The Gemini Reign

I didn’t know where to start, so I started from the very beginning.

“It started when…” I paused, took another deep breath. I pulled out my storytelling voice.

“A young girl whose world was very different from us. Her name was Sabrina. She was from a small village in the world of Zabari—”

“I told you to tell me the truth, and what is that voice?” Avery interrupted.

“I am! It’s the whole story, like I said, and it’s all true! Now shhh!” I countered.

“She was from a small village in the world of Zabaria. She was five years old when she truly understood what she was. Sabrina was a shifter and a pixie. A shifter was a type of creature that was both man and another beast they could shift into. Sabrina was a dragon shifter. However, she could not turn properly. She never felt as incredible as others did. This was because she had no one to teach her. Sabrina’s parents were not there to teach her. Her grandma had raised her, but her grandma could not show her since she was not a dragon shifter.

Her grandma was a pixie. A pixie was a creature that could become invisible. They can become invisible voluntarily, and they can also turn invisible if they get very emotional. A pixie could turn invisible as a defense mechanism, and this was back when all creatures had only animal instincts when they turned. They also had other abilities like reading other people’s mental and physical feelings.

Sabrina’s parents left her with her mother’s mother because she was the oldest child to the Red clan’s King and Queen. Their kingdom was over Italy. She found out when her parents and other siblings visited her for the first time at twelve years old. She was distraught that her siblings could live and be close to her parents, but she couldn’t.

They explained that she was special because she would become queen. They wanted her to know the value of living in poor circumstances. They did not want her to be spoiled.

After she found out, her family visited more. She learned more about the family she barely saw every time. She gathered that her mother was a pixie as well. Her father was a full dragon shifter, though. Her brother was a dragon shifter, and her sister was a pixie. She wondered why she had to be both. It was unfair.

As she grew, her view did not change. She also never voiced her problems with shifting. What was the point? Her father and brother only came to visit twice a year. She believed her family didn’t love her. Why would they leave her alone after her grandmother died as well then?

When Sabrina turned sixteen, her opinion changed on being both pixie and dragon. She was walking in the woods, hunting for dinner. When she was about to leave, failing in her efforts. Another dragon ambushed her. She immediately shifted, and she was confused when it didn’t hurt or feel strange. The other dragon looked confused, as well. He kept on looking at her with a blank look. She looked down and didn’t see anything. Was she invisible? She could turn invisible?

The other dragon shifted into its human form. It was a boy! She shifted back. She only turned because she thought she was in danger. The boy behind her screamed. She wasn’t invisible anymore.

After that, the boy and Sabrina walked around. His name was Leo, short for Leonardo. They became fast friends and eventually fell in love.

When Sabrina turned eighteen, she became Queen. Leo was her King. They wanted their children to have a different life. A life where they could make friends and have an education. Live their ways. Sabrina had a firstborn daughter, a son, then twins- one a boy and the other a girl. Twins were rare in Dragons. When they were boy-girl, it was even rarer because, in dragon DNA, boy-girl twins had a stronger connection to each other than same-gender twins. They were more powerful as individuals and together than any other dragon, especially since they had royal blood. Leo and Sabrina wanted to raise their children in the human world.” That was our parent’s story.

“Sabrina and Leonardo were our parents,” I said, looking at Avery. She looked shocked.

“I know that was a lot at a time, but it was how mom told us the story. Well, told Selene and me.” Selene kicked me under the table. “Oh! Right. I know this is sudden too, but Selene is our sister. She is six months older than me and was undercover as the principal in our school. Also, I don’t know if you figured this out, but—¨

“He is my twin?” Avery said, pointing to Aiden. Then she started laughing. Almost hysterically. “This a joke! It has to be.” Her voice started to break. “It can’t be true. It can’t,” She whispered.

I stepped towards her, “Avery…” She backed away as if it was deadly and walked out of the kitchen. I followed her.

“I need time.” She said over her shoulder before pulling on her coat and walking out the door. I heard her walk to the car, start it and drive away.

I headed back into the kitchen. Selene and Aiden looked at me. “She left,” I said.

Selene nodded.

“Why did you keep this from her?” Aiden said, paranoid. “How?” I looked to Selene, hoping she understood that she had to explain the rest.

She sighed, “We erased her memory. We have that power on the dragons who haven’t unlocked their power. We found out from some of the rogue dragons that we know. I suppose we should fill you in on what happened to Avery.”

After she finished explaining, there was a knock on the door. I opened the door, and Valerie surged past me and into the kitchen. I followed her into the kitchen still puzzled.

“Aiden? Is it really you?” She said, her voice so quiet it was hard to hear even for me.

“Valerie?” Aiden said, his voice packed with emotion.

Valerie flew into his arms and cried, “You’re okay! Oh my god! Why did you do that? How could you? I thought you were right behind me!”

“I couldn’t leave with you. I didn’t have a life outside of them. Besides, they didn’t want you as much as they wanted me. I was more powerful. You would have never gotten out if I came with you,” Aiden’s voice was so gentle, I had goosebumps.

I didn’t want to interrupt the moment, but I had no idea what was going on. “How do you two know each other?”

“It’s a long story, but Valerie, what are you talking about? Aiden had a chance to leave?” Selene asked.

“No, I didn’t,” Aiden replied, his voice cold again.

“Yes, he did. He had a chance to get out. He always did, Aiden was smart enough to leave years ago, but there was something he couldn’t leave behind.” Valerie said accusingly.

“Valerie, I would appreciate it if you didn’t give my entire life story out to people I barely know.” Aiden’s voice came out accusing too.

“It makes no sense. Why would you stay there for no reason?” I asked.

“Valerie doesn’t know the truth. No one does. I’d like to keep it that way.” He stormed out of the house, and I heard a faint slamming of a car door.

Selene and I turned toward Valerie, “What happened?”

She took a deep breath, “I don’t remember much because I lost a lot of blood, but I was captured when going on a rescue mission with Queen Sabrina. We were hung up and tortured. Aiden cut me loose and told me to run. I thought he was right behind me, so I did. We were kept in a barn by a forest, so it was easy to run away. When I got outside, someone was waiting for me, everything blacked out, and then I was in a healing booth. That’s all I remember from the escape.”

“When was this?” I asked.

Selene replied, “Four years ago.”