The World Went Silent

Chapter 7

"This is unbearable!" Rin exclaimed, brushing her hair off her shoulders. "I don't see the purpose in going out at all, servant. Why am I here?" Len sighed to himself, the salty wind blowing his tied-back hair. All his princess did was complain… about the trip, about the smell of the ocean, about the clothes she was wearing. Each time she complained was the equivalent of driving a knife straight through Len's chest and twisting it for good measure. Was this the same Rin he knew before?

"Come on, it's beautiful," Len said, smiling softly at her. He could forgive her, couldn't he? The blonde boy reached out and grabbed his sister's hand, causing her to blush slightly. Len blushed too, but then he told himself, If she knew who you were, she wouldn't blush. Len brushed the thought aside and sat down on a rock overlooking the beautiful ocean. They had come over to a chapel overlooking to ocean that separated their own kingdom and the land of blue. Rin hesitated, and then sat down beside him, their fingers still locked together. This is how it should be…

"You know… there's a legend about this place," Len said, looking over at Rin with a smile. "That if you put a wish in a bottle and send it out to sea, your wish will come true." The blonde princess raised an eyebrow.

"But I don't need to wish for anything," she protested, her lower lip sticking out a bit in a slight pout. "Because everything I wish for will be given to me by you, right nii-san?"

"Nii-san?" Len echoed, his eyes widening ever so slightly. Did she really remember? Did she really realize that he was her twin brother? It was almost too good to be true…

"You don't mind if I call you that, right?" the princess asked, grinning. "It's boring to say 'servant this', 'servant that' all the time! Nii-san is much better." Len suppressed his sigh and threw a fake smile at her.

"Oh, it's all right," he said to her in the friendliest voice he could muster.

"You're the first boy I ever felt close to," the blonde-haired princess giggled, causing Len to blush a bit. No! Why am I blushing? he thought frantically. This isn't right! Rin laughed at him, and then continued.

"But I'm really in love with the prince… the one that lives across the sea," she said softly, a small smile coming across her features. "I'm going to give him this letter… then we'll get married and the two kingdoms will be united." Her face twisted back into a bigger smile, but this time Len thought it was almost menacing. Bloodthirsty.

"Well then…" Len reached over and picked a bottle from his knapsack, and wrote something on the scroll inside it before sealing the bottle. "Then I wish you the best luck, my princess!" Rin grinned at him again, sticking her own note in a second bottle.

"I don't believe in wishes," she said plainly. "But I suppose if it makes you happy, I'll do this wish in a bottle thing." Len smiled half-heartedly at her, and then they both set out their wishes into the Yellow Sea. They stood there for a few minutes, watching the glass bottles drift off into the sunset. After a few minutes that could have been hours, Len let go of Rin's hand and spoke up.

"We should be getting back to the palace, my lady."