As the whistling wind began to increase in volume, Kaito and his squad quickly scurried towards the giant gates, scrambling to get out of the cold. 

The doors opened with dominating pride, allowing them to feel the warmth of the inside; an utmost wave of relief showered them.

“Who knew a few minutes could feel so long?” Elena complained as she caught her breath, stumbling her way to the closest wall. 

As the castle’s warmth and the outside cold continued to battle, faint echoes came from the vast hallway.

“I thought the cold was going to eat me alive,” Kaito exclaimed, sprinting far from the giant open gates. 

Shivering against the freezing temperatures, Kaito’s loud banter annoyed Souta. “Stop whining, it wasn’t even that bad.” 

Kaito’s eyes lit up in relief, approaching his best friend.

“Souta! Are you not mad at me anymore?” He asked, reaching for him with his quivering hand. 

Souta looked away and walked away, heading towards Aki. “Shut up.” 

Kaito kept his smile, satisfied with the warm feeling he received, and approached his sister instead. 

Elena smiled in return, waving gently. “I’ll admit, I never faced weather like that before.” 

Kaito nodded in agreement, rubbing his hands together afterward.

“We’ll close the doors, and we’ll be on our merry way,” Akira exclaimed, pulling the heavy doors shut alongside Amari.

Elena put her hands together, smiling in excitement. “Yeah, you said something about a tour, right?” 

Kaito shook his arms like spaghetti, shaking off the cold, and took one more glance towards the rich hallway. 

“Yeah, that’s correct–” Akira nodded, bringing the doors close to a person’s width with the help of Amari.

Then suddenly, a voice shouted from the near distance, battling against the loud breeze.

“Wait! Don’t close them!” He exclaimed angrily, quickening his pace urgently.

Stopping before the thin opening they left in the gigantic door, he hunched over and caught his breath.

“Oh, great, it’s Bennett,” Amari murmured, rolling her eyes.

Bennett took one more deep breath before standing up straight, a short height for a middle-aged man. 

“Not this guy again,” Akira whispered under her breath, glancing towards her wife.

“You can’t keep ignoring the majesty’s wishes.” He pushed his hand through the cold air, snapping at them furiously. “We’re running out of time!”

Amari faked a smile in response, not as honest as her wife, and mildly crossed her arms.

She leaned closer, exhaling in his face. “And we keep telling you to wait until our majesty has healed.” 

Shadows of suspense slithered into the thin opening and reached the curious squad. 

Kaito whispered, looking at his sister confusedly. “Healed?”

Each of them returned glances at one another, fidgeting as their chaperones spoke with the stranger.

“Take a look at this, an urgent matter regarding our alliance.” Bennet pulled out a letter, stamped with a royal signature.

Amari accepted the classic letter with two fingers, grabbing it by its corner in a disgustingly casual manner and returning to a formal posture.

Akira took it from her, putting it in her pockets cautiously. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure it reaches her.” 

“Eventually,” Amari muttered, redirecting a look towards her wife, signaling her to calm down.

Bennet, stroking his small beard, pointed at her dramatically. “Yeah, you better.”

Her eye twitched, her fake grin wavering like an ocean’s pattern as she slowly returned her attention to him.

“Hey, wanna know something? Be a good boy and tell your king to start messaging digitally instead of sticking with classic letters.” Narrowing her eyes, she raised her open palm in front of her mouth. 

As his face grew red in anger, clenching his fists, she slowly reached for her pocket.

“Excuse me?! How dare you disrespect the majesty like that–” Bennett shouted, lunging his foot forward, only to have a small device hit his chest.

Suddenly, a small flash of light suspended his body, and within a second, he vanished into thin air. A light blue glow, now resting alongside the sweet snow. However, the luminating shards that levitated through the air took longer to disappear. 

  “Oops.” Returning her open palm, she looked towards Amari with a smug face.

  “I gotta admit, that was hilarious, honey.” She rested her hand on her shoulder, smiling softly as she reached for the door handle.

  “I know, right?” She chuckled, pulling on the door even faster.

  Slam! The doors had finally been shut, the echo traveling through the hallways. From the complex patterns of the roof to the coated patterns on the walls, the castle’s infrastructure appeared heavenly. 

She clapped her hands together, walking towards the waiting squad. “Alright, baby birds, let’s get the tour started.” 

As the couple walked past them, Kaito turned to his sister curiously, turning his body towards the hallway.

“Hey, is it me or was that kind of cool?” He added, beginning his slow march alongside the squad.

Elena paid half attention, moving her attention from the two hallways on the side to the chaperones. 

She approached Akira and lightly tapped her shoulder. “What even happened to him?”

“No need to worry, it’s a teleportation device called a rift.” She explained, flapping her hand delicately.

“If I remember correctly, they’re small devices that teleport someone back to where they were in a fixed amount of time,” Aki added, looking at the vitrines that resided by the wall.

“Who was the guy anyway?” Elena moved closer to Akira, becoming even more interested in the style of the kingdoms.

“Boring ol’ Bennett, a messenger from one of the other two grand kingdoms. He doesn’t get along with anyone other than royalty.” Amari answered instead, waving her hand side to side in annoyance. 

Kaito continued following his squad, strolling near the rear, each step growing heavier, and the chatter vanishing like snow.

Pushing his feet through the invisible mist, he whispered under his breath. “H-heh, the o-other two kingdoms, I can’t wait to visit them.” 

He quietly fell onto his knees, resting his hand on the cold tiled floor. Noticing the glare from a portrait on the far wall, he slowly turned his dense head.

Was that portrait always there? He thought to himself, closing his eyes against a thin fatigue that seeped into his nostrils and open lips. I could’ve sworn I got rid of them. 

Tip, tap.

The faint echoes of high heels walked through the hallway, elegant apparitions to his rosy ears, making his eyes twitch.

Elena turned, noticing the lack of echoing footsteps from her brother.

“Kaito, what happened?” She asked, approaching him cautiously. 

“Just looking at these tiles, look, they’re so shiny.” He whispered, swaying his hand across the tiled floor with focused eyes.

At the sound of a loud clap, Kaito broke out of his daze and stood up sharply.

“Listen up, baby birds,” Amira exclaimed with pride, stopping before the squad with her wife in style. “We’ll explain the rules as we navigate the first floor, but to ensure efficient usage of time,” 

Amira took a small pause, glancing between the four of them.

She narrowed her eyes. “No questions.” 

“Fine by me, I think we’ve had enough questions asked today.” Elena raised her hands in defeat, turning her eyes towards Kaito.

“Wow, I see how it is.” He stretched his hands, hiding his recovery under his breath.

Clap! Amira put her hands together in celebration. “Okay, let’s get this tour started.” 

Akira raised her thumbs, nodding in agreement behind her.

“After I wrap up explaining a few rules under Lunar Province’s directive, you may all be allowed to choose your room from any of these.” Amira continued, stopping by a door and stretching her hand towards the neighboring doors that followed.

I still wonder what the mission’s going to be, Kaito thought to himself, finally ridding himself of the strange sensations.

“To start things off, the castle consists of multiple intertwining hallways across all five floors, so if you lose yourself, please redirect yourself to the closest sister you can find.” 

Kaito slowly raised his hand, glancing back between his squad members.

She held out her finger, waving it. “A sister is what clones of our majesty are called. Within the castle reside attendants, maids, and technicians. As for the layout and rules–” 

“Speaking of which, it appears we got one coming our way.” Akira interrupted her, pointing at two figures that approached them from the hallway’s end.

“Why does this always happen to me?” She looked up at the ceiling, groaning in frustration. 

The two sisters stopped in front of the squad, bowing before them.

“Lady Akira and Amari, our majesty is awaiting the squad in the throne room.” The shorter one, Luama, informed, resting her hands in front. Her hair, tied up in a bun, stood out in comparison to Sister Lulu. 

She fixed her glasses, aligning her feet together, and nudged Lulu to do the same.

“Already?!” Akari gasped, taking a step back in surprise. 

“What about the tour?” Amira sighed in disappointment.

“Pamphlets are being printed as we speak; thus, we save ourselves valuable time. Our majesty, Luna, is awaiting the squad’s arrival, I suppose.” Luama replied, remaining loyal to her posture as Lulu continued to falter a bit.

Akira rested her hand on Amira’s shoulder. “Dear, I think it's for the best.” 

“But I really wanted to do something for our majesty.” Amongst the mild air, Amira rolled her eyes.

The two sisters then turned their attention to the guests, bowing once more.

And you four must be the honored squad,” Launa commented, retaining her display of respect longer than Lulu. “We offer you our sincerest gratitude.”

The four returned the gesture, formally bowing before the two attendants.

“Sorry to intrude, but weren’t you part of the helicopter soldiers?” Kaito said, tilting his head ever so slightly. 

As the light began to dim, the arrival of moonlight, sister Luama scratched under her ear.

After a second, her eyes lit up in realization. “Oh, you must mean our cousins from the combat section.” 

Elena put her finger over Kaito’s lips. “Different sections?” 

After asking for him, she lowered it, sighing in relief. 

“Though we all go under the title of sisters, whether in general or to outsiders, we call those from differing sections cousins.” Raising her finger, she smiled confidently as Lulu nodded to every word. “To the very few non-clones, paradigm our majesty adopted, we call them step-sisters since they’re of real blood.” 

“Wow, what a large family.” Kaito leaned forward in astonishment, full of awe.

Akira stepped in front of Kaito, holding her sad wife by the hand.

“If you may excuse us, sister Lulu and Luama.” Dragging Amira gently, she began moving towards the end of the hallway. “We must be on our merry way.”

As they began following the secretary couple, Luama and Lulu waved them goodbye.

“Thank you for the information,” Elena whispered, bowing politely once more, catching up to Kaito.

Noticing the distant stairs at the end, her steps grew more melodic.

Souta waved back at them, his hand rapidly swinging from side to side. “See ya, sisters.”

Then Aki followed, waving them goodbye too. 

When the squad got far enough, Lulu dropped her smile. “Do you think they’ll make it?”

Sister Luama stayed quiet for a second before resting her elbow on her shoulder.

“Honestly, they look promising, I suppose.” She rubbed her nose, snickering.

Lulu narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. “They better be, our freedom is the cost if they fail.”