Allycia and Claira's POV
Since young, we've been thoroughly taught on how we should act and be
Walk with pride, smile with grace, and most importantly never let your emotions be read or seen
That is how the ideal lady, and future empress should act
Yes, since birth we have been groomed to stand and rule by the empires future emperor
Everything has already been planned, the only question left is which princes we shall go to
It is likely one of us will marry the third prince and the other the fourth
The second princes mother has no influence and wealth compared to the other two wives
Still, he is a better option than the first and eldest prince
After all, he is not the emperors true son
Before Princess Mion was wedded to the emperor, she had been enganged to his brother, the previous crown prince
That is Prince Edwins true father
Father would never waste us on the prince with smallest chance of ascending the throne
He is a smart and calculative man, that is how he's been able to remain in favour for so long
But being the loved prime minister isn't enough for him
He desires much more than just that, he wants to be the emperors father in law and father to the empress
A position that not many if any can go up agaisnt
But in the end, there is only one empress and two of us daughters
We shared the same womb for 9 months, raised by the same rules and attended every social gathering as a pair
Through everything, thick and thin, we have been together with each other by our side
Our entire lives have been spent together, fulfilling our fathers ambition and desires
We're the only ones who understand each other and have been inseparable since birth
But only one of can truly satisfy our father
After the day comes where we can no longer be together, what will happen to our bond as twin sisters?
One afternoon, our presence was suddenly called for by father
Usually, our only meetings with Father is his monthly checkups on how we've progressed
Even then he misses many months and the meetings are brief tests and evaluations of us
The only other time he wants to see us, is when he has a task or order for us
And right we were
We were told the emperor has requested for us to go to the palace and befriend his youngest daughter, princess Cadence
Even with fathers network of nobles and ministers, not much about her is known to us
She's the mysterious princess of the mysterious empress who the emperor suddenly brought home from nowhere
Although there have been many rumours spread concerning her, none of them are certain to be true
They say her mother is a witch who bewitched the emperor with dark magic and cursed him
The princess has been said to be hideous as a monster and that is why her face is always covered by a veil at even social event
Although we didn't want to, we still nodded and accepted the order
Obedience to father, that was the first rule we were taught
And thus we were sent to the royal palace where the princess resided
The entire time, our hands were held tightly together, not letting go until we absolutely must
That was the first time we met the emperor face to face
His eyes and expression seemed to hold no emotion and his voice, although he spoke little was deep and chilling
Truly as aloof and icy as the rumours state him to be
He repeats why we have came to the palace and what our task is
Although he doesn't order us, we take it as if it is one
Eventually the princess arrives and the moment she enters the room, we're both shocked still
Firstly, the princess was nowhere close to how the rumours described her
Secondly, it was clear for us to see how much the emperor treasured her
The icy barrier surrounding him, seemed to break when he interacted with her
It was the first time we'd ever seen such a thing occur
Although we knew words can't always be trusted, to think that they were this far off was truly too decieving
The emperor sent us off with the princess for her to give us a tour of the palace
She stuttered quite a bit and talked softly with not an ounce of confidence radiating from her
During our break, she ate a number too many cakes and crumbs covered her mouth disgracefully
Her panic and emotions were clearly displayed on her face for us to see
Seemingly everything about her personality went agaisnt what we were taught
But still, she is a princess and father ordered us to get along with her, thus we put on smiles and acted in the proper way we have been taught
Everything went smoothly, the princess was easy to befriend and held no distrust towards us
We were about to head home, task completed when she suddenly calls out to us
With cheeks bright red and a loud shaky voice, she tells us her name and requests for us to call her by it instead of "your highness"
Her blue eyes that resembled sapphires, held glimmers of expectation, hope and anxiety
We are shocked at her sudden actions and outburst of boldness, but naturally we can't refuse her and end up agreeing with smiles plastered onto our faces
Her face immediately lights up and blooms into a bright, eye smile filled with joy, relief and innocence
Her smile was so incredibly different from ours
It was... genuine and happy...
Our hearts begin to thump at the sight of it
To think that we could make someone have such an expression... for a princess of the highest ranking to be happy to become friends with two simple noble children like us...
For the first time ever we felt real joy, as we couldn't help our lips from forming into a smile just like hers
It seems for the first time, we have broken a rule in public
Chapter XXIX End
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The Reincarnated Daughter Of The Cold Emperor
FantasyAn unfortunate and sickly individual, diagnoised with leukemia, she was forced to live her life stuck in a hospital bed until eventually the inevitable arrived However who would have thought that she'd wake up to find herself in the body of a baby...