Strength and Power

Chapter 38 - Natural Thoughts

~*~*~*~Gardens of Gelamesh~*~*~*~

Iro looked down at the twins as they ran around the garden, alight with the laughter and joy one would expect of children their age. Aide had taken to wearing her hair in a braid which did actually accentuate her natural beauty, Rain on the other hand had begun to style his hair to stand straight up in the front giving the illusion of a small black crown. Aside from that he'd asked Lucina to cut his hair for him, he wanted his hair kept short on the sides and back but leave the top relatively long so he can style it that way. They'd even begun to trade sets of clothing, they were still young enough that their bodies were close enough in size and shape that they could wear the other's clothes with no problems. They'd even coordinated it to the point that what ever one was wearing, the other was wearing the complete inverse.

Aide wore a simple white skirt with black leggings beneath it, and a black over shirt with a white long sleeved one beneath it. Her shoes of course were white flats with a small bow on either one. Rain though wore white pants, a black belt, a white vest and a black shirt beneath. His sleeves were rolled up just below his elbows exposing the black bands along his wrists. They looked well enough, both looked as if they were dressed to attend an important event but there was nothing going on that Iro was aware of.

But that's not the part of their behavior that scared him. what truly terrified him was the fact that they were both laughing and playing like children. Even the servants of the castle had commented how lively the twins were being, they were even more rambunctious than Romus and Idenia had been at their age. The servants thought it a welcomed change to have the pattering of children's feet and the squealing of their laughter ring throughout the halls. But that was just it. Aide and Rain weren't like other children. They'd never shown any interest in playing with other children their age, and when others tried to engage them all they'd receive were icy glares and dead silence.

This change they'd gone through, it happened the moment they'd met their true father. Something about their meeting Drian had set off a side in them that Iro had never seen before and it terrified him. Why should it though, they were actually behaving like children now! Yet that's exactly what frightened him the most about them. Neither one of them had shown anything close to Drian's level of cruelty, the most they'd offer was a glare and nothing more. They were like two child shaped boxes, seals off from the rest of the world, sharing none of their secrets with any but themselves.

Iro let out a sigh as his hand came up to cover his eyes and he hung his head low to shake his head. No, he was simply reading far too much into this. He was judging these two by the crimes of their father, a man they hadn't even known what he looked like until very recently. That wasn't fair of him to do such a thing. Removing his hand he saw that the children were gone from sight now and as he began to scour the gardens in an effort to find them, he heard a high pitched scream. Iro's heart leaped into his throat as he vanished from his perch on the high balcony, warping directly to the twins location wherever that may be. 

He emerged behind a wall near the heart of the garden and found the twins- playing with another child. He was a boy with a light blue shirt, and dark overalls that were being held up by a single strap on his right shoulder. He was wearing a brown cap that hid his hair from view and his shirt was dark in some areas, wet from the water of the fountain that'd been splashed on him. Iro didn't recognize the boy's face, but based on his clothes he knew him to be a tender of the garden, likely the son of one of his servants. The scream he'd heard was one of laughter and joy as he and the twins splashed the other with the fountain's water.

Closing his eyes and silently scolding himself for thinking the worst Iro hid behind the wall before the children could notice him. Play, he thought hitting the back of his head on the stone wall. They were just playing. He let out a sigh as he leaned around the corner of the wall to see the children still playing. He was so focused on watching them in fact that he never even sensed the presence sneaking up behind him until they placed a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, startled by the sudden contact but a slender finger found its way to his lips stiffling a cry from his mouth.