Susanna walked over to the railing, looking at the horizon and at the sea.
She remembered well the first time she made this trip over to Avalorn. She and her sister Rosia had been eleven years old then. Both blonde and scared. She didn't recall letting go of her sisters hand that whole day. Except for the sorting ceremony.
When they had gotten closer to the school, they had gone on deck with other students. She remembered being awed by the size of the castle. She remembered thinking about all the places to explore in there. It was her last year that was starting now and she knew the school better than her own pockets.
She heard the first year students screamin in delight and awe near her. As she looked down to what they were poining at and saw the mermaids. Swimming with the ship, trying to determine who was fastest.
Susanna couldn't help but grinn. The first time she and her sister had seen mermaids they had climbed on the railing and spat down on them, laughing when they hit the target.
She released a snot bomb at them, for all times sake. She laughed when she hit one of them, seeing the mermaid shake her fist at her.
She heard a laughter next to her, looking over to see her twin sister there. She smiled at her, linking her hand with hers like so many years ago. She always felt safer with her sister, much braver, and stronger.
After this year she didn't know where they would end up. And if they would be together, she sure hoped they would. Well she had one more year to find that out.
”It's us against the world.” She said in italian to her sister. That had always been their motto.
Their parents never cared for them much. They had been raised by ever changing cast of nannies. Mostly the reason why they changed so fast was because none of them could handle their pranks and tricks.
It was a game to them. Trying to see who could get through their defences and who wouldn't. Who would stay and who would leave. But the problem was they didn't know when to stop sometimes.
The first years squealed again. They were nearing the port now. She gave a smirk. She knew they were excited and scared about the sorting ceremony. Like she had been once.
She closed her eyes, letting the wind take her back to the start of their first year.
She was standing next to Rosia, looking down at the older students on four long tables.
The headmistress explained what was going to happen, and started to call out the names one by one.
Susanna held her sisters hand tighter. What if they ended up in different houses? She feared that more than anything in the world. She couldn't be with her sister anymore, just the tought made her hold on tighter.
She saw the girl next to her sister go to be sorted. Suddenly she whispered into her sisters ear what she feared. Rosia tried reassuring her with a smile and a gentle squeeze. And then she let gom walking to the crest. In few seconds the red area began glowing and a fox jumped up, running a lap around her sister and then going through her.
Susanna crossed her fingers, praying she would be sorted in the same house. When she heard her name she walked up to the crest like a robot.
The following seconds were the longest and most agonizing ones of her life. She was looking at her sister the whole time. When she saw the smile creep up on her lips she dared to look at the crest.
To her delight the red area was glowing, and the fox was circling her too, before running through her.
A wide smile was on her face when she walked to her sister, sitting next to her. She kissed her sister on the cheek. Little did she know that those kisses would in the coming years become even more sinful. Into kisses that would only be given in secret. Kisses that would have to be kept secret from others, if they wanted to stay together.
