“Sion!” Mrs. Fueter wrapped her hands around Sion, lifting her in the air and spinning her around. It was wonderful. The gentle breeze wrapped around Sion, and she savoured every second of her spinning world. Until she felt like she was going to faint.

Mrs. Fueter, being Mrs.Fueter sensed her sudden unease and let Sion go. Sion giddily spun on her toes, ignoring her dizziness. The feeling of the wind embraced her once again and the rooms transformed into a swirl of colours. 

The swirl spun and spun before her until they all turned into one.

“Sion, are you okay, you don’t look so well?”

Sion let out a small gasp. The colours went darker and darker until they turned into a terrible shade of black. Her vision was dotted with dark red specks.

“Sion!?” This wasn’t Mrs. Fueter’s voice, this voice was much more child-like.

Sion felt a laugh rip out of her. That was odd. She didn’t feel giddy anymore, she had no reason to laugh.

“SION!”

♕

Sion woke to the sight of Orion half dead. Or asleep, with Orion it was a hard thing to tell.

“Orion?”

“Just two minutes Mother, please.” Even when not fully conscious, Orion still used his most polite manners when talking to his “mother”.

“Orion!” 

Her brother jumped from his chair, his eyes wild and frantic.

“My lord Sion! Do you have to be like this?”

“You weren’t waking up when I was being nice”, Sion replied, her voice dripping with enough sweetness for a person to gag.

Orion scowled. 

“What do you want?”

Sion sighed, her brother’s obliviousness painful.

“What happened? Why am I here?”

Orion furrowed his eyebrows, his mouth forming a gentle oval shape. Sion almost thought that he was pitying her. Almost. Siblings never truly pity their other half. Never. Things were getting stranger by the minute and Sion didn’t like it one bit.

“You fainted. Mrs.Feuter was kind enough to lend a bed to let you sleep and she gave me some medicine to give you.” While he narrated the story he gave his sister her given medication and Sion gulped down the sharp, bitter taste.

Sion nodded along to Orion’s story. His explanation made perfect sense. There wasn't a single hint of lie embedded into it. Which was exactly what made it so strange, but she didn’t need Orion to know that.

“So where are they now?”

“In the foyer,  mother and father are talking to Mrs. Fueter right now.”

Sion felt an abnormal amount of loathing towards that statement. Her parents had never shown any interest in Mrs. Fueter before, they always viewed her as the quaint nursemaid who would care for the children when they visited the castle.

Either they were discharging Mrs. Feuter from her duties, or they were trying to get information on their children. Both possibilities were heavily disliked by Sion. 

If her parents wanted something from her and Orion, can’t they ask them directly? What could be so dangerous that they had to go out of their way and ask a nanny who they barely knew existed?

“Do you think they’re going to dismiss Mrs. Fueter?” Orion looked like he was about to burst into tears as he said this, Mrs. Fueter was his second favourite caretaker. The only reason she was second was because Thaecras made the most wonderful Valmon cakes. Those were truly resplendent.

A thin crust enveloped the cake, a soft sponge oozing with crushed Valmon, and the chewiest fruit sprinkled on top of the wonder. 

Sion felt her stomach groan and specks of drool form in her mouth.

“Sion?” Orion stared at his sister, his worry transparent.

“I doubt they would dismiss her, she’s one of the best nurses we’ve ever had. She’s rather cheap too, compared to the cost of other caregivers. She doesn’t even require us to house her.”

Orion’s scrunched face loosened at her statement.

“ I wouldn’t mind living with Mrs. Fueter.”

Sion nodded at that.

“Me neither, do you think Thaecras and her would have a cake battle where they both compete on who can make the best desert and we judge?”

“That would be splendid, wouldn’t it? But I doubt anything could beat that Valmon cake.”

“Nothing in the world?”

“Unless Thaecras decides to create a Valmon biscuit cake.”

Sion laughed at her brother’s idea. Perhaps the only thing that could beat his worry was his sweet tooth. It was one of the few things that they still had in common.

“What in the world is a Valmon biscuit cake?”

Orion contemplated on how to describe his perfect idea of dessert. It was a herculean task for a child’s mind to do, though it was incredibly exciting.

“Imagine his Valmon cake, but with layers. Now, every other layer is the actual cake and the other layers are thin, but soft biscuits. They’ll be so chewy, soft and have the most delicate taste. And they’ll melt in your mouth…”

Sion gulped at her brother’s description, her hunger becoming a more and more urgent part of her.

They continued their sweet-filled conversation. The two immersed themselves in their fantasies, each stomach gradually growing in volume until the sound mimicked an orchestra at play.

“We should get something to eat.” Sion hopped out of her plush bed, the firm floor hitting her toes so hard it gave her small blisters. Orion eagerly nodded to her idea, his hunger growing unbearable.

As Sion crept into the storeroom, and immediately aimed for the miniature cakes on the top shelf. She leaped into the air, her skirt forming into a delightful bell shape, and snatched the cakes into her arm. Once she reached the ground, she split the cakes into 2 perfectly even sides, one for Orion, one for her.

“Are you sure about this? It’s quite a risky plan Mr. Extrix”

Sion sprung at the sound of Ms. Fueter’s voice, her suspension of her parents growing by the second. She pressed her ear to the wall, mushing herself into the building to hear more.

“Everything has risks, Mrs. Feuter. It would be foolish to stop myself if the only complaint…”

Sion pressed her ear harder against the wall, trying to hear the last of her father’s words. It was then that the door flung open by Mr. Estrix’s force.

She had been caught.