《Whispers in the Shadows》


 The beginning of the truth

    The royal lineage is Queen Domilia Aurelius and King Lucius Aurelius, along with their new baby boy, Prince Octavius Aurelius. The king and queen talked about a problem they had with the family, which had passed over to many generations and is now going over to Octavius as the little boy overheard his parents and heard the word curse. As Octavius grew older, he realized where all the pain had come from throughout his life. He had a rough childhood; his parents were strict and didn''t let him do much. If he got too dirty or left the castle without permission, they would hit him as much as they wanted, with a belt or anything they could find or even with their hands. Octavius never had any time for fun, but what he did learn was how to be hidden and listen.


    As Lucius became more ill, the more he became abusive to his family, primarily to Octavius. Even if Octavius made a slight mistake, his father would hit or slap him as often as his strength let him. One time, his mother had come home to find Lucius on top of Octavius, choking him as he was turning blue from lack of oxygen. At this point, his mother and dad began to fight about how he treated her son. It was a horrible sight for Domilia as she got someone to care for Octavius, and she became furious with her husband.


    "How dare you to do that to my son? You almost killed him", Domilia had screamed at him.


    "He spilled the water everywhere on me and on the table. It was a complete mess, and he was laughing", Lucius began speaking, "Octavius needs to learn that this behavior cannot be his habit,"


    "Habit? he is a child; he doesn''t learn this way. He needs love. Hitting and hurting him won''t work that way, "Domilia explained, "How do you think this is teaching him? It is not good; what if he does this to his child when he''s older.". He won''t HAVE ONE IF WE FOLLOW WITH THE PLAN. COME ON DOMILIA; what do you think is going to happen? I''m dying already". Lusicus said. Domlila just stared at him and walked away. She couldn''t believe why he would bring up the thought of the hidden secret, but secretly, it wasn''t secret enough.


    Octavius knew everything they tried to hide from him, but the one thing he could never imagine was the arranged marriage they planned for him with Faustina. As Octavius walked around the castle, he heard the one word he wished was gone: marriage. He listened to Faustina and knew it was the kingdom that King Theoridic ruled. He never liked their family. Lusicus speaks of such hatred toward their family that Octavius has the same hatred. Once he realized what was happening, he visited his mother first.


    He went to see his mother alone and mentioned many things figured out." Mother, I wanted to talk to you about some things I noticed and needed to be confused to stop," Octavius said with his head down as he didn''t know what was next.


    "Oh honey, what kind of things? I don''t want you to be confused with things too young to understand; I''ll try my best to tell." Domilia looked up to Ovtavius with care and calm, ensuring he knew it would be okay.


    "SO the first thing I know about was a curse that killed a father and soon will kill me, I think." Octavius looks straight at his mother with tears in his eyes.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Domilia looked at her son with tearful eyes, and she realized he had heard every word but not the one big secret of why this was the cause of his father dying. "It is not that you are going to die along with your father, but the curse you heard is a part of this family; your father had this, and everyone in the family has followed through except for us; we didn''t let it, but now your father is dealing the consequence. He argues and takes it out on you because he feels like it is you, but my baby, I promise it has nothing to do with you. Your father and I decided, and we have to keep it because it''s the right thing to do". Octavius looked at his mother with a smile, but as he glanced past her head, that smile fell as soon as he saw him looking at him with hatred.


    As Lusicus walked straight toward Octavius, he was pushed by his wife, Ma, the king, who fell over and grabbed his son with much force. As he dragged Octavius across the castle, he screamed, "YOU WANNA KNOW EVERYTHING? THEN YOU CAN KNOW WHY NOT SINCE YOU SUCH A BIG BOY NOW, HUH!".


    As Octavius began to cry as he knew, he realized he was big enough to fight back, at least with his words instead of his muscles.


    "WHY CAN''T I JUST BE A CHILD? YES, I WANT TO LEARN THE CURSE AND WHY I MARRIED THE DAUGHTER YOU HATE THE MOST. WHY CAN''T I GET A SAY IN ANYTHING? I''M THE NEW KING WHEN YOU DIE". Lusicus just stood there as his son stood up and yelled at him, but what made him stand still was that Octavius knew about the curse and the arranged marriage. Lusicus slapped him straight across the face and told him to sit if he wanted to learn the truth, which Octavius didn''t listen and kept standing.


    Lusicus had become speaking of the curse when he made Octavius sit as he heard the truth. "So the curse, however you learn or heard it from, is killing me, but it is not the reason for my anger. My anger is far from you, but this curse has passed through to me, and now it''s toward you; the meaning of this is that our firstborn needs to be killed as a sacrifice to keep the king alive longer before the new prince needs to be king. Still, as we did not follow that plan, we realized I would die after your 18th birthday". As Octavius sat there just frozen, he spoke one word, "Faustina." Lusicus knew what that meant and had to explain, but he knew he should let her talk to him when his wife came in.


    "Hello honey, so Faustina is the woman I will marry. I know it''s a shock for both of us, but we need this; you are our firstborn, and we refuse to kill you and know your father is dying, and on your 18th birthday, you will be king. It would be best to have a queen before you turn king, and we have decided that you will marry Faustina a week before your 18th birthday".


    "Mom, I can''t marry her? We hate that kingdom, and marrying into that family would destroy us. And this curse is killing father, and now it''s my choice to kill my firstborn or kill myself, and as my father died, and having to deal with this marriage in almost seven years, mom, I''m 11".


    "Exactly, son, you are 11, which means we have many years to prepare you for this marriage. I know how you feel, but in front of all of us, you are more mature than an 11-year-old". Lucius began speaking before he sat down because of his coughing.


    "I''M MATURE BECAUSE OF YOU, DAD. YOU HAVE HIT ME SINCE I WAS 6, WHERE EVERYTHING I DO THAT YOU HATE YOU MADE ME THIS, BUT THAT DOES MEAN I WANT TO GET MARRIED". Octavius looked at his father and mother with tears as he left the room. He couldn''t believe what had to be done, but knowing he shouldn''t have been alive was one the worst news he ever got, which made his life not any easier.

 Octavius

    As I heard my parents speak about an arranged marriage, I knew it was time to talk to them, but when I did, it was the worst mistake of my life. Finding out I shouldn''t have been alive and my father abusing me just made things even worse for me. I had no feelings. I knew this feeling well; my mother had explained it to me once Before, but as for me feeling this pain, I didn''t know what to do, so I found a sharp object just to look at it. I knew what I wanted to do, but I did not know how it would feel, so as I took the glass to my hurting wrist, I made a slight slash, which barely hurt and made me feel better just a little. I did it again before a maid knocked on my door, and I had to hide it.


    I''ve been thinking of the cutting for a while, but I didn''t know how good it felt when I found out something and knew I deserved it. I began at eleven and haven''t stopped since my first time. I''m thirteen now, and it has gotten worse, but every time my father hit me, and his sickness got worse because of that, I felt heartbroken that all his energy was being used to hurt me. My mother mainly had gotten yelled at unless she was in his way of hitting me. My father regrets having me and making the decision to keep me instead of killing me, which hurts a lot more than anything.


    My mother had come to talk to me one day about my father, but I only used to listen to what she said once she mentioned my wife.


    ¡° Hey, Ovtavius, I wanted to tell you about your father alone. I know you have no relationship with him, but he is slowly dying, and now he can barely get up. Maybe you can make amends with him before the inevitable. I know this is hard to take in, but today we are meeting with Fautina and her parents to explain the wedding, and I would like you to dress presentable¡±.


    As I rolled my eyes, I knew I would have to see my father and the woman I would marry; not knowing of her made this a perfect day. As I finally got up, I realized that all my nice suits were short sleeves with no way to cover my arms. My mother would hate me, but I can''t show them these cuts; it would make me look pitiful. I picked my clothes in one of the closets I wasn''t allowed to touch, and it had a lot of longer sleeves inside for more excellent wear. As I walked through the kitchen, I saw her Fautina; she was the most beautiful person in the world. She looked at me and smiled, and my stomach fluttered. I am still determining what I did and how my parents had this arranged marriage, but I knew if I got to know her, maybe I would be lucky to have her as my queen. As I sat down, I realized my father and King Theodoric were just glaring at each other like this wasn''t the plan, but all I could focus on was her; she mesmerized me. I hoped she would like me, but I didn''t know if I was good enough for her; she would just tell her father not to pick me, another man. As dinner had ended, I was hoping to get a few minutes to get to know her, but they left immediately after, and I never said goodbye, so I sent her a letter, but maybe just give it to her for our wedding.


    Dear Fautina,


    Today was amazing. I met you and realized how beautiful you are. I know that''s rather weird from a person you just met, but it''s true. I''m glad you''re going to be my wife. I wish we had some time to talk to each other, but everyone left fast. I hope we see each other one day, have a conversation, and begin to know each other.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    On the other hand, I don''t know what you think of me, but I hope it''s all good. I''ll try to find you out one day, speak to you, and see what you think.


    Octavius


    As I wrote that letter, I began to cry as this was the only good moment of my life and I just couldn''t believe it was from a girl I thought I would hate because of my father. I realized what I needed to do, so I pulled it from under my bed and opened it to see my shining little object that helped with the pain. As I think of why I deserved it, I mostly think of my father and how long he used to hit me or just scream at me, and the one time I was told I shouldn''t have been alive, and now my father is dying because of me. As I look at my bleeding wrist, I smile just a little but realize if my mother saw me like this, she would become sad and make it her fault, and my father would slap and beat me for it, so I bandage my wrist and looked into the mirror when I realized how I ugly I looked.


    It was around midnight, and I heard the last maid finally go to sleep, but I stayed restless. It''s been hard falling asleep as it''s a perfect time for peace, but for me, it''s a time where I think and cry about all the times I was beaten and why I deserved it, which caused a lot of sleepless nights. As I fell asleep, I heard a voice from my window and looked to see her just standing there waiting. ¡° I wanted to speak to you during dinner, but my father dared me not to say anything to you; my father is fond of your family nor you,¡± Fautina began saying as she climbed inside his room. I stood there just shocked as she sat on my bed, waiting for me to say something, but all I got out was, ¡°How?¡±. She laughed as she saw how I looked and started to reassure me I wouldn''t be in trouble with her father.


    ¡° Look, Everything okay? I just wanted to talk to you to get to know you more since you will be my husband soon, and if I can''t talk to you, then what''s the point of getting married, you know? Anyways, How have you been? You look kind of beat up and tired. Do you want to sleep, or am I just a bother to you?¡±. As Fautina began to look concerned and upset, I knew I needed her here. I chuckled at first. I realized she was a lot of talkative. Still, it was also adorable to see her rambling.


    ¡° Wow, that''s a lot. Still, no, you are okay to be here. I was falling asleep, but I think I''m awake now, and I''m good. I understand what you mean. I hoped to talk to you after dinner, but your father rushed out. I hope to see you again soon, but you aren''t a bother; having some company is nice,¡±. I told her with a smile on my face. I could see a little smile forming.


    She had to begin to giggle. ¡° Sorry, I talk a lot when I''m nervous. It sorta just turn into rambling,¡± She started saying, but as I heard she was nervous, I smirked. ¡° Oh, so you''re nervous, I see.¡± I don''t know where that bit of confidence was, but I just knew it was there.


    ¡° Oh, I¡¯m not that nervous; just when I meet my new husband, I''m going to be nervous talking to you.¡± She began to stutter. I started to laugh as I didn''t know this would make her nervous, but I don''t think it was just meeting her husband for the first time. I decided to be more confident and pull her upright until her face met mine. I pulled her to the wall to get a good look, and I noticed she had started to blush, making me chuckle. ¡° I didn''t know I had such an impact on turning you into a rose, but maybe I can make some things more rosey,¡± I had told her with my voice a little deeper than before.


    She was giggling the whole time, which made me feel a little bit better about having her as my wife, but sadly, she had to leave and said she would be back another day. As I sat up in my bed just thinking of what life would be like when I finally married her, I knew my life would be better even with the curse I had. As I began to fall into a deep sleep, I had hoped I would wake up wishing to see her again the next morning.

 The past of Lucius and Theodoric

    Dear Theodoric,


    I know you never wanted to hear from us again, but I have such sad news. Lucius is dying, and it''s become tough to see him like this, and family is not what he needs. He needs you; things went sideways for this curse, and you are the only king who knows the truth. My husband needs his friend, and you are the only one who will be able to make him happy before his death. He won''t be here next year; this curse has been killing him; those are the consequences we have to deal with. We tried to break it; we thought we had failed with the birth, but as it is shown, it hasn''t.


    Octavius may be able to break it; he is much more robust, especially with Faustina. They will have the perfect family and will be stronger than this. Please visit us when you can. We would love to see you.


    As Theodoric reads this letter, Domitia starts to remember the past of their friendships. As he began to tear up, he realized he needed to see her and decided to go over there for the day just to let him see how he was doing. As he began to get ready, he yelled to Fautina to get ready; we are going to the kingdom, and her face blew bright. Theodoric had arrived at the castle a few days later. When Lucius showed up, Domitia walked out.¡± How dare you step up into our castle as if you didn''t just destroy us after we trusted you with everything.¡±  Domitia Yelled. ¡° What do you mean you sent me the letter of Lucuis dying and said he needed me. I don''t want my best friend not to die thinking I hated him¡±. Theodoric said. As Domitia looked at him, he knew he was serious, so she let him in but didn''t know how to tell Lucuis what would happen.


    ¡° Honey, we have a guest who would love to see you; just stay in bed when you see him,¡± Domitia says. As Theodoric walked in, Lucius began to tear ¡° Omg, Theodoric, I thought I would never see you again. You hate me¡±. Lucius began. AS Theodoric walked up and saw Lucius, he knew this death was happening way longer than it seemed and wished he had been there sooner. ¡° I am so sorry, my friend. I shouldn''t have left you. I wish I could go back and be there for when I found the curse instead of just turning my back to you; now look at you. I miss you so much, and now I won''t get any more memories because of my shamelessness¡±. Theodoric had begun saying with tears in his eyes. Still, he realized His best friend was dying much sooner, and he wanted to make the old memories just happy ones now.


    As Theodoric was across the room, he saw Lucius just sitting there alone. He decided to walk up to him and realized he was crying. Lucius was at the funeral of his father; he sadly died in a car accident, and Lucius became King much sooner than he wanted. As Lucius was training for King, he saw Theodoric a lot for the past weeks, so they became closer than ever. Theodoric loved Lucius, and as Theodoric lost his father a few years later and became king, they planned to have their firstborn marry each other to keep the kingdom intact. When Lucius realized the curse, he knew he needed to tell Theodoric what would happen. Still, before he could, Theodoric had lashed out about letting him sign his daughter away to a cursed family where nothing good was left to come. As they reunited in a moment, they realized how much the silly curse had cost them.


    As Theodoric knew he was dying, he told Lucius all their good memories. ¡° Do u remember when we had run away with each other and just kept running until we couldn''t breathe and hid inside the hut we made inside the forest¡± Theodoric recalled, which made Lucius smile more than he had in the past years. Domitia knew this was precisely what Lucius needed, and they began to tell each other a story.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I remember that one time my mother got mad at us and began screaming for us, leaving without permission and without safety, but all we could do was laugh, which turned her face like a tomato red, and we laughed even harder.¡± Lucius began laughing with Theodoric.


    ¡°Oh, my, do u remember when my mother almost lost everything because we had hidden in the closet and she couldn''t find us for 3 hours, and when we finally popped out, she screamed and almost cried¡±. Theodoric had begun to say, but Lucius had laughed so much that he started coughing up blood. It had ruined the mood, but Thodoric knew it could''ve happened, so he had a few more memoirs, including a picture and a story with Domitia.


    ¡° Here, do u remember the first time you met Domitia, and you know what you told me. You said she was the prettiest girl you had ever since and was glad to be the one marrying her. You had gotten so happy even if it was arranged and you didn''t fall in love; you told that you would fall in love and that this wife was gonna be the one you would happily die with as your kids sat on your deathbed¡± Theodoric brought in sad, but happy memory for those two as he realized Lucius never told Domitia. She had begun to tear up hearing this story.


    ¡°Oh my Domitia, hand me my box please; remember all the letters we sent Theodoric. I kept them all inside this little box. I have them all from you; let''s read some of them¡±.


    Dear Lucius,


    I''m glad I heard from you again; trying to stay on task with my new learning to be the new king has been brutal. I always love to hear from you; it always has something to lighten the mood, but this letter was kinda sad, and I''m sorry to hear that. And hopefully, this letter will improve the mood. I just had a memory visit from when we had given your mother a heart attack. We were dying laughing as your mother took her eyes off us to check on your sister, and we ran off. Straight into the woods, we made a little cabin outside to keep us from the wind. We had even tried to make a small fire, but the wind kept blowing it out, which sucked; we had gotten so mad we screamed so loud. That''s when we heard the knight running, and we booked it straight just because it was to cause chaos. As the knights caught us, they said,¡± You two are the chaos duo; we swear you''re gonna kill your mother, Lucius.¡± We began to laugh, and there became our name, the chaos double.


    Your other half of chaos double Theodoric


    ¡°Oh my, the chaos double, I forgot about that; oh my, let''s read another one, ¡° Theodoric mentioned.


    Dear Lucius, my other half of the chaos,


    I''m getting married soon, and I have no clue who this woman will be, but I know I will love her as my wife. I know once I see her, everything will change. Anyway, what we did a week ago was the most fun, seeing our mother''s face once they found out. We just took off into the woods, hiding out in our cabin. I never realized how good it was hidden till that day when the knights looked twice with nothing to return to, and then our mothers came out after the knights failed. Our mothers were so angry when we popped out of the cabin, which made our mother scream so loud that knights started to chase us, thinking we were citizens. When they finally caught us, it was just the beginning of the endless chaos we had started that week. Om my, the looks on the knight''s face when our mother came after them screaming it was their children. They grounded me until next week. I haven''t seen your mother yell at you in so long, and my mother finally screaming at me. I was scared for both of us. Ultimately, it was a perfect time to remember and even tell our first kids about it. Speaking of kids, I have a little information I wanted to share with you. Hopefully, your mother isn''t stopping our letter.

 Octavius

    I can''t believe my dad is so happy; he hasn''t smiled in months and turned into a new man just by seeing Theodoric.  I knew this was going to work, but what about Fautina? Will I see her more often now? What if she sees my wrist? Would she think I''m ugly now? I''ll just wear my long sleeves until we get married, and maybe then she''ll understand my mind is running. I need to quiet down this voice, damn it.


    I grabbed my little box, pulled out my little window glass, and looked at my wrist when I heard her voice.


    ¡°Octavius, what are you doing,¡± Fautina said as a hint of worry fell through her voice.


    I dropped it and threw it under my bed, getting up like nothing was happening. ¡° Oh, Faustina, what are you doing here? I thought you would knock if you were heard with your father. I was sitting on the floor, thinking about my king duty, our marriage, and how soon it''s coming up¡±.


    ¡° No, Octavius, what was that? Are you upset? What was that? What were you doing? This is serious,¡± Faustina continued. ¡° This isn''t okay; we need to tell your parents or something; just tell me what you were doing.¡±


    I looked down at my wrist and knew I couldn''t do this to her.¡± It was nothing like I said; I was just on the ground thinking.¡±


    She looked so disappointed but knew I would mislead everything. I felt so bad, but I couldn''t let her find out; it would ruin everything completely. We had just sat there in silence, looking at each other, until Theodrico came in to grab his daughter back. She began to leave but looked back at me with a sad smile. As they left, I felt the emptiness fall back into me, but my mother came in.


    My mother told me, ¡°Oh my, your father is smiling and in the best mood he''s ever been; you need to see this, my boy.¡±


    I looked down and shook my head. ¡° I would ruin that mood just as fast as he got it; Mom, just leave me alone.¡± My mother lost her smile and just walked away with a nod. I couldn''t look myself in the eye anymore. I had destroyed everything, and there was no stopping, but one way helped me. I went under my bed, grabbed my sharp, happy glass, and pulled up my wrist. I looked at all the fresh scars that were healing slowly but too quick and made my wrist soon turn red as I continued to reopen my cuts.


    I wake up on my ground just when the sun rises and quickly clean up everything I did last night. I barely remember it; all I saw was red. I wrapped my wrist and began looking up at the ceiling, hoping to fall back asleep until I heard my father screaming again. I raced up to the hall and saw my mother on the ground while my father was on top of her in and hit her straight in the head. He backed away and fell straight back. My mother pushed me while going to my father to help him and put him back on the bed. She was screaming, but I couldn''t hear anything through my sobs. I ran to my room as if I had caused this, but my mother and she yelled at me, and I just couldn''t breathe anymore, so I ran.


    I finally stopped, but inside these woods, I had no idea how far or how long I had run for, but I knew I was lost, and I hoped I was. I looked around and found this weird-looking cabin wholly blocked from the forest. So, I decided to check it out, but it had a lot of survival needs that would keep me safe, so I decided to stay there until I knew it was time to go home.


    I wake up, and it''s completely dark. I realize I stay here for the night. It would work since nobody came to find me anyway. I''ll just show up tomorrow; it would be better anyway. It was to fall back asleep. I wondered about the area; hopefully, I would stay aware of the situation. I wrote a letter to Fautinaa, hopefully convincing her that what she saw wasn''t true. I needed to talk to her about something that was happening.


    Dear Faustina,


    I just want to ensure you are okay and that what you saw wasn''t what you actually saw. I was just scared of what would happen if you didn''t believe me. My window had broken a couple of days ago. I was still trying to clean my room of any broken shards left, and when u walked in, I freaked out thinking you had thought the worst, which you did, and I didn''t know what to say at the time. I''m sorry I scared you when there was nothing to be warned about. I also have a feeling I could stop my father''s death, and I would need your help in putting this idea into play. It going to be hard, but I just need you to be a helpful distraction into the part as I can get into the library long enough to find all the evidence I need, which should be easy as I know where all hidden things could be I will explain more when I can come to see you. Please write back to me as you have read this letter and would like to help me.


    Octavius


    This was the curtail part of the whole plan. I first needed the advice so that it could explain this idea more fully, but I knew I needed to get this letter back. I needed to head home, which I did.


    As I went here, many more knights searched every inch of the grounds.


    My mother was in the front of the castle in tears. She looked around and finally spotted me. She ran into tears.


    ¡° Why would you do that? Your father has gotten worse. You were gone for days. We had thought you were killed¡±. My mother yelled. I was baffled I wasn''t there for more than a day, but I couldn''t really remember as I fell asleep. How long was I sleeping, I wondered.


    ¡°I''m sorry, Mother, I didn''t realize how bad it made me. I was upset and went into the forest for a little while. I didn''t realize it was days after,¡± I told my mother. She couldn''t care less, but either way, she was glad I wasn''t killed for a weird reason. My mother giving me that bizarre face, saying she was happy I wasn''t dead, proved my idea needed to be done even more. I sent the letter a few hours after I had explained where I was for about a week. A week later I got a letter sent back and a day later she was here.


    Dear Octavius,


    Thank you for telling me all that. I''m sorry. I thought of the worst; it was how you acted, and of course, I would have believed you if you told me the truth. Still, I can see where you came from, and with this plan you have, I will be coming when I know the letter has arrived, hopefully within a week.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Faustina


    As I read her message, I knew I had to act fast, so I told my mother that Faustina was coming over to talk more about the wedding. She had agreed, and I finally told her the plan when Faustina arrived.


    ¡° So before I fully explain, I need to get into my father''s library, and what needs to happen is you need to distract my mother so I can find the paper, please.¡± I began begging her.


    ¡° Fine, but you had to promise to tell me what exactly is going on immediately. ¡° She stared at me with her glaring eyes. Her eyes stared at me, and I said,¡± I promise.¡±


    As she went to talk to my mother, I slipped into the library, knowing exactly where I was going under the bookshelf into the hidden floor. I lifted the boards and saw the box I was looking for, but then I found a red box named Katria, so I also decided to grab that one. When I finally grabbed everything, I rushed back to my room, put everything under my bed, and went to catch Faustina.


    As we returned to my room, I knew she needed the entire idea, so I finally told her.


    ¡° I believe I have a sister, maybe a sibling. I heard my mother talking with Theodico about Katria. I believe it was my sister, and when I finally came back for my week-long forest trip, I guess my mom was glad I wasn''t dead. Still, her face gave a different look. I wish you truly were,¡± I said in one full breath, as I couldn''t breathe when I finished.


    She just looked at me blankly.


    ¡° Oh, and I found two boxes, not just one. The box I found was written in a pen, maybe named Kartia, so I also picked it up. It was two full boxes, so we have a lot of work to do tonight. Do you think you can stay?¡± I could basically be rambling now.


    ¡° Okay, stop saying too much all at once, so start with the twin slowly because everything you just said had too many words,¡± Faustina Hegan says.


    I took a breath and told her everything. ¡° So I heard my mother talking to your father, and I heard the name Kartia, and my mother had said He can''t know if Octavius ever found out, it would be the end of his father''s life; this is the only reason Lusicus has survived this long,¡±¡± I think Kartia is my twin which is why they couldn''t kill me as the firstborn because I was indeed not the firstborn. They hid Kartia to slow down my father''s process,¡±. I told her with a look of hope in my eyes.


    ¡° Okay, so if this Kartia is your sister, if they kept her away to keep your father alive, why do you want to find her out,¡± Faustina said with a look of concern.


    ¡° Maybe it can help the curse. None in my family have had twins since the curse was made, so what if we found her, and she could help us?¡± I was so sure of it, and it looked like I was finally proving it to Faustina.


    ¡° Find, let''s look through these boxes, and maybe we can see if there is anything about this Kartia,¡± Faustina said. I was so happy she eventually agreed, so I pulled out the first box; it was small, hoping it was my birth certificate or anything about the day I was born. As we opened the box, we saw many baby things like me, so we started digging into the box and found two birth certificates. Both were for me until we saw them. It was my death certificate as well, but it said I died at my birth. That couldn''t have been true, so we kept digging and finding another death certificate, but it noted Kartia. She had died on the same day I was born, but it said she was 3 years old, which could still mean I was her brother, but my father''s death wouldn''t be happening if that was true; something besides my death was false.


    ¡° Maybe the curse wants the parents to kill the kids, not just some accident to happen?¡± Faustina said with her hands up on the arm as for a question.


    ¡° No, that can''t be; the curse wouldn''t work like that because it has killed many people without having their parents or a family member hurt them. I mean, look at my father; it is taking him slowly; there has to be another reason¡±. I said, baffled.


    We decided to get the second box with something valuable, and lucky we did. We had found many things for kids, and a letter was written to one of the maids who had left long before I could remember.


    Dear,


    I wish you the best of luck with Katria. I hope you will treat her well and the cruse will never find her, and hopefully, it doesn''t happen to her; if she doesn''t know her family history, please, when she turns 18, take her back to me,, after my husband is dead, just so I can explain why we had to give her to you. Still, if the curse truly believes we have killed her, maybe it will leave my family alone; I know I should tell you in person, but sadly, Octavius is always with me. Honestly, I feel like he''s a brilliant kid and will remember this one day, so I gave you a letter, and if you would like, I will keep it safe until it''s time to see her again. This means the whole world to me, and please, if something soon happens, please just make sure she is safe; she can''t know she is a twin, or she might look, and as of right now, seeing her brother could worsen the cruse knowing the true that we didn''t kill her and she was the firstborn.


    I hope you understand why we had to do this. I will put money into your bag before you leave until she is 18.


    Domitlita


    ¡° Oh my, you were right, Octvous. We must find her; maybe she is the key to breaking the curse,¡± Faustina said excitedly.


    ¡° I can''t; my mother would have me. I met her when I was 18. I think I could just wait, but my father would die, yes, of course, but they did this, didn''t they? They had a choice.¡± I said with many details that this letter was a lot of information for me to take. I don''t think I can do it. I have to make sure Faustina leaves soon.


    ¡° Okay, how about this? We both come up with a plan. I''ll send you home with some things to keep for information. You tried to see if your dad would talk about her, but promise me you won''t tell him it for me; just make a lie to make sure he doesn''t get suspicious,¡± I said firmly.


    ¡° Of course, I will make sure of it. What will you do for the time being?¡± Faustina said with concern in her voice.


    ¡°I''ll make sure to have a plan as well; ill keep looking through these boxes hopefully to find where she took my twin, and maybe we can start looking, but it''s going to take a lot of planning, so I''ll write you when I find something useful to use I promise¡±. I said as if I knew it was the truth for now. She nodded and soon left the castle and promised she would write me if her father had any more information, but for me, I went straight to my room and got my box with the glass I shattered. All I thought about was the lies my father told me, and they couldn''t kill their daughter but could send her away and punish me for it because they couldn''t live life with a son. I took the glass and used all my strength and just held it till my blood was spilling from my hand. I felt relieved seeing the red turning into a puddling, but adjusting wasn''t good, yet I needed more. I looked down at the blood and opened my hand, and just blood flowed through. And rolled up my sleeve to see the head-up scars turning pink.


    I couldn''t breathe once the glass touched the warmth of my skin. I inhaled deeply and let it slide across my soft arm, turning it into a deep red. I let out a breath I didn''t even know I was holding; tears stung my eyes, and I lay on the floor wondering where it started. The next day, I woke up on the floor with my wrist all wrapped up in white gauze, but my door and window had both been locked. I couldn''t remember anything from last night, so I must have wrapped them up before I went down.


    I couldn''t remember anything, so I was worried someone had walked in and just hoped I had fallen. I had to quickly cover this up as Faustina was coming over with hopefully more evidence about this Katuia.