"It ... is it really? It wasn't a dream?", The king of Aeythien, who had apparently aged ten years in a flash, choked out when he had propped himself up from the sheets of the bed.
The midwife, who looked as depressed as the ruler, looked down and nodded in agreement:
"You heard it right ... your wife died in childbirth because of some difficult complications ..."
"What complications?"
The woman, completely wrapped in white, took a step closer to the huge bed, which had been made for a king, and continued to mumble, a little muffled:
"My King, you should see for yourself ..."
She made a deep curtsey and waited for the king to react. He just stared at her misleadingly and said, shaking his head, so that the sweaty gray hair came off his wrinkled face.
"Good, good. Go ahead. I'll be right after you."
When the nurse had left the magnificent room through the ebony door, the king let himself fall back into the pillow.His beloved, wonderful wife, with whom he had now spent twenty years of his life, in the hope of finally producing an heir, is dead! Through this most ardently hoped for heir!
The old man shook his head again, as if he could simply shake out what he had learned yesterday and undo it. But as deep as the pain was, it didn't want to go away. So he gathered up all courage and crawled out from under the covers. He had the dark purple dressing gown from last night and now pulled it tightly around his lanky hips and then left the hall-like room the same way as the midwife.
He shuffled sullenly across the bright parquet of the hallway until he reached the end. Turning the corner, he was at his destination.
Slowly and silently as possible, he opened the room and entered. It was brilliantly bright, which was due to the large windows, through which an abundance of sun rays penetrated and reflected on the white walls.In the middle there was a bed where probably his wife had given birth. Next to it - strangely - there were two cots.
Captured by the picture, the king immediately rushed to the little carts and took turns pounding into them, stunned.
There was a baby in each. The one on the right with the delicate, isolated blond hair slept calmly, while the other, which had thick coal-black hair, stared intently at him with large, red, flickering eyes. Before the old man could put his emotional state into words, the midwife answered from earlier:
"That's why your wife didn't make it."
The King of Aeythien leaned on the edge of a bassinet for a deep breath.
"But there is something else ...", the white woman continued uncertainly. Since the ruler did not reply, she continued:
"During the general examination I noticed something ...", searching for the right words, she let her gaze wander around the room, "very unusual, even strange."Since the king still didn't reply, just stared into the bed, the midwife didn't interrupt either.
"... on the middle fingers - one child on the right, the other on the left they have a prominent mark that we couldn't explain."
The gray-haired man did not react immediately, he probably needed his time to process what he had experienced. After a while he reached into one of the wagons and looked at the two little hans and indeed: the blond-haired little boy had a scar-like mark on his left middle finger that was reminiscent of a cross. He found the same thing with the other child, only on the right.
He spun around with a jerk and appraised the midwife. In a gruff voice he commanded her:
"There is a rumor that a seer has been in the city for a few days! Bring him here to me at once, he should interpret this sign of the gods!"
With these words, he ran out of the room furiously without one last glance at his newborn sons.To make matters worse, a guard came to meet him who stopped him.
"What is so urgent?" He snapped at the innocent man in the azure uniform. He saluted briefly, as was the custom, and then delivered his message:
"A seer has arrived in the reception room who claim to have been ordered from you!"
The king raised an eyebrow in disbelief, but said nothing to his astonishment.
"Have him taken to the throne room."

Some time later, the King of Aeythien was sitting in full regalia on his high throne made of pure gold and precious stones. He still looked very battered and looked at his visit with tired eyes.
In front of him stood a man who looked as young as he was old. He wore a peach colored robe, which was decorated with a few white and dark blue pearls. A wide band of the same color wrapped around his eyes, which was caressed by light purple, straight hair. The stature of the seer was lithe and graceful rather than stooped, as one might be used to from a wise man."Which country are you from?" The ruler began the conversation.
"I come from Lazaroun, an empire east of here."
The king knew this country only too well, for it had been ruled by his nephew for three years and was the ally of his own country, Aeythien. The fact that the stranger wasn't from Danvan'None reassured him. Danvan'None has always been enemy territory and the inhabitants of this realm are as devious as their king.
"Very well. Since you were here so quickly, I want to describe my request to you with the same haste. It's about my newborn sons-"
With a raised palm, the seer silenced the king.
"I know, otherwise I wouldn't be the right person for my job. Bring me to them!"
Somewhat offended by the rudeness of the stranger, who does not seem to have any respect for him, the old king led the seer out of the blue and yellow hall to escort him to the twins.The seer immediately took a seat in front of the two strollers on the birth bed and stretched his palms over the babies, who were now both awake. The gray-haired man showed the violet-haired man the marks, which was actually unnecessary.
Waiting and waiting, the ruler sat down on one of the wooden chairs placed on the wall and eyed the seer with tension.
He threw his head back, and his hair slipped off his face.
The midwives had to leave the room beforehand so that the seer could concentrate fully. Then at last words came out of the seer's mouth. As if in a trance they echoed in the king's head:
"Two brothers, more different than fire and ice ...
as light and darkness, love and hate ...
Linked by the clan, linked by fate,
means the cross on the finger,
Signs of the dead;
The end of the line of rule by your own hand ... "
There was a dead silence in the air. So calm that you could almost have heard the whispering of the nature spirits, had the king not suddenly jumped up with a clattering chair."What do you mean, you greenhorn ?! An impostor! That's exactly you!"
Seized by anger, the king yanked the delicate stranger up by the collar of his robe and roared red in his face:
"You want to benefit from the suffering of others, huh ?! Always the same with you 'wise men'!"
The seer, however, continued to keep silent about the dead.
The king then dropped it and raged towards the door, which he tore open with great force to attack the midwives who were also waiting on chairs outside:
"Which of these two children is the second born? Which is his mother's murderer?"
Horrified at the last sentence of their ruler, the women winced.
"But my high king, gracious-"
"Answer my question immediately, quickly!"
Found back and forth between law and one's own life, one of the women finally whispers:
"Your wife ... She had a feeling and had been talking for months about the fact that there would be two sons. She wanted to make you happy ... The one, blonde twin, she called Frozen in her last breaths, because of its ice-like shapes Eyes.The second-born because of his fiery temperament, which is reflected in his sincere eyes, should be called Burnin ... he is the one who saw the world a little later ... "
First, the gray-haired man took a deep breath, a single tear trailing its path on the wrinkled cheek, only to return essentially more prudently.
But then he felt a strange force pulling on his arm and a howling woman's voice reached his ear:
"You are not allowed to touch either of the two children! Nobody is a murderer, but you are one, if you really want to harm him."
Coldheartedly he shook the woman away and stepped to the left bed to gently lift the little boy out. Then he turned and handed it to the seer with the words:
"It's yours! Do what you want with him! There has never been a second child for the people ..."
The gallant stranger swung up quietly, bowed and left the room ...


Eighteen years went by as the two children grew into handsome young men without knowing anything about each other ...