Princess Vividoyne sighed softly as she gazed out the small window of her small, makeshift library, her mind replaying over and over the events of the Rose Ball in her head.

“What are you looking at?” said a voice from behind her and she turned in surprise.

“Katira,” she exclaimed, bounding from her seat to rush over to her sister and enveloping her in a large, bearlike hug.

“Oof,” said Kat, her face pressed tightly against Vivi’s ample chest. She looked up at her. “You’ve grown.”

Vivi blinked in surprise then frowned. She was the third person now who had mentioned her height and it seemed as though she was right… her sister now stood nearly four inches shorter than she did before.

“But… we’re twins,” she said softly.

“Fraternal,” Kat said as she removed her cloak. “You were always taller.”

Vivi sighed. It was true, Vividoyne had always been taller, having even been born with two additional inches to her height.

“You’ve been gone for half a year…”

Kat groaned as she removed her gloves. “Mother has taken me to modiste after modiste all across the kingdom. She has forced me into ball after ball after ball and made me dance with every eligible prince. Ever since she found out about Prince Jareth’s death, she’s been desperate.”

Kat looked up then rolled her eyes. “Don’t give me that pitiful look, Viv. I didn’t even know the guy. So who cares if my story is over now that my prince had a freak accident, by the way, in the arms of his father’s mistress.”

She removed the quiver from her back onto the table beside her and briefly counted the arrows that were left.

Vivi gasped from behind her. “You’re not still… are you?”

Kat rolled her eyes. “I needed to stretch my legs so I went out hunting with father’s men.”

“Mother will be furious.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she plopped down into the seat Vivi had vacated. “All I wanted to be is a warrior, not do this fairy tale mumbo jumbo.” She sighed and perched her leg up onto the small seat beside her.

Vivi looked at her sister for a long, quiet moment. Though they were sisters, twins even, she didn’t quite understand her. Kat had always been unbelievably strong and brave. She had always been outside, running with her father’s knights, learning some kind of battle related skill while Vivi was indoors reading her books in the tiny library that she had been forced to make herself because no one else in her family shared her passions.

And yet, despite the fact that Kat had more manly proclivities, she was so unbelievably beautiful. Every single one of their father’s young men were in love with her and how could they not be? Her hair shone gold in the sunlight, her skin was perfectly flawless, her legs went for miles but she was still of appropriate height.

While she… had been called a “giant warrior” just a week ago. Vivi internally sobbed. 

“Instead of sitting here all day, why don’t you come with me into the forest?” said Kat and Vivi, who had never been all that fond of the woods, shook her head.

“This is a new dress,” she tried to explain.

Kat rolled her eyes. “Mother buys new dresses every week.”

“For you, perhaps,” she replied softly, “but this is the first dress I had been given permission to purchase in an entire year.”

Kat looked her up and down then paused at the three or so inches of skin that peaked out from beneath the hem. “It doesn’t even fit.”

“I was only allowed to buy one that was already made because of the state of our coffers and all…. Madam Pompfy was kind enough to add some fabric so that it would at least fit my chest.”

Kat shook her head. “I don’t understand why you like these things, pants are so much better. I’d give you all my dresses if they would fit.”

Vivi blushed in embarrassment and quickly turned away. Her sister meant well, she told herself. It’s just that she didn’t understand her. They lived in two different worlds, had two different wants out of life.

Kat suddenly stood up and pulled Vivi to her feet. “We’re going,” she said in a commanding voice that bespoke no disobedience.

And Vivi sighed as she timidly followed after her sister. She had done this a lot to her when they were children, forcing her to tag along on her little adventure or her training with the knights when all Vivi wanted to do was hole herself up in her library with her little books.

She also had no particular desire to see her father’s men. She knew they meant well and well, their jobs were not to keep her company but they so often ignored her and though she knew that it was hardly on purpose, it was still… disheartening.

“I’ve arrived!” Kat declared once they were on the grounds right outside the forest. Several men, who sat waiting on their high horse, bows in hand and quivers on tied to the saddles, looked up.

“Princess Kat!” exclaimed the man closest to them.

VIvi recognized him instantly. It was Percy the young knight in training. Vivi vividly recalled playing with him a few times only a few years ago, she had been particularly fond of him, that is, until she had accidentally found out that he had a tendre for Kat and had been playing with her simply to get in her sister’s good graces. That was when she had stopped following her sister on her adventures altogether.

“Oh Princess Vivi,” said Percy brightly after a ridiculously long, drawn out moment of the men gazing at Kat before finally noticing her presence.

What was the point of her impressive height if she just fell into the background? she thought dejectedly.

“It’s been ages,” said Percy as he jumped down and began to lead them to their horses, first Kat then Vivi, despite Vivi being the older of two.

“Hello Verse,” she said to her horse once she sat upon his back.

The horse ignored her and she sighed.

Kat handed Vivi a spare bow and quiver.

Vivi looked at her in horror. “You don’t expect me to…”

“It’s fine,” replied Kat. “We won’t be hurting anything, they are dust arrows. Each of us has a different color and all you need to do is hit targets you see in the forest. It’s a game we made up to improve our aim and horse riding skills.”

“Oh,” said Vivi as she took the offered items.

She tied the quiver to the saddle then sat back up and watched as Kat said a few passionate, uplifting words as though she was leading them into battle and Vivi couldn’t help but sigh again. Her twin really was quite impressive.

Kat then led her horse and the men into the forest and, not waiting for Vivi’s command, her steed followed suit.

After a few minutes, Kat turned back and directed them to all split up. 

Vivi took the path on the farthest right, not bothering to see where everybody else was going and soon came upon the first target. It was a badly painted wooden board tied high up on a nearby tree.

She sighed as she pulled out her bow and an arrow. She had never been good at this and she doubted she had gotten any better in the time she had not been practicing.

She nocked the arrow and pulling back the string, aimed it toward the goal. Releasing the string, she watched as the arrow flew. Up. And up. And up.

And missed its mark by nearly a foot.

Irritated, she jumped off her horse and ambled toward the fallen weapon. Bending down to retrieve it, she noticed an abundance of gray dust on her new pale yellow skirt.

She reached down and tried to pat at it frantically only to stop when the smudge spread. She raised her hand to her face and found, to her horror, that her hands were covered in the dust as well.

She closed her eyes, trying very very hard not to react. She was a princess, she needed to act like one.

She needed to–

“Princess Kat! That was a beautiful shot! Well done!” she heard in the distance. It was Percy again and for some reason, unknown to her or perhaps it was a reason she would rather not contemplate, her face crumbled and she allowed a curse to tumble from her lips.