danger

"Although I have to say," Sitala voiced rigidly, "With your two sisters gaining their powers on the exact night, I fear we may need to be prepared to fight sooner rather than later." Win gave her a perplexed look. What could possibly happen to rapidly accelerate the timeline? Sitala saw the confused look in the young woman's chestnut eyes, so she continued.

"As you already know, when a Serfay gains their powers, a strong energy is sent out into the world, one that even humans can detect." Winema was still confused as to where her aunt was pointing at.

"When both of your sisters receive their powers, that energy will flow exponentially stronger, alerting all our enemies of a new Serfay in the world." She hoped she didn't have to keep going as to why this was dangerous for the sisters, but Winema was always cautious.

"Why would that matter?" Win asked confused, "Won't the spell on this castle prevent that energy from being seen by anyone? And plus, our people do believe we're dead, it is not like that 'king' would know it's the Whybella twins." She knew that the kingdom thought the Whybella family was long dead. She felt sad knowing she had to conceal the truth from her people, them thinking their beloved and gracious princesses had been horrifically slain.

"Just because this castle is sealed from the world, doesn't mean the magic from it is kept inside. And for your second question, two separate Serfays gaining their powers on the same night is almost unheard of. The last time any two Serfays received their powers on the same night, let alone twins, were hundreds upon hundreds of years ago, long before modern logging was created." She looked at Win to make sure she was keeping along. The girl is very intelligent. It's going above her head as to why this information isn't sticking to her.

Winema looked her in the eye and gave her a silent nod. She was starting to figure out what could happen, and she wasn't too happy about it. "When the twins send their powerful energies into the world, any person will be confused as to why two separate Serfay's got their powers together." This reality is starting to sink into Winema like quicksand. As a lady, she kept her composure, but her mind was running wild at the thought of the presence of her and her sisters being known.

"Once that retched 'king' realizes no known being got their powers together, he will suspect something is amiss." Along with Winema, Sitala too is keeping her composure, fear also jolting her heart. She had failed to protect her siblings many years ago, she will not fail their children as well.

"Although that stupid man won't realize that you five might be alive, the seed will be planted into his head." Winema needed to think about how to best protect her siblings, "He will start to snoop around and find information, and if he gets any confirmation you five are still well and alive, he won't stop terrorizing our kingdom until he has your heads."

Winema sat there for a moment, not knowing what to do with all of this information. With the ball in just one week, they will not have a lot of time to prepare and defend themselves against an imminent attack. If anyone were to truly start looking for any traces of their life, they needed to start silencing all those outside this castle who knew of their existence, but how?

"You mustn't tell your sisters about this. This will scare them to hell and back." She knew this was a hard ask from Winema. She knew how curious siblings could be, as she used to be that little curious sibling. The queen would always tell her and their brother of all the things that were happening in the kingdom, even if the information was meant to be a tip-top secret. She knew the Whybella sisters shared this same dynamic, but for this once, she prayed Winema would understand her point.

"Understood." Winema agreed. She knew how dire this situation could get. Making her sisters fearful of an event that might not even happen was a ludicrous idea. She'll just keep them out on an alert, as they always should be.

"I will keep them prepared at all times. We should have been prepared for any sort of attack, but I will instill this deeper into them." Win knew of the danger that could threaten her family, as did everyone else in the castle. The spell cast on the walls of this fortress did alleviate the fears of the occupants inside, sometimes letting their guard down, thinking the coast is clear.

"Good, I'm glad we can agree on this." No one can know what will happen in the future, but they can always prepare to tackle the future no matter what it may be. She only wished that she could have been more prepared on the night of her sister's demise.

"Before I leave Madam," Winema started to ask. Sitala raised an eyebrow, waiting for what was to be said. "may I ask you a question?"

"It depends on what that question is." She had a sinking feeling she knew what question was about to be asked.

"Who is the man who killed my parents?"

Sitala's frown grew deeper.