Kitanna
Chapter 268: EPILOGUE PART 1

Chapter 268: EPILOGUE PART 1

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: IF HEAVEN HAD COMPASSION ~ ALIN]

Five years later...

"Adrian, come back here! I’m going to tell father," a little girl of about five years, dressed in a pastel dress which flowed on the ground, called after her brother.

But the young boy was far away from earshot; he wasn’t hearing his sister’s words. All his attention was on how to escape from the palace without being caught by anyone.

The young princess stopped chasing after her brother and turned back, knowing very well the route the boy was going to take. She followed the ruins of the old palace, jumping down from the stairs, she intercepted the boy.

"Eve! How did you?" Little Adrian looked at his sister with utmost surprise. No matter how hard he tried, this girl was always one step ahead of him.

Little Eve tied her silver hair up with a golden band. "If you really want to escape, then you should learn from the best."

Adrian nodded his head, his blue eyes staring coolly at how relaxed his twin carried herself and with so much charisma. "You’re really the best. Now what’s next?"

Eve picked up a stone, relaxing her body against the wall, her brown eyes scanning the area. "We shouldn’t attempt an escape now; we’ll be caught," she replied casually, her expression cold and bored.

Adrian stomped his feet, "No, but I want to go see the village fair." He mumbled. "What if we dress as palace servants? We won’t be caught that way."

"Dummy," Eve murmured, "You think Chantal won’t catch you?" She remarked, sighing in the end.

Adrian grinned, "We have just one person who might help us without us being caught. Don’t you think, little sister?" The boy’s grin widened.

"What did you just call me?" Little Eve frowned, clenching her fist.

Adrian tipped his chin, "Little sister. I heard from Aunt Larel that you came out later." The boy mused, but his sister was not having it.

Princess Evelyn hated to be called the younger one; in her defense, someone as dumb as her brother shouldn’t be older than her. With that anger, she dragged her brother’s hand forward and pushed him to the ground.

"Ow! Eve, what was that for?" Adrian groaned, not expecting the sudden push.

Eve dusted off her hand, "That is what you get for calling me little, humph," she turned to walk away, predicting to get hit by her brother she turned, but her brother’s hand was held up midair.

"Labre, let me go. You saw her push me first, didn’t you?" Adrian whined, trying to wriggle himself free, but that was impossible because the person holding him was not just older but also stronger.

Labre finally let go, "I’m sorry, Your Highness, but you should never hit a girl," the young boy of about eleven years said with his head bowed.

But the young prince was not having it, "I don’t agree with you. If someone hits me, I’m supposed to return the favor. Don’t you think so, sister?"

"Forgive me, Your Highness, but I dare to say that girls are weaker and shouldn’t be hit by-"

Labre’s words were cut short when a stick was held to his neck. He turned to meet the cold brown eyes of the princess glaring at him.

"Call me anything but not weak," Eve muttered, before dropping the stick on the ground. Then she turned to leave the place, her back looking cold and unapproachable.

Out of the twins, the Prince had a more friendly aura, but he was quite a mischievous boy. But not Princess Evelyn, she didn’t like to stay around people much, but she enjoyed her time with her grandfather.

Adrian finally got up from the ground, without help. He cleaned off his royal robe, "Don’t let her words get to you, Labre. You know how she is. The cold heart of the mountains, I can’t believe she’s my twin." The boy shivered. Turning to Labre, he said,

"So I was thinking, what if you helped me lea-"

"No," Labre answered curtly, as he walked back inside the palace.

Adrian ran after him, "But why?" He shouted, chasing after the older boy.

"It’s not safe outside," Labre replied, reaching where the princess was; he noticed as she stared at the trees with seriousness.

Adrian finally joined his sister to look at the trees, "I just want to get mother something outside the palace. It’s been long we went out on a walk with her. Do you think we will get to see her today?" The boy asked, remembering their mother’s condition.

Little Eve twitched her lips, "I don’t know either," her voice turned distant.

Inside one of the rooms, Kitanna rested her head on Nix’s shoulder. Every moon that passed, her health deteriorated, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Everyone knew it was because of the energy she used in giving birth to the twins; the herbs Misam mixed were just for one child, but she ended up having twins.

The first few years, she started noticing the symptoms of throwing up blood, but she tried to hide it. But then it worsened as the twins grew up.

"What do you think Adrian and Eve are doing right now?" Nix asked, rubbing his hand gently on his wife’s hair.

Kitanna smiled, remembering her two peculiar but special children. "Adrian is probably trying to escape from the palace to get me gifts, and Eve would be chasing after him. Then they will fight..." she chuckled, remembering how difficult it was for them to put the twins in the same room while they were growing up.

Nix hummed, "They are like oil and water, don’t you think?" He said in reply.

Kitanna tried to reply, but then a small cough escaped her lips, making her body shake, and Nix held her closely, trying to calm her down.

"Don’t they remind you of some persons?" She asked after the cough had died down.

Nix gave it a second to think, then he said, "Adrian is just like you, free-spirited and mischievous."

Kitanna nodded in agreement, "While Eve is a copy of you. She acts supreme and above everyone else, but she always has a solution for every trouble Adrian gets himself into."

"I’m glad they have each other; Chantal and Labre never let them out of their sight. But Eve likes to stay with Lord Hieron, making her speak wiser than her age," the young Queen continued, holding her husband’s hand.

Nix inhaled, "I’m glad they are surrounded by people we can trust. All you need is to get your health back so you can teach them how to be strong, just like you."

Kitanna smiled, it was true their children were now growing in a safer world.

In the past years Man-uel’s body finally washed up to the shore all decayed, while Venantius enacted his punishment on Deonisia and her cohorts for making him shed unnecessary blood but it was just a medium to get favoured by Cortez. Who still didn’t accept the man as his father. Misam had taken her own life, after living for few years she couldn’t live with guilt of everything she had done.

All these people who were a threat to the kingdom were no more, it was true that their children would now only be raised with love and in love.

Kitanna raised her eyes to look at the setting sun, which cast a red hue in the sky. Then she turned to reply to Nix, but another cough escaped her lips, this time it was terrible and even worse than the first.