The teller watched on in delight as the smaller brother took what was rightfully his, that which he had been denied from the moment he was born. Male twins were very uncommon, they were considered an omen even more so than conjoined twins, it happened....but male twins were highly unusual. There are written testimonies of them throughout their history, and it is always that the bigger twin...like Yuri, who survives. 

He watches Aleksandr Markus and hears "Oh God, what have I done?" Quickly he walks up and places his arm gently around the young man and smiles a kindly knowing smile.

"You have finally done that which others have never done, " He passes his hand across her brow, "You have survived, thrived and now you will take your brothers place. It was written, so long ago, that the larger of the twins shall succeed, and that you." He looks into his eyes, "Should die."

"Die?"

"Oh yes," he casts a dangerous grin. "You are not the first twins born, nor will you be the last, but YOU. You will be the first to out shine your brother, even after he tried to watch you die. It has always been so, he thought he was the one, but you are."

"Why do either of us have to die?"

"The weaker man dies, it has always been and always shall be."

Touching her neck, caressing her face, "I have done this horrible thing."

"NO! YOUR BROTHER WATCHED AS THE DEATH BIRD TRIED TO DEVOUR YOU!" He roars, "You were left behind, he planned it! HE left the window open! HE wanted you dead or gone. He knew that if you went to Earth that you would be more beloved than he." The teller crosses the room with a book in his hand, "Even as it is, in all of these years, she was the only one to look at him...."He waves his hand above her face, "But I heard that she saw YOU! You, as you entered the room, that she crossed to you and cupped your face, placed her hand upon your chest." He copies what she had done in the healing center.

"Yes."

"She is yours, she felt you, if she had wanted your brother...." He pauses as he sits the book down. "She would have already bonded and bred with him." He tells Aleksandr Markus nonchalantly, "I don't think she wants him as bad as he wants her."

"What do I do now? What have I done?" He pleads.

"Take her out, show her our world, your world. Tell her about our people, our past..." He glances at the books strewn about the table, "Be honest with her, kind to her and listen to her. Do for her what others will not, and in the end, it will be you. "

"Me?"

"Yes, because you spoke to her the truth. You did that which none of them will do." Reaching over, he tenderly scoops Laurel up in his arms, "There is a room, back here, let her rest. When she wakes, the genealogy is at your disposal and so am I. Everything she wants to know, we will give her, but until then...." He pauses and turns to look at Aleksandr Markus, "I am locking the building and dedicating myself to you and her studies."

"Thank you."

"Listen to me, what happened all those years ago, should never have happened. But it repeats itself, it is always repeating itself. If it were not you, then it would have been him. Do you understand?" He asks gently, " You are the first to survive, the first to live out your remaining years, for I do see it. But you will not be alone, do you understand? It is he, the strong one, that will find emptiness in his heart and in his bed. You deserve this and I will help you find a way to go to Earth and be with her. She is yours now Aleksandr Markus, and your brother has no hold upon her now or ever."

 

The days flew by, she laughed all of the time and he found himself feeling so much joy. Did he know that it could be like this? No, no, it was never supposed to be like this. He was supposed to remain at the dragon outpost and continue his studies, but here, here he could be with her. He could watch her turn red as they discussed sexual relations with the people of Earth, and how many said that they were "Gods" so that they could lie with the innocent. 

They talked of dragons and werewolves, of sea monsters and vampires, it was engaging to see others fascinated by such facts. Things that he knew about, due to his studies up in the mountains. He had been sent there after he had recovered from the attack, his parents had said that it was a way of taking his mind off of the fact that his brothers were shipping off to Earth and he was not. It was cruel, a cruel twist of fate, but now he would have his victory.

She was laughing again, "No, you cannot tell me that!" She screamed as the teller grabs her arm, "Your saying that they used a Pharent and made it walk up to an unsuspecting person and then when they were not looking or they used a ...what was it? Like a fog capsule and changed places so that they could bond and breed with their victims?"

"Well," The teller begins, "It is usually when the person is being stubborn and not wanting to bond and or breed with said U-leylian."

"Wow, that is crazy." She blushes, "Thank you so much for these last days, or how long have we been here?" 

"Nearly two weeks." 

"What? Everyone must be worried and I need to get home."

"Everything is fine," The teller informs her, "Everyone knows where you are and that you are safe." He looks at Aleksandr Markus and winks.

 

The Romanovs did not know however, and no one had come forward to give them any information. Yuri and Winston had found and interrogated the couple, beating them nearly to a pulp, and they still kept to their story. Both men were frustrated, running their hands through there hair and pacing around like caged lions. 

"So, they saw her that day and escorted her to the Genealogy, and they left her there." Winston starts, "There is no way in hell that she is still there, especially since there were men starting to gather towards the building."

"They mentioned that some of them might have been black market," Elizabeta offers.

"We will have to search there, " He slams the desk in front of him, "Damn it, I knew I should have put a tracer on her."

"We will go to the Genealogy," Dimitri informs them, "Alexi, you go with your mother and look around the Healing Center again. Ivan, you will come with me; and Yuri, you go with your father."

 

"Hello? Teller are you there?" Dimitri inquires. He had been pounding on the door for quite some time and was beginning to get frustrated. "I give up." He says and starts to walk away.

It had been nearly ten minutes and finally the Teller opens the door, he looked tired and it appeared that he had been cleaning. A dirty dust mop in one hand and a bucket in the other, he asks if he could help them. When they inquired about Laurel, he said that she had been there, and that she had left after a day or so, to venture out into the city after he had told her about their history and their people.

"Thank you, so much," Ivan responded, "Did you see which way she went?"

"No, no," the Teller shakes his head, "I only escorted her as far as that." He points to the statue of the Pharaoh God Anubis. " I did not see her after that, it is the time of cleaning and there is much to be done."

"Great blessings to you our Teller," Dimitri bows slightly before turning away. "She was here, but ..."

"But what?"

"But in all my years, I have never seen the doors closed to the Genealogy, perhaps she is still..."

"Father, there is only one teller, only one person who has the responsibility," Ivan informs Dimitri, "He was old when we came here to learn many years ago back in school, now he must be nearing two or three hundreds years. Perhaps he closes the Genealogy so that he can place greater care in his cleaning."

"You are quite right son, I did not think about his age. Let's go."

 

Many nights had passed and everyone was  gathered to give accounts of what they had discovered. It was then that Elizabeta told them that she had talked to Sanlio, who had asked their son Aleksandr Markus to find Laurel. That he had discreetly inquired about Aleksandr Markus and his ability to track, he was well known for this at the outpost, mentioning that it was not uncommon for the new recruits to get lost out there. 

"Sanlio spoke to Tahla and told her to discreetly ask him, they did not want to panic other families about a missing human."

"I can see that it would, considering how many pairings there are here." Dimitri replied flatly, "Nevertheless, both are now missing, and I am afraid that it has the black market written all over it. Aleksandr Markus can take care of himself, he is not as important, but the girl."

Laurel and Aleksandr Markus had returned to the family home, walked in the front door unnoticed and down the hallway past many armed guards. It was when Laurel had heard this remark that she flinched and felt pain, Aleksandr Markus could see it written plainly on her face, but she tried to smile as they walked into the "War room" and said, "The girl is right here, and I am perfectly fine."

"LAUREL!" They all shout with joy as they rush to hug her. 

"Where in the hell have you been?" Winston scolds her.

"I told you that I wanted to know more, and I went out and found it." She waves her hand, " I found these guys too."

Aleksandr Markus, the Pharent and a baby dragon appear. There was a mix of relief and animosity in their eyes as they see who came in after her. They quickly ignored Aleksandr Markus, or AM as Laurel calls him, and put all of their focus on her. She felt overwhelmed by all of the attention, and just when she thought she could get a break, the elders of bonding and healing come in.

"Stop, just stop." She brushes them aside, "I just want a moment to breathe, okay. I just get in the door and your all over me. Can't I just enjoy being back and relax?"

"Where did you find her?" Yuri asks his brother, a threatening tone in his voice.

"He found her, wandering in the woods, looking at the wildlife." He says, a smile beaming across his face, "She is a smart cookie, this one."

Yuri looked down at him, his face showing hostility and his body bunches as if ready to strike. "If your lying..." He begins, but then feels a tug on his arm and turns to see Laurel.

"Please, can you make them go away? I'm fine. See?" She twirls around as if to show him that she is alright. " I don't need them, I need a warm fire and something to eat! I am starving!" She smiles so warmly at him.

Dimitri nods, "Just for a little while, perhaps after we have heard what she has been up to, then you can return."

The elders begin to walk out, Sanlio stops, "We shall wait outside, call us when she is ready." 

Laurel tells them about her trip to the Genealogy, and how after some time of reading and exploring, she went out and began to look at buildings and homes. She said that she got lost near a giant black building and just kept going straight until she found a path that lead into the woods. She wasn't afraid, so she kept going. Her first night she made it to a small cabin, lit a fire and ate something out of a can? At least it looked like a can, and it was horrible.

She got up early the next day and set out again, and by the end of her journey, she had made it to one of the away camps for new recruits. There she saw many unusual baby animals, and then she saw a baby dragon and could not pull herself away to return for caring for the little creature. As she told her tale, she noted that Winston was nodding to an associate, whom she could assume was going to confirm her story, but she did not care for it was the truth. 

"Time is strange here, what I thought was merely a day or so.." She glanced around the room, "Was nearly a month? How? How is that possible? I still cannot grasp the differences." 

"On Earth, you have been gone nearly two." Winston tells her, "I think it is time we get you home." He gives a knowing look to Yuri, as if to say, it is far too dangerous for her to be here.

"I agree," Dimitri chimes in, "In fact, I think we should all go to Earth and enjoy ourselves, take a little trip. A vacation, as you would call it." But he gives Aleksandr Markus this look as if to say, "Not you."

Home, she thought,  it would be so nice to get home. Then she thought about work and her friends, but as she thought of them her mind thought of one other person and she felt sad. Leaving U-leyla, meant leaving him, Aleksandr Markus. She felt sad, felt her heart almost breaking, and before she could stop herself...she was crying.

"Laurel, what is it?" Elizabeta asks.

"It's silly, I just miss home and my friends." She wipes at her face, "But I will also miss the friends that I have made here too." She tries to smile, "Angus Stor, he is a recruit, did you know that he can make a mean soup?" 

"Soup?" Yuri asks.

"Yes, it had these veggies in it and something called, uh...it was like Viper or."

"Vesperia, a type of snake like creature, " Dimitri tells her. 

"It was delicious." She begins, but the tears were still stinging her face and she felt herself spiralling, " Roshanna, she made bread that was amazing, and she knew so much about the plants in the area, she even showed me one that could change my hair color for a day and then the next it was back to normal."

"Yes, we sometimes use it to dye our clothing." Elizabeta tells her. 

"I think I need food and sleep," she nods. "Where can I refresh myself?" 

Yuri steps up and reaches for her hand and she reluctantly takes it, she does not look back as they leave the room, but she felt like she had left a big part of herself back there. He stops in front of a door and reaches for the handle, but she gently pushes it aside and and shakes her head at him. Telling him that she is fine, that there was so much excitement and that she had never met so many wonderful people in her life, and that she hated to go home. 

He let her go, he knew she was telling the truth, that that was one thing that she could never do, was lie to him. He leans down to kiss her, and she obliges, but her heart wasn't in it. He couldn't tell that, but he knew that she was just sad at the thought of returning to Earth. 

"We will leave in the morning." He tells her and she nods. 

 

"How long until we get our answers?" Yuri asks Winston. 

"Oh, not long." He walks swiftly to an office that Dimitri had set up as a "War room." The door was open and  he was standing with a communicator in hand, "Shut the door behind you."

"Anything yet?" 

"I sent your man and four of my private body guards up there, " Dimitri tells them, "They just landed and are heading inside."

"Gaze? Gaze can you hear me?"

"Sir, I can hear you." 

"Find Rhosanna, ask her about Laurel."

"The man inside said that they are all in bed," he responds.

"I don't care! We need answers and we need it now!"

"Hello?" A man on the other end picks up in a rather disgruntled tone and asks, " This is Admiral Balix, what do you want?"

"There was a girl, a human girl at your compound, did you see her?"

"Laurel? Why yes, who didn't see her?"

"What do you mean?" Winston asks in a gruff tone.

"Laurel is an amazing human being," He chuffs, " and she is damn near fearless!" he nearly shouted. "We had an injured baby dragon up here and not a damn one of us could get near it. You see, it's mother had kicked it out of the nest, but here she comes." He begins scratching his head, "..strangest damn thing I could ever see. She spoke softly to it, sang to it and before we knew it, she was able to feed it and care for it."

"Thank you Admiral Balix, you have answered all of concerns."  Dimitri tells him.

"All but one," Winston implies, "Admiral, was she alone when she arrived?"

"Yes, yes she was. It was a bit later that Commander Aleksandr Markus and a Pharent arrived, said that he had been searching for the girl for a while, said that she belonged to his brother?"

"That's right." Winston informed him. 

"Well, I am glad that Commander Aleksandr  found her, and I hope she made it back to his brother."

"Yes," Yuri piped up, "She is here with me now."

"Good, now if that is all gentlemen, good night." The Admiral says.

"Admiral, when did my son make Commander?" Dimitri imquires.

"It was about two years ago, he has been working with the water dragons, the ones that live near the lake. He is the first to ever make contact with them and make peace with their kind. I believe, if I am not mistaken," he shuffles papers around, "The higher ups are going to give him another promotion. Yes, here it is..by next week he will be a Captain and have his own boat to sail around the lake and visit the dragons."

They did not care, they had turned off all hearing of Aleksandr Markus and his accomplishments, what mattered was the girl. She is young and foolish and obviously needs someone or something to watch over her. They could not let her off leash again, not when everyone's future was involved.

 

"Who was that?" The recruits ask, all of them in their pajamas and looking rather tired.

"That was Winston and Dimitri Romanov." He says and they all shake their heads, "That was the family, inquiring as to weather or not she was up here alone."

"Why would they ask that?" One recruit calls out.

"Because," He sits down hard upon a chair and slaps his knee, "Because after all this time, the true hero of the story will emerge the victor."

Roshanna walks up, "The Teller, he always told us of the twins. So, is Yuri the evil one?"

"There is only survival, and in the story, it is always the weak one that dies. Twins are a bad sign, but once born we are not allowed to play a part in their future, it must play out one way or the other. It has always been that one should die. That night when Dimitri walked in, he scared death away. It is written that one must die, but what if," he touches his head, "What if he lives and the world is better for it."

"Laurel belongs to him, she did from the moment that they met, she did, didn't she?" Another recruit asks.

"Yes, yes she did, but we are not to say a word to anyone. Not even the threat of death would make me talk. I want the prophecy to come to fruition. If he is the healer of our worlds and she the bearer of the next generations, then I would rather die then prevent that from happening."

A young male recruit steps forward, removes a sharp instrument from his pocket and calmly reaches up and slices off his tongue. He then sets the blade upon the table and walks towards an area that has first aid and using a packet of crystals, he sprinkles them upon the wound and the blood that had been pouring out of his mouth, stops.

There are more than thirty recruits at this post, and as the Admiral watched, each and every one of them stepped up and did as the first one. Calmly removed their tongues and with the help of others, used the crystals to stop the bleeding. He was so moved by this, that he too walked towards the weapon, and started to proceed with the surgery when the first recruit shakes his head.

One of them writes, you have to give orders. 

" I am just as capable to write it down, as any of you."  He scoffs, "If we cannot speak, then we cannot tell that she belongs to Aleksandr Markus, or that they bonded and on that first night here in our camp, they laid together." Those were his last words, the last words that anyone would hear, not even Dimitri or Winston would hear it. No one need know that AM and Laurel were seen in each others arms, and that she had kissed him on the lips and that he had reciprocated.

They are the future, and even if it meant their deaths, they would gladly give up their lives for the two of them. They had never seen Aleksandr Markus so happy, he laughed around her, smiled too. He is a brilliant young man and he has the love of a young woman, he deserved it.

But more important was the prophecy, and hopefully this time, this time they would survive and bear children.