The twins had never been on such an assignment, so that morning was rowdier than most. The two had practically demolished their entire room in an attempt to gather up everything they would need for their trip to Donatagun.
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"You think I'll need this?" Kiran asked, holding his blanket up in the air.
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"Yeah, definitely! You need to stay warm, after all. We may be close to the mountains, too," Ressi surmised. She held up an old drawing Martina made for her when she was about six, "You think I'll need this?"
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"Hmm," Kiran thought a moment, "Yeah, it's small and light so it won't add to your load and it's always good to think of Martina if we don't feel all good."
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"Of course!" Ressi carefully placed the picture in her bag and scouted around her room for more stuff to pack. She flopped on the ground to inspect the floor. "Oh!" She picked up an acorn, "Do you think this will be a nice present for the prince?"
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Kiran frowned, "Why would it be?"
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"Because, like," Ressi explained, "You know how the trees are different around Stornval and around the ocean?"
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"Yeah…?"
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"So wouldn't the trees be very different in Donatagun?" Ressi concluded.
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Kiran thought on it, "That sounds right. Yeah, bring the acorn!"
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"You have not done a good job cleaning your room if you found an acorn on the floor."
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"Princess Martina!" The twins exclaimed happily. Ressi got off the floor as the two ran to their doorway to greet their princess.
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Martina shook her head in disappointment, her large pigtails swishing. Ever since she convinced her mother to grow out her hair she has accentuated the fact her hair was long by moving her head more often, "How can you be appropriate ambassadors and retainers if you cannot clean your room up properly?"
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Ressi hung her head, "We're sorry, princess." She perked up immediately, "Do you think this acorn is a good gift, though?"
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Martina sighed, "From you? Yes, I suppose." The princess shook her head again.
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Ressi beamed and let out a whoop as she shoved the gift in her bag. The Princess lifted an eyebrow, "You know you were supposed to pack your bags last night, right?"
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Kiran scratched his neck in embarrassment, "Well, technically, we did start last night!"
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"We just didn't know what all we needed!" Ressi finished.
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Martina scoffed and made her way to the nearest bag, Ressi's, and looked through it. "Clothes, check. Covers, check. Rations, check. Oh, what is this?" The Princess took the item in question out of the bag and flushed, "This is not necessary…" It was the drawing Ressi had carefully placed in her bag. Despite that, it was a bit crumpled, both due to age and all of the other items that were mixed up on the bag with it.
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"Come on, of course it's very necessary!" Ressi defended.
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Kiran nodded in agreement, "We'll need something to remember you by while we're gone!"
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A huffed escaped Martina as her face turned red from embarrassment, "You two wait right here, I will be right back." She turned and left the room as the twins waited patiently for her return.
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Martina stomped back in the room maturely and shoved a bar of soap into both Ressi and Kiran's hands. It was simple and a little lumpy. The pale green soap had the word "Marti" carved into each one.
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"Did you make these?" Kiran asked as he inspected the gift.
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Martina did not meet their eyes, "Yes."
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The twins beamed, "We love it!" They shouted in unison.
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"Do not make such a big fuss of this. You just forgot to pack soaps," Martina said, playing with one of her pigtails, "You need to stay clean if you're going to visit royalty.
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"Oh yeah!" Ressi genuinely forgot about hygiene. Kiran, on the other hand, actually did remember but did not mention it.
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"Are you two ready to go? Mother and Father wanted to see you in the throne room," Martina said, prim and proper.
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The twins scanned the room one last time before grabbing their bags and followed Martina obediently to the throne room where the King and Queen were waiting, as the Princess said.
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The King stood up from his throne as the three walked in. "Ah, there you are. We need you two for one last thing before you go."
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"What is it?" Kiran asked as he stood attentively.
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The Queen stood up as well, "We have gifts for the both of you."
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The twins stared in interest as the royal couple grabbed a pair of boots and a shield from behind their thrones. The King presented the boots to Kiran, "These belonged to your father. They were a gift bought by your mother when the two decided to wed." The boots were tall, going up to Kiran's knees. The top doubled as knee guards and the feet were also plated. "We know how well you kick, too, so these will work nicely as both defense and offense."
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The Queen handed the shield to Ressi, "This was your mother's. Your father bought it for her as a wedding present after she gave him the boots." The shield was a shining silver with a light blue at the top. At the sides, there were red protrusions that seemed to be simply decorative.
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"Woah! That's so neat!" Ressi beamed as she inspected the shield. It seemed familiar, though that made sense as it was her mother's.
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Kiran had already taken off his old boots and put the new ones on, "They fit perfectly!"
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The King chuckled, "Yes, we had to get those resized, your father was bigger than you."
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The Queen smiled, "Well, you two look lovely. Now, let us go to the gate. I'm sure Archibald and Reldin are already waiting there."
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「◐」
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As was predicted, Archibald and Reldin were, in fact, already waiting. As soon as the twins arrived, the former ran up and grabbed them, engulfing them in a big bear hug. "I'm going to miss you guys." The twins would have expressed a similar sentiment if the air wasn't being squished out of them.
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"Archibald, I told you, we won't be gone too long. Just a few days to get there, a few days stay, and a few days to get back. The trip will not be longer than a week and a half," Reldin said, as if he had reiterated that statement over a hundred times.
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Archibald let go of the twins, "I know, I know. Still, it will be strange without you guys."
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Reldin nodded, "I will have to agree with you there. Mornings will not be the same without your loud voice disturbing the peace."
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"Come on, you love hearing my voice every morning, Rel!" Archibald said, draping his arm on Reldin's shoulder.
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Ressi and Kiran turned as they felt a tug on their sleeves. It was Martina, who looked glum, "Promise me you will return soon. Both of you."
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The twins smiled, "Of course, we'll be right back after we finish. If Reldin has it in him, maybe we can run the whole way!" Ressi promised.
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Reldin, overhearing, shook his head, "No, we will go at a normal pace."
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Martina let out a small giggle. "Besides," Kiran said, "We're so strong that if anything happened, we'll just win!"
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The Princess held up her pinkies, "You promise?"
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Ressi and Kiran locked pinkies with Martina and each other, "Pinkie promise!"
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"Good, now be back soon!" Martina said with a great amount of authority, "If you are gone for over two weeks I will be incredibly upset."
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"We would never upset you, Princess!" Kiran promised.
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"Good. Now leave. The sooner you leave, the sooner you will return." Martina pushed the two away.
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"A goodbye kiss before you go, Rel?" Archibald asked.
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"You're too needy," Reldin sighed before leaning to plant a kiss on the forehead. Not many people can make Archibald look short but Reldin succeeds in that regard.
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Ressi and Kiran waved to the royal couple and their daughter as they left, Reldin leading the way. "We'll see you soon!" Ressi called.
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"It's funny to think that we're personally being said goodbye to by the royal family and the head knight. Not many people get this kind of opportunity," Kiran pointed out.
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"And we get to travel with the court wizard, how cool is that?" Ressi agreed.
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Reldin shook his head, "You've been living in the castle since you were four, how are you still astonished?"
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They shrugged. "Being born in Storn Falls does that to you," Kiran surmised.
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"We're country kids, through and through!" Ressi shouted.
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Reldin sighed, "You're 22 years old." This was going to be a long trip.
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