Ingen bryr sig om vad jag skriver. Nu slutar jag skriva!

Will you be forgiven when the cold grave has come?

Will you be forgiven when the cold grave has come?

Will you be forgiven when the cold grave has come?

Will you be forgiven when the cold grave has come?

Will you be forgiven when the cold grave has come?

Will you be forgiven when the cold grave has come?

?Do you know the most important skill of an amber-cobalt mage??

Aiden Hill, mage adept, Sensitive, twin-born and foster son to the Queens Al-chemist, chewed his lower lip, brown eyes thoughtful. 

?Calling familiars?, he ventured.

His foster father Kaldon Overton shook his head. Wrong. What then? 

?Not flooding the apartment?, Aiden?s sister Emi chimed in with a giggle.

Kaldon turned on her.

?So eager to get a lecture of your own, mage adept?, he asked. 

She made a comical face, drawing a giggle from her brother.  Kaldon rubbed his temples.

?:10-year-olds:?, he Mind-spoke to his do-mestic partner.

?:Need help, ashke:?, Rhys asked, humour in his mind-voice. 

Kaldon didn?t reply.

?Aiden?, he prompted instead.

?I don?t know?, the 10-yearold whispered, sounding rather ashamed. 

?Aiden?, said Kaldon gently. ?Why do you feel shame for not knowing??

?You asked me. I should know.?

?Have you been told before??

Aiden looked uncertain and con-fused, despite knowing that he had never heard the answer before.

?The most important skill of ANY mage is fo-cus, concentration?, Kaldon explained. ?So perhaps you should listen too, Emi.?

Emi sighed dramatically and slipped down form the window sill and came to stand beside her twin, looking a bit sheepish. They looked so alike. Kaldon wondered how long that would last. Another two years? Three? Then Emi would probably start growing into womanhood, and Aiden would soon after that start growing into manhood, and they would no longer be able to be what they were. Always twins, but soon, different. 

?Now Listen. Feel. Find the Flows and reach out to them. They are there, for you to use.?

The Flowing Colours concentrated and glowed in the work room, at Kaldons will and demand. It was as if the whole room slowly filled with the rainbow. The two feline familiars in the window where Emi had sat raised their heads, curious.

?You have already been chosen by the ele-ments, your colours?, said Kaldon. ?Now draw on them. Reach out with your thoughts, call on them.?

Aiden didn?t really understand what he was supposed to do, but he tried anyway. He imagined that the flowing streams of col-our were ropes, and his mind had hands. He reached out for the thick blue rope with his minds hands.

?Careful, siha?, Kaldon said, encouragingly. 

Aiden tried, but it was like trying to grasp and hold on to water and wind at the same time, and it burned with cold. He shirked back, looking shocked.

?Don?t worry?, Kaldon said calmly. ?Take a breath. Try again.?

He turned his attention to his foster daughter. She wasn?t faring much better, but she was infinitely more stubborn. Rather than Aiden?s rope-and-hands mental image, she was imagining herself as a magnet and tried to attract both her blue and red colour flows at the same time. She did affect both Flows, but not a lot.

?Concentrate on the red, Emi?, Kaldon said softly, keeping in mind that Aiden was reach-ing for the blue. 

Emi frowned and concentrated on the red Flow. It bent, slightly but visibly, as if she was pulling on a rubber band.

?Good?, Kaldon smiled. ?Try to keep it just like that, don?t pull any further.?

Aiden, not wanting to be up-staged by his sister, reached for the blue Flow again.  He tugged at it. It was heavy, too large for his minds hands and it was cold and wet and slippery, like a rope of melting ice. And it re-fused to budge. Frustrated, he tugged hard-er.

?Calm down, Aiden?, Kaldon warned. ?Try to part the Flow instead. You can only use the darkest part anyway.?

But Aiden wasn?t listening. He tugged at the Flow as hard as he could. It didn?t budge, it exploded. The workroom was cov-ered in a sheet of ice, icicles grew from the ceiling and from the perch where Kaldon?s starling familiar sat. She ruffled her feathers indignantly. Kaldon hastily let the Flowing Colours dissipate and fade. Aiden looked around, stunned and a little dismayed at what he had done. Emi had slipped as she lost control of the red Flow and sat on the ice, surprised and a little cross at her twin. Kaldon was about to ask them both if they were alright, but at that moment, Emi started to giggle. It bubbled up in her, she was una-ble to stop it. She Heard and Felt Aiden?s shock and surprise and incredulity and she giggled as if someone was tickling her, and Aiden joined in. He crouched down in the icy floor, hid his face against his knees and laughed harder than he probably had since he came here with his sister 6 years ago. Emi suddenly reached out and pushed him so he slipped and ended up on his side on the ice. The two feline familiars, Emi?s white lynx cub and Aiden?s amber tiger cub, jumped down and joined in the game, and the four of them became a slipping, jostling heap of laughter. Kaldon smiled, shook his head and decided that they were done with lessons for today. 

?The kids seem to be in a good mood?, Rhys observed, piling mashed roots on his plate of belated dinner.

Kaldon nodded. 

?They had fun in the study. Hungry, ashke??

Rhys coloured guiltily with a third lamb chop halfway to his plate. 

?I forgot the midday meal?, he muttered. 

Kaldon snickered. It was neither the first nor the last time that happened. Rhys sat down at the dining table with his meal and ate with great enthusiasm. While he did, he mulled over the strange life he led. He and Kaldon had shared this apartment in the north wing of the palace for 16 years now, perfectly virtuously. They were not lovers, but they were very good friend. Some even said they were like ?an old, married couple?, and that just might be what they were. They knew each other just as well as any life-bonded couple, they were raising children together. They even called each other by the less-intimate word for ?lover?. If he had known that 16 years ago, he would probably have run the other way. Rhys loved his fami-ly. Rhys loved Kaldon, even if he hadn?t done so when they moved in together. But Rhys could never have Kaldon. Kaldon wasn?t interested. There were others in the Palace that would gladly give him solace, though, and some who would gladly give more, but what was that to an aching heart?

The Queen?s Alchemist were startled out of his reverie by a loud crash.

Will you be forgiven when the cold grave has come?

Will you be forgiven when the cold grave has come?

Will you be forgiven when the cold grave has come?

Will you be forgiven when the cold grave has come?