I Just Wanted to Nap, But They Built Me a Religion

Ezrel awoke to silence.

Not peace but silence.

The kind that feels staged, like a room holding its breath.

His crib had always creaked slightly when he shifted.

The blankets always had a scent of lavender and stale linen.

The maids' footsteps usually echoed faintly through the stone hall each morning.

But now, something was off.

There was… warmth beside him.

His groggy eyes drifted left.

A bundle of pink swaddle cloth stared back.

A baby. Small, pale, and so absurdly still it took Ezrel a full ten seconds to realize she was alive.

…Huhhh...

Who was irresponsible enough to leave a baby beside me ?

Whose child is this? Are her parents idiots?

She blinked.

Just once.

Ezrel stared.

She stared back.

Another blink. Perfectly in sync with his.

Shit. Is this baby a mirror? Why is she copying me?

A shiver slid down his spine. He hadn't even heard her breathing.

She alive...right???

His mother swept into the nursery, glowing like a stage actress basking in applause.

"My darlings! Both of them. Oh, you're already bonding!"

Ezrel sat motionless as she scooped the baby into her arms with practiced grace.

"Ezrel, meet your sister. Her name is Lysette."

When were you pregnant? he wanted to say.

Did I sleep through nine months?

.....Wellll

…He probably did.

Why didn't I notice it?

Wait, is this Father's illegitimate child?

The House Dormir staff bustled in soon after, cooing and fawning.

They called the two children "divine twins," "stars born of slumber and silence."

A maid clapped her hands in awe when baby Lysette reached toward Ezrel's crib again.

"She only stops crying when he's nearby," one whispered.

"She tried to roll off the nurse's lap when we moved her to the west wing. Screamed like something was being torn apart."

"She must be a attracted by the aura that her brother leak out. Obviously."

"I think she's already chosen."

Ezrel, from his pillow nest, pulled the blanket over his face. 

That evening, the family held a small candlelit blessing with the estate priest.

Ezrel didn't usually care for ceremonies the chanting was just white noise.

He usually caught a nap under someone's chair, like when his father dragged him to another noble house.

But this time, he stayed awake.

Something about the way the priest stared at Lysette unsettled him.

I think there's something wrong here.

A strong feeling that this girl is going to bring trouble.

The priest held her in trembling hands, his ceremonial robes stiff with salt from dried sweat.

He muttered the standard blessings. Then paused.

His gaze hovered over the swaddled infant, then flicked to Ezrel and lingered.

The priest's lips moved in a whisper not meant for others.

"Nyemari's shadow… already?"

A bead of sweat ran down his temple.

"What was that, Father?" asked his father.

The priest flinched. "Ah—n-nothing, my Lord. Only… an overwhelming presence. Her blessing will be so strong, it unsettled me."

He passed Lysette back too quickly.

His hands never stopped shaking.

That night, Ezrel was placed beside Lysette again.

"See?" the nursemaid smiled. "She settles instantly when he's here. They're soul-bound, no doubt."

The moment he lay down, Lysette turned her head toward him.

Slowly. Smoothly. As if pulled by invisible threads.

Ezrel tried to turn away.

She reached out. Grabbed a tuft of his sleeve.

Wouldn't let go.

Her eyes fluttered shut.

She smiled. A soft, eerie smile too serene for a newborn.

Ezrel couldn't move without waking her. Waking her meant screaming. Again. It will be troublesome and tiring.

So he stayed.

And as sleep crept over him, a faint glow pulsed from the sigil etched over his chest.

For the first time, it flickered.

As if reacting to more than just his own sleep.

A hairline crack shimmered briefly in the air above them silver and thread-thin before vanishing into the ceiling.

He slept uneasily.

Tired.

But… excited. He had a sister now.

Maybe she'll be a lovely girl, he thought.

Someone peaceful. Someone who helps me rest… just by looking at her.

And beside him, Lysette dreamed.