"Choose," he said with no emotion in his voice or on his face.
I looked to the girls on both sides of me. Sierra. Her soft, black hair braided into a halo on her beautiful head, the moon casting shadows on her brown skin. She held herself up with power and grace as she walked to the little staircase and stopped right in front of it as she turned and face us with a blank face. If she worried, she did well of hiding it.
Then there was Aurora. Her ginger hair in the same style as her twin sister only slightly messy. The sun casting a warm glow on her tanned skin and the fear was evident in her eyes, but not her posture as she walked the small staircase a distance from Sierra and turned to face us with her body language full of power and her eyes full of fear.
I felt pity for the girls but didn't let it show as I made way to the table that lay in the space between the girls. I picked up the small basket with shaking hands as I slowly made my way to Sierra. I ignored the peering eyes of the people as I stood in front of my beautiful niece.
I formed a small smile on my face to comfort her as I stared into her icy blue eyes. "Leila Sierra Night. Today is the day of your choosing. You will pick a slip from this basket and what is on it will define your fate and how you will live for the rest of your days. Once you have chosen the slip you cannot switch it and you are not allowed to peer on your fate until your sister has chosen her's and you have been told." I watched as she deciphered everything before finishing, "You may now choose your fate."
She reached into the basket with her petite hand and rummaged for a minute before finally emerging her hand the basket clinched in a fist as it held her fate and life. I nodded before going across to where Aurora stood, fiddling with her summer dress. I smiled at her as I did Sierra and she visibly calmed down as I recited what I had to Sierra to her using her full name, Kyra Aurora Day. She didn't even take 5 seconds as she stuck her hand in and brought it right back out.
I raised my eyebrows in surprise and heard many gasps in the crowd behind me as they too were surprised that she'd just picked her fate like that so fast. Recovering quickly I made way back to the table and placed the basket down before motioning for the girls to once again join my side. Once they did I turned to the crowd of waiting people.
"As all of you know this ceremony is a very joyous one for all us that rarely happens at all. Tonight and day we hold the Choosing. These two girls," I ushered them forward a little distance, "are your two heirs to the crown and depending on the fate they've chosen we will either have one ruler as the other is to be married to someone of the royal court, or we will have, for the first time in Sayam history, two queen rulers." The crowd erupted into applause and cheers at the thought of having two queen leaders.
I retrieved the jeweled silver dagger from the table before turning to Aurora. She shakily holds out her hand and yelps when I press the knife hard enough to draw blood in the palm of her hand. I do the same to Sierra and she winces, a look of pain on her face before it's back to that emotionless mask.
"First they will let a drop of blood fall onto their fate as their power slowly leaks out with the blood," I say as the girls slightly tip their hands letting a drop fall onto the crisp, white, folded sheet of paper, "then they will make a blood pact, promising that they will congratulate each other no matter what the other gets."
They turn to each other and I watch as they join hands. They both gasped from the effects before releasing each other and turning back towards the crowd. I hold my hands out to my sides, "Let their fate be known." I say. They unscroll their papers and turn it towards the crowd. It's a moment of silence before the walls were shaking with cheers. The girls then face each other and that's when I see their result and a smile that matches their own blooms on my face. "I give you, Queen Leila and Queen Kyra of the Sayam Kingdom!" I exclaim and, if possible, the cheering grows louder.
