4: Differences

        "Adriana!"

        The young girl turned around sharply at the sound of her aunt's voice, Skylar's red hair disappearing in the distance. Would she really bring her a friend? The first real friend Adriana had ever had?

        "Adriana, who were you just talking to?" Rissa caught up with her niece, her eyes blazing. "What was their name?"

        "Skylar..." Adriana began suspiciously, "She's a Fairling."

        "A Fairling?" Rissa repeated in astonishment. That wasn't right. How would a Fairling be the one to bring about her niece's downfall?

        But who was she to question the gods of prophecy?

        "What did she say to you?"

        "Why does it matter?" Adriana replied in annoyance. "She's the only person all night who hasn't gawked at me."

        "Adriana, what did she say to you."

        "I don't remember." the princess replied airily, starting to walk back to the rest of the party. "Have you seen Dawn? I need to talk to her." she wanted to tell her about how she was soon to have a new, real friend, someone that hopefully they could both get along with.

        "Adriana, please." Rissa begged, grabbing the girl's arm, "Please tell me what the Fairling said to you."

        "What's going on?" Adriana replied angrily. "Why are you suddenly in my business?"

        "I can't explain it to you right now, but it's important." Rissa replied, eyes brimming with tears at the fact that she had failed to protect her family. "Please tell me."

        Adriana didn't understand what was going on with her aunt. "If I tell you, can I leave?"

        "Yes."

        "Fine. She told me she was going to bring a friend to the castle tomorrow to help me be happier. I'm not sure what's so awful about that."

        Rissa's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

        "She's going to bring you a friend?"

        "Yes. Now goodbye." she wrenched herself out of Rissa's iron-like grip and walked away to find Dawn.

        She wandered the party for another fifteen minutes, passing by people who congratulated her on her power granting and people who gave her worried stares as she passed. She honestly wasn't sure which one she preferred.

        Adriana finally spotted Dawn's blonde head bouncing in the crowd dancing to some fast-paced song that Adriana had never heard before in her life. She ran up to her sister and grabbed her arm to avoid being jostled by the excited mob of people around her.

        "Hey!" Dawn smiled when she approached. The Light princess was practically glowing. "Rissa's looking for you, I'm not sure if you saw her."

        "I did." Adriana rolled her eyes and started moving her hips in time to the music to avoid looking out of place. "She's hard to miss, especially when she wants to talk to you."

        Dawn laughed lightly, her blue eyes sparkling.

        "What's up with you?" Adriana asked curiously. "I mean, you're usually pretty happy, but not this happy."

        "I met a boy." Dawn replied airily, not volunteering any more information.

        "A boy?!" Adriana squealed, "For real?"

        "Yes, for real!" Dawn laughed, her cheeks flushed with joy. "He was amazing...I wish we had danced all night."

        "Sounds like a real Prince Charming." Adriana joked. 

        "Oh, he wasn't a prince." Dawn replied. "No, just a commoner. But one of the most handsome commoners I've ever laid eyes on."

        Adriana looked at her sister skeptically. "Like you've seen that many commoners in your life."

        Dawn ignored her negativity and continued to dance, smiling and waving to villager as they passed by. Adriana watched her sister in silent envy; of course a boy would approach her. She was beautiful, bright, and happy. Adriana was dark, sad, and alone.

        Adriana remembered when they were children, playing together in the castle. Their parents' friends and family would come to visit, and they would all remark about how beautiful Dawn was. How she was such a bright, vibrant young girl who they could tell "would grow up to be a beautiful and talented young woman."

        The visitors, without fail, would continue their conversation with the king and queen by asking, "And who's her friend?"

        Adriana's parents would then explain that Adriana was Dawn's twin. "They're not identical." Lisabeth would supply to help the visitor feel less stupid, but of course they would apologize and continue to say how Adriana would also become a talented young woman.

        But never beautiful.

        They never commented on how she was bright and vibrant, how she brought a smile to people's faces. No, that was Dawn. Adriana was the background dancer in the Dawn Show, where everyone spotlighted Dawn and no one cared to tell if Adriana was a sister, friend, or just someone that had been hired to clean up Dawn's dirty dishes.

        It was how it had always been. Dawn was first, and no one argued with that. Even in the power transfer that morning, Dawn had gone first. The light was better than the dark, and no one argued with that. No one cared to check on Adriana, always Dawn.

        But Adriana was used to that. She was the forgotten one, the one in the shadows.

        She slowly turned and started walking back towards the castle. She had barely taken four steps when she heard Dawn next to her.

        "I'm getting tired." her sister announced. "I think we should head back to the castle."

        "It's like you read my mind." Adriana replied, but Dawn didn't catch the sarcasm in her sister's voice. The two headed back to their home, one overjoyed, one depressed, but you could hardly tell the difference from the back.

        Sometimes the back is the only thing most people see.

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A/N: Sorry this chapter was a little short, but I hope you liked it! Remember to vote and comment your thoughts!!

-Katherine

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