I try to distract her, to make her eyes light up again. "I think Delilah is a pretty name, and I love your freckles! Don’t mind him, he doesn’t know a pretty face when he sees it. Want to help me find some more stones for skipping? I ran out."
She gives me a wobbly smile and a hesitant nod. "How does this one look?" she asks me, holding up a small jagged stone.
"It’s a good size, but we need them to be smooth like... this one!" I find the perfect stone and hold it up for her to see.
"Oh, okay!" She holds her stone in her palm, and a moment later, it’s perfectly smooth. "Like this?" she asks again.
I never thought to use magic to help us make the stones into the shape and texture we need. David, having been paying half attention to us, comes closer. "How did you do that?" he asks her, with clipped words.
She shows us how to use our magic to smooth out the stones, and within an hour, David is better at making the stones than she is, and I’m still struggling to smooth out my first one. I have now found two things I hate about my twin today.
This is stupid. I like looking for the rocks that are already made perfect by nature.
∞∞∞
It turns out Delilah is the same age as us. Much to David’s displeasure, she’s become our constant companion, joining us in all our games. We’re now fifteen and have just snuck off yet again. Delilah is waiting at our meeting place, not wanting to leave the castle together so we can avoid having a chaperone.
"What would you like to do today, Delilah?" I ask her as soon as I see her. She runs up to me, throwing her arms around my neck, and gives me a hug. I wrap my arms around her and swing her around in a circle, not wanting to release her from my hold. She is soft and warm in my hold. I can’t imagine spending my days without her and David filling them.
"I know what we should do! Let’s practice shifting into animal forms," David says before she can answer me. There’s a glint in his eyes that I can’t quite decipher. He’s begun to choose games for us to play where he’s better than me. He’s always better at magic than I am. I have to spend weeks learning something he picks up in a day.
Delilah lights up at the suggestion though, so I don’t refuse. I never want to diminish her joy. "Oh, yes! What would you like to do first? Shall we try a bear?"
David agrees right away, and we all shift into a bear. They both perform the shift perfectly, but my shift is less than perfect. My legs are too short, so they end up being tiny little nubs, and with just a tap from David, I end up rolling down the hill with no way to stop. Delilah, thinking things are a game, joins him in laughing at me as we all shift back, and I have to make the climb back to them.
I narrow my eyes at my twin, not understanding why he would push me like he did. David is the next to choose an animal. “Let’s do a fox.” Again, their shifts are perfect. This time I’m able to get the shape of a fox, except instead of an orange color to my coat, it ends up being a shade of pink. When we’re back in human form, Derrick is quick to make fun of me. "Pink, Silas? Really? Did you forget what color a fox is? Or do you just wish you were a girl?"
Delilah quickly to comes to my defense. "I thought the pink looked adorable! It was the perfect shade to match my new dress." She twirls around, showing off the dress she just mentioned. I did, in fact, shift into the perfect shade of pink to match her dress. It was the last thing I thought about before shifting, how the bodice is just a little lower cut than her other dresses.
"Silas, the perfect accessory to your dress! Finally a role he would be good at!" David pokes at me again. Why is he acting like this all of a sudden? Usually, he’s always on my side.
It’s finally my turn to pick the animal. I choose a wolf, which is clearly the best animal to shift into, and in my opinion, the only one worth using our magic to change into. I perform the shift perfectly and start a game of tag with Delilah so she can see how good I look in this form. She’s quick to join me in a chase, and after a little while, I allow her to catch me in a tumble.
I give her a quick lick to her cheek, which she returns before we shift back to human form. I haven’t found the nerve to kiss her yet in our human forms, but someday soon, I will.
Much to my dismay, we continue the game of shifting into animals. "Let’s try a cat this time!" Delilah suggests.
David rolls his eyes, but we all shift into a cat since it’s her turn to choose. Delilah transforms into a fluffy white cat with a gray face, paws, and tip of her tail. She’s the most adorable cat I’ve ever seen. David is an all-black cat with green eyes. Glancing down, I realize I somehow didn’t shift with any fur.I’m a naked cat.I let out a horrendous screech and quickly shift back to human form again. My cheeks are on fire with my embarrassment, and Delilah’s are just as red. David laughs so hard he has to wrap his arms around his stomach as he rolls on the ground.
When he finally stops, he chooses the next animal. "Let’s do a horse this time."
Okay, I can do this... just need to concentrate. They both shift into perfect horses, a shiny brown coat with a black mane and tail. They look like twins. I was able to shift into a perfect horse, but I’m a miniature version with stubby everything, and I’m missing a tail.I loathe this game!
I revert back into my human form again just to realize I’ve lost a shoe and my shirt is shredded. I’m flooded with embarrassment and run to the castle to hide my shame at not being able to correctly shift into as many animals as them. From now on, the only animal I’ll ever shift into is a wolf.
∞∞∞
We’ve been friends for a century now. We no longer play games, and we can’t make every single day work, but we’re able to find the time several days a week to see each other. Delilah stands from her chair as David and I enter the room. She comes to greet me first, giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Her happiness at seeing me fills my soul with warmth. I’ve fallen in love with this woman, and have been since we were children. She makes me want to be a better man.
Just seeing her gives me a pep to my step as I move to take a seat while she says hello to my brother. She gives him the same hug, but as she goes to give his cheek a kiss, he turns his head and their lips meet.
Rage consumes me; he knows how I feel about her. Why would he try to take her from me? She blushes and quickly comes to sit beside me, where she belongs.
We continue on with our usual tea service, sharing little things about what we’ve been up to since we last saw her. David has been appointed to the task of teaching the children how to use their magic, he also trains the soldiers on defensive magic. While we’ve never been as important as our older brother, my father has begun to take notice of how adept at magic David is.
Delilah has joined her mother as a lady-in-waiting. She spends her days keeping my mother company and planning events in-between making the most beautiful tapestries. She takes our childhood stories and turns them into works of art. She’s also the best at stitching together clothing. I take pride in wearing all of my clothes, knowing she’s made them for me.
I’ve been utilized as a delegate to negotiate with the other packs as well as tracking down the more rare ingredients for spells. I may not be the best at using my magic, but I made sure I’m the best at developing potions. No other can rival me, and I’m now sought after to develop potions others can’t formulate.
