This is a story of a little girl, her duck and her Brother who always got in trouble.

The little girl in our story takes place on her and her Brother's twelfth birthday. All she ever wanted was a little Mallard Duck. She would read books and books on the animals in her spare time; when Father didn't have her training with the spear and rune magic. They lived just outside the city of Cain, just past Farmer Megan's apple orchard, and their home could see out over the ocean.

The little girl wore a beautiful, soft, baby blue summer dress. The hem of the dress had delicate gold embroidery around the edges. It was her favourite dress. Her mother had given it for the spring festival this evening. Her hair was a dark rich red done up in perfect ringlets that just fell past her shoulders. The bridge of her nose was covered in like spots because she was always in the sun, she hated her freckles, but her mother expressed that they were a sign of a strong spirit.

She loved her mother. Her mother had a skill; no matter what was happening, her mother could make her happy. Mother would take her to the lake if she finished lessons early. She loved that lake because she could watch the ducks. Ducks always seemed carefree! If they had problems, they could fly away; some days, she wished she could join them. Mother could always cheer her up even when her Father forced her to practice all day.

"Hey, brother! Did you know that Mallards love to fly in flocks, and they are famous for the flying V formation?"

"What are you quacking about now?"

"Do you think Father will get me a duck for our birthday this year? I would love a little duckling. They are so cute," she screamed with excitement.

"I am tired of your quackitude!"

They both fell on their backs and looked at the sky, watching the clouds float past. The little girl reached out her hand and made the mistake of bumping her Brother's shoulder. She could see the pain that crossed his face.

Brother was her twin, but his head was shaved, unlike her long beautiful hair. He was taller than her by a few inches, and he liked to joke that he would always be her big Brother. The big brother part didn't help because he was born two minutes before her. Brother wore simple training robes of a dark black colour. What she loved most about her Brother was his beautiful blue eyes; they reminded her of a high-quality mana potion he liked to brew.

"Did it happen again?"

Brother kept looking up at the sky, "I hate Father."

"It wouldn't be so bad if you practiced your mana more."

"You might love ducks and being father's favourite, but I love my science, just like mom."

"Well, what happened this time?" She wasn't hoping for an honest answer as she sat up and looked down at him.

Brother rolled over onto his side and placed an arm under his head, "You know what father is like when he is angry."

Sister tackled him and started to tickle her Brother. She knew that she was the only one to snap him out of this state after his Father did his punishment.

"I love you, Brother."

A tear stopped rolling down his cheek, and a smile replaced it, "I love you too, Sis. Should we go find Mom before the festival?"

******

Brother and Sister walked, hand in hand, down the emerald colour hill, passing the rose garden before entering the kitchen. The cooks were busy with backing for the festival. They were making butter-ripple, peanut butter cookies. Brother and Sister gave each other a childish smile, and without saying a word, the two trouble makers slipped into the kitchen. They crept closer; Sister went left, Brother went right, hiding behind a pile of pots and pans that needed to be washed.

Once Brother was in place, Sister went into action! She pulled the apron strings of two nearby cooks and ran down the hall. Her giggles seemed to fill the whole house with childhood joy. With the distraction, Brother went to work. He grabbed a plate of finished cookies and went out the back door into the rose garden to wait for Sister.

It was a beautiful garden. The rosarium was a private park for the family; it was used to grow all varieties of plants, but they called it the rose garden because it was Mother's favourite plant. They grew all shapes and sizes of rose species. The flower designs vary tremendously, but Mother loved the red ones. She said the colour reminded her of Sisters' beautiful hair, the dark crimson.

She would tell Brother, "Every rose has thorns, and you, Brother, are Sister's thorn. "

"Why, Mother? That makes me sad. I want to be a beautiful flower! I don't want to be an ugly thorns that hurts people."

Mother removes a tear from Brother's childish cheeks, "Every rose needs a thorns to protect them. Your job is to protect her. Your Sister is the best part of this family. We need you to look after her."

The memory flashed through Brother's mind as he sat on the same stone bench in the rose garden: waiting for Sister to join him.

"I might not be a flower, but I am a great cookie thief!"

He heard his sister yell, "Save me a few!" A smile spread from cheek to cheek.

"Children," They heard a sweet and kind voice call out.

Both children jumped up and down. "Mother!"

"Festival time. Come!"

******

Brother and Sister returned to the mansion stuffed end to end with treats and candies, but tonight had been the best night ever. Mother had let them go on all the rides. The city had set up a few of the children's favourites!

The first was a metal-based ride, controlled with a mixture of science and magic! Brother had always hated the magic Father forced on him, but he could not stop asking the techno-engineers from the Iron Legion questions about the ride. They only said, "The forge provides the metal of the world." It had bored the children. Brother might have been bored with the scripted line, but he watched all the gears and how it was powered with energy. The energy travelled over the metal, causing the wheels to move. It was a fantastic piece of work in Brother's eyes. Sister could tell that he wanted to learn more about this science. Sister hoped that this passion for science would cheer Brother up because he was subpar with magic compared to her, and Father always was hard on him.

Sister's favourite ride was the carousel. Mother explained that the carousel was her favourite as a child because it was always the most refined ride at the festival. She explained that the first carousel arrived in Cain around 500 years ago. The ride consisted of a rotating platform with different magical creatures that moved up and down as it turned. Brother's favourite was a lion with white and gold wings. "You can only find carousels that have a large Legion church because of their knowledge of the Iron Forge," She told Sister as she lifted Sister on an enormous red dragon.

Suppose she remembered correctly, from an archmage from the Iron Legion. The children did not like the Iron Legion because Mother explained, "They would be a little too heavy-handed in their search for the Forge." She once explained to the children that the Legion would take street kids and force them to join their church. She had only done this because when they were in the market on their birthday two years ago, the Legion was loading children into the back of a wagon.

Sister giggled as she went around on the dragon. "It doesn't matter, Momma, the carousel is beautiful, and I am sure they are helping the children. No one who makes something so fun could be evil."

It was a beautiful night as the family arrived back home with a breathtaking blood moon overhead.

Barkley was standing in the entryway, bowed towards their mother. "I hate to bother you, but Father is ready for you and the children. Everything is in place. The rest of the house staff has been dismissed for the evening."

Mother took his arm as he reached out to help steady her. "Thank you, Barkley. Come children, and it is time to play our part for Father."

Barkley led them deeper into the home and tapped on Father's study. He spoke a few words that the children could not make out, but they could hear the magic start to buzz in the air.

"This is where I take my leave." Barkley bowed and walked off towards the servents rooms.

Mother pushed the children into Father's study, and they could see the hidden door to the red room open. The children could see their Father working on the spell. Without looking, Father waved the family forward, "Quickley, we have been practicing this for the time you could talk, children. I need you to take your places and not falter."

As one, the twins stated without emotion, "Yes, Father."

The twins did not know why; however, this was what their training, or beating Brother, to learn: Father's ritual. Sister had mastered her role repeatedly.

There was a glowing circle of runes on the floor. Brother took his place on the southern rune roughly in the shape of a spear. Sister was standing on top of a rune shaped like a rose, and she was across from Brother. Mother took her place at the heart of the ritual circle. Father was above them on a raised platform. He was holding a sizeable massive book with a red forge on the cover, and his other hand was raised and cast out over the family. They all chanted in perfect rhyme.

The ritual went on for hours.

Everything froze in place. Time stopped.

Across from Brother, behind Sister, was another little boy, but something was off about him. The little boy looked like his skin was the same as a snake. A forked tongue came out of this boy's mouth as if tasting the air.

"What do you want," Brother yelled, "If you hurt my Sister, I will kill you!"

"I only want to stop the world from trying to kill itself. The forge must remain asleep."

The snake child grabbed Sister's foot and shifted it about an inch back.

"Stop. If you do that, the spell will fail, and Father..."

Brother was cut off because he could finish his thought as the snake child rose as if becoming a giant.

"That is my point, simple child."

Time began again.

It was at that moment the spell failed. Lighting from a cloudless sky crashed through the roof of the mansion. The sudden light was strangely beautiful against the backdrop of the blood moon. It cashed through the top two floors as if they weren't even there; the blue lightning crackled and hissed for just a second above the room. Light flooded everyone's eyes, and the room was cast into darkness.

Sister's voice called out for Mother. Father screamed in fury that could scare even the goods. Brother stood there frozen, unable to process what happened. A few moments passed, and a cloud shifted in the night sky, casting a blood-red light off the moon down into the newly created hole.

In the center of the room sat a duck, and mother was gone. Brother laughed to himself; Sister had always wanted a duck. Brother wondered if she would name it Buller.

Father roared and went to the children, "Who! Which one of you did this?" Father turned his head towards Brother and then back at Sister.

He knew he needed to be his Sister's thorne, even more now that Mother was gone. Brother took a deep breath. "I can do this," he told himself. He took the first of many brave steps forward. "I did it, Father. My foot slipped, and I crossed the magic lines. They snapped together and must have caused the spell to move into uncontrolled chaos."

Father waved his hand; Brother was pulled into the man's waiting hand. A dagger appeared in the other. "No simple beating today. You wasted ten years of my life."

******

This is a story about Anna and Kalven: the rose and thorn.