Case 1: The Understanding

Running down the steep hill and jumping over the trench that separated the town from the woods, the twin brothers turned around simultaneously to grin at their slower companions. An older boy was calmly sauntering down the hill; ignoring the fact the twins were calling taunts to hurry him up. Behind him was a small girl, who was having more difficulty in climbing down the hill, occasionally slipping on the damp grass.

“Geez you’re slow,” one of the twin’s said haughtily, when the two finally made it across the trench. His comment more directed at the girl.

The girl responded by grabbing the older boy’s sleeve before glaring at the twins.

“We’re not supposed to leave the town,” she said. “Lucifre told us so. He said it was dangerous.”

“It is not. Besides Lucifre doesn’t pay any attention to where we actually go, he’s always too busy. As long as we don’t say anything, he won’t know. So don’t you be telling him, Elana.”

The girl looked up fretfully at the boy she was clinging to.

“Arashi…”

Arashi shrugged, but his green eyes were carefully scanning their surroundings.

“It’s ok.”

The other twin patted the girl’s head. “Why are you so worried? You got us!” he said brightly. “If some bad ‘un comes up, we’ll beat him up. No worries.” He grabbed Elana’s hand and literally dragged her away from Arashi and started walking deeper into the woods.

“A bit self confident there Kurei,” said his brother.

Arashi casually looked towards the town and sighed then followed the three younger children.

In the cases of the previous four children, they were bring looked after by the General Lucifre, an ordinary man in the military, at that time. He was a persuasive officer, capable of easily commanding his company. When he suddenly adopted these four imps, it was a surprise to the soldiers and a hard hit for the superior officers. Some say it was because he wanted to be a father, but had no lady to provide a devotion to. Others say the little creatures were actually his illegitimate children. Whatever his reasons were, the children adored their guardian with all of their hearts.

The youngest child, Elana, was the first to be adopted. Seven and still naïve, the cyan eyed girl had a honest and clear want for family. With the constant warring nations, many smaller villages at the border of the country would get caught in between the fights. Many children were orphaned during this time and if they did not turn up in the orphanage, they would be label missing in the next couple of weeks. With some unknown luck, Elana and her younger brother were found by a passerby, who conveniently was a friend of Lucifre. The man was able to enroll Elana’s brother into a mage academy, as the boy possessed remarkable powers. As for Elana, the academy refused her admittance as they are already allowing the brother into the school with no charge and the girl had no clear magical talents. Therefore, Lucifre was asked to look after the girl, which greatly irked him at first. Despite the academy’s notice that the girl had no magical talents, she proved to be adequate at basic healing, which caught the general’s attention. He allowed her to stay, even becoming fond of the child as time passed.

The second child that came to Lucifre’s hands was the quiet Arashi. He had black hair, which seemed tinted blue when the light reflects on it. Clear crystal green eyes marked him as observant and knowledgeable of how the world worked. He was ten at that time and was adopted when Lucifre was traveling along the country to visit the noble class. The boy caught the General Lucifre’s eye as he proved quite capable of performing spells and handling weapons, particularly his beloved scythe. You must think it strange for a child to be holding such a thing, but let me remind you that this was a time of war. Children were expected to mature quickly and be able to defend their families if ever need be.

The last two additions to the group came as a pair. The older twin was named Cross and had a rather arrogant personality. Still, he cared a great deal for his brother, but his caring became slightly possessive at times. Kurei, the other twin, was always irritably cheerful and happy-go-lucky. He was much kinder and more understanding than Cross. They were an adorable pair. Still, the twins were not regarded well in their hometown. Twins were not good luck. However, like the other children of this time, they were taught basic defense. With their remarkable speed and ability to handle weapons, Lucifre persuaded their parents to allow him to train the children in the military. It was on one level a relief for their parents as the two would not be forced to separate…at least for a while. Twins are very attached to their counterparts and parting them was very much like torture for them.

And so these are the cases of the four children and their guardian, Lucifre.

Coming upon a clearing in the woods, the children were greeted with a splendid view of the valley below the town. The slope descended down upon the vast forest and the mountains that towered overhead a glistening lake in the distance. The clear blue sky made the view all the more grand and the concerns of the day were forgotten. Kurei laughed and grabbing Cross’ hand, ran toward the edge of the cliff where the clearing ended.

“See, aren’t you glad we disobeyed orders?” Kurei asked cheerfully when Elana timidly tiptoed toward the edge where the twins were standing. She drew a small smile on her face despite the overwhelming height.

It was perhaps childish to think that adventures always led to grandeur outcomes. But right now, that was how it seemed and it was all the more reason to pursue in more fantastic wanderings. It is quite unfortunate that such ventures will come to an end as imagination is lost and reality is borne above all.

“Elana let me show you this!”

Kurei waved both of his hands and two twin blades appeared, clutched tightly in the boy’s hands. The girl looked on with surprise.

“That’s nothing, Arashi and I can both do it too,” Cross told them. “Arashi taught it to us.”

“Where did they come from?” Elana wanted to know.

“Erm…”

The twins exchanged glances. Despite the fact that they enjoyed pleasing Elana because she was much younger than them in their eyes, they did not like revealing all their secrets to her.

“You don’t have a weapon because you don’t need to fight,” Kurei tried to explain. “But us…we’re going to be warriors. So…” The explanation came up flat.

This was not the first time Elana heard that attempted justification. As was custom to her nature, Elana turned away from them instantly and went to sit down near the trees as far away from them. Though the brothers felt guilty, it was quickly forgotten as they began a mock fight with their swords. (Cross had drawn his own sword.) The boys were young, but they were trained with these weapons as soon as they could walk. Dangerous to the typical child, but not to these three boys, it was one of the reasons why Lucifre decided to adopt them.

Arashi usually refrained from joining these little fights, as he did not see the point in exhausting the body when the day has hardly begun. He noted the girl, sitting dejectedly at the side, but made no sudden move to aid in comfort. The boy found it easier to talk to her when Elana was done feeling sorry for herself. It was a well thought tactic, he thought. The girl needed to be more independent. However, he was in some ways wrong in his method of dealing with the young girl. As soon as he sat down next to her, the girl reached over to grab his arm sleeve and began to amuse herself by pulling the thread at the hem.

The two were silent. Arashi was not one to begin a conversation and with her recent disappointment, Elana would not indulge herself into forgetting the event with meaningless talk. Instead she began to debate in her head whether she really did need to know. It was true what they said. She was not going to end up a swordsman or that like; though the life of a warrior fascinated her to an extreme degree. But no. The few women, who traveled to survey the military for available bachelors, had said the military was no place for a girl, and this was unfortunately upheld by the uppers in the military. It was Lucifre’s constant persuasion that she was an orphan and he had taken a liking to her which kept the girl where she was. Otherwise, they were looking for any reason to send her away to some convent or worse, orphanage.

Finally the twins returned to their quiet companions, once again remembering what had happened earlier. Instead of receiving a sharp turn of the head to avoid eye contact with the brothers, Elana rushed to them and threw her arms around Kurei’s neck. Almost immediately, Cross received the same frantic treatment as she clung to the twins. This girl, silly thing, was asking for their forgiveness toward her earlier impudent reaction; a sign that she did not hold them in contempt. The twins laughed, returning equally desperate embraces and smiles of relief.

They were children. And children were allowed to express themselves in such a manner of desperation for forgiveness. But as time progresses, children will become adults and the obvious separation of the sexes will tear them apart. But for now, let these young creatures resolve to their actions to work out their problems.