Chapter 1. Times of Change

Chapter 1. Times of Change

  “Seraphina,” It was the youngest twin, Sephora, who spoke.  It was early morning and the sisters’ were getting ready to head down to the kitchen for breakfast so Sephora was sitting in front of an ornate, twisting, vanity table made with dark wood combing her long black straight hair. “We turn 18 next week! Isn’t it exciting?” Her beautiful, pale, icy blue eyes held nothing but the pure excitement of an innocent child. Glimmering with possibilities, she beamed brightly at her older twin sister.

***

  It was only by their eyes that the twins could be told apart at all. In every other way, they were identical. As harpy twins who had hatched from the same small clutch of eggs, they had been expected to be identical in every way. Yet, their eyes were wildly opposite. 

Much to Queen Nox's despair. 

Sephora had the old and king harpy King's eyes. Yet, she and her sister never really knew her father. He died while they were still so very young.  

For children in the Raven Clan of the Harpies, youth to maturity had the unusual feature of maturity where a child’s eyes would usually be extremely bright while young, and deeply darken with maturity. The difference could be so great in colors; sometimes from white, icy-blue, to yellow, orange, and even red to the sought-after brown or onyx black eyes.

The darker the eyes the more beautiful the raven.

This was also the same expectation held for hair, although this did not change from the time they were hatchlings. The skin of harpies, usually nobles and royals, was usually fair as fresh snow...or the bones of a clean-picked corpse.

Nonetheless, these were what was held to be the epitome of Raven Harpy beauty,

Anything else was imperfect.

Sephora was imperfect. 

 

Her icy blue-white eyes had never darkened as she aged. 

The imperfect princess.

All the while, Queen Nox embodied these raven beauty qualities perfectly and entirely!

As the children from her only clutch ever laid, the twins were regarded as highly sought-after treasures by all eligible nobles from the Raven Clan, for a successfully negotiated mating. For years Queen Nox had refused to guarantee either her daughter's hands to anyone male.

To any male, of any Clan and instead had used her children, their beauty and pedigree like it were a carrot stick.

Affirming that they would have a chance for her girls to choose the pedigree of their own mate, and thus of their children as their suitors of preference were known, - her daughters had been used as political carrots being dangled, so close but out of reach, all of their lives without knowing.

  Not only that but the Raven Queen held that naturally intimidating and deadly aura. A femme is fatal for the ages. As gentle and beautiful as an iron rose, but twice as cold. "The Iron Rose," was a nickname given to her by a distant harpy clan, and it had stuck. One that she prided herself on.

For males of the Raven, Harpie this same beauty standard was fully expected. Dark hair. Dark Wings. Dark eyes. Fair skin... but it was something very rarely seen in females of their Raven Harpy Clan.

It was known that females of the Hawk and Owl Clans certainly held more intimidating and dominating presences more often. That was the nature of their clan’s DNA.     

*** 

Simply, Seraphina rolled her board midnight black eyes at her sister's whimsical and childish words.

For once they held no hint of warmth for her younger sister but contempt. Seraphina, as always considered her response more measurable than her sister, Sephora's outburst. “It will be one grand affair after another. For weeks, over these next few weeks. I suppose that much is true and I'll do my best duty to enjoy it before I'm mated... you should do the same, Sister.” Seraphina gazed at her sister’s exposed black wings, which draped to the floor while she sat, not wanting to meet her sister's eager countenance. At least, not directly and the mirror allowed for a proxy.

Those wings were identical to her own so she couldn’t help but think, You’re going to get the bottom of your wings dirty, sister!! Mother will kill you for being imperfect, today!

While Sephora couldn't hear her, she followed her sister's gaze to her wings and raised them, and adjusted her posture, "It's not like I'm the perfect sister anyway. Not that you would understand. You are the favorite." 

Seraphina reached over to take her black and intricate breastplate off of a bust that wore it when she did not. 

The raven twins knew each other too well. Even without meeting each other’s eyes, they usually had a keen sense when something was wrong with each other.

While Seraphina attempted to mask her anxiety and resistance with boredom, Sephora couldn’t drop the feeling that there was more to her attitude. Her gut was usually right on these things after all.

Sephora tried to keep her attitude positive and her enthusiasm up despite her sister being chilly to the touch of today's so important and pressing subject.

  Even as twins, the sisters could fight but it rarely meant anything. There was never anything of so much importance as to hold a raven’s grudge against one another.

"No," Seraphina snapped, going back to fastening her breastplate over her dress, so that the ensemble came together, "You aren't the perfect sister. How could you possibly understand how I feel today? Mother's favorite, you have no idea what that's like. What today and the coming weeks will be like, for me."

Sephora nearly fell off of her seat at the dark dressing table, as she turned as fast as the wind at her sister's words. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were incredulous. Daring her sister to repeat her words.

After a moment of silence, Sephora finally replied, “How?! How can you say that? We will finally be adults and get to decide who will be our betrothed… our mate for life! If we’ll get to live at one of the other Harpy Clans - if we even want to… you know..." The youngest sister tried to bring back the light-heartedness of sisterly conversation, using the main topic of gossip she had come to learn.

Seraphina's words were sharp and they had cut her where she knew it would hurt but Sephora tried to dismiss this and pressed on lightly, "I heard the Peacock Harpy Clan have a bolder son that’s eligible and actually considering coming to one of the eligible balls. I've never even seen a Peacock harpy before, never mind met one.” Sephora raised her eyebrows twice teasingly, Attempting a cooky grin,

“I know mother is so serious about, ‘Royal and noble duty,’ to carry on the lineage but isn’t it fun to think about all the amazing parties that are finally going to be thrown in our castle for this?” For the youngest twin was fully dressed, ready and even eager to attend. She flopped back onto her sisters' dark couch, still keeping her jetblack wings raised. 

Erupting in loud and squawking laughter, at the mere notion of a member of the Peacock Clan being so bold to daringly attempt to court them, “Hahaha, little sister you are so precious sometimes, little sister.” Seraphina’s abdomen tightened painfully with so much laughter. She placed a hand on her stomach and one on the light-grey walls with wooden paneling. 

Thankfully, her breastplate was not fastened and in place. 

In an instant, Seraphina’s demeanor entirely changed, “You assume mother would really allow you to marry a Peacock?” All cheer had now drained from her face. A crueler streak emerged, “You are really stupid if you think so Sephora.” She held a sharp and serious observation of her sister for a moment.

That dark-piercing narrowing of her eyes made her younger twin flinch backward, ever so slightly. There was no mercy, there was only a cold glassy gaze present

At this, the younger twin sat upright on the couch and moved further back onto her seat, ever so slightly, and placed her sister's comb back onto the dressing table in front without looking away.

To someone unaware of Raven Harpy'sy customs, they might have assumed she stood her ground, or even that she was mirroring her older twin’s seriousness. Sephora had already given her ground; she wasn’t used to her sister being as cold, cruel, and ominous as she was now. At least, not towards her.

  There wasn’t even a challenge here as there may normally have been. Just Seraphina attempting to use cold authority to hide her own sense of anxiety and dread for being paired and matched for life, as uninterested disdain.   

  Reeling back from her jolt she turned back to the mirror. A loud bang erupted from her small pale hands as they slapped loudly against the vanity table. Disturbing the assorted beauty and care items perfectly placed on it, “What is wrong with you today, Sister?!” The chair screeched on the floor as Sephora thrust it back with her thighs as she stood.  

“I don’t know…!” Taking the b**e Seraphina bit back, flailing her hands. The older twin bit back. Her icy blue eyes so cold they could summon frost in her younger twins heart, “My sister wants to marry someone of the Peacock clan! That… That you can actually entertain that idea! That you can be so willfully glad and excited to have mother marry you off to the noble or king’s son she deems her most preferred male for you. You’re kidding yourself if you believe she’ll truly let you choose, and not make it seem like it’s the mate you truly want.”

  

Any kindness and excitement from the younger sister had now been swiftly chilled, “I never said I wanted to marry a peacock. It was only gossip I heard from one of the maids, while only trying to make you feel better. You're usual smile is rather lopsided today sister.” Sephora had thought that she had been patient enough.

  With that Sephora flared her wings to ripple the air currents in the room angrily, as she left the room. She was already in her open back dress set, for today and had only meant to finish brushing her straight hair. Taps on the marble floor outside the room grew fainter as she moved further down the corridor.

  All Seraphina had done was make her little twin sister mad at her for nothing.

  In her heart, a part of Seraphina knew that she might come to regret projecting her anxiety as bitterness onto her younger twin. Though this feeling was fleeting, and it was a premonition as quickly discarded as it had arrived.

  Have I sown unnecessary seeds of resentment? She thought, as her gaze looked towards the door, that her sister had stormed off through, and had left. Sighing at the notion, the older sister went to reorganise the items on the vanity table before finishing getting dressed into an off-shoulder dress befitting of a royal like herself. It was edgy but suitably so for a Raven.