• -Preface

    Chapter-1 Two of a kind

    Feb, 26, 1612
    A Short old women walked down the dimly lit corridor, the warm glow of the candles gave the place a serene look. Truth be told the Evergreene Manor was anything but serene at the time. Adaline Evergreene rest in a large bed, she suffered through labor the whole morning and soon after it was over she was overwhelmed with fatigue. Meanwhile the nursemaids and servants were busy dealing with the newborns, two that is. Boy, Girl twins were rare at the time and the survival rate was low but both Salena and Sebastian were healthy.

    The tall wooden doors of Adaline's room were pushed slowly open, despite her exhaustion Adaline stirred awake. Blinking the sleepiness out of her eyes she caught glimpse of a short figure coming towards her, the doors closing behind it. Adaline wasn't startled at all, she propped herself up onto her elbows and watched the elder come into view.
    "Hello Clairabelle, What brings you here at this time of night? I do hope Sebastian and Salena are doing well" Adaline said her eyes moving from Clairabelles well known pitch black eyes to the bundle in her arms. The elder followed Adaline's eyes to the bundle, she let out humph before speaking.
    "They are breathing." Clairabelle spoke with a fierce coldness that brought goosebumps to Adalines arms.
    "That is nice to hear" Adaline said softly "but that does not tell me why you are here, Surely you did not come here and awake me to tell me they are fine." Adaline's voice rose slightly in her attempt to mimic Clairabelles coldness. Of course the kind women failed miserably.
    "yes, you are right. I'm not here to speak of good fortune, sadly." Clairabelle replied pulling back the clothe that covered the tightly wrapped bundle, two curious blue eyes peaked out from under. Salena, who had easily the bluest eyes Adaline had ever seen. She looked around quietly, Adaline had only seen her once before, right before the carried her off to clean her up. At the time Salena was quiet just like she was now, it was not a good trait in babies but the nursemaid were sure that the twins were healthy. Adaline found it easy to just watch the child, her emotionless face wiggling in the blanket as she explored with her eyes. Clairabelle cleared her throat bringing Adalines attention back to her.
    "She's a wonder isn't she?
    Yes, She'll be The first to cry,
    The first to run,
    The first to feel the warmth of sun,
    Adventure is in her eyes,
    She'll be smart, that I'm sure,
    But wise beware for she will fall,
    The first to die,
    She'll bring an end to it all."
    Adaline frowned
    "What do you mean?" She asked, It was well known that along with the colors of her eyes Clairabelle had also lost her mind quite a while ago. Clairabelle usually walked the halls mumbling to herself, Adaline had put up with it because the elder worked well but now she was beginning to regret it. "Clairabelle, Bring Salena to me. I don't want you near her if your gonna be speaking such nonsense."
    Clairabelle shook her head and pointed to the window with her free hand. The Sky was filled with a dark misty blue, A full solar eclipse.
    "The blue moon shines, While the dying sun hides, Your eagerness has brought you this, My wishes will prevail. Prepare yourself you foolish women, for it is the Black arts you messed with. Be warned Dark magic will never fail." The words cut at Adaline bringing back memories she'd rather not remember. Growing older as she was, she found it harder to bring forth children and out of irrational fear she turned to Clairabelle for help. Later she saw the faults of her mistake but three months pregnant with Salena and Sebastian it was well to late.
    "It's not like that. I was mistaken, Scared. I would have never done it if I was not worried. If I had known I was already pregnant." Adaline cried holding her arms out for Salena. "now give her to me." she whined like a child.
    Clairabelle shook her head and took a step back. Pulling her free arm to her side a second bundle appeared, from this one it was easy to see the bright grayish blue eyes of Sebastian.
    "Ahh, Sebastian. Second born.
    He will be strong, Oh so very strong.
    But a follower at best, He will follow his beloved sister,
    Follow her to his death.
    Two bodies,
    Two of a kind brought together in an Inseparable bind.
    One soul, a soul they share,
    Pain is not just one's to bare,
    for together they'll have scars to share.
    And when the Deceiver comes beware their souls will shred,
    of flesh they'll be fed,
    till judgment day is here" Clairabelle neared the bed
    "For your mistake you'll have to watch these Twins grow wicked. Twins who's lives are only just beginning but are already coming to an end" Clairabelle let out a small sigh as Adaline's face displayed the many emotions she was feeling from pain, to horror, to anger and finally despair.
    "Why?" Adaline asked her voice barely reaching above a whisper. "Why me? Why them? Why now?" she asked her voice growing louder with rage.
    Clairabelle just stared at Adaline, her foggy old gray eyes showing no emotion. "You know what you have done. I wish it was different." she mumbled her face softened with sympathy. "I hate to be the bringer of bad fortune. I truly do, but like your children my blood is tainted with wicked blood." she set Salena down and then Sebastian. Backing away quickly as to not let Adaline let out her anger on her.
    Adaline looked struck silent, she pulled the twins up into her arm and held them close. "Run" she said softly "Run you witch" a little louder she said her eyes clouded with hate. Without a word Clairabelle turned and walked away, leaving as Adaline suggested. "I spare your life now, but I will not be so kind if I see you again" she said as the chamber doors closed.

    Salena deriving from the name Selena meaning "the Moon" and Sebastian meaning "Venerable or worthy of respect". Adaline decided that the words fit well and with permission from Gerard Evergreene, her husband it was so. Gerard was a wealthy Aristocrat with a promising future. To let him know of the incident, or to let anyone get word of it would not only put his career in danger but also her life and the lives of Salena and Sebastian. So she decided then the secret was hers to keep.


    Chapter 2- A deal's a deal
    Later that night

    Clairabelle fled the house, following the worn dirt trail down to her cottage which sat on the property a mile or so away from the house. Her thin wrinkled hands pulled the door open slowly, and her old dark eyes scanned the messy cottage looking for a sign of disruption. With a loud huff she pushed the door fully open and walked inside. Behind her the door closed with a loud thud. Without looking back Clairabelle said "What do you want?". A bone chilling chuckle came from beside the door, and from the shadows came a tall dark haired gentlemen. That is if you could call him a gentlemen. "I just stopped by to see how you were doing." He said smiling pleasantly. Clairabelle rolled her eyes, "Oh, is that the only reason your here?" she said finally turning to him. Adrien smirked "No dear, I've also come to check on the twins, but I'm sure you already knew that". Clairabelle walked over to the only light in the room. It was table filled with candles of all kinds, melted waxed pooled around the bottom of the candles and dripped from the the table to the floor. "Ah yes, of course. They are healthy, and as for their mother. Well she knows of their misfortune, but I believe she'd die herself before she'd cause them any harm".

    Adrien nodded slightly, he scanned the room. "Then it is done, I'll be back for the twins when they are of age. You've done well, and as promised you will be payed" Adrien picked up a shriveled up bundle of sage and studied it. "Tell the council they can keep their stupid Shadow books, I'm sure none of their spells are worth a damn anyways." Clairabelle wrapped her arms around herself and squeezed tightly. She didn't see how the council could ruin the lives of two little children so carelessly as they did. She had been a part of it, but Clara knew if she didn't help they'd just get someone else to do it. "So you did it for nothing then, I'm sure the council will be pleased." Adrien said as he set the sage down, and threaded his fingers through his hair.

    Clairabelle turned suddenly, her eyes were somber and mouth was set in a grim line. "No, for taking the life of two they must pay a debt of two." She said pulling a wickedly sharp looking blade from under her thick coat."Starting with you". With amazing speed for an old lady, Clairabelle leaped toward Adrien. Adrien smirked, and with little ease he stepped to the side, avoiding the dagger. "Oh Clairabelle, you of all people should know it is nearly impossible to kill me." Adrien whispered in her ear as he moved past her. Without a word Clairabelle spun, and attacked again. "But it is possible." She said, her body heaving as she tried to catch her breath so she could attack again.


    Clairabelle stumbled through the door, she looked behind her and cried out. Adrien walked out of the cottage following her his eyes scanning the treeline. Nothing yet. With a twisted grin he slammed his boot into her back. Flying to the ground she screamed in agony. "You should have just taken the damn books." he mumbled as he stepped past her. His eyes scanned the forest and bushes surrounding the old cottage. Little dots of lights could now be seen slowly coming closer to them. "Alright Clairabelle, I must be going now. Seeing as they don't take murder well here." Adrien squatted down next to the still body of the old women, he pushed her onto her back and smiled coldly down at her. His hands cupped her chin and in a swift move he flicked his hands to the side until he heard the crack of her neck snapping. Without a word Adrien stood up and headed away from the cottage, disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

    Chapter 3- Pain to share
    December, 12, 1617

    Salena and Sebastian grew to the age of five under the close protection of their mother. Having grown up in a wealthy manor they had no need to leave the manor grounds. Salena was very adventurous and Sebastian was always close at her heal following her along for the ride. Being five they could usually be found in the garden or their playroom. The first major accident of their life happened during a harmless game of hide-and-go-seek. Salena was hiding in one of the spare guest rooms tucked safely in an empty wardrobe. Meanwhile her brother Sebastian was walking through the busy kitchen searching for his sister. It's debatable how exactly it happened, seeing as Sebastian blamed it on a careless servant and the Servants blamed it on Sebastian for foolishly entering the kitchen. The result was the same though Somehow Sebastian managed to get a knife being used to cut vegetables from its perch on the counter top to about a half and inch deep into his arm. Luckily he missed any major arteries. The closest servant to him, a girl of about thirteen was the first to notice. It was hard not to when blood was spilling out of his arm and dripping all over the floor. Before the girl could help though, not one, but two screams filled the manor. The screams were blood curdling cries that echoed in harmony.

    Salena burst from the wardrobe gripping her arm three or four inches above her wrist. Her scream was obviously the worst of the two, a mix of terror and confusion. As she stepped out of the darkness of the wardrobe into the room filled with light her pain turned to horror as she caught sight of her arm covered in a glove of blood, a deep gash about an inch and a half long. She hadn't touched anything in the empty wardrobe to cause the injury and she hadn't gotten it before she entered the wardrobe.

    Stumbling out of the bedroom Salena made her way down the softly lit corridors. Servants rushed to her to see what the screaming was about, they surrounded her and calmly started to get to work covering her arm in clothe. Adaline pushed her way through the crowd and fell to the ground help her daughter. Servants down in the kitchen were also covering and wrapping Sebastians wound.

    Adaline was very calm as she pulled the terror struck five year old into her arms being careful of the injured arm. Adaline wiped a damp strand of raven black hair from Salenas face, her even voice overpowering Salena's wails.
    "How did this happen?" she asked glancing around at the five or six servants who still remained trying to help with the wound. They all remained silent, avoiding her eyes. "well!" she yelled "What happened?"
    she looked from one worker to the next, all of them shook their heads and mumbled "I didn't see" or "I wasn't present".
    Adaline gave up on getting answers from them and turned to
    Salena "Sweetie..." she started but didn't get to finish due to the panic stricken cook who entered the corridor yelling
    "Mistress, Come Quick, Master Sebastian has been injured. A knife fell! In the kitchen! Hurry!" she yelled barely getting the words out as she started to turn around and head back to the kitchen.
    Before she made it completely around she spotted Salena sobbing in Adalines arms
    "Mistress Salena's been injured too?" she asked staring in amused horror at the blood stained clothe wrapped around her arm. Adaline didn't answer though, instead she raced past the cook towards the kitchen. She called orders behind her
    "Get Mr, Evergreene quickly, He's in his office in the West wing so he's probably not heard the screams. And send for the doctor at once." she said thinking of how far the west wing was from the kitchen. The only problem with living in such a large house was that it took nearly forever to get from one side to the other.

    Adaline Entered the kitchen and was immediately attacked by little Sebastian who carefully wrapped his uninjured arm around her leg. "Mama" he wailed showing her his injured arm that was wrapped in dark clothe. "I-I" he stuttered, he huffed still sobbing as he tried to catch his breath. "I was looking for Salena" he said his eyes falling on his sister and her arm. His mouth fell into an O as he caught sight of the blood soaked linens. "wha-What happened to si-i-ssy?" he asked unwrapping his arm from his mothers leg and reaching up hesitatingly to touch his sisters arm. "did you get cut too?" his voice quiet as he stopped sobbing. Salena wiped her nose with her unhurt arm, snot and tears covered her blotchy face. Shaking her head Salena looked from Sebastians eyes to his arm.

    " I-I was hiding an-and then mu-my arm , it hurted" she whined dragging her eyes from her brother to her mom who was quietly listening to them explain to each other what happened as if they were full grown adults. It had always amazed and amused her how mature they could be. "I See" she said looking from Salena with her unnaturally long, thick, black, curly hair to Sebastian with his similar thick, black curly hair that was much shorter, falling just past his ears. They were so much alike it was creepy. She pondered the possibility of them having some kind of physical bond the could make one get cut in the same place, at the same time when one was no where near a blade of any kind and nor were they near each-other. She had heard stories of twins who felt similar emotions and feelings as each-other but never anything this dramatic. "Pain is not just ones to bare for together they'll have scars to share" Clairabelles words came back to her like a whisper in the wind, so strong the Adaline stumbled back slightly from the force. If the words were true then her kids were in a lot more danger than she ever imagined. How was she gonna explain this to her husband? or worse to the twins?

    Chapter-4 Nightmares
    Later that night-

    The eerie creak of the floorboards made the hairs on the back of Salenas neck stand up. Through the door she heard her father pacing impatiently, and his barely audible muttering. Holding her breath she took a step closer and pressed her small ear up against the door. Selena didn't mean to be nosy, honestly she was just walking by, but once she caught sight of the dim light under the doorway of her fathers study she was transfixed. Only five obviously she didn't understand what he was pacing for or why he was muttering, but that didn't matter she still crouched by the door and peaked through the small hole in the door knob. Adaline was standing a few feet from her husband Gerard Evergreene, her hands were folded neatly in front of her, and her head was hanging low.

    Finally Salenas father spoke, his words were harsh and accusing. "Don't tell me you don't know what happened. It's not normal for two kids to get a gash on their arm in the same place, at the same time, even if they're twins. The Doctor is suspicious, and probably thinking god knows what!" He had halted in-front of Adaline and was glaring at her. Adaline still had not lifted her head, and she seemed determined to stay silent.

    After a few seconds of waiting Mr Evergreene's mouth fell into a grim line, and in and incredibly quick motion the back of his hand made contact with Adalines cheek. Adaline let out a cry, and instantly brought her hand up to her cheek. Tears fell from her eyes, and her face grew red as she let out a silent sob. Salena let out a surprised gasp. She didn't understand why her father would hurt her mommy. Selena wanted to run to her mother, to hug her and tell her that daddy didn't mean it. An image of her father doing the same to her kept her from bursting through the door. Through the hole Selena could see Mr. Evergreene's head snapped like a whip, his eyes instantly falling on the door. "Who's there?" he barked taking a step towards the door. Selena took a step away from door almost tripping over her feet. The loud thud of her fathers feet against the floor brought tears to her eyes. He would slap her like he did her mom, if not worse.

    Sebastian crept down the hall his eyes slowly scanning the space in front of him, his heart was pounding but he had no idea why. "Selena" He called softly, not sure exactly how he knew his sister was not in her room, but certain she wasn't. "Sissy" He said a little louder. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, and he felt very fearful of something although he wasn't sure what. He silently entered the grand hall, at the other end he could see the dim light seeping out from under the door of his fathers study. Then he saw her, standing maybe two feet from the door. Even in the dark light Sebastian could tell his sister was shaking in terror, he could feel his chest tightening, and his own hands were shaking also.

    A shadow covered the light from under the door, Sebastian held his breath. "I said who's there" His father yelled from the other side of the door. Sebastian's eyes fell once again on Selena. Why wouldn't she answer? Why was she so scared? he thought as he quickly made his way towards her. He was behind her in seconds, he reached towards her with his unhurt hand, but it was shaking so much instead he brought it to his chest trying to calm it. "Selena, run" He whispered, his arm finally moving from his chest to her unhurt arm which he gave a gentle tug.

    There he was, standing before her just behind the door. Any second now he'd pull it open and hurt her. She could feel her brother growing nearer, but she barely noticed it she was so scared. Her whole body was convulsing uncontrollably, and she was shocked that her father couldn't tell she was just feet from the door. Then she felt it, like a warm breeze on her back. The gentle touch of her brother, and the softness of his words. She felt a calmness sweep through her, and she quietly obeyed him. Instead of trying to make it all the way to the end of the hall she grabbed her brothers hand from her shoulder and pulled him with her towards a tall statue of a goddess like angel. Once behind it Selena fell into her brothers small arms and let out a sob. He brother shushed her and peeked around the statue, but the shadow was gone.


    Adaline wiped her arm across her cheek in a pathetic attempt to brush away the tears. Just after slapping her he had lost interest in her, and was now heading towards the door. Adaline fell into a plush chair, watching her husband scream at the door. She doubted there was anyone there, he was just looking for someone else to take his anger out on. A sneaky servant, or nosy kitchen girl trying to get some gossip were ideal whipping post for him. Adaline herself would never physically hurt someone, she'd yell at them, but that was it.

    Tired of hearing him yell Adaline looked up at her husband, the man she had so willingly married. "Gerard, please stop" she begged, she rested her head on her palms and sighed. It was quiet then, shocked Adaliene looked up. It wasn't like Gerard to just stop. He was standing there, his shoulders low, looking defeated. Slowly he turned, his eyes red and blotchy. "What is wrong with our kids?" he said in a shaky quiet voice. Adalines eyes fell to her lap, she had never seen her husband cry, and it didn't feel right looking at him now. "They're cursed." she whispered hoping he wouldn't hear her. "Cursed?" he asked in a distant voice. Letting out a sigh she nodded keeping her eye's on her hands that rested in her lap. Adaline had never felt so old, it's as if just admitting the truth, actually saying the words had aged her.


    Selena's soft breathing, the rise and fall of her chest next to him kept Sebastian awake. She still hadn't told him why she was so scared, or what she had seen. After waiting silently until she stopped crying he brought her to her room. Once she was tucked in he started towards his room, but he didn't even make it to the door before her small voice stopped him. "Don't leave me alone 'Bastian." she cried. Sebastian nodded stiffly and walked back to her bed crawling in beside her. For her he would do anything, it was like he had no choice. Finally Sebastian closed his eyes. His injured arm felt like it was pulsing with heat, but he ignored it and drifted slowly to sleep.