Abyssal Plane and now, under his control, thousands of women resided in its seclusion, including his precious darlings.... His porcelain dolls.
Somewhere, hidden in the shadows, a glimpse of silver flickered and then the soft tinkling of bells floated upon the still air. Child-like giggling surrounded the beast and soon two young girls, in their early teens, stepped forth.
"Rexie woke me up," one girl commented, rubbing sleep from her eyes before climbing into the beasts lap.
"Did you call for us?" the other girl stood before the throne, hugging a doll to her small bosom. Two chocolate-black braids fell on either side of the child's small face, entwined with gold and silver beads. It was here that the sweet tinkling of music came.
"I did, Precious," he rumbled, cradling one twin in the crook of his right arm. It was astonishing how much she resembled the doll her sister clutched.
"Leilania! Did Rexie wake you up, too?" The child, who had been curled up in the beast's lap, ran to her sister, pouting as she looked at her twin's doll. "I forgot Ocaylla."
The beast had watched in silence as Cailania rushed to her twin's side, hugging her tight and giving her a small kiss on the cheek. Leaning forward, his red eyes flared slightly and the silver claws upon his large wings glinted. For one watching, fear for the children's welfare would have gripped their heart.
"Why did Rexie wake us up?" one girl asked, her large brown eyes looking up at the beast. The other child pondered the question for a moment and then also asked.
"I have someplace I would like you to visit, my Precious Dolls." The beast answered, beckoning the twins to come to him.
Following her sister's stare, she looked upon Syrius and then blinked slowly. Some place to visit? The girl thought for a moment and then tilted her head before speaking.
"Will there be boys there to play with?" she asked with innocence and then continued, "Cailania and I like to play with boys."
The smile that now touched the girls' lips held a bit more than purity. Skipping to the beast, they crawled into his lap. In the dim light of the throne room, silver and gold seemed to glitter in the eyes that turned up to him.
"Of course, there will be boys to play with. I want my Precious Dolls to be happy, and I know how happy you are when you play with boys," his grin was sharp and he held the girls as if they would break. A single claw from one hand reached to draw back hair from their faces. "It is a party. Two brothers will be there. Very nice boys." His red eyes became black then as he gazed at each of them.
"A party," Leilania's radiant smile grew and her gaze moved to her sister. "Cailania, we get to dress like princesses again," she giggled and tilted her cheek into the beasts gentle touch.
Cailania giggled as well and cuddled closer against the beast.
Laughter and music filled the Kluift Manor that eve as family and friends celebrated the Kluift Twins coming of age. Lady Evylin and Lord Darrus, the boys' parents, had great plans for their darlings. Now that the children were old enough, they would take their place on the ruling council of Hambil and help free their nation of 'The Morroc', which had shadowed their lives. No one seemed to understand the disease that plagued their realm any more than the Twins did; yet, through dreams, the couple seemed to have a strange sense of awareness that no other could obtain. It was the Councils hope, that the Twins could shed light on the problem and eventually rid their lives of the taint.
"Hourderve?" a server held a platter of cheese, vegetables, meats, and breads before Leilania and her sister.
Plucking a couple of pieces of cheese from the silver tray, she smiled sweetly to the man and thanked him.
Turning, her soft gold and silver gown shimmered and swayed about her delicate body.
"Have you seen them yet, Cai?" she whispered while nibbling on a bit of cheese.
Cailania mirrored her twin's action, plucking a couple pieces of cheese from the tray. She wore the same exact dress as did her beloved sister. Turning around, her near black hair shimmererd under the brilliant lights and swayed slightly, causing the tiny beads that decorated her hair to tinkle softly.
"MMmmMMMmmm," Cailainia responded, shaking her head.
Nibbling on a piece of cheese, she gave a shy, sweet smile to an older gentleman that passed and gazed at the two girls. A shy wave accompanied the smile.
"It's pretty here," she said softly, looking at the decorations and the home in general.
A tiny frown turned Leilania's beautiful lips as her sister nibbled at the cheese. The boys should have been easy to pick out. It was THEIR party after all.
"Maybe something's happened," Lei whispered softly as she played with one of the braids that fell down the side of her face.
"Do you think, maybe, we're at the wrong place?" She continued. Her dark gaze reflected the crystal lights from the chandelier as she looked about the crowded room. It was a pretty room. Leilania had never really seen anything like it before, not in person anyway. She and Cai had often imagined being princesses in such a place, but never before had they been surrounded by such eloquence.
The frown that had decorated Leilania's pretty lips now formed on Cailania's. Finishing her small bit of cheese, she looked around for the boys. Hopefully, nothing had happened to them. No one had asked the girls where they were from or who they belonged to. Therefore, nothing could have gone wrong.
It was like a mirror was in the room when the twin sisters stood next to each other. Each motion was mimicked perfectly.The tiny beads Cailania's hair tinkled softly as she shook her head.
Her voice was soft, sweet, "No. Syrius would never make us go to the wrong place. He likes us too much. And he promised." A slight pout formed on her lips. "He never breaks promises."
"No," A pout began to form on Leilania's delicate lips as well, "He would never break his promise."
The girl sighed a bit as she brushed a beaded braid from the tangle of hair over her sister's shoulder. As if suddenly realizing something, her pout turned upwards.
"I know," she spun around, searching for a door or an exit, "I bet they are in another room, Cai."
The gold and silver in her dark eyes sparkled as they settled on a grand stair case, "A place where it isn't so noisy."
"Where it isn't so noisy," repeated the twin sister as she spun around the same way as Leilania.
Her pouty lips became a sweet, angelic smile as her eyes darted to find where the boys could possibly be.
"Where though?" She asked softly. "Upstairs?"
Then, she blinked. "What if they're shy? Do you think they saw us and got shy?"
It brought a giggle to her lips at the thought.