[Luminaria Grand Palace]
The palace is a towering paradise, dominating the city like a world apart. It's silhouette cut against the skyline of glass towers and neon veins. Though the city bursted with modern life, the palace seems untouched by time. It's like an empire within an empire.
It's in two parts, and this particular part is the East, meant for the High Royals—The Millions Family.
The main castle is high and dark with it's obsidian glass, blackened steel and skyscraper-like spires which are clawing to the clouds, their edges sharp like blades.
Besides that, there are several exclusive mansions for clansmen and extended family of the high royals.
There are quarters for maids, and small Wings for wretched slaves, so the palace is extremely full and is always alive every hour.
In the middle of the evasive palace, there's a luxuriously tall tower. "Heartless Tower" is written in big irregular letters in front of it.
Luxury won't be enough to describe the richness of this place.
Jude stood in the archery field at the back of the main castle, sipping from a cup of warm water which was brought for him by a maid.
The maid held a red tray, and her head is down as Jude sipped in large gulps, his throat bobbing. Thin lines of water rode down his flawless skin.
He's drinking with an hand, but he held a arrow and bow with the other.
After drinking, he dropped the cup back on the tray a little too rough, and the tray broke into two, together with the cup.
"Just dispose 'em off" He shrugged.
"Yes, Grand Prince." The woman took out a napkin, gently wiping the water on his throat with it before rushing out of the field.
Jude readjusted his stand in front of the dartboard, his long cross earrings dangling. The strands of hair falling over his eyes look overly attractive.
He's Jude Millions, first son of the Millions Royal Family.
"All that arrogance, and your powers are still low. Breaking a tray and cup means nothing, it just shows how useless you actually are." a cold, sad voice spoke behind, causing Jude to turn with a smirk, and it's exactly who he expected.
Sadie Millions, the second child of the Millions Royal Family.
She's a twin though, so it's safe to say she and her twin brother—Soren, are the second borns, and they have enough venom in them than snakes.
They're both crueller than the devil, and Jude might be their senior brother, but in this family, things just work differently.
Power buys respect, not age.
Sadie picked up a arrow and bow too, her face holding nothing but cruelty as she stood beside Jude.
Her hair is dark in her neat bun, she's wearing sleek leather palazzo pants, black heels and a cropped blouse. She looks like she birthed evil herself as her lips are also black.
"You really wanna do this, little sister? We all you and Soren are useless without each other." Jude mocked, smiling.
Sadie shut her eyes, easily mind-linking with Soren...
"Get your rotten ass here, Soren!" She harshly ordered, but nothing came.
Just the sound of unstopping water splashes and the shower, meaning Soren is in the bathroom.
Sadie's eyes opened, a calm breath ran out of her nostrils.
"I'll go first," she muttered resolutely, setting her arrow into the bow.
"Without Soren? Are you sure?" Jude snickered hard.
Sadie went silent, focusing on her target — the dartboard.
With one unrelenting pull, she released the arrow. It whistled and flew to the dartboard violently, hitting the middle so hard.
She raised her chin proudly at Jude who was silent too as he reset his arrow in his bow.
Sadie stood behind him, watching darkly as Jude released his arrow.
It hit the middle of the dartboard, pushing away Sadie's arrow and splitting the board into two.
"Fûck" Sadie muttered shockingly.
Jude bursted into laughter.
"Told ya, little sister. You should have known your place. You're useless without Soren."
"I hate it when you laugh, Jude." Soren's hard voice broke into the field as he strolled inside, twinning with his leather pants and jacket.
His face is just as round and cold as Sadie's. He's slightly taller than her though, but Sadie wouldn't have it, and that's why she's always on heels.
"Why the hell are you just coming!! You know how much I hate losing!!" Sadie yelled angrily at him.
"I was in the bathroom! You don't expect me to come running! You heard water splashes when you mind-linked! Didn't you?" He glared, but she was already at his face.
"You could have ran out nakedly and blind the maids who'd dare look at you! Jude won! He fuckin won!"
Soren's face twisted into something gravely, and his stare shot to Jude who's still laughing at the two.
His laughter refused to stop—it's not stopping anytime soon, and that angered the twins so much.
They looked at each other, their eyes sharing faint glows before they faced Jude again, stretching their hands to him together.
The arrows in the weapons bag lifted on their own, and before Jude could retaliate or switch spots, the arrows already pierced his body.
There are 10 arrows, and they all went lodged inside his chest, coming out at his back.
His blood was raining in a matter of seconds, and he crumbled on his knees. He opened his mouth to curse, but it was blood instead.
"Fool" the twins smirked, leaving the field and returning to the castle.
The maids on their way had to run and hide, and some went gummed to the wall with their heads painfully bowed in fear as they walked across.
"I never expected this power competition to stretch to the point of piercing each other with arrows." a authoritative female voice stopped them when they got to the base of the gold stair railings.
In sync, they looked up, and there they are... their parents.
The rulers of this city.
Zeke Millions and Azura Millions—his wife.
Both are thousands of years old, but they still look as young as hell, their dark hairs is a testament to that.
Azura is in a long red silk dress, paired with black gloves while Zeke is in a equally red suit, both holding cups of red wine firmly.
They're looking down at the twins with unblinking eyes of disciplinarians.
"Jude started it, mother!" Sadie glared up venomously.
"I did nothing to warrant that treatment! All I did was defeat her!" Jude rushed in, body still bloody and arrows still stuck inside.
The pains are gone, he only has to get rid of the arrows and heal himself right now.
"You fuckin laughed!" Soren glared.
"So it's a sin to laugh after defeating you losers who can't do shit without each other?" Jude glared back.
"Yes! It's a grave sin! Better watch your laughter from now on!" Sadie fired.
"Now I see why you both hate Ryker to the core. He'd break you two to pieces, tendons by tendons without even lifting a finger!" Jude snapped.
"Don't you dare!!!" Soren yelled.
"Don't you dare compare us to that bastard!" Sadie completed the statement.
"I command this noise to go down, now!" Zeke ordered from the staircase.
"Shut up!!" The twins yelled at him together.
Dead silence fell in the castle immediately, and the twins calmed after realizing what they just did.
"That wasn't intentional," Soren muttered.
"Intentional or not, there's a punishment for every cross of boundary." Azura smiled, sipping from her wine cup.
Zeke called in the castle funding manager, and the man came running inside.
"Grand Supreme." He bowed.
"Lock the family joint account tonight, and it's not to be opened till daybreak." Zeke ordered.
"What!" The twins gasped as the manager ran out to carry out the order.
Jude smiled.
"Tonight is the Dark Rook auction, locking the joint account means we'll be losing the slave to the low Spectres Family!" Sadie said restlessly.
"Exactly my point. You both have to experience losing for once, so next time, you know it's not a good deal shouting at me." Zeke finalized.
"Father, you do realize it's been years since the Spectres last won against us, right? If it happens again tonight, I and Sadie would be mocked at the Ballet School!" Soren desperately hit the staircase.
"Son, you don't get it, do you?" Azura dropped her wine cup for a maid. "That's the point—the mockery."
She left with Zeke, but their commanding presence still remained in the hall as the twins faced Jude.
"Good riddance" Jude scoffed, removing one of the arrows from his stomach before going up.
The twins stood undecided for a minute at the hall, then they both broke into a run, up the staircase.
They went to their conjoined room.
"How much money do we have left in our personal safe?" Sadie asked.
"About five billion?" Soren's eyes threw the personal safe door open, and they entered the small room in the middle of their rooms.
There are wooden shelves inside, and the shelves contain bundles of cash in calculated sums, stacked up.
They got four bags, throwing the cash bundles inside and counting at the same time.
By the time they got done, the cash is exactly 4.9 billion.
"Not enough, we're surely losing at the auction tonight, I can't think! You mean to tell me those dogs from the lowly Spectres Family will mock tomorrow?" Sadie punched the wall, cracking that spot, but her knuckles stayed fine.
"There's a way, though." Soren talked, and Sadie flicked her eyes to him, getting it instantly.
"The bastard has to come to the auction, he's the only one in this family who manages his wealth without the joint account." Soren muttered.
"He left his tower with his lackeys since two days ago and hasn't returned. Where could he be?" Sadie held her forehead.
"We can always call him back with his weakness" Soren smiled, wickedly.
Sadie's face lit up with a deadlier smile, twinning with him.
They left the room with sharp steps, Sadie's heels clicking and Soren's boots thudding, crossing rooms till they arrived at the staircase.
They didn't bother descending, they just jumped, landing down easily. They entered the castle kitchen, meeting the old head of chefs with his daughter Xena, both eating breakfast on the kitchen island.
Sadie's nails dug into Xena's hair as she grabbed her, tightly.
The old chef stood, dropping his fork, but before he could defend his daughter, Soren picked the fork and stabbed his palm with it, literally nailing it to the table.
The old chef cried out, the custard and pie in his mouth pouring to his chest.
"Xena!" He shouted.
"Father!" Xena cried. That was the only sound she could make before the evil twins dragged her out of the wide wealthy kitchen.
"Xena!!" The old chef's crying voice still echoed behind them till they arrived at the pool room.
Xena was thrown to her knees, and she straightened up as the twins towered in front of her. Her knees sting so much.
"Please... please I did nothing wrong." She shook her head.
Sadie threw a immediate deafening slap at her face, and she fell, rolling fast into the pool.
The twins bursted into a fit of laughter, watching her struggle since she can't swim.
"Hel...p...ah...ugh...hel...p!!"
Their laughter increased, and Sadie rested her elbow on Soren's shoulder.
"Isn't she so fuckin pretty like this?"
"Tell me about it," the guy nodded.
"Let's get to business then," Sadie pulled out her phone, hissing out.
"The fact that we use human technology pisses me off."
She dialled 'bastard' on her phone, and it rang for two long times before the line connected.
"Hello, bastard. Your sister is chilling in the pool, and like you know...she can't swim." She said, blowing air proudly on her fingers.
"She won't die cos her lifeline is hidden, but if she drinks too much water from this poisoned pool, then she'd live with sickness for the rest of her life. You should come back home wherever you are, meet us at the Dark Rook auction and bring as much cash as you have along. Otherwise, sickness is knocking at your sister's door." She continued.
Nothing still came from the other end, so she hung up.
"You think he'd come?" Soren muttered.
Sadie looked at Xena who's still struggling in the pool, shrugging...
"Of course. That bastard might be bloody ice, but he loves his sister."
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