In the kingdom of Faerie’s, two children were born to the the Queen. The twins were alike in every way, with hair of moonlight and eyes of the finest gold. But besides the king, queen, and servants of the castle, no one knew there were two children heir to the thrown.

The day the Princesses Evangelina were born, their mother says, was the worst day of her life. Twins are a a bad omen enough, as they are killed or sent to the mortal world when born. But twins of the queen, signals the end of the crown.

So for eighteen years, Eva and Lina have taken turns being princess Evangelina, until the day their mother decides which twin will meet the throne, and which will earn an early death in their immortal lives.

***

Eva twirl in front of the mirror, admiring the gown her fawn servants sewed last minute. She had wanted to wear a red gown before, but it was torn by one of the pixies who delivered it.

“Do you think Prince Killian will like this dress” she asks, lifting the skirt to look at the inner lining.

Lina puts down her book, turning to her sister. They have had hundreds of conversations, each with another boy being the main concern. “You are not getting us entwined with that swine.”

Eva gasps, her face twisting into a scandalous smile. She has always loved the less obedient side of her sister. “What language. Certainly not fit for a princess.” She places the book atop the shelf, shoving it back where they keep all hidden treasures. Things like love letters from servants, or swords from drunken knights who were too disoriented to notice they were stolen.

“Getting involved with a betrothed prince isn’t? Besides, he smells like pine and dirt” Lina says, scrunching her nose up

“Two reasons why it’s all the better.” The sisters share a look, knowing that there is no justification for any boy to smell like they bathe in tree sap.

Eva and Lina have lived all there lives as princess Evangelina, but when it’s just the two of them, they couldn’t be more different. The one thing they mutually agreed on was that the children of gentry went to ridiculous lengths to smell like nature and grass.

Lina try’s hiding her giggle with a pillow, and throws it at Eva’s direction. It misses her and hits the door. “Go now. Wouldn’t want to keep the prince waiting” she teases.

Eva smiles, wiggling her brows up. “Wouldn’t indeed.”

She exits the room, leaving the vast space to Lina. Her smile disappears in an ínstense.

As much as the sisters pretend the day their mother choses who gets to be princess Evangelina will never come, they sense it near. And while Lina knows Eva gets into trouble to help her, she won’t accept it. She would rather die than live by her sisters blood.

So when everyone is gone at the banquet, Lina escapes through the window and to the woods.

She’s planned her escape for a while. When she leaves, a servant will set the room up as a kidnapping. The clues would eventually lead to a trolls cave, where a pile of bones will wear her clothes. And boom: Princess Lina is dead.

It’s not that she wants to “die.” Her life as a princess has been one she has relished in every moment. And leaving her twin is like leaving her other half. But it’s the only way they can both live. Because sometimes the ones you love the most are the ones life will never let you have.

As Lina makes her way through the woods, she spots a lake through the clearings of the oak trees. There Gale waits for her and her new life, with only a bag and an ore.

Gale was a human servant in the castle. He was the only one Lina trusted to help her sneak out when it wasn’t her turn to be princess, and the boy she mocked for being hopelessly in love with Eva when he was a teen. Lina bribed him with piles of gold to take her to his home in the mortal worlds, and he agreed. The mortal stuck as a servant for his parents can pay off his debt and more with all she provided.

As she steps in the boat, she says goodbye to all she’s ever had, and all she could have had. There will only be one princess Evangelina now, and she can no longer bring destruction to the crown.

Lina places the glamour upon herself to appear human, and they sail through the mist to the human realms.