Determined to take control of their fates, Arjen and Arien escape Derolina Castle at the age of sixteen after their cruel mother dies. They adopt new names and find a home in the city of Aramore, while the Emperor of Yuriana searches for his missing...
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The humid sea air permeated the warm evening as people went about Kalza Square. Conversation mingled with the cheerful melodies of the various musicians. As the final hues of sunset faded to blue-black, and the moon and stars lit the heavens, the lights strung from booth to booth offered a gentle glow in the maze of vendors.
Arien, Arjen, and their friends wandered through the crowd holding food wrapped in paper. They ate as they went along, chatting casually about the day's events. Arien listened as Mona went on about how her father made her do some long inventory at the merchant's office. She said her eyes hurt by the end of the day. Luther talked about the most recent section of the college exam he had to study. Arjen mentioned how he had to go pick up some books with strange titles from one of Marcus' sellers. Most people would find their stories dull, but Arien could appreciate this kind of dullness. In the past, life could go from very stale and boring, to suddenly terrifying without warning. Nothing about life back then was normal. Thus, she used to dream about what a "normal" life looked like, what a peaceful life looked like. She didn't usually dream about being a princess because she never felt like one, so she imagined living in a cottage in the countryside, tending to a little garden in the cheerful sun with only birdsong in her ears. Listening to her friends talk about "dull" things was as close to "normal" as she could imagine. It soothed her soul.
"So, you brought your zuki tonight," said Arien, referring to the little stringed instrument Luther carried under his arm. It looked like a tiny guitar, and although it had a name in this world, she was sure it had had a different one in her past life. "Are you going to play it?"
"I was thinking about it," he replied. When he smiled at her, her heart leaped. "But it seems I might have some competition tonight with all the other musicians here."
"But you're so good at it! People would want to hear you." It wouldn't be the first time Luther had played in the square, and she knew for a fact that he was talented enough to attract a lot of people. All he needed was enough distance from another musician so people would easily hear him. The zuki was not a loud instrument.
"Hmm," he said, glancing around. "I just need a place..."
They deposited their food wrappings in a trash receptacle (Arien was very pleased such things existed in this world) and began to wander about to find a place for Luther to sit and play. But it appeared there were many musicians this night, with very little space between them. Luther didn't want their music to drown out his. He wanted listeners to hear his lyrics.
Eventually they to came to a corner of the square where there was a large knot of people gathered. Bursts of noise erupted from the crowd, what sounded like cheering or jeering, or both, Arien couldn't tell which. Curious now, the four approached and tried to see through the spectators.
"It looks like a game," said Arjen. Being the tallest of the four, he was able to peer over most of the people. "Wow...!"
"What is it?" asked Arien. She stood on her toes as she tried to see.
