Sun and Moon - Prologue. Prologue: Etienne A. Hwakko

SHORT STORY

Etienne

Slender finger holds his heavy top hat from falling, the hazel gold eyes seem as if they would burn the bare moon hanging in the sky. Said moon was hanging like a mother of pearl in the night sky. It was a simple distraction for him, simply because he doesn`t want to look elsewhere. Etienne had hidden among the moss-covered pillars and bed of human-height flowers made from glass.

As he dragged his eyes back to the party he refrained from sighing. The emotions he held were complicated but all he know was that he was looking forward to when the party would end.

But the moon pales in comparison to the party set. Every time his mother was stressed, she would go all out on any event she is in charge of and he can see how much effort she placed all over the decorations. What better way to distract yourself than throwing yourself into work? It was perfect, with a clear impression of the theme but he hoped his father takes care of her since she has the habit of throwing herself into work like this.

This year, it was the second time he and his twins made their appearance. Her stress was for good reasons and well placed. Because their so called acquaintance and family group has too much time in hand. But also due to their parents wanting to protect their children no matter what. Nothing is more dangerous than people with no restraint and all the power in their hands to get away with it. When things fall easily within grasp, it made you fearless to a point even a lawsuit can be something fun. Hence most spend it by caring for the littlest thing, spreading rumors, and going after each other even when it doesn`t yield anything. Even the smallest gossip would be eaten up, and people are tools to be used for amusement and whims.

Just the thought put a scowl on his face, thankfully he was a bit hidden from the guest. Noticing this, he took a step back further with a slight sigh, hiding a bit deeper from the crowd. All the gold and gems surprisingly managed to hide him well. Had Ravier was the one who hid here..

'He would have stood out..' He mused.

Annoyingly, he and his brother were not spared either, both receive offers from others to date both of them at the same time. Some secretly, some openly, some even forcibly, some married. Simply because they could or to cause a ruckus. Multiple time he was told his sexuality doesn`t matter. Identity? Loyalty? Why ask when you can take? Why care when you will get what you want in the end?

Quietly he snorted, 'They wish, before any of us could react to the threat Father would have come after them like there is a deadline to catch.'

The thought of it made him shudder in disgust. To lose one's self, especially at the thought of being unable to accept your sexuality for a simple reason as a whim or at the mercy of others…or having to fight and be accepted at the price it affected someone you could love.

He finds it funny that even before, their father was hidden away from public eyes too and only worked behind the scene. Their grand-pere had forced him to live a life almost in disguised. He and his twin were raised as normal as it can be too, nearly away from power for half of their lives.

They were made to struggle because only that way they will understand power and responsibility. That way they will be able to retain their wealth and power, because only by understanding and being strong will you have the luxury to let your guard down. Their family hammered in every last one of them to be a person of substance no matter what they wish to be.

His family kept every single record and the lives of their ancestor before them. A thousand years legacy of lessons, of rise and fall that if you rely on beauty without power or knowledge you will be nothing but a toy discarded once beauty fades or bring misfortune to yourself if you are powerless, and if you only have power or wealth without intelligence you can lose it with a blink of an eye.

But when their father was announced as heir, the news outlet never stopped covering him even till now. The Asteri family did it again and have an heir that they have hidden away from the public eyes. 'Other members appear frequently in public. Isn't this deception?' One newspaper had even speculated. The action had caused more ruckus and digging. But they can accept the current situation because they are used to it. Instead of killing themselves to hide in the open. Best save some decisions for later use instead...or well. Discretely use it.

Why their mother agreed to this is weird, strange because Etienne thought why not just kept them hidden. Both he and his brother are introverts, they prefer to remain indoors. Hell, sometimes they forgot to use the permission given to them.

Etienne was used to think that with long exposure to the public, people would get bored of them. It was not so, since their uncle had tried that before. His second cousin had attempted suicide for constantly being monitored by the public, even unable to go out to a convenience store. But it was a butterfly effect of their elder sibling who was a celebrity. In the end, everything became a mess.

They realized in recent years that everything has gotten worse due to technology and that once you caught public attention you have to gear up to handle it. Because people, unfortunately never stop watching. He guessed fearing for their children and parental instinct made the rest of the family take drastic measures. The near-death was a good excuse and his parents needed to be prepared.

Inwardly he let out a sigh, trying to shake his mind off the thoughts he was having. He can`t afford to remember his older cousins now so Etienne forced himself to focus on what is going on at the moment.

The party will be held for two days, one night at their newest accommodation. A luxury Bed & Breakfast was one of the many things he suspected their parents established more for personal use than to generate income. The party also acted as a launching party since it's Halloween after all. This year's theme is Celestial Bodies and Floras so Etienne allowed his mother to dress him and his twins.

He wore a simple silk shirt with frilled ends for the sleeves. But his suit was made entirely of double-layered fabric. It was sheer and pale gold, sewn with arrays of sun patterns and stars made of yellow topaz on one side. His mother had put on a top hat adorned with fresh flowers and looped them with jeweled stars and delicate gold chains. Gods they were heavy and the crystal on his side have been poking his arms. Thank god his mask was plain gold. Matted but plain. This would be the last time he wore anything mildly inconvenient, having grown up as normal as he could he wasn`t used to this but..the one who suffered the most is…

His amber eyes caught his twin's greenish ones. He saw the man wince and all he can do was send a consoling look. His twin was more floral than celestial-themed but those lush flowers on Hyun's circlets were made of a crafted gem too, and only a thin trail of diamond wrap his neck and wrist. His mother had commissioned it in hopes both of them would have a historic piece they can show the younger generation. But at least it stopped there because the man gets to wear the same evening shirt as his, except that it's purple and more iridescent. Ravier`s clothing, in a way, is lighter than his but they can only exchange a suffered expression with each other.

But Etienne end up glaring at his twin, there was no gem on his shirt at all. How had he persuaded their mother? Silently cursing, he hoped the man felt his glare through their supposed twin bond.

As hard as he could with his suffering emotion clear.

Etienne felt smug when Ravier whipped his head every time he felt his twin calling his full name in his head.

The man mirrored his look but Etienne saw that small smile on his lips when he realized his clothes were lighter. Ravier`s was supposed to be the flowers to his star. So, if he is to suffer in this party then so should his twin, but it seems to be some sort of injustice going on.

He gave the man a puppy look, filled with expectations. He knew it conveyed that he wanted his twin at his side. At this point, it would just make the other sigh even more with his eyes.

Heart bursting with joy as he watch Ravier bow slightly to their guest, and excused himself. He adores how easily the man adapts an image of elegance and dignity when mastering etiquette compared to him. As his twin approached him, he reached out and grab the other by his arm to pull him closer. Whispering in the other`s ear,

"Ravier you bastard-" He said with a smile on his lips, while said bastard was already shaking with suppressed laughter.

Laughter was evident as the man replied, "I persuade mother to let me wear less yes, On separate note, I didn`t know most guests would arrive early. I wasn`t expecting it since our parents..you know.."

Ravier hesitated with a slightly serious look before speaking in a lower voice and turning to whisper back to him, "Those snakes, I talked to some of them...Eti, we both need to be careful. This party allows a plus one..but there are people invited separately who bring others from the same group.."

Etienne kept his smile as if his twin had said something joyful instead before he simply nodded. They had watched over each other for so long, it was like breathing when he checked the people his twin talked to one by one in his head.

A few hours before the opening party started, the attention shifted to a group of people wearing their theme costumes near the entrance not far away. Some of the individuals chose to dress in floras and the others chose to dress in celestial costumes. Yet their costumes appeared to be plain when compared to their hostess family.

Among the group, a man stood out among his members. This man's costume has more detailed designs than the rest of his members. Just looking at it Etienne knew it was the head of the family.

The man wore a black vintage gothic Victorian tailcoat that hugged around his tall figure nicely. He pretty much dressed to impress and show off with those muscles and silver hair. The dark grey falling star patterns on the front part of his tailcoat compliment his masked appearance. The back part has the same color but different design patterns.

Etienne watched all of these as the man move around greeting others, leaving his entourage by the door while slowly making their way to where his family was gathered. There were six different moon shapes across his upper back. A full moon near his left shoulder to a thin crescent moon on the right shoulder. Underneath his gothic tailcoat is a tight black vest adorned with lighter grey Victorian patterns all over. The more Etienne stared at him, the more he realizes the man was indeed the head and that his clothes may have been chosen carefully instead of randomly. He didn`t know what that pattern means because he had to look away and shut his eyes to keep the information from flooding.

He looked again with the man`s back turned to him, a peak of the white buttoned shirt and a pair of polished cufflinks on both sides of his wrists. Black long pants that match his tailcoat, black heavy boots hidden under the hem of his pants. Most of his face was hidden due to his celestial theme masquerade mask. The mask was shaped like a broken constellation wheel nicely around his face. The background was mostly dark blue with the moon highlighted in silver paint on the left side, the star painted in silver, gold in the middle, and the sun highlighted in golden paint. His silver hair was combed back with a few strands of his icy grey hair hanging over his mask. Those are real melted metals from how they gleamed under the light. The old mingled seamlessly with the new.

"Eti?" His twin called him, concern was evident in his tone when he sees the other frowned.

"I am fine. Ravier do you recognize him? He could be someone important" He spoke in a quiet tone.

'That man tried to look subtle but he screamed old money. That old Victorian garment and the silver embroidery are real, I am not sure how he preserved that.'

He nearly cursed when Ravier answered him, "No. I`ll look into it. Coming." was the only warning he received.

The man that stood out wasted no time in walking over to their hosts while the rest of his party waited patiently by the entrance until they were allowed to wander.

'If those are his followers and they listened so well to him then definitely..' He almost felt troubled.

Almost