One morning, Princess Eir was exploring a seldom tread corridor in a neglected corner on Malmhule Palace's ground floor, her auburn curls as bouncy as her mood as she leisurely skipped whilst the smiling mouth on her pretty, round face la-la'd the melody of a lighthearted song that had yet to leave her head since she heard it played by the court musicians yesternoon, the hem of her luxurious yellow frock with white trims swishing around her ankles. This particular hallway in which she was currently prancing down was little more than an extended alcove, possessing no apparent function from a cursory glance: having no doors on either its left or right walls and terminating only in an apparent dead-end from which hung a musty old tapestry with colours that had long since faded and depicted drab figures whose identities had since left living memory, illuminated solely via a small, solitary, triangular window during the daylight hours.
Nevertheless, Eir continued down the passageway until she reached its boundary, though instead of immediately about-turning and heading back the way she had come, she glanced over each of her shoulders in turn as if checking nobody else was present before slipping behind the tapestry and started scanning the bare section of wall behind it, shortly after finding one particularly tiny circle-shaped stone set roughly eye-level between the cracks of the larger rectangular bricks; a pebble that would have gone entirely unnoticed unless somebody was actively searching it. The brunette pushed her index finger against this circular stone, which sank partway into the wall with ease against even her dainty touch, after which an audible click was heard, followed by the rattling sound of unseen mechanisms operating as an entire section of the wall receded a couple inches inwards before sliding aside and out of sight, leaving an approximately human-sized hole which immediately led to a stairway spiralling downwards into a perfect, unlit gloom.
This lack of light was readily remedied by Eir holding both her dainty hands out and open about level with her chest, soft palms facing each other as she pronounced a short incantation, following which, small arcs of golden electricity started sparking between the tips of all ten of her fingers and generating a glow as bright as any brand, for contrary to the impression her happy-go-lucky (described by some as 'ditzy') temperament may give, Eir possessed an extraordinary natural talent for the complex trade that was wizardry, which was further exemplified when she casually continued her amble down the stairwell too enclosed for more than one person to descend abreast and resumed her song on the last note she had left on all while maintaining the stability of her crackling spell as the camouflaged door started returning to its slot upon the princess' slipper lightly clacking upon a trigger cleverly built into the third step down.
Eir was unphased by the way back being sealed behind her, and was equally undaunted when leisurely making her way below the very foundations of her castle home before the steps stopped at another stretch of dark corridor which the brunette further followed, displaying a distinct familiarity with the uncanny hidden passageway that was not befitting somebody of her merry manner, but the yellow-clad princess personally thought nothing of the disparity, as she was merely seeking to spend her day in the company of her favourite family member, and having already check said relative's bedroom without success, and then the palace library with likewise results, had logically come to the third most probable place within the palace walls where they could be found spurning the sun on a cloudless morn such as it was that day.
Sure enough, Eir's presumption would prove correct once the corridor opened into an expansive chamber with six colossal columns symmetrically supporting a vaulted ceiling so high that it could not even be seen for the shadows overhead, although the very centre of the floor was illuminated adequately enough with tall candelabras for Eir to spy her younger, non-identical twin sister surrounded by all manner of alchemical apparatus upon oaken workbenches, and standing behind a rotund cast iron cauldron - approximately a metre tall and about that same length at its widest point - simmering over a low fire of burning logs, and although she was somewhat obscured by a veil of purplish wisps steaming up from the bubbling pot's contents, it was unmistakably Princess Silfr, holding an open grimoire in her right hand while adding components into the kettle with her left: fillet of fenny snake, root of hemlock, the typical sort of ingredients one would expect included in a black magick ritual. For as impressive as Eir's aptitude for the mystical was to the layman, her sorcery still paled in comparison to that of Silfr, who had dedicated much of her twenty-year existence towards the study and practice of the vocation and - as such - whose knowledge spanned a far more comprehensive range and the intricacies within, seemingly in exchange for - or perhaps because of - a more asocial persona in comparison to her cordial twin.
Oftentimes, Silfr could be found in this hidden hall; its original purpose utterly unknown, having no mention in any record nor appearing on any blueprint she had scrutinised in archives both public and private within her access, and knowledge of its existence did not seem to be common even amongst the royal family, for the twins only first stumbled across it together during their adolescence by pure chance, its floors and walls then black with soot and entirely empty save for the charred remains of furnishings beyond identification, as though a fierce blaze had once raged within its confines in the distant past, and was subsequently abandoned ever since. Seizing the opportunity, Silfr single-handedly (with magical aid, of course) cleaned out this secret space, and slowly and covertly converted it into a personal laboratory from where she could conduct her occult research and experiments away from prying, condemnatory eyes...save from the one other person alive in this world aware of the undocumented chamber, who also happened to be the one person Silfr most wished was not privy to its presence if it could have been prevented.
In spite of their shared blood and birthdate, the two twins were hardly anything alike in manner and aspect. While Eir exclusively sported bright colours, Silfr preferred to dress in darker dyes when outright black was not available unlike what she was wearing today: a narrow robe of a thin sable material covering her from collar to feet aside from her bony hands emerging from wide sleeves hanging loose upon thin wrists, pairing well with her fine raven hair running straight past her shoulders and accentuating her svelte build in stark contrast to Eir's more voluminous, chestnut-coloured locks and fuller figure respectively. The younger sister's fashion sense would have made her almost blend in with the shadows surrounding her were it not for the uncovered skin of her bewitching - but gaunt - face and hands being as white as alabaster brought on by a lifelong dislike for diurnal activity, making her stand out starkly and ghost-like within the dim glow of the surrounding tapers, with the phantom parallel being all the more apt by how slightly indistinct she appeared through the vapours of her fuming cauldron and the manner in which she silently continued to work without making any acknowledgment to the entrance of her elder twin.
"Hiya, Silf!" Eir gave greeting regardless after dismissing her spell now that other light sources were present, although still Silfr ignored her out of a vain hope that her older sibling would depart without incident if she continued to give her the cold shoulder, even though the raven-haired sister was well aware the prospect of that actually occurring were near negligible at the very best, and this instance would prove not to be the exception either as the brunette jauntily approached her twin without waiting for a response, semi-circling clockwise around the cauldron whilst leaning inwards for a closer, curious peer at what Silfr was concocting, smelling the foul, indescribable odour it produced and pervaded in the already musty air. "Yuck, what a pong! Watcha cookin' up there, Sis?"
"I am presently engrossed in cabbalistic sacrament, through which I intend to raise an amorphous, artificial thrall subservient to my will." Silfr did eventually speak up in her typical tone devoid of passion even for the project she was currently engaged with, her icy-blue eyes unaverted from her task whilst conversing with Eir. Silfr would have preferred absolute solitude at this time, but at the very least she now had somebody she could crow her self-perceived genius towards in her own reserved manner and bear witness to the coming fruits of her toil, although the stroking of her subdued ego would immediately be derided by the remarks of the bystander.
"Aw, so you're making a new friend? How sweet!" Eir replied without the slightest hint of irony in her statement, her innocent logic converting what Silfr had just magniloquently elucidated into an articulation her simpler understanding could comprehend. "Ooh, are they gonna be a boy or a girl?"
"Such an unearthly entity would be beyond your limited binary definitions of gender, my benighted simian of a sister." Silfr answered.
"Well, whatever they are, I hope they can be my friend too!" The brunette cheerfully declared.
"If you truly intend to remain present for the generation of my servitor - as I am doubtful you will readily vacate my side if requested - I sense I must additionally emphasise what I am formulating is an extremely delicate procedure that requires the utmost of my concentration." Silfr went on to inform her elder twin after her remarks went unheeded. "Even the most minor of miscalculations could prove catastrophic, therefore I beseech you to keep any and all distractions to the absolute minimum which you are feasibly capable of. Understood?"
"Oh, don't worry about that, Silf! I'll be as quiet as a- oopsie!" Eir - in spite of over a decade's worth of ballet lessons - could not even finish that simile before she was somehow successful in tripping over her own feet once she started moving to a different vantage point, losing her balance entirely as she tumbled headfirst into the cauldron. With a resounding clang upon her forehead colliding with the lip of the kettle, the rotund container sequentially toppled likewise first onto its side before landing completely upturned onto its brim with a clatter that would have drawn anybody within earshot to investigate the commotion if it were not for the chamber's hidden nature, bumping against Silfr as it bowled over with enough impact to knock the featherweight witch straight onto her backside - fortunately one of the few areas on her person with any sort of significant cushioning - as its contents were spilled and sprawled across the stone floor in all directions: an inky, tar-like, faintly steaming sludge that had thankfully cooled rapidly enough by the time it circulated underneath the princesses as to not be scalding to the touch, although was still extremely heated.
"Imbecile..." Silfr simply murmured in reaction to Eir's mishap following an exasperated sigh, although in truth was more annoyed at herself for being so foolish in thinking something would not go awry while her incautious sister was present, and hardly shewed any further reaction when the black muck had reached where she sat and soaked into the seat of her robe, the soles of her shoes and the flats of the hands she was resting upon, not even making an attempt to rise back onto her feet as if admitting defeat in advance for what she knew was to follow.
"Ow..." Eir winced and groaned as she rubbed the aching red bruise marking the point of impact between her brow and the cauldron where a bump the size of a pigeon's egg would no doubt start swelling within the hour - the auburn princess fortunately being blessed with a denser skull than most which prevented any serious damage occurring to what brains she possessed - that instantly turned to an expression of disgust upon realising a second later that the dark gunk had now spread underneath her knees and other hand that she was positioned upon following her fall. "Ew, yuck!" She exclaimed, opening her hazel eyes wide as she reflexively attempted stand back up to escape the ooze only to discover its extremely adhesive property as a myriad of strands of the sticky substance clung fast to her palm and fingers as she attempted to pull it away, only for them elastically snap back after being stretched a certain distance, yanking Eir back down to her prior, bowed kneeling position. Distressed, and not in the least by one of her favourite dresses now being irrevocably soiled, Eir looked back at Silfr in search of solution for their liberation her sister would have at hand, though was only met with azure irises staring daggers towards her, Silfr's thin eyebrows furrowed while her frown was even more pronounced than it had been before.
