It was the early morning when Lisabeth began to feel pains. Her eyes shot open and she sat straight up in the bed, shaking her husband awake in a panicked rush. David awoke groggily, his eyes barely cracking open before Lisabeth was out of bed. Her eyes watered with pain and fear, and her heart rushed as she thought of what lay before her. It was her first time, and she wasn't ready. She was a young woman, surely not prepared to bring another one into the world. She was barely an adult herself.

        "Is it time?" David asked, finally realizing what his young wife was going through. Lisabeth nodded ever so slightly, her mind racing with thoughts of worst-case scenarios and horrible things that could happen.

        "Sweetheart." David approached her slowly and eased her back into the bed. "It's okay. You can do it. I know you'll be okay."

        Looking into her husband's trusting eyes, all Lisabeth could focus on was how empty and cliche his words were. She stared at him angrily until he jumped up and called for the nurse.

        "Jasmine!" her stomach clenched as David called for their nurse. "Jasmine!"

        "Your Highness?" the servant replied polietly as she approached the bedroom. Upon seeing the queen writhing in pain on the bed, she understood immediately. "I'll be right back."

        "Send for everyone." the king called after her, his eyes wide with worry. "Including Rissa."

        Jasmine nodded.

        "You're going to be okay." David promised his wife, hoping desperately that his words would hold true in the coming hours. "I promise."

        Lisabeth ignored him, her only focus the excruciating pain running through her entire body.

        When Jasmine returned, David left. The stress was too much for him, and he felt that Lisabeth would be better off without the pressure of having him in the room. He prayed feverently for a successful birth, for Jasmine to save both the child and his wife. Rates of successful births were not high in the kingdom, but no one was a better nurse than Jasmine. He had made sure of that when he hired her.

        Screams echoed from the bedroom and David tried his hardest to ignore them. He loved his wife dearly, and couldn't bear the thought of her being in pain. His heart ached at not being able to help her in this time of strife, but he knew he couldn't be of assistance.

        The hours ticked by and his fear grew worse and worse, until David willed himself to go to Lisabeth's bedside. As he approached the bedroom door, Jasmine ran out, a grin stretching from ear to ear.

        "Two!"

        David looked at her in utter confusion.

        "What?"

        Jasmine could hardly contain herself. 

        "There's two!"

        "Two what?"

        Instead of answering, Jasmine ran back into the bedroom with David on her heels. When he entered the room, he couldn't help but let a small gasp escape his lips. 

        Lisabeth was laying on the bed, breathing regularly, eyes bright with tears of joy. She smiled at David with pure joy as he inched closer to her, the angry and screaming woman he had seen earlier gone.

        "David...look." she whispered, nodding towards her arms.

        Lying in Lisabeth's arms were two precious baby girls. One had dark brown eyes and skin as pale as snow, while the other's eyes were a sparkling blue and her skin looked as though it had been exposed to the sun all day long; tanned and warm. Both were blinking silently, looking around the room with the most intelligence David had ever seen in newborns.

        "Twins." Lisabeth murmured. "We have twins, David."

        "So you do."

        Both parents spun around at the sound of the infamous voice. David's eyes softened as he embraced his older sister in a tight hug, while Lisabeth shielded her children from the sorceress's view.

        "David, you didn't tell me that you invited her." she whispered angrily as Rissa approached the bed. Her long-fingered hands reached out to touch the heads of the two, but Lisabeth shouldered her away.

        "We don't want your prophecy." Lisabeth spat out, her voice filled with hatred. Rissa took a step back. 

        "Of course you do." she replied, smiling slightly. "Why else would my dear brother invite me here?"

        "Rissa, we just need to know if they will be safe as they grow." David interjected, his eyes pleading with his wife to understand. "Lisabeth, please let her. She knows what will happen."

        "But I don't want to know!" Lisabeth cried, startling the babies. Their eyes started watering and tears escaped their eyes. Wails pierced the air as the three adults faced each other.

        "Be still." Rissa ordered the twins, and immediately the infants were silenced. Lisabeth looked up in terror at the sorceress, but David's eyes begged her to be understanding.

        "Fine." Lisabeth whispered, extending the twins out for Rissa to hold. "Just let us know if they will be okay."

        "Gladly." Rissa smiled coldly and laid the two down on the dresser. Placing one hand on each of the girls' heads, she closed her eyes and let the auras from the two engulf her. She could feel the power surging from them, and she spoke as she felt what was true.

        "Power is strong with these two." she began, her dark green nails reflecting the sunlight streaming in from the window. "On their 16th birthday, they will be given their power. One will control the day, and one the night." her eyes remained closed but her mind opened wider, exploring the twins's futures. "They will be the best of friends, but opposites." she continued, "Completely unlike each other. They---" she gasped. "Oh my."

        "What? What is it?" Lisabeth shrieked, her eyes wide.

        "Be careful." Rissa warned, her pupils slitting into a cat's and her back arching as she saw what lay before the two. "Both will spiral with their powers. One will ascend the ladder to greatness, letting the light become her personal tool towards achieving her true potential. But the other will let her power use her until there is nothing left but a lust for revenge and a battle for power."

        "Which one will become dark? Which one?" David cried as wind howled at the windows outside, the beautiful sunny day disappearing and becoming a raging storm. "Rissa, tell us!"

        Thunder roared and a bold of lightning shattered the window. The streak blinded the room in a gust of wind and a flash of light before it was gone.

        "The children!" Lisabeth cried, running to see her daughters. But as her vision returned and she comprehended what she was seeing, she realized that her daughters were completely fine. Except...

        "Rissa, what's on their necks?"

        The sorceress looked down and her eyes, back to their regular shape, widened in shock. "I...I don't know."

        Tattooed onto the necks of the infants was a bundle of spirals and lines, forming a shape that was unlike any the queen had ever seen before. The one on the blue-eyed daughter was white as the other daughter's skin, while the one on the brown-eyed girl was black as the night.

        "Well...I think you can tell which one is dark."