The sun came up shedding light on that cold morning. No birds were singing, which was unusual for the Hresnan kingdom. The wind was a little brisk, but not very strong. Every soldier was ready and in position. The King, Queen and the three Princesses were out to watch their men march off.

Brett and Marc-Andre were saying their goodbyes to everyone. Brett and Mary-Kate shared a deep and tender kiss. One that they both hoped wasn’t their last. Marc-Andre and Annick did the same.

“No matter what, I’m always with you in here.” Brett said pointing to Mary-Kate’s heart.

“Come back to me safe and sound.” Mary-Kate said, trying to hold back the tears.

“I’ll do my best.” He said, trying to smile.

Once their goodbye’s were all done, Marc-Andre ordered them all to start marching. The men were off to fight what could very well be the greatest fight of their lives.

Two days had passed since the men marched off. No word had come yet other than a runner giving them the message that the fighting had started. For Mary-Kate and Ashley, the days seemed like weeks. They spent their time reminiscing about funny events that had happened in the past.

Mary-Kate, Ashley and Annick were all sitting around the fireplace infront of a roaring fire.

“Remember that time when Marc-Andre and Brett tried to catch that pig that had gotten loose? It was raining for days and the streets were all muddy.” Ashley said laughing.

“And when they finally caught it, they both stood so proudly with the pig in Marc-Andre’s arms covered from head to toe with mud.” Mary-Kate laughed.

“Did that pig ever squeel!” Ashley added. “I also remember them picking us up and throwing us in the mud along with them because we laughed at them.”

“I was mad at Brett for a week for ruining one of my best dresses.” Mary-Kate said.

“Why were you wearing it anyways? Was there a special occasion?” Ashley asked.

“I don’t remember.” Mary-Kate said after taking a brief moment to think back.

“How long have Brett and Marc-Andre been friends?” Annick asked them.

“They’ve been more like brothers ever since I can remember.” Ashley said.

“Yeah. They’ve done everything together, which is why it was so hard for Marc-Andre to let Brett go back to Arcadia alone. It was the first time in a long, long time that one has faced danger without the other.” Mary-Kate said.

“Didn’t they ever fight?” Annick asked.

“Of course, just like any siblings have.” Ashley said, “It didn’t last long though. Longest I remember was maybe a week or two?” Ashley said as she looked to her sister for confirmation.

“Yeah, sounds about right.” Mary-Kate agreed.

More laughs and stories followed as the day came to an end. Since the men left, Mary-Kate, Ashley and Annick all went to the window overlooking the kingdom’s entrance, waiting to see if there was any news before going to bed. No news came for three days after that.

Chapter 30
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