A few theories crossed my mind, collaborating with Amaranthine, in the months leading up to the meeting with our father and mother, the Duke and Duchess of Luminareth, or Luminar… Amaranthine and I have yet to figure that out, but nonetheless, I have been coming up with a theory based on what some comics and studies have been conducted. We have been going through emotional regression. I've noticed that Amaranthine's and my anger fluctuate much more than before. Amaranthine's constant emotional outbursts and my ease in becoming depressed and doomer helped to support this theory of mine. I imagine this has to do with adults being placed in the bodies of infants… but I am unsure of this.
One hour ago, however, my maid and her butler, Seri and Lovis, came into our room at the usual time, around 3 pm, from my guesses, but who knows how time works here, for feeding us the regular slop we've been ingesting. But instead of feeding us, they announced that our parents in this world have returned to our estate, and want to see us. They picked us up from our cribs and have been carrying us throughout the estate at a rather slow rate, so Amaranthine and I were taking in the scenery. The level of opulence and luxury shown in front of us and all around was nothing Earth has seen, or if it has, it was destroyed a millennium ago. Amaranthine's thoughts were the same, and I could tell she was thinking maybe this was a style akin to France or Germany, a mixture of Versailles and Neuschwanstein. I could see there was gold and silver inlaid around the entire estate, but for some reason, I was more attuned towards the crystals and gems throughout the walls. It felt like there was a power emitting from them that my body was absorbing. It felt… gross…
One major thing, though above all else in this world of luxury, was the chance to see my siblings, mother, and… father. When I was in my 20's on Earth, all of my family was brutally murdered in a Re:Do-Life protest. Destroying and crumbling my world to what made me become the man I was: ruthless, heartless, and a general plague to the world. But God has given me the opportunity in this world of Averna to get a second chance. I imagine that there will be trials… But I will protect them. I cannot wait to meet my siblings! I wonder what they're like. I hope they're cu…"You sure had a change of heart, Siegfried…" She said in the middle of my happiness high, but I could tell she was interrupted by some other thought midway through. "That name's getting annoying to say. Maybe we should come up with a nickname for the oh so mighty son of the Duke and Duchess of this region." She said with a taunting sneer. I could tell based on her mental projection that she was enjoying every second of this, and could also feel that I was chagrined and embarrassed by this whole exchange. So I thought of quipping back to get under her skin as well.
"Well, if that's the case, I wouldn't mind being called Sieg. With a name like Siegfried, you should've been a male, i.e., my brother, instead of a sister, and named Roy. Not to mention your name is a mouthful too." Attempting to make an annoying jab at her jibe, but it only solidified her thought that her name was too long. Amaranthine was a pretty name, but for HER it was unfitting. So I came up with another quip to help drive the annoyance back to her. "Your shortened name should be Amy or something like that; it was a stereotypically ditsy name we had for chicks back in college." I finished in a mental cackle. That finally got under her skin; she was pissed. Good, my plan worked.
"God, why did he have to transport me with the most intellectual and skilled terrorist on Earth, with the emotional maturity of a toddler?" She sighed, knowing this would lead nowhere. I sighed and felt the energy leaving me. Why was it that we had seemingly lower levels of emotional maturity… My commentary and theory that we were going through infantile regression was further amplified by this.
After that little spat, we were carried for 20 or so more minutes until we were in front of the most lavishly decorated door. It had to have been one of the tallest doors I've ever seen, on par with the entrance to the Sagrada Familia in Catalonia. I could tell Amaranthine was in shock as well; they were at least 30 feet tall, with what seemed like virgin white marble, with gold trim and a crest in the center of each door. It almost looked like something I've seen…Each door, though, was also giving off an energy that was like the gems and stones earlier, but to a much greater extent. They felt like they were being absorbed into my very flesh and bones. "Siegfried, Amaranthine, are you ready to meet your parents and siblings? They've been excited to see you for a long while." Seri interrupted my thought and stated in a delighted squeal. I attempted to say yes, showing how much I was expecting this day, but all that came out was a little moan, and Seri cooed at me. This caused me to blush. To this day, I have never seen Seri's full face, but she was… beautiful. This is a maid of the Ducal house? Lovis handed Amaranthine to Seri, and I could finally see her for the first time, and she had this disgusted face on her. Lovis then opened the great doors, blinding us with light. Seri gave Amaranthine back to Lovis, and they both walked into the spacious room, around the size of the Oval Office.
When light came into focus, the first thing I saw was a man sitting behind what seemed like an ancient… or new desk. It was black, a black which felt like it could swallow up the sun, but it was inlaid with white trim which made it visible it was, in fact, a desk. The patterns almost reminded me of an eastern pattern like those of yin-yang symbolisms… The man behind it was a man no older than 30, with blond hair and blue eyes with a mustache that screamed old money. He had the facial competition of one from either Germany or Sweden, and was in an ostentatious outfit befitting one of Ducal houses in 1700's Germany… and I could tell Amaranthine was thinking the same exact thing. But… everything felt a bit off though because it seemed like a hodge podge of contradictions.
All of that however, came to a screeching halt, when I looked over to the right behind him and saw a woman more beautiful than any before. She was standing, and had to have been around 5 '9 or 5' 10, wearing a black dress that looked more like a witch's attire than anything else, and carrying a curved staff of pure white. Most shocking of all is how there was a red gem at the center of that staff, and it was… defying all the things I knew about physics in my previous world. Mentally, I sighed and put the nail in the coffin, knowing I was truly not on Earth. I took a better look and noticed her eyes and hair were the same color, ruby red. If this man in front of us were our father, he embodied what it was to be gentle and kind, with the air of someone who knows his place in the world, but our mother seemed like someone who actually had physical power to destroy the world. The energy from the stones that seemed to flow into me, and her existence seemed to have the same power, if a million of those stones were collected, that is. It was almost crushing. I have no clue how Amaranthine couldn't feel this.
Finally, using my baby's body to squirm, I turned my head to see 2 girls sitting on 1 side, and 1 boy sitting on the other. They seemed to be between the ages of 8 and 3, but my brain couldn't stop thinking of how cute they were. The eldest of the bunch was a girl who had the air of our mother; she was a dignified little thing with striking strawberry blond hair that went past her shoulders, and blue eyes like our fathers, sporting a yellow and blue dress. Next to her was my other sister, who I assumed was the youngest of our eldest siblings. She looked no older than 3 and almost looked like a carbon copy of our mother. She had ruby red eyes and hair and looked like she was wearing a black dress similar to our mothers', but less… witchy. Across from them looked a boy no older than 5, and he assumedly was the heir to our Ducal house, our oldest and only older brother. He had the fire in his little eyes for battle… or play. He was only a child. His eyes, though, were different colors, one like our fathers, a brilliant blue, and one like our mothers, ruby red. He had Heterochromia, which was sure rare. He was rocking a short cut to his ruby red hair and wearing what seemed like a white, small, yet modern button-down shirt with black slacks.
"Duke Aurelian and Duchess Valerienne, along with Mistress Hanessa, Lord Leovarion, and Mistress Kaelis, we, Lovis and Seri, servants of the house of Godfall and protectors of Amaranthine and Siegfried, have brought Siegfried and Amaranthine to you. Here they are." Seri said, whilst bowing to our mother and father, holding us out to them.
"Oh my God their both so cute!" Said Hanessa, starting the conversation in glee.
"They both look so cool! But that comes with the territory of being the children of high nobility!" Said Leovarion with a prideful thump to his chest.
"They… look scary… W..why do they have black and white hair… and… g-g-golden eyes. They don't look like mama or dada…" Said Kaelis finally, causing the atmosphere in the room to shift in an odd direction… I buckled back. She was by far the cutest of my siblings, but why was our appearance so different, and she was calling it out…
"Kaelis, don't say such rude things. Has your tutor been slacking? I should've expected as much from an outside instructor," Valerienne, our mother, said in utter exasperation. "Watch your tone, Kaelis, and you two as well, Hanessa and Leovarion. You are the representatives of the region of Luminar, where the people of Luminareth call home. Also, you are in the presence of your father, the reigning Duke, of the 3rd most powerful nation in the world. I will instruct your tutors to instill this within you thoroughly…" She finished in utter exasperation.
"Now now, dear, no need to be hard on them. They are only children, and children aren't meant to understand this stuff." Aurelian, or I guess father, said in a scolding tone towards mother. "We must let them have some semblance of freedom before the society of nobility breaks down their world views. Besides, this is a joyous occasion. Siegfried and Amaranthine, my darling children. Welcome to your home!"