THE MOMENT
“It’s been a long-standing tradition in this Kingdom,” Cassie elaborated the point as she led the twin girls through a stone hallway. Cassie was a young woman in her mid-20s with a blonde ponytail and the girls were about 10-years-old, one with blonde hair and brown eyes while the other had brown hair with green eyes. The trio could’ve passed as sisters. Despite not being blood-related, Cassie considered the twins to be younger cousins, and she was taking them on something of a learning tour.
“A magical throne?” Six, the brown-haired twin, giggled.
“Did they enchant it, or how does it work to determine if someone’s worthy?” 23, the older, blonde twin asked.
“That’s a good question, but not why we’re here,” Cassie nodded. “The answer is just ‘magic’, and you can learn all about that on your own.” She didn’t want to discourage a budding interest, but they had a lot to learn, and she was doing what she could to keep their focus on that.
“Okay,” 23 nodded.
“So,... what’s going on with your dad?” Cassie asked as she turned a corner to discover another long hallway. “No one’s seen him since Six appeared, have you?”
“I barely even saw him before Six appeared,” 23 shook her head.
“He’s trying to think up an appropriate apology for when Jenny gets back,” Six replied with a laugh. Cassie was in the lead, but she suddenly heard one fewer set of steps, and she turned back. 23 had stopped walking, and she looked at Six.
“You know that?” she asked her sister. The blonde twin shrugged.
“He really should be if he isn’t,” she said.
“You’d think so,” 23 agreed with a sigh. Then, she turned to Cassie and started walking again. Cassie led the way once more, and they traversed the hall in silence, until finally arriving at the open doors of the throne room. Dozens of nobles were assembled and chatting amongst themselves. As if the ceremony were awaiting the three girls, a wiry man with a brown beard called everyone’s attention.
“Thank you all for coming to witness this occasion. Without any further ado, let us begin,” he gestured to the side at a young, handsome man in royal velvet. “I present, Lucius, the son of the former King.” Light applause echoed through the throne room briefly as the young man stopped and stood in front of the throne.
“No need to drag it out, right?” he asked with a smile and backed himself onto the throne.
“Stop it now,” Cassie said it quickly, and 23 stopped time around them. The young man’s posterior was inches from the enchanted golden throne.
“So, the throne picks a ruler, it’s not determined by bloodline,” she reminded them. She’d already given a rundown of what that Earth was like, but there was an important hint in there and she wanted to give them another chance to catch it. “What do you think happens if the throne rejects the heir?” she asked with a smile.
“What?” 23 tilted her head, and her brown eyes focused on Cassie with a hint of confusion. “I don’t understand the question,” she said.
“He’s gonna go flying off!” Six answered.
“Okay, I got your answers, let’s see what happens,” Cassie encouraged 23 with a nod, and time began again. She didn’t quite get what was asked, but she understood that that in itself was an answer for Cassie.
The young man let himself fall onto the throne, and instead he phased right through it to land on the floor. Laughter filled the room as he quickly got to his feet.
“Well, I don’t think that’s a surprise for anyone,” he chuckled. “Folks, it looks like we need a new king, begin the search!” The nobles cheered, then dispersed quickly through the doorway the three girls came in.
“He didn’t go flying,” Cassie smiled at Six, then 23. “What didn’t you understand?” she asked.
“It threw me off when you called him an ‘heir’,” she said. “Why’d you call him that?”
“He’s the son of the former king,” Cassie said. But, 23 shook her head.
“So?” she asked. “The very first rule you gave us was that on this Earth, the leader was determined by a powerful magic item,” she said.
“That’s right, that’s how it works,” Cassie laughed. “You saw what happened. It’s actually pretty rare that the same family holds on to the throne. They’ve gotten to the point where the ‘Search’ is a big festival for them.”
“That’s even more confusing!” 23 said.
“What? How?” Cassie asked.
“Why’d you call him an heir if it doesn’t work like that on this Earth? My guess was going to be, ‘they’ll just find someone else’, but you said ‘heir’ and I didn’t know what to do with that…,” she explained.
“Oh..,” Cassie nodded first as she realized the misunderstanding was her fault. Her job was to help them exercise their thinking muscles. “You’re right,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking in ‘game mode’, and since that’s what I’m supposed to be teaching you, it’s totally on me. I’ll do better,” she nodded and opened a new black portal for them. She waved them through it and followed with a final statement as the portal closed behind them.
“Let’s get you guys competition ready.”