Fantasy What Do You Mean We've Reincarnated as Twin Villianesses in an Otome Game?!

[mon]

Diana was five years old when she became self-aware that 1) she was not Diana Sinclair and 2) she was no longer in Japan. Stunned by the unfamiliar setting, Diana stared at her own reflection in frozen shock, only to realize a tad too late that the person she was staring at was not her reflection as they were was no mirror, but rather someone who looked identical to her. (How Diana knew how she looked was beyond her, but somehow she just knew that the person she embodied, this "Diana Sinclair" had washed out grey hair like an old lady and cold, pale silvery eyes. If it weren't for her constant aloof expression, one may consider her pretty instead of dull).

"Wh-wh-what the heck?" Diana whispered, touching her own face as the "reflection" failed to mirror her actions. "Where am I? Who am I?" Her voice were a few decibels too high for a 16 year old teen. In fact, looking down at the size of her body, Diana would guess she's no older than five.

Looking back up at the girl who shared the same features as her, the silverhead shot the stranger a questioning look. "And who are you?" There was not much Diana---or Hinami---could remember. Last she recalled, she had been walking home from school with her best friend Ayaka--or well running--Ayaka had slipped on something as she was running down the stairs and Hinami had reached out in an attempt to grab her. She could not remember anything else aside from falling and then blackness. When she "awoke", Hinami found herself awake here as Diana Sinclair.

Feeling lost and out of place, Diana could not help but tear up in this strange environment. Where was she and where was Ayaka? She prayed and hoped nothing had happened to her dear best friend.

 

[Hella Downweather]

She was Maria Sinclair, daughter of Hubert Sinclair and twin of Diana Sinclair. She was 5 years old, full of life and love. Her long pale blond hair always took too long in the morning to brush.

No.

No that was not right…

She did not have silver hair ? She had brown...short brown hair.

The court wizard told her father last week that she had magic potential. Maybe she could become a darkness user like her dead mother !

Wait…

My mother is alive…

It’s wrong...everything is wrong

Who is she ????

She could feel two personalities dancing with each other, merging, becoming one. The memories slipping away...so close yet so far….

-Don’t tell me you are STILL stuck up on that useless flirt Hinami...I know he is only the second prince but Senri is…

-LOOK OUT !!! AYAKA !!!

Her head was hurting like it was splitting in two.

-Very good Lady Maria, even at the age of five you know how to properly curtsy. With this attitude and your cuteness, surely you will attract the eye of one of the prince.

-Thank you Nanny ! But I really want to see father. And Diana too!!! Is he still busy ?

-Yes. Your father is very busy, but maybe next month for your birthday ?

Maria opened her eyes.

Only to be met with confused, silver ones, who belonged to a little girl who looked like she was no older than five. Things were strange, she remembered this person, it was the most important person in her life….

Diana/Hinami

Things were strange, things were muddled, and when she looked in the mirror her reflection only showed a small little girl with white hair and silver eyes, who looked exactly like the confused little girl who was panicking next to her. Around Maria was an unfamiliar setting, a comfortable room, with rich beddings, candles, and old wooden furniture. Things of the past, all together.

Bit by bit, things started to make sense. She was in the body of Maria Sinclair, a young girl of 5, heiress to the house Sinclair of the kingdom of Lydia. The young girl next to her was her twin Diana. They’ve both been pretty sick after dinner last night so they went in bed early. That’s when she arrived in this body, when she took over and merged with Maria.

Two sets of memories, one body.

Was the confused girl next to her in the same position ? Could she be Hinami ? Her best friend was so close to her when the accident happened...maybe….Her eyes turned soft, hopeful even, when she turned to her twin and asked :

-Maybe you are here with me…..Hinami ? I think...I think we just got isekai’d

 

[mon]

The words that left the young girl's mouth---no, not young girl, Maria's mouth would've came as a surprise if Diana had not regained memories of her previous life. Like crushing relief, Diana lept forward and threw her arms around Maria. "Ayaka! Oh, thank God you're alright!" she could not help but cry, hugging her twin sister tightly. Like Maria, Diana's was slowly adjusting to the mix of memories that were happening in her head. These memories surged like a whirlpool of information, overloading Diana's brain with facts, pictures, and flashes of her life as Diana.

"Wh... where are we? This isn't some sort of bad dream, is it?" Diana asked nervously, pulling back enough to pinch her and Maria on the cheek. She half expected to wake up, but nope. The pain signaled it was quite real. "Ouch, okay. Never mind. This is no dream..." Diana said, gripping the ends of her long silvery hair. Slowly coming to terms with who she was, Diana had a bad gut feeling that something bad was going to happen. Something really bad.

Of course, she had not realized she was the villianess in the otome game Ayaka was talking about just before their death, and it seemed Ayaka had not realized yet too. They could not be faulted with this. After all, the game did not start until they were 16 and the twin villainesses had yet to reach their full potential in villanessery. (Making up words as I go lmao).

Still, Diana could not shake off the bad feeling that she had reincarnate into a body of misfortune. At the very least, she had Ayaka by her side. Reaching out to grab her twin's hand, Diana tried to put on a brave smile. "At least we're together... and now we're actually sisters," Diana joked quietly, making a reference to their past identities.

In the past, Ayaka and Hinami were as close as friends could be. Two peas in a pod, their parents would say when they were children. Growing up together, Hinami felt Ayaka really was like sister and now ironically, in their next lives, they're twins. It gave her some comfort... that she wasn't alone in this world.

"We need to figure out what to do from here, Ayaka---no, Maria. You should call me Diana too. We can't rouse any suspicions if we want to live comfortably," Diana reasoned, sinking back into the fluffy pillows on the bed. Wow, everything here was so extravagantly rich. They must be some noble's child in a European era. Oh right, their father was a Duke managing their own duchy. That was going to take some getting used to.

In her past life, Diana came from a working middle-class family. Such luxuries was something she could only dream of.

"There's so much I want to talk about but my eyes are getting really heavy Maria... let's just... call it a day... and talk.... in the morning..." Diana mumbled, already falling sleep, her five-year old body needing much rest.

 

[Hella Downweather]

Well as unlucky as she was to end up in the body of an unloved 5 years old, at least Maria wasn’t alone. Her twin was someone so close to her in her past life. Yes, Maria couldn’t remember a time without Diana/Hiname in Japan, and it seemed in this world too they were fated to stay together.

Diana chose this moment to pinch the young blonde, Maria winced a bit. This wasn’t a dream, she was sure of it. And since it felt so….familiar...like it was something she saw before, something so familiar...so…

Her twin little monologue cut her concentration and brought a smile to the young girl.

-Yes, I’m really happy I’m here with you too...Diana. But it seems a bit weird to have such luxuries without any drawbacks…

As her twin gently fell asleep, Maria kept her eyes open, set on discovering WHY and HOW this transmigration happened. It seemed something out of a novel, kind of the ones Diana liked so much...Wait...Diana Sinclair….Maria Sinclair...twins….

-Oh f….

If she wasn’t wrong, and frankly she wished she was, they were in the universe of Doki Doki Princess life. A heartwarming otome game of a commoner girl who raised her status as a princess after falling in love with one of four male protagonists. The game started when she was 16, after her mother married into a Ducal house. She faced many hardship, such as the bullying of her two twin half-sisters, who never accepted her in their house. Fortunately, she soon came into power and everyone who made her suffer were quickly disposed of.

Two twin half-sisters.

Maria and Diana Sinclair.

Yeah...they were doomed.


/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\


Maria woke up early the next morning, with her sleep came two new resolutions.

1- She would survive longer than her past life. All her memories stopped after the age of 18, she needed to survive past that point.

2- She would make sure Diana would survive, no matter what. Her friend turned twin was shyer than her and would surely struggle to fit in the new aristocratic lifestyle.

Fire burning in her eyes, she shook the cute little girl sleeping next to her and said :

-Diana ! Wake up ! It’s war prep time ! We have no time to loose.

Waiting for her twin to open of eyes, she then added :

-Bad news, I think we got reincarnated as Maria and Diana from Doki Doki Princess life. Good news, we have 11 years to avoid getting killed.

 

[mon]

Diana woke to a shout to which she promptly responded by rolling onto her side, her face buried in her pillow as she mumbled, "Go back to sleep Maria... it's not even time for school yet..." Always having a bad habit of waking up early, Diana was nowhere like the morning bird Maria was, but after more pestering from her twin, Diana eventually got up with a groan.

"What do you mean prep time? Isn't it a Saturday---"

Wait, what did she just say? Doki Doki Princess? As in that game? Diana stared at Maria, her grogginess doused immediately by the news like a bucket of ice water.

"N-no way! Are you kidding me?" Diana freaked out, similarly how Maria freaked out when she found out. Scrambling off the bed, she ran to the mirror and then around the room to find evidence that they really are the twin villianesses in the famous otome game back in modern day Japan. Deep down, Diana already knew this as truth. After all, her memories were not a lie and as the twins went on about their day, the truth would only sink further in with dread.

"Aren't the twins the ones that die in every ending? Good and bad?" Diana pointed out, her face pale as she whispered to Maria. Why she was whispering? Well, the maids had came in to make sure the girls were dressed and ready for breakfast. Even as the maids were combing through their light silvery hair, Diana was still lowkey freaking out. "No wait, we survive in the harem ending though. Oh no, Maria! What are we going to do?" Diana hissed frantically.

The two maids who were tending to them, Beatrice and Sarah, were both looking down at the two whispering twins, with a warm smile. It was the first time in a long while since they've both seen the two so lively. Usually they were poised, obedient and quiet children---so quiet that they were almost like emotionless dolls. Of course, they couldn't blame them for acting that way after the premature death of their mother. The duke was not helping things either as he quickly grew distant from them. The two had no one to rely on but themselves.

"My ladies, you two sure seem excited to visit the royal palace today, aren't you?" Sarah was the first to speak up, with a small smile. Of course, the two maids that the twins were whispering frantically about that. After all, it wasn't every day where the Duke would bring the kids out to his work place.

Instead of replying, Diana turned around with a shocked confused expression on her face. Huh? The palace? They were going to the palace today? Diana looked at Maria, concerned etch all over.

 

[Hella Downweather]

Maria watched, amused, as Diana ran around the room, realizing that she was indeed in the body of the villain of her favourite game. The fact that the young girl was now a little five-year-old with innocent features made the scene soooo cute. Unfortunately, maids started entering the room, to prepare them for the day, so she was not able to explain in detail the plan she had in mind to survive. Their attendants started with their hair, combing them gently. The attention made Maria frown, they really couldn’t do anything on their own now, that was going to complicate a bit things. Her twin was also quick to remind her of their horrid fate.

Four suitors were waiting for the heroine. For them ? 8 gruesome ways to die. Only in the harem ending would they be sparred, well as much as you could call being imprisoned in a royal harem, forced to serve and adore the heroine, being sparred.

-Yeah, they are. Don’t worry, I have a masterplan. As soon as we are alone, I’ll explain.

To be more precise she had 3 plans. First one was simple, do no interact with the male leads. If they don’t know we exist, they can’t kill us. Easy, breezy, beautiful. Second one ? If they couldn’t escape the main characters, they could escape the academy! They simply had to study abroad, in another country, and come back once the heroine made her choice and lived happily ever after. BAMM!!! Whole plot of Doki Doki without them. Third one, the hardest of them all, find a way to counter every bad ending of the twins.

Her reverie was soon interrupted by Sarah. They were going to the castle !!! It was dangerous...but at the same time it could yield high rewards ! Maria remembered that in the game, the heroine gets lost in the castle, end up in an abandoned garden and finds a book with magical properties. If they could find it before her, it would definitively give them an edge !

-Hey Diana, she whispered, remember the tome of truth ? Heroine-chan found it in the castle ! We could try to search for it while we are there.

She saw that her twin was visibly anxious at the idea, so she squeezed her hand in support.

-Don’t worry, the princes are what ? 6 years old ? No way they are going to wander alone in the castle. We’re going to be safe.

Now, they only had to sneak around when no one was watching and her plan would be perfect ! No one could suspect poor little 5 years olds of doing it on purpose. She was excited at the prospect and as such, did not complain when her maids took their time dressing her and her twin. They needed to be perfect after all ! (See spoiler for the dress !)

A little breakfast of pancakes and fruits later and they were in the carriage towards the castle. Apparently, their father was already waiting for them there, some excuse about cleaning his workplace before his daughters arrived. Maria waited until the maids were engrossed in their own little conversation before whispering to Diana :

-Ok, here’s the plan. As soon as the adults start talking, we sneak out in the gardens. Do you remember a bit where the book was hidden ?

Spoiler: Their little dress !

 

[mon]

"Why would we want to find the tome heroine-chan finds?" Diana whispered back confused, but then her face changed to an 'Oh! You're so smart, Maria', lighting up like a light bulb. Of course, Diana thought they were looking for the tome to improve their magic abilities. In the game, the twins were considerably below average in their magic skills and used their followers and henchmen to do their dirty work, such as bullying the heroine. Even when the twins did use their powers, because they both had the rare darkness element, they often used it for more harm than good.

Not this life, Diana thought determinedly. She was going to train herself up, well enough so that she could work for herself with Maria should anything happen. Ideally, she would prefer to get banished or perhaps runaway with Maria to start a peaceful commoner's life there, but in order to do that, Diana needed to set preparations. This magic tome may just be the key in strengthening their magic powers!

"Okay! Let's find that book before heroine-chan does," Diana whispered with a determined fist bump. She was going to avoid all the targets and aim to get banished to live a happy commoner's life!

The food given for breakfast was perfectly scrumptious. There were fluffy pancakes, tea, and juicy fruits. For someone who was used to always eating a traditional Japanese breakfast, this was a pleasant change of pace. Upon reaching the castle, Diana had to gasp at the large grandeur of things. It was one thing to see it through a screen. It was another thing completely to see it in person. Needing to keep her lady-like persona, Diana did her best not to seem overly excited but her eyes shown as she looked out the window. She was unable to hide her grin.

"I don't think it was ever mentioned in the game," Diana whispered back, "The heroine only talks about it briefly in a dialogue with Aizel." That came to no surprise. After all the game only started when the heroine was the 16. All scenes and information about her past were shown through flashbacks or dialogue scripts.

"I have a better idea," Diana grinned, a plan that did not need them waiting on the adults. "Pardon me. May I use the ladies' room?" Diana asked politely, getting up to her feet with a polite bow of her head.

One of the castle servants looked over and nodded. "Shall I escort you there miss?"

Diana shook her head. "I know the way there myself. Maria can accompany me," she said with a reassuring smile. The servant debated on letting the kids go alone but the restrooms weren't far. In fact, they were only across the hall and he still needed to set things up for the Duke and other nobles to come.

Still, he gave the directions to the bathroom to the twins. Surely no one can get lost when the bathroom was right in front of the waiting room they were in. However, no one expected the twins to go horribly off course, running off to the castle gardens the moment they were out the room and out of sight. Turning to Maria with a proud smug grin, Diana took her sister's hand. "Let's go find that book!"

With that the two ran off, soon finding themselves in the castle's back garden. Since the castle was large and the two twins were small, getting there took the wind out of them. Diana was breathing heavily to catch her breath, looking around to see if the book was in right. "Okay, let's split up to cover groundwork. You take that side and I'll take this side. The book has to be around here somewhere!" Diana said, beginning her search in the hedges.

How odd it was to see such small noble girls getting on their hands and feet to search the grass and bushes for a book. It was enough to warrant anyone a look should there be people around. Fortunately for the two twins, hardly anyone ever passes through the castle's back route...

Hardly anyone except the kingdom's two princes who were trying to sneak out of their lessons.

Of course, it wasn't just the princes who were in the area. The archwizard's prodigal disciple was there too, looking for a tome he had accidentally lost.

"Damn, if that old geezer finds out I lost it, he's going to nag my ears off,," Aizel muttered to himself as he looked for the book. He must've dropped it somewhere...

"Hey, nii-san... What's that over there?" Senri asked, tugging his brother's sleeve to stop him from running into the two girls he spotted. Senri looked at the two confused. He's never seen girls in such a messy state before! Dirt on their hands and skirts... some leaves in their hair... Weren't nobles, especially females, usually particular with their appearances?

It was an unusual but interesting sight to say the least. Senri could not help but find himself curiously drawn to the situation. What could they be looking for?

Unknown to the five of them... another girl was within the area, carelessly walking around.

 

[Hella Downweather]

MARIA


Two of the game’s bad endings for the twins involved the archwizard protege, Aizel, and them getting literally ripped to pieces by the guy’s magic. But not anymore ! Maria was going to make sure their magic education would be the finest, the most in-depth they could have, so that they would stand a chance against the mage. She knew they had natural Darkness magic flowing through their veins, in true villainess form, but beyond that she wasn’t sure what she could really do with it. Hence, any little advantage was essential.

Heroine-chan, in all her might, wielded light magic. Healing, calming, charming, there was nothing she couldn’t do and soon enough she was recognized as one of the most powerful magic-user in the kingdom. Head to head, they stood no chance against her, but maybe they could at least protect themselves or at least escape if it came to it.

The only problem ? They had no clue really where to search, the only intel they had was that heroine found it by chance one day, as she got lost in the royals garden.

Wait….

What was she even doing in the royal garden in the first place when she was younger ? She was a low ranking noble! Surely she would know not to go close to the castle with guards and all ?

Her train of thought was interrupted by her twin smart thinking, yes if they just said they were going to the ladies room people would leave them alone ! She did a small curtsy before taking her sisters hand and running in the directions of the back gardens, the one that weren’t very well tended.

-Yeah let’s ! The first step to a peaceful life !

They then split up to cover more ground. The twins were making sure to search everyone a book could’ve been dropped and forgotten. She tried to be a bit sneaky, looking around from time to time to make sure no one was watching. Still, she tried not to be too far of her twin, you never knew when trouble could happen after all.


ERIK


Somewhere a bit farther into the castle, a young boy was running. He had a short sword at his side and his attire was more focused on the practical side.

-Lucius...Senri...Where are you !!!???!!! I swear when I’m going to find you two…


LUCIUS


He had sneaked out of his lesson again. It wasn’t his fault really...the class was just wayyyy too boring. Plus it wasn’t his fault his brother was so gullible in the first place. Yes, it was just meant to happen. Indeed, how could he have known that by talking to his baby brother about possible fairies in the garden, the latter would have wanted to go and see them ?

Sneaking off had been...a challenge. They usually studied with Erik, their royal retainer, and the young boy had the attention of a hawk. A fake love letter on his desk did the trick though, distracting him long enough so that Senri and him could leave the classroom, running in the gardens.

However, Lucius did NOT expect that someone would already be there, especially not two little girls who looked oddly similar. They were so cute too ! Dressed in the same clothes, their hair lighter he ever saw. For a minute he almost believed the story he told his brother, that there were really fairies in the gardens when no one was looking. Ohhh...maybe...maybe that could work.

-You see Sen, these are the fairies I was talking you about. Now let’s not scare them, let’s pretend we are commoners shall we ?

With that he took his brother’s hand and went towards the two young girls.

-Hello little fairies, what are you two doing in the royal garden ?


MARIA


As soon as she saw the two young boys approach them, she placed herself between them and her sister. She did not know what intention they had after all. From their looks, they were not that much older than them, but in a world where magic ran rampant, you could never be too sure.

Taking the most innocent air she could gather, she answered :

-Hum..We lost a book earlier and we were searching for it...Our dad will be mad if he found out we lost it...Sorry…

 

[mon]

As Diana searched for the book, she could not help but get the nagging feeling that she was missing something out from all this. Something very important...

And that important thing happened to be the flag that was about to be triggered, not by the heroine but by the twins, thus successfully ruining Diana's plan of avoiding the capture targets at all costs. If she recalled correctly, this incident was where everything started and how the capture targets first meet the heroine, thus leading her to capture their attention. Unfortunately for Diana, she did not realize this fact until it was too late.

Meeting eye to eye with two very handsome boys, Diana squeaked in surprise and hid behind her sister Maria. Unlike Maria who spoke to them with confident innocence, Diana was paled and staring at them as though she's seen a ghost. It seemed like Maria did not realize who they were yet! But Diana knew only because she had been playing Prince Lucius' route just before she died! Unlike other routes, Lucius had a few cgs of him as a kid due to the flashback arcs in his route. Even without his childhood CGs however, Diana would've likely recognized him. He looked just as charming as he was when he's grown up!

In fact, shouldn't the 'fairy' part be referring to him and not them? Diana thought this indignantly with a slight puff of her cheeks.

She was just about to stop Maria from explaining further but it seemed she was too late once again. Lucius noticed Diana's reluctance to speak. In fact, even the look she gave him was odd. Most women would gawk at his appearances and even men could acknowledge his angelic genes---so why was it that this girl looked at him as though he grew three heads? This was certainly new... His lips curled into a curious and amused smile, before he could extend his help, it seemed Senri had beat him to the chase.

"Allow us to help Miss Fairy!" Senri said with a little glint of excitement in his eyes. A fairy! And not just one but two! It was so fascinating to him as Senri did not have a shred of doubt in his brother's words (at first he did as they wandered around but now, not anymore). But if they were fairies, where were their wings? Maybe it was best he did not ask. He did not want to offend or scare the two fairies away after all.

Diana was about to open her mouth to protest when Lucius insisted with a polite bow. "Please, let us. What does the book look like?" Diana gave Maria a slight look of concern but eventually sighed softly and nodded. "It should be able this big... with gold lining, I think," Diana mumbled, trying to remember what the item looked like in the game. With another nod, the four kids decided to pair up to find the book.

To Diana's great dismay, instead of pairing up with her sister, she was stuck with the flirtatious first prince instead!

Gah, how unlucky...

In the original game, Diana---being the older twin---was actually a prime candidate as princess consort for the first prince. Due to his flirtatious ways, the original Diana was driven mad with jealousy, developing a knack for bullying and knocking down her competition. When the heroine came into the picture, Diana did not stand a chance. No matter what she, there was no way for her to win her fiance's affections or attention. Eventually the engagement that was arranged was never solidified and Diana's blind hope and confidence in being his fiancee was shattered.

But not this time! There was no way Diana was going to place her love in someone so whimsical and flirtatious. If it weren't for the fact that she wanted to complete the entire game, playing through all the routes, she would not have picked out Lucius' route in her past life.

 

[Hella Downweather]

MARIA

She wasn’t sure why Diana seemed so scared of them. They were kids, cute kids sure but still, nothing they couldn’t handle. Sure, she didn’t like the way the older of the two was looking at her twin, like he was suddenly very curious about her. The thought made her go closer to Diana, making it clear she would protect her if it came to it.

It wasn’t until the younger boy started talking that Maria understood the problem. The two boys in front of them...they were Seni and Lucius Leonhart ! The two main capture characters in Doki, Doki, the ones who would kill them when they became adult ! Well there went the plan of NOT attracting the male lead’s attention.

And of course they had to split up. Maria didn’t like leaving her sister with Lucius. Sure, he was only a kid now, but if he took a liking to her sister she wouldn’t be able to dodge the future engagement who lead to her demise.

After all, in the game, Diana became the consort of the first prince, leading to her getting executed when the latter choose the heroine as his Queen. Maria couldn’t help with sigh a little. What a mess they were in.

A mess she had to take them out of ! With renewed motivation, she turned to Senri and asked :

-I’m not sure where to search...It’s my first time in the castle so….Please guide me ? I’m Maria by the way.


LUCIUS


For the first time in a long time, Lucius was curious. Usually noble girls, no matter their age and status, all bowed to him, faces flushing, eager to be near him, to please him. The fact that the small girl was reacting the opposite way was intriguing. She was so small too, and cute, maybe she WAS really a fairy after all.

-Hey little fairy, tell me. What is your name ? You may call me Luci if you want.

He took her by the hand, leading her to a more secluded place in the gardens.

-Come, if you dropped a book I know just where to look.


ERIK


As he was looking out in the windows, he spotted one of his target. The first prince Lucius...who seemed to be kidnapping a young girl ???? Judging by the uncomfortable look on the little girl’s face and how he just took her hand, it looked as if she had no real choice in the matter.

-LUCIUS LEONHART !! Just wait until I catch you !!!


Doubling speed towards where the first prince was headed, he only had one thought in his head, rescue the poor victim of Luci and make sure the prince never tried something like this again.

 

[mon]

Diana looked even more hesitant to give her name. Perhaps there was a slim possibility Lucius would not realize that she was Duke Sinclair's daughter? If that was the case, there was no way she was going to give her name for him to track.

"Fairies don't have names," she answered with a slight pout, giving a surprised squeak when Lucius took her hand. She would've asked him to let go of her if he hadn't mentioned the book. If forced to decide between magic and Lucius, Diana would choose magic in a heartbeat. Sighing internally to herself, she allowed the prince to show her the way, fully expecting to find the book.

On Senri's side of things, the young boy was reluctant to leave his brother's side, not knowing how to interact with a fairy such as Maria. What if he offended her in some way? Would she curse the kingdom? One way or another, he worried that he was going to mess things up somehow.

"Hello, Maria.." Senri said with boyish awkwardness. "You can call me Sen. I'll help you find your book! Do you remember where you last were?" Senri asked, leading her in another direction, deeper into the gardens but away from the castle. Senri could not afford being caught by the tutor or guards who were likely looking for him and his brother now.

 

[Hella Downweather]

Lucius


The young girl appealed to him more and more. Refusing to give her name, being wayyy too cute for her own good. What would’ve happened to her if someone with less admirable intentions than him met her in his garden ? He didn’t want to think about it.

-Well then, I’ll just have to keep calling you my little fairy. You certainly look like it anyway.

He brought her to the rose garden, a secluded yet beautiful place. Maybe she dropped her book there ? At any rate the view was simply beautiful. Roses of a thousand colors, all together in one place. The smell was a bit overwhelming, but Lucius loved it.

-Do you think you could’ve dropped it somewhere here ? It’s a…

Unfortunately he did not have the time to finish his sentence, as Erik (who finally arrived !) interrupted him, half screaming.

-THERE YOU ARE !! I can’t believe you, first you sneak off your lesson and then you kidnap one of the daughters of Duke Sinclair. Have you no shame ?

The apprentice knight quickly took Diana’s hand, and asked her.

-Are you ok? Luci is not mean but he can go too far sometimes with his jokes.


Maria


Well at least Senri was cute. He did not try to flirt with her as Lucius did in the game and acted more like a boy his age. She only hoped it went as well for her twin as it went for her. The young prince was leading her away from the castle, deeper in the woods. As she was about to ask him where he was leading her, she spotted it.

That damn magic book.

It was laying on the ground, next to an oak tree. As if someone sat there and simply forgot about it. Maria smiled, rushing to the book, looking to see if it did really contain some spells and magic incantations. A quick look confirmed to the blonde that this was indeed the legendary book found by the heroine in the game.

-Yes ! That’s the one ! Thank you Sen !!!

In her joy of finding the artifact, she simply hugged the young boy who was next to her. So what if later he turned out to be a cold blooded prince who was very likely to kill her ? Right now she was happy, she had her book and they were kids. No danger here.

 

[mon]

Even though she knew they were just cheesy, flirtatious words, Diana could not help but flush red in embarrassment. Who was this kid calling her his little fairy? Even if he's a prince, there must be a limit to how charming he could be! Was this the power of a capture target, Diana wondered? This is no good for my heart," she thought to herself, struggling to keep a straight face on. "Focus on the book, Diana! Don't get swayed by the good-looking capture target." Shaking her head, Diana soon became distracted by the beautiful large roses in full bloom. The sight was breath-taking, making her gasp softly as she stared at the rose garden, her eyes widening with a delighted sparkle.

"It's beautiful here..." She could not help but whisper, feeling as though this was a CG worthy scene. The crowned prince standing there beneath the sun's golden rays, the light breeze blowing up some petals, spreading the light but sweet scent of roses. Diana could not help but be in awe. For that brief moment, she had completely forgotten about her goal in finding the book, wanting instead to admire the scenery before her.

Before she could say anymore, her reverie was brought out by a loud shout which had her jolting in surprise.

"?!"

Her eyes widened as she saw a young boy run over. His worried puppy-like expression had her heart thumping as well, but more in a protective way given the distressed look he gave.

"E-eh?" How did this suddenly became a kidnapping? And did this kid really just give away her identity?! At this, Diana paled again, shrinking back as the boy took her hand. He looked dressed like a knight in training would. A practice sword hung at his side.

"U-um... I'm fine... but I wasn't kidnapped," Diana answered, looking down at their joined hands. Speaking of hands, when was Lucius going to let go of her other hand? She had not realized she had been holding onto him this entire time as well. "Actually I---"

Before Diana could finish her sentence, an explosion sounded off in the nearby distance. Startled, Diana looked in that direction, noticing how it was the same place where Maria had gone to search for the book with Senri.

"Maria!" Diana paled, fearing for the worst. Her immediate reaction was the leave the two boys and run towards the source of the explosion. If anything happened to her sister, she would never forgive herself!

"Please be alright, Maria!" Diana thought desperately.

Meanwhile, Senri was earnestly trying to help Maria look for her book, but as he did so, he would occasionally sneak shy glances at Maria, wearing an expression like he wanted to speak to her more. With a slight flustered look, it seemed every time he worked up the courage to do so, Senri would just clam up and pretend to search for the book in a nearby bush or so. This went on for a few rounds until Senri finally said, "Miss Maria---"

But before he could finish his sentence, he was cut off by the young girl's short exclamation. Seeing the happy and accomplished look on her face when she found the book, Senri found he completely forgot what he wanted to ask of her. He blushed and looked away as she thanked him earnestly, scratching his cheek as he mentioned with a grumble that it was nothing.

"I didn't do much to help---"

"!!"

Senri became stiff within Maria's arms, stunned that the cute fairy would hug him so suddenly. His heart thumped wildly in his chest as he looked down at Maria, unable to help but think about how cute this girl was right now. As his arms rose to return the hug shyly, he stopped midway when a cold voice cut through.

"Hey, you. Wench, give me back my book," Aizel demanded with a cold look to his ruby eyes. He placed a hand on his hip as he held a hand out, gesturing briefly to Maria who hugged the book to her chest.

Senri could not help but glare at the person who spoke to Maria so rudely. How dare he call Maria a wench?

"This book is Miss Maria's. May I ask who you think you are to demand it?" he said, moving in front of Maria to put some distance between her and this ravenhead kid. While there was an aura of power around the ravenhead, Senri was not afraid to stand up for the weak.

"I don't need to explain myself. Just give. Me. Back. The. Book. NOW!" Aizel growled, throwing a fireball down between them which set off the explosion. He had no intention to hurt the two kids, who were likely nobles. Aizel just wanted to threaten them a bit because they were being stubborn. He was a kid who hated when things did not go his way.

By then Diana had ran over just in time to see Aizel, Senri and Maria. Thankfully Maria was unharmed and Senri seemed to have summoned a wall of water in front of him to guard himself and Maria. Seeing all the capture targets gathered in the same place... just what the heck was going on?!

 

[Hella Downweather]

LUCIUS & ERIK


Yes, he could’ve stayed the whole day in his garden, with the little fairy at his side. The setting was perfect, he had plenty of time to tease her and get to know from which family she came from (and even if he did not find it today, Luci was sure noble twin girls with silver hair were not that common in his kingdom...he would’ve found her without a problem).

But of course, Erik had to come and ruin everything. Granted, thanks to him he now knew the young girl’s family name, but still...Did he have to take her hand and appear like a knight in shining armor ? It was not like she was there against her will in the first place.

Still...She was a daughter of Duke Sinclair, one of the most powerful family in the kingdom, yet she was so pure, innocent, likely untainted of the schemes of the court. Maybe it was because she was so young, maybe it was thanks to her sister, who seemed to be protecting her when he and Senri arrived earlier.

While Lucius was busy scheming, Erik was simply worried. The young girl in front of him seemed as if she wanted to disappear any second now. The nerve of Lucius ! The Duke wasn’t fond of bringing his daughter to the court, after what happened to his late wife...And the one time he did they both vanished out of thin air. Every guardsmen were asked to find help finding them...And all this time they were with Lucius !

Well one of them was at least.

The boys attention was suddenly taken away from Diana when a loud explosion was heard further into the royal woods. Surely this wasn’t good. At all. Who would be stupid enough to use fire magic inside the royal castle ?

In their surprise, they didn’t react as the young girl, seemingly horrified, screamed her sister’s name and ran toward the source of the explosion.

-Senri! Erik, we need to do something. He was with the other twin…

Seeing the look of concern on his best friend face, Erik steeled himself before answering :

-Do not worry your majesty, Senri is the strongest of us when it comes to fighting. Let’s just go and make sure the twins are ok.

Without another word the two boys ran after Diana.


MARIA


She couldn’t believe it all went so easily. Sure they ran into two of the capture targets whom they were supposed to avoid, sure Diana was with flirty Lucius, but hey ! They had the spellbook ! With that surely, they could protect themselves against a few of the most gruesome bad endings. Senri was just a cute little boy right now too, and Maria couldn’t understand how he became so cold and serious in the future. Maybe this meeting could help him a bit ? She wasn’t really fond at the idea of seeing the royal siblings again, especially since she did NOT want Diana getting engaged to the first prince. So seeing them once, fulfilling the small bit of curiosity she had towards them, was enough. Now that she had the book, the plan was simple, pat Senri on the head and go back to Diana. Make some excuses to her maids that they got lost and little bit hurt so that they could go back WITHOUT the royal siblings learning that they came from the Sinclair family. And BAM ! Everything would be perfect.

But of freaking course, the universe hated them, so it couldn’t be so easy right ? Nooooo there had to be a pissed off Aizel who spotted her with the book. Plus he called her a wench ! She had to bite her tongue not to answer in kind.

Calm down Maria, you are an innocent five year old. You are NOT supposed to know what wench means...And you are even LESS supposed to insult one of the male protagonist.

Honestly, the young girl was just ready to abandon the book right here and there. It was not worth getting on someone who could kill her in a snap of his fingers' bad side. Indeed, in the game Aizel was portrayed as a magical genius, one that could destroy entire cities if he was to throw a fit. But Senri, poor little angel, had to make the situation worse by questioning said superpowered magician.

-Hum...it’s ok Sen...if he wants the book I can…

Then the fireball came. Maria couldn’t help but scream, it looked so real, so hot, so ready to kill them. Fortunately, Senri reacted as quickly, raising a water wall between them and Aizel. Yep, she was definitively better behind the young boy. She held on to the back of Sen’s tunic, anxious about the mage response.

But then she heard familiar voices, turning her head towards her right, she saw her sister, Lucius and another young boy in toes...What was going on ?


LUCIUS & ERIK


The scene was not something Lucius expected. A young boy, looking no older than the twins, seemed to be the cause of the destruction. Fortunately, Senri seemed to be unarmed, but still...

-What is going here ?! You, mage ! Can you explain why you attacked the second prince of Lydia?

Erik, worried about Diana, gently placed himself in front of her, ready to protect her if Aizel were to snap.

-Don’t worry, Senri is pretty good when it comes to magic and fighting. Your sister won’t get hurt as long as she is with him.


MARIA

It was too much. Diana was here, meaning she may be in danger. And she was powerless to do anything. Why ? Why was she so useless ? Why was she reincarnated in the body of someone who was going to die young ? Her head was spinning, she could only focus on one thing.

She had to survive. She had to DO something.

Then, the world went black.


LUCIUS


It started with her shadow, mesmerizing him as it was moving, dancing. Were the twins unregistered magic users ? Lucius took a glance a Diana, hoping she was not panicking like her twin.

Then everything went black. He could hear Erik gasp of surprise, but he could not see anything, like he was stuck in a dark cave. Anxious, he tried to summon some fire, only to find that it did not work. Panicking a bit, thinking he went blind, he jumped a bit when Erik pulled him and Diana out of what could only be described as a sphere of pure darkness. He inhaled deeply before asking the twin he could see :

-Little fairy ? Did you know your sister was a darkness user ?

 

[mon]

Diana's eyes had widened in what most mistaken as fear, but she was merely in shocked at how the final capture target had arrived on scene. Aizel Kane, one of the hardest targets in the game, and he looked angry. Like really angry. Even though Diana knew he could not act rashly with the two princes and Erik here, Aizel was still a force to be reckon with, an unpredictable force too which makes things worst.

Hearing the words 'second prince of Lydia', Aizel blinked in surprise. "Shit," he thought to himself, looking over at the brunette boy who was glaring daggers at him. This runt was the second prince of Lydia? Aizel did not want to get into any more trouble but he still needed that book. His pride would not allow it otherwise.

"I'm not trying to attack the prince. Just hand me back my book!" he said angrily, his hot-headed behavior only making things worst. Before anyone could do anything else, Maria had hunched over as though she was in pain and darkness surrounded her like a sphere. Because Aizel was a distance away, he was not affected by the magic but he stared at it in surprise, stumbling back with wide eyes. What is this?! He's never seen darkness magic before and truthfully, the sight of it frightened him. It seemed to absorb magic like a void.

One could not blame him for reacting in such a way. Darkness users were rare making up less than 5% of Lydia's population, however darkness magic was one of the few elements that can be gained through black magic rituals which were (for obvious reasons) banned in Lydia. Those who still held darkness magic are those who were naturally born with it.

"What the hell..." Aizel muttered, for the first time in his life, more confused than proud or haughty.

Diana on the other hand, couldn't care less about what she saw. What worried her was the fact that Maria had passed out and without answering Lucius' question, Diana yanked her hand out of his grip and ran back into the sphere to pick up Maria.

"Maria! Hang in there," Diana held her sister's hand, trying to focus on the dark sphere around her. While others were unable to see a thing inside, Diana was still able to see every little detail, though now in black and white, with everything stripped away of its color. Closing her eyes, she willed for the sphere to break and for her sister to wake up.

Her own shadow within flickered as it had with Maria's, but instead of a shaky wave, it snaked around the sphere, circling it like a twisting vine before crushing the sphere. With a soundless shatter, the darkness vanished and Diana found herself trembling with exhaustion. Was this what magic was like? It was certainly not as easy as it looked but now she could see Maria better.

"Sis, please wake up," Diana teared up, not caring when she heard more footsteps approach.

"What's going on here?" A few guards came out into the clearing, spying the kids.

"Your majesties! Are you unhurt?" Two of the tutors who were looking for the princes asked, also appearing from another direction.

"Aizel... what did you do?" Another low voice asked. It came from a man in a royal magician's robe. The man looked very stern but one could tell he was also concerned on what was going on.

"I didn't do anything!" Aizel protested as the twins' father, Duke Sinclair joined in on the scene as well. It seemed everyone had gathered due to the sound of the explosion and Duke Sinclair wasted no time running over to his daughters to check on Maria.

"Daddy!" Diana cried, mostly out of fear for Maria. "Is she going to be alright?" Diana sniffled, trying to keep her tears in. What was she going to do if anything happened to Maria? She did not want to be stuck alone here in a game where only the bad ending awaited her!

 

[Hella Downweather]

For the first time in months, Alistair Sinclair was in presence of his twin daughters. It wasn’t as if he did not love them, quite the contrary, they simply reminded him way too much of their mother. She was a beauty, with silver hair and purple eyes, her shadow always dancing around her, like a tamed pet. One of the few true darkness users still in the country of Lydia. Seeing Maria, almost lifeless on the ground, was a shock for the man.

They grew so much since the last time I saw them….

He did not have time however to go to his daughter, that already the arch-wizard was by her side, checking her pulse, muttering small incantations.

-Do not worry Duke, it’s simply mana exhaustion. One or two days of rest and she’ll be back to normal.

The wizard took a look at Diana, noticing the shaking limbs and her pale face.

-I’d reckon it’s the same for this one. Congratulation Duke, they take from their mother. Purest darkness users I’ve seen in a while. I could train them if you want, I’ve worked a lot with Sophie before...you know...

Awkward, he then turned to Aizel, suddenly looking very serious.

-Now you. I did not bring you to the castle for you to attack its occupants. Especially not the princes and their guests. If you think I was strict before, just wait until you saw what awaits you, young man.

And with that, the situation was more or less solved. Sure the twins did not get their magic book, but they gained one of the most powerful magic teachers in the country. They went home, got some rest, and everything was perfectly calm once again….

Or not.

They had caught the attention of the two princes, for better or worse. Lucius especially was rather...insistant on the idea of them becoming royal playmates. They were close in age, the right status, and belonged in a loyal family. Now, on top of their magic lessons once per week, the twins also had to spend an afternoon in the company of the princes.

Lucius was rather fond of teasing Diana, bringing her to the rose garden to read and relax whenever he could.

Erik liked to go with them, training while they were relaxing. At first, it was to keep an eye on Lucius, but soon the young boy grew attached to the little girl with silver hair, one of the rare person smaller than him.

Aizel would pop up from time to time, bugging the twins to “know more about darkness users”. At this point, Maria wasn’t sure who was the worst between him and his curiosity or Lucius who kept stealing her twin away from her.

To his utmost disappointment, Senri discovered that the twins were not, in fact, fairies, but simply nobles. That still did not prevent him from visiting Maria to apologize and to train harder than ever to catch up to his brother.

And so, three years passed peacefully​

It was a few days before Lucius birthday. The castle was buzzing with life, in preparation for a grand party in which the twins were invited. The twins just finished their magic lessons but Maria still had trouble with her illusions. For once in forever, they had time to spare. Lucius was apparently busy with his party’s preparations, so he did not come as usual to kidnap Diana.

-Hey Diana, mind if I stay in the practice room ? I still struggle with this week’s exercise….You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to ! We can just meet up at the carriage at sunset as usual when Luci brings you to his garden.

Their status as royal playmates came with a big advantage, they were free to roam as they wished in the castle. Maria usually went to see Senri train, or in the royal library to read, but they had access to pretty much everything they wanted.

 

[mon]

Three years went by in a blink of an eye but much has happened since then. For starters, the twins' relationship has gotten better with their father---or rather, Diana had started her "act cutesy with papa" plan to win the Duke onto their side. In the past, Diana had though the Duke did not care for the kids at all, seeing how he effortlessly remarried and took the heroine in as a step-daughter. Instead of his real daughters, he had lavished his affections on the heroine, Alice, instead. However, seeing how shaken up he was by Maria's state, Diana realized then that things were quite the opposite. The Duke did care for her and Maria, perhaps a little too much.

It did not take long for the two silverhead girls to win over their father's affections. Of course, Maria was much more of the outgoing and vocal sort whereas Diana played the shy daddy's girl. More oftentimes than not, Diana would use her father as an excuse to avoid Prince Lucius, during the first few rounds he came to visit.

"I don't want to see Prince Luci! I want to stay with you, daddy!" Diana would whine, clinging to her father's leg. This behavior was rather uncharacteristic for the twins who were originally very obedient, almost to the point of dolls. After regaining their past life's memories, it seemed they have broken out of their shell and developed their own unique personalities.

It took a bit of coaxing on both sides for Diana to finally agree to see Prince Lucius. Of course, the fact that he took her to his private rose garden and shared delicious tea with her helped, but Diana found that what she actually enjoyed most was reading the fairytales and romance novels the palace had to offer. Over time, she grew fond of the prince and Erik, who often kept her company when she visited. However, she still turned down all of Lucius' advances, coldly ignoring his flirtatious lines every time they were thrown her way.

No way was she going to land on his route. She did not want to deal with all the court drama and jealousy that came along in the package, but it seemed the more Diana rejected him, the most intrigued Lucius became.

"Hm? Are you sure you don't want me to stay here and help you? I don't mind," Diana answered, having picked up on the lesson slightly quicker than Maria. Diana's magic was much more controlled and grounded, granted she's been training more in defense skills which helped to solidify her magic foundations. Maria's was much more free-flowing as she focused more on illusion magic.

Diana frowned and blushed at the mention of Lucius. "Bring us to his garden you mean," she tried to correct her twin with an embarrassed cough. "Prince Lucius is probably busy anyways. He won't have time to escort some noble's daughter," Diana pointed out. Nor did she want him to. Having him escort her would only establish herself more as his fiancee candidate.

"Anyways, I don't mind staying here to help. I---" Diana's voice trailed off as she saw a familiar head of gold outside the window. Eh? What was Erik doing here? Did he perhaps left something at their place when he came over with Lucius? Curiosity piqued, Diana eventually decided to leave Maria alone to practice in peace. After all, Maria insisted, perhaps not wanting Diana to see her struggle. When Diana left, after a few minutes, a tap came at the window.

Considering how the practice room was on the second floor, this was quite odd.

"Hey, open up." A voice sounded from the window. Balancing on the window sill was Aizel who was standing straight, a hand holding the top of the window while his other hand knocked at the glass. He was using air magic to keep his balance and it looked like no one had noticed him yet.

 

[Hella Downweather]

ERIK


At this time of the day, Erik was supposed to be training. As an apprentice knight, he needed to practice his swings, exercising his body to stay in the best shape possible. Usually, he would simply follow Lucius to his flower garden, where he would bring Diana. The two had tea, discussed a bit then got lost in whatever books Luci brought that day. Meanwhile he was content at observing them, practicing and making sure they were safe. Unfortunately for him, today was a bit of an exception...Even the usually sneaky Lucius did not manage to escape the head maid for his birthday preparations. And as for him….

-Erik ! Where are you ???

As for him...he was fleeing. Apparently Lucius, pissed at the idea of missing his weekly rendez-vous with the twins, decided that if HE was to be miserable. Everyone had to be too. And that included for him hours of trying on clothes, finding THE perfect outfit for that damn party.

So much time wasted….

Which is why, our young boy was currently in hiding, sneaking around the corridors, trying to find a quiet place where he could relax. Fate though, did not seem to work on his favor as when he was trying to flee, he found himself in front of Diana. Well it was logical, he was near the archmage tower, and she usually had classes there in the morning, but still...Wait...magic...maybe she could help him ! Grabbing her hand, he whispered to her :

-Hello Diana...Mind helping me for a bit ? I kinda need to escape right now.

He could her the maids footsteps coming closer and closer. He needed an out...NOW !


MARIA


Today’s lesson was harsh on the young girl. It was a question of control, of sending her shadow only on her fingertips, or making very detailled illusions. Seeing as Diana mastered the trick so easily, Maria couldn’t help but be a bit envious of her twin...But at the same time, it was normal wasn’t it ? Diana’s magic revolved around control, around defense, of course it came more naturally to her.As the Duke’s daughter was focusing on her shadow, she heard a knock on the window. Strange...was a cat stuck there ?

Oh no...it was just Aizel. Looking around the room, Maria really considered for an instant of simply blocking the window, locking it so the young mage couldn’t pester her while she was failing a rather simple exercise. But at the same time...he could blow up said window if he wanted...Yeah, no point making him mad. So she opened the window, letting the young boy enter.

She did not dislike Aizel, but with his temper he reminded her of an annoying little brother. Ahhh...she was so lucky to only have Diana as a sibling ! She was calm, did not go too much into trouble and was really patient….Everything that Aizel was not. Ruffling the boy’s hair as he entered the room, she asked him :

-You know this room has doors right ? What brings you here Aizel ? If you are looking for the archmage he left like what...15 minutes ago ?

 

[mon]

"Hey, Erik. What are you doing h--?? Eh?" Diana was quickly caught up in the young blonde's pace. He looked as though he was being chased by a mob of hungry dogs who would devour him if he was caught, but surely something like that would never happen. Diana blushed as she flinched back, her hand covering the ear he whispered into. His hot breath sent tingles which made her flustered for a brief second.

Snap out of it Diana Sinclair! This is one of the heroine's capture targets! If you want to live a peaceful life, you better not get too involved---was what Diana told herself. Snapping back into perspective she nodded as she agreed to help Erik.

Although Diana's magic was not anywhere as good as Maria in illusion magic, she did know enough to create a light guise for them to sneak into a secret part of the garden which only Diana and Lucius knew. Diana had stumbled on this place when she was taking a light walk through last year. Having heard some rustling in the bushes, she had found a hurt bird in a small clearing within the garden. The clearing was completely fenced in with high hedges, making it a perfect hiding spot. Diana would not have been able to find it if it weren't for that stroke of luck, but unfortunately, Lucius had been with her when she found it. The bird had been nursed back to health and released back into the wild a few months later. Diana wondered now, if it was still doing alright.

"In here," Diana guided Erik by the hand into the small clearing. There was not much in there. Just a small folded cloth in the corner for times where Diana would hide in here to read by herself. When unraveled, the cloth made for a perfect picnic blanket.

"Who are you running from, by the way?" Diana asked in a quiet voice, hearing footsteps in the garden.

- - -

Being the impatient sort, Aizel was rather irritated at how long Maria took to open the window. Sustaining enough wind magic to lift up a human body was hard! Even for a prodigy mage like himself---but of course, Aizel would never admit this aloud to anyone. He was much too prideful for that.

"About time," Aizel grumbled, stepping into the room. Since it was Maria, he decided to spare her the lecture. Noticing how Diana wasn't around, Aizel said nothing, though he was curious. Those two were usually glued together at the hip.

"Ugh, please don't bring up that geezer's fart. I would not scale a floor to see him," Aizel answered, taking his seat on one of the single couches. He laid back in a careless effort, looking over at Maria. "I'm just here to relax. Don't mind me. Carry on with your practice," Aizel said with a slight wave of his hand and a smirk.

 

[Hella Downweather]

ERIK

The boy felt smart, of course asking the darkness magic-user was the way to go! Not many people could see through Maria’s and Diana’s illusions, so it should do the trick for simple maids. If Lucius decided to join the search, it would be another story, but there was no way in hell he could take time off to search for a mere knight in training.

Unfortunately for Diana, Erik was so busy being proud of himself that he did not notice her red cheeks and her suddenly shy demeanour. He did not question it either when Diana started guiding him towards an unknown place in the garden. He trusted her way too much for that.

Even if the young knight liked the twins, he could not deny preferring Diana. Maria was a bit too much on the teasing side for him...and her rivalry? It was rivalry, right? With Lucius only serve to make him a bit tense when he was with them. Diana, on the other hand, was simply so kind and calm, he could not believe she was a Duke daughter. There didn’t seem to be a mean bone in her body and he simply couldn’t imagine her being cunning or manipulative.

Maria on the other hand…..

The pair quickly arrived at the small clearing, but their hurdle was not over yet. The maids could still find them. Guiding the silver-haired girl towards a big bush, he sat down behind it and motioned to the girl to sit next to him.

-I’m running away from Lucius’s maids. They made me try on like 5 different outfits and were talking about cravats and pin so while they were distracted I escaped through the window….Trust me...you don’t want to be found by them either. I heard Lucius prepared something for you too.

Ok, technically he was not supposed to talk to her about it...But hey, she was helping him! It was only fair to warn her about her impending doom.

Hearing footsteps, he pulled her a bit closer to him, whispering again.

-Thank you so much for helping me, your magic is awesome! But I swear...If they make me try another outfit, I’ll rip it to shreds!

MARIA

As always, Aizel looked grumpy as an old cat, and Maria couldn’t help but want to tease him a bit. Since she knew he couldn’t pull the fireball trick of their first meeting without big repercussions, she became a bit more easy-going around him, ruffling his hair, teasing him, lecturing him when he went too far like an older sister. Going the complete opposite route from the main character in Doki Doki who preferred to butter her way up to Aizel, agreeing to everything he said and encouraging him every step of the way.

Yeah...I’m really not fit to be the main character, aren’t I?

Which was why when Aizel semi insulted his teacher, she couldn’t help but grin, ruffling the young boy’s hair even more and saying half-laughing, half-serious :

-But you would scale a floor for me? Awwww I didn’t know you cared so much Aizel.

Her annoyance at first seeing the young mage quickly went away when she saw he was simply there to relax, not to annoy her. Plus she needed a distraction after failing so many times….

A distraction that would not come, as Aizel reminded her that she needed to practice. With a frown, she went back to her exercise. It was hard for Maria to control small amounts of her magic, as it seemed her’s was always on the verge of overflowing. It made her feel so guilty too, as she knew that in Erik’s ending, the twins get killed by summoning an abomination they couldn’t control. Sure it was Erik who landed the killing blow on them, but she knew the main cause of their death was the fact they did not control the summon correctly. And it surely wasn’t Diana’s fault, that girl had magic control ingrained in her.

Maria did not want to be the cause of their death, of Diana’s death. So she simply nodded at Aizel and went back to practicing. She closed her eyes, visualizing her magic as a big pool of dark water, trying to put a dam on it, only letting a little bit flow to her fingers. She needed to concentrate, she needed to keep her focus, she needed to…

-WHERE COULD HE BE !!!

-We searched everywhere, no trace of him!

-DAMMIT!

Noises. Noises everywhere. The dam she carefully created suddenly disappeared, her magic flooding her body. Lights flickered and Maria now had to focus on not letting her magic run wild...not to let it overcome her. Focused on her breathing, the young girl tried not to panic and spawned small illusions after small illusions to burn down her magic to a more controllable level.

 

[mon]

Diana gave Erik a sympathetic smile which slowly turned into a frown at the hint of Lucius' plans. Her brows knitted together as though troubled by the thought and efforts given by his highness. "He did?" she asked. Unlike most nobles who would be thrilled, perhaps even blushing with excitement at the thought of the crown prince planning something personally for them, it seemed to have the opposite effect on Diana, who only looked more troubled the more affection she received. In fact, she had been turning down his advances with cold and blunt responses every time, but Lucius does not seem to (or want to) take a hint.

"Hmm... well, looks like you can take a break from all that now," Diana said, shaking those thoughts off. It was likely Lucius would stop his stubborn advances once the heroine makes her official appearance in the academy. There was no point getting her hopes up. Diana's goal is to avoid the bad ending after all.

"Did you get Luci anything for his birthday?" she asked, still working on her gift.

---

"H-hey! Don't get so ahead of yourself. I'm just here because you're a darkness user okay?" Aizel replied, moving his arms to stop Maria from ruffling his hair, with little to no avail. There was a slight blush on his cheeks as he glared at her. Fixing his hair, Aizel watched Maria from where he sat like usual. Though he wore his signature, look of disinterest, his eyes are focused on Maria. The glint of curiosity and something else visible in dark vermillions.

Seeing the slight twitches and furrow of Maria's brow, Aizel quickly sensed the magic flowing from her becoming disturbed by external factors. He wasted no time coming up behind her, his own hand falling on top of her own as he helped her to channel the magic back into her body. "Calm down," Aizel said quietly in her ear, focusing on the magic. His own magic pulsed through, weaving around the slippery darkness as an extra shackle to bring it to tame.

"Breathe. Focus on your palms. Bring it back to the center," Aizel guided her with an uncharacteristic calmness, his own magic coaxing the overflowing darkness to stream back into the young girl's palms. One of his hands was cupping the back of Maria's hand, while the other rested on the young girl's waist.

 

[Hella Downweather]

ERIK

As Diana looked more and more troubled at the mention of Lucius affection, Erik could feel a weird...unease in his stomach. Something he could not quite put the finger on. The sensation only grew as the silver-haired girl in front of him kept mentioning the prince. He didn’t understand exactly why, but he had an urge to change the subject, to talk about anything and everything that wasn’t Lucius.

-I did, but you’ll have to wait until his birthday to see it.

It was only after the words left his mouth than the young knight realized how...tensed he was. His tone wasn’t rude per se, but it was a bit curt. He exhaled a bit, trying to release some tension.

-Sorry, the birthday preparations are just...too stressful for my liking. It’s only his 10th birthday for heaven’s sake! What is it going to be when he becomes an adult?

He was still talking about him...Like he was some side character in a novel, only serving as a prop to Lucius. He started to understand a bit Senri and his inferiority complex. Lucius was so omnipresent these days, and as much as he liked his friend, he needed a break.

-Hey...Do you have a dream, Diana? Something you are not sure you can accomplish...but still feel drawn to?

MARIA

Maybe she was simply too young for her magic, her little body unable to contain it all. Maybe she was simply cursed, it would explain the world crossing after all. But Maria had a lot of trouble controlling and containing her magic. Since her awakening, her magic had always been a bit...wild. Sure she was able to pull off big illusions, but she lost herself in the details of the execution. She felt like a shaken bottle of coke, ready to explode at any moment.

Aizel’s magic on her felt like a cold shower, helping her to gain back her lost focus, guiding her magic back inside her. Soon, she was back to breathing normally, illusions slowly disappearing around them. Maria didn’t know the young mage could be so calm, so reassuring. It made her original panic slowly disappear, sinking back to the deepest part of her mind.

Yeah...no wonder he is the archmage apprentice, he is pretty good with magic isn’t he?

His presence at her side, while surprising, was not unwelcome. Using his support, Maria tried the exercise again, focusing on her fingers, letting the magic intertwine with her shadow. She could feel herself playing with it, now that she was a bit calmer, and even managed to concentrate her magic in only the tip of her fingers.

She did it.

Finally.

The young girl let herself relax, leaning a bit on the boy who was behind her, before speaking, her voice still a bit shaky.

-Thanks! Now if only you could be there each time I try to control only a fraction of my magic it would be perfect.

 

[mon]

For someone as observant as Diana, the slight changes in Erik's visage does not go without notice. Was he feeling alright? Perhaps the deal with Lucius really had stressed him out more than she thought. Seeing how the topic seemed to be disturbing him, Diana decided not to press for answer. She nodded in understanding, relaxing as she found that her suspicions were correct.

With a small laugh, Diana gave a light shrug. "That's Luci for you. He really does take a lot of details into account." She supposed that trait would make him a great ruler (though perhaps petty).

At Erik's question, Diana looked over with a tilt of her head. She stared at him thoughtfully, not having expected such a question. "A dream..? Hm..."

Honestly, that wasn't something Diana had thought much on. With her inevitable demise, was it even necessary to have any dreams? It would all be pointless if she died... The closest thing she had to a dream was surviving and escaping her bad ending routes with Maria!

"I suppose so. My dream is to live a happy carefree life, knowing all my loved ones are safe. A life where I don't have to fear for my life or my safety... a future where I can be happy," Diana answered honestly, a sad smile touching her face. "What about you Erik? Your dream is to become the world's greatest knight and serve Lydia's next ruler isn't it?" It wasn't a hard guess for someone who's already played Erik's route. That was what the blonde knight worked so hard for.

----

The overflow of magic died down in a matter of time, much to Aizel's relief (though again, he would never admit this out loud. His pride would never let him. While he's confident in subduing any other type of magic, darkness and light magic was out of his element).

Feeling Maria relax against him, Aizel released her hand and blinked. For some reason, that radiant smile had taken him off guard. A pause and then laughter erupted from Aizel's lips as he pulled them into a devilishly handsome grin. "What are you saying? I know I'm great but even I can't be there every time silly." It odd how she acted so comfortably around him, despite knowing full well just how powerful he is.

She's the only one who isn't afraid of me, Aizel realized with a touch of melancholy and relief.

Flicking Maria lightly on the forehead, Aizel stepped back and glanced at the clock. "Besides, you'll get the hang of things soon. Right now you're body is just too weak to contain the magic that's within you." Things would get easier once Maria grows up, but Aizel wasn't going to tell her that yet.

 

[Hella Downweather]

ERIK

Diana’s dream was seemed so bittersweet, like she had to fight something way stronger than herself, like she was afraid of something. That would explain why the twins were always so close to each other, with Maria switching to protective mode if anyone dared to even look at her sister. Erik made a mental note to check with Lucius if anyone was threatening the Sinclair house, if they were blackmailed he would make sure to make them pay.

No one was to mess with his close friends after all.

But then the young girl once again pulled the rug on him, asking about his dream of becoming the captain of the guards. With a nervous chuckle he answered :

-Yeah, I mean if I could become a knight of legends with my height it would be awesome, but my dream is much simpler. I wish to protect my close friends so that we can continue making memories together. Turns out when two of them are royals it’s a tiny bit harder to accomplish, but hey ! It’s worth it if I can continue being at their side.

A pause. Erik was debating whether to mention the situation that seemed to scare Diana, maybe he could help ! His house wasn’t a Ducal one but he sure wasn’t powerless either. Plus it was made pretty clear by Luci and Sen that anyone who dared touch a hair of the twins would not be let off easily, so he had the support of the royal family.

-Hey…

-So that’s where you two were hiding...No wonder no one managed to find you before.

The voice that cut him was cold and laced with anger. Lucius Leonhart was just in front of the bush they were hiding behind and judging by the frown on his face he was NOT happy.

-I see you take your responsibilities seriously Erik, running away from the maids, taking Duke’s Sinclair daughter with you, chatting mindlessly away from everyone.

Yeah, he was done for.

MARIA

At least her attempt at humor worked, as Aizel simply grinned at her words, pulling away from her. As he flicked her forehead, Maria glared a bit at the young boy. Hey ! He was the kid here, not her. She was sooooo going to mess his hair when he didn’t expect it. Seeing as he was glancing at the clock, she asked :

-Are you waiting for someone ? If you need the classroom I can leave you know, Diana is probably in the gardens so I could go and join her.

But it was so unfair ! Why was her body so weak ? Aizel had no problem controlling his magic, Diana was a pro at it...What was so different about her ? Maybe she needed to workout. Yeah, that could solve the problem. The young girl made a mental note to ask Sen to let her work out with him next time.

-Oh ! By the way, are you going to Luci’s birthday ? I’m kinda expected to go, being a Duke’s daughter, but are you forced too ?

She was slowly gathering her things, getting ready to leave if Aizel wanted to use the wizard tower.

 

[mon]

Such a pure and wholesome dream made Diana smile warmly. It sounded like the Erik she knew. He was such a sweet boy, she realized. Someone who was worthy of the heroine's affection. She felt a twinge in her heart at the thought of which. Someday, she would no longer see Erik's sweet smile and his cold, hateful gaze would be directed at her, alongside his blade.

That is, if Diana failed in avoiding the Bad End route. There was no way she would delude herself into thinking that Erik would be her friend forever. Besides, he did say his close friends were the two princes after all. She was certain everything would change once the heroine made her entry.

Before Erik could finish his sentence, Lucius' familiar voice popped from behind them. Diana looked back to see him looking rather pissed off despite the smile etched on his face. "Ah... Prince Lucius, it looks like you found us," Diana gave a nervous laugh, mostly because she felt bad for Erik. Seeing the blonde dragged away by Lucius' other knights had her stifling a laugh.

"My condolences, Erik. I'm sorry I can't help you on this." She thought to herself, looking up to see Lucius staring at her with an odd look on his face.

What is it? She wondered with a blink, her hand touching her own cheek. Was there something on her face? "Is something the matter, Luci?" Diana asked meekly. He can't honestly be that upset that she had helped hid Erik now could he?

-----

"Hm? I'm not waiting for anyone, though it is strange to see you without your sister. Aren't you two usually glued at the hip or something?" Aizel teased with a smirk. He could tell Maria was still frustrated about her lack of magic control, but he wasn't good at comforting girls. The least he could do was take her mind off things.

"Ugh, you mean that fairy prince? I don't think I'd have a choice... that old geezer would probably want me to throw a show for him again this year," Aizel said with an annoyed growl. He gave Maria a light glare, not liking the fact that she had used the word 'forced'. Aizel hated the thought of being forced to do anything. He was a free-spirited kid, too arrogant to be tied down by the world if he could help it.

"On second thought, maybe I should just ditch the party. It'll be the same boring routine anyways," Aizel said with a shrug. He was not a big fan of crowds or balls anyways. They were much too noisy.