Now, the lumination crystals are rather curious objects. For one, although they are called lumination crystals, it does not produce its own light. Rather, it takes whatever light is in its surroundings, then somehow uses that light to shine and illuminate as if by magic. That is why the stronger the light source that hits the lumination crystal, the brighter its light will become. Except from 'A Commentary On Recent Inventions' by Beregor the Curious. Crown or Tiara Chapter 8 By Shinieris

Now, the lumination crystals are rather curious objects. For one, although they are called lumination crystals, it does not produce its own light. Rather, it takes whatever light is in its surroundings, then somehow uses that light to shine and illuminate as if by magic. That is why the stronger the light source that hits the lumination crystal, the brighter its light will become.

Except from 'A Commentary On Recent Inventions' by Beregor the Curious.

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"Mother," the princess murmured to the sleeping queen in the dim light. With the light shutter only half-way open, the brightness of the room, reflected by the light from the lumination crystals was only half of what it should be.

"Mother," she murmured again. She was resting her face into her crossed arms at the edge of the queen's bed. "Mikhal just came home, mother."

Princess Feska raised her head, looking at the queen's sleeping face. "He hasn't changed, mother," she put her head back into her crossed arms. "Still the same pervert, hug-obsessed brother as the day he left," she said as she closed her eyes, "Still the same Mikhal, no matter how big he has become."

She paused, raising her head again, she said, "He danced well too. And he kept asking why Frid won't attend the feast. As if I'd tell him." She sat with her arms resting on the edge of the queen's bed, and stayed there for quite a moment. That was, when she heard sounds and voices outside.

"So the Queen Mother is here, then?" one of the voices said. His voice barely heard through the heavy door of the queen's bedchamber. Princess Feska focused her ears trying to hear better.

"I've never been here. Last I remember, this was the royal whorehouse. Why did they move the Queen Mother here?"

"It was actually the Queen Mother who wanted to live here, after His Majesty's passing, Your Highness. At least from what I could gather," said another, older-sounding voice as Princess Feska heard the doorknob turn and it made her stood abruptly.

"Oh well. The important thing is-" the crown prince stopped in mid-sentence as Princess Feska crashed into him the moment the door was opened.

She would've broken into a run if not for the quick reflex of the crown prince's bodyguard. As it was, she was held in a vise grip by the bodyguard. Princess Feska struggled in vain against his grip.

"How dare you touch me, common-born! Unhand me at once!" Princess Feska said as twisted her arm and pushed against the man's arm, trying to get free.

"Princess Feska?" the crown prince stood steady. His eyes scanning the still struggling girl and the unmoving body of his mother.

"That was low, Princess of Veggida!" the prince's eyes turned cold and menacing. He unsheathed his sword and said, "I would understand if your father tries to assassinate my mother. But I would never have believed that Melthis permits this to happen. You shall be-"

"Assassinate?" the princess screamed, "Why would I want to kill my own mother?"

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"So that about being the princess of Veggida and being Frid's betroth was all a big lie?" the crown prince asked as he sat next to Princess Feska at the side of the fountain.

"Well, not exactly..." she withered under the sharp look her brother gave.

"I think it's time that you tell me everything, Feska," the prince said as he crossed his arms.

The princess looked sideways and said, "But I have already told you everything..."

"Look at me when you say that, Feska! Tell me everything."

Everything? That's social suicide! "No! I've told you everything you need to know. Respect a girl's wish for privacy, would you?" she said while looking straight at the prince's face, though her eyes tried to avoid hitting his directly.

"Fine then, tell me the reason you're doing this. Why go to such length to fool me. What would you get by fooling me, your own brother?"

"Umm, you see, the truth is, we didn't really know how to explain this to you."

"You mean the fact that I suddenly have a cute sister? Frid's secret twin nonetheless?"

"You must understand that I'm the palace secret. Nobody outside the palace knows of me."

"So what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you going to continue masquerading as Melthis' sister or become mine?"

"See, that temper! We knew you would be mad, so we tried to avoid getting hit by your temper."

The princess breathed out, aware that his mood was making his sister nervous, "Alright, I'll calm down now. You still haven't answered the question. Are you the princess of Veggida or Granvayl?"

"See, I think the cat's now out of the bag, there's really no more need to keep lying to you."

"I quite agree, dear sister. Let me formally welcome you to the family," he said with a predatory grin.

"What?" the princess said as she was startled by the gleam in her brother's eyes. "You can't seriously..." she cautiously stepped back when she saw her brother advance with arms open.

"Don't you dare... MIKHAL!" she yelled as her brother jumped forward. In her desire to escape, she accidentally tripped over the edge of the fountain, causing her to fall backward into the cold water in the circular pool under the fountain.

"Guh!" she blew out mouthfuls of fountain water from her mouth.

"Are you alright, Feska? I didn't know mermaid blood runs in the family." he chortled jovially.

"You-" Feska spat out a bit more of the fountain's stale water, "I should turn you into a toad!"

"Hah! Not even mother can turn me into a toad, and she's a great alchemist. Hey!"

"What? Something wrong?" she said as she pushed aside the wet hair that was clinging to her face.

"Look! The fountain has stopped flowing, and the waterline's receding."

"Seriously?!" she looked around her, "Oh great, I broke the fountain. It's all your fault!"

"You don't break a fountain, Feska. You demolish it," the prince said as he stood up and offered his hand to his sister.

"But I-" her words were cut by the grinding of stone and stone. Moments later, the fountain tile just a foot away from her dropped, followed by the tile next to it, and the tile next to it, until the tile right next to the princess also fell.

The prince quickly pulled his sister out of the pool as the tiles fell one by one into the darkness. they both looked down and saw something like a spiral staircase from above.

"A secret passageway... you must have accidentally tripped over a lever or something," the prince remarked, "Want to have a look?"

"Umm, no, probably not." Yeah, a secret stairway leading into the darkness. Not in your life!

The prince said as he took one of the torches nearby and took a step onto the first tile."Oh come on, where's your sense of adventure?"

"It's not here at the moment," the princess mumbled.

"Seriously, let's go!" the prince said as he pulled on the princess' hand.

"Why are you so insistent on going down there?" the princess said as she relented and stood onto the first plate.

The prince grinned. "I want to get a rise out of Therion."

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"Can't we just go back?" the princess whined as they went deeper into the tunnels.

"Why'd we want to do that?" the prince replied as he led the way. He was holding a torch he took from the Forbidden Garden in his left hand and the Aidelich, a sword given to the crown princes of every Talranic generation in his right hand.

"Because it's getting creepier?" she shivered as stale air blew past her.

"Come on, think about it. Brother and sister discovers long-forgotten tunnels underneath the palace. Doesn't it sound grand?" he grinned.

"It's hard to feel very grand when I'm soaked to the bones," she mumbled.

"Oh right, I forgot. You fell into the fountain. You must be freezing cold," he said without looking back.

"You kidding?" Feska said with chattering teeth, "What gave me away?"

"Haha! Seems like someone failed to teach you proper court manners. Here," he said as he threw at her his silk mantle bearing the the Talranic Royal Family coat of arms and and handed her the leather vest that he wore instead of the white velvet that he came home with.

Princess Feska took the silk mantle and wrapped it around herself. She was at a loss as to what her brother expected her to do with his vest. Noticing that the princess didn't take the proffered vest, the prince looked behind at his sister, who was still staring at the vest in his hands.

"I meant for you to wear the vest as your top and the mantle as your skirt, dear sister."

"Great!" the princess exclaimed brightly, "I'll just get back to my room upstairs then." And get out of this tunnel for good!

"No time. Just change here."

"Here?" she asked as her brother nodded.

"Like, here?" she asked as her brother nodded again.

"Not in your dreams, pervert!" she cried as she threw a piece of debris at the crown prince.

The crown prince was barely able to duck away from the incoming projectile. Instead of tensing up, he laughed. "Amazing! Not only does your face the same as your twin, even your words are the same."

The princess sighed. Rubbing the side of her head, she said, "I told you before, brother dear, don't compare me with Frid."

"Well, he's your twin. You know it's inevitable," he said with a grin.

"Enough! I'm going to go change," she said as hid around the corner.

Before the prince could do anything, the princess poked her head and sharply said, "Don't you dare peek!"

The prince merely shrugged. The princess pouted and disappeared around the corner again.

As he waited, the prince surveyed his surrounding. The ceiling leaked here and there, but the tunnel was surprisingly dry. The tunnel was dark, and the prince deduced that at some point in the past, probably a thousand years ago, the wall must have been lined with torches, judging from the soot marks present at consistent intervals on the wall. The tunnel air felt stale, and the prince could detect an underlying scent, very faint, but quite unsettling. He couldn't place what the scent was, but he knew it wasn't pleasant.

"Ahhhh!!!!" a voice screamed from around the corner, the same one where the princess went to change.

"Feska!" the prince called out as he held his sword tight in a battle posture.

*Hey there, this time I got this released faster :P As always, comments and feedbacks are much appreciated.