"Are you out of your mind?" Aila's voice cracked as she took a shaky step back.
She had heard Akila wrong. She had to have heard her wrong.
Dark magic? They could get killed for that!
"Switch your soul into my body, Aila, and instead of me, you'll go. They'll never find out. No one would know." Akila restated, grabbing Aila's hand again, her eyes gleaming with desperation.
Aila snatched her hand from her sister, her brain still in shock from processing every word Akila just said. She searched Akila's face for some sign that this was a joke– a cruel, twisted joke, but there was nothing on Akila's face but sheer determination.
She opened her mouth to talk, but words failed her. What does someone say to something like that?
"Aila…" Akila neared her again, pleading with her voice.
Aila finally found the words to use for her, thick deep lines edging her forehead, "Have you gone mad, Akila? What sort of nonsense are you saying?"
"This is black magic, Akila! Dark magic! We could be killed alone for thinking about this, not to talk of breathing it out!" Aila spat, her breath coming out so fast.
Akila didn't flinch. "It's not nonsense, Aila! It's not. Just think about it. I can't leave here. I don't want to. I'm in love with Jarvis. We're going to get married. If I get married to the mad king, there's no way I'll be able to get married. I love Jarvis. I love him so much."
She grabbed Aila's hand, squeezing them tightly and pleading, "Please, you're the only one who can help me, and no one would know." She rambled on.
"No one would figure it out. Besides our eyes and….and… a few other parts, we resemble each other. We're….we're so…alike…No one…
"Nope!" Aila blurted, cutting her sister off.
She shook her head repeatedly. "Nope! I would not partake in this. This is sick! This is madness!"
"It's not madness, Aila! Why can't you listen to me!" Akila yelled out in frustration.
"Because you're asking me to die!" Aila yelled back.
She shut her eyes, trying to calm her racing heart before reopening them.
She took a step towards Akila, her voice now lowered to the last limit and her teeth gnashed together, "You're asking me to die, Akila. I'll do anything for you, Akila. You know that, but this…this is too much. If it doesn't go well, if something happens, they'll stone us to death!"
Akila closed the gap between her and Aila, a heavy, pleading sigh escaping her lips.
"Nothing would go wrong, Aila. Nothing." Akila started softly this time, her look of plea turning into something more genuine, more considerate.
Akila knew precisely what would work on Aila. Her sister was a rule follower and a people pleaser. It was how she had gotten her to do most things.
Her sister was dumb, even dumber. She was inexperienced, and she had read Aila's diary many times, the one she thought she kept where no one could ever find it, and she wrote her fantasies on how she wants to find the prince of her life and is saving herself for him.
Akila rolled her eyes inward, plastering a fake smile on her face as she pouted to her sister,
"I know you want to experience love. I know this is wrong of me, but I've read your diary. And I think this is the perfect opportunity for you to find it. You get to use my pretty face and body to entice him, and that's good. You've never been with anyone; now is the time."
Their gaze bored into each other, Akila thinking and planning more words to convince the other, and Aila trying to process everything in her head, trying to take the sense out of her sister's words and stupidity.
They could get caught.
They could get killed.
But there was still a bit of sense in Akila's words.
Aila knew she wasn't that pretty.
She wasn't that good.
No one spared a look at her if Akila wasn't there.
If she went with Akila's body, everyone would fall for her, everyone would want her. Her father's words to Akila reverberated in her head,
"...with one look at your face, he's going to want you."
If it were her, she was sure the King wouldn't even spare a glance at her face, not to talk of her body. That's how bad looking she was.
The unwanted twin.
"Please, Ai.. Please do this for me. Just three months. I just want to spend more time with Jarvis and be with him. If you do this for me, I'll be happy. Please."
Aila ignored her sister's sweet words as she continued thinking. Switch souls. Switch souls. She'll go in Akila's body, but the soul in it would be hers, and Akila would stay here with Jarvis…
"Are you going to have sex with him in my body?" She exclaimed, turning to face Akila with disgust clearly written on her face.
Akila smiled and pulled Aila into a hug, her face full of smile and joy, "Never! Nope! I would not. I don't mind if the King wants to fuck my body. I mean, who would not…
"Ewww." Aila pulled away, standing from the bed.
She started pacing around, her teeth biting down on her thumbnail. "Is it dangerous? What are the repercussions? Would I die? You know dark magic is forbidden, and this is clearly what we're doing now. You know what happened when they caught that girl! They killed her, Akila! They killed her!"
Akila stood up and placed a hand on Aila's shoulder, passing her a warm smile. She cupped her cheeks in her hand and stared into Aila's eyes,
"There's no danger in it, no repercussions at all. I confirmed everything from the witch, and we're good to go."
"I…" Aila started, doubt still etching her mind, "I still don't think it's a good idea. What if…
"There are no 'what ifs' again, Aila. I would never hurt you." Akila interrupted.
Aila wanted to refute that statement.
In fact, ever since they were kids, the only thing Akila has known to do was put her in immense danger with her. But now was the time. Akila would dare not do that. The other risks were little ones; this one was more serious, and Akila would not. Akila would never.
She gulped down, taking a deep breath to calm her fraying nerves. She closed her eyes, taking another long deep breath and breathing it out on Akila's face before opening her orbs again, "So how do we go about it?"
Akila caressed Aila's cheeks, her eyes staring at her with love, "I knew I could always count on you, Aila. You're my soulmate." She placed a quick kiss on the side of Aila's mouth, which made the former cringe and wipe it away immediately.
Akila rushed to the box she brought and opened it, bringing out two little bottles with green liquid inside of them. Aila's nose scrunched up in disgust as she took one from her, her eyes eyeing the little bottle. "What's this?"
"Nothing that'll harm your body," Akila replied with a reassuring smile.
"All we have to do is read this spell that she gave me, and then we'll drink this after. We'll lie side by side and hold hands, and in five minutes, it should be done."
Aila sighed for the umpteenth time, doubt clouding her mind. This was dangerous. This was in all ways dangerous. What if something happens? What if the liquid…
"I don't want to, Akila. I can't help you this time, sister. I'm sorry," Aila whispered, guilt settling in her stomach.
Akila's patience snapped, heaving a short, angry sigh as she placed the bottle down,
"Do you think Father will care what you want! If I don't go tomorrow, Aila, he will kill me! And I can choose not to go and decide to run away! And guess who something would happen to if I decided to run away!" She snapped.
"You! You, Aila. He will kill you for letting me run away, and you would be forced to marry the king either way!"
Aila sucked in a sharp breath, the words instilling a new fear in her.
Their father would kill her.
And Akila could run away. She was like their father when it came to threats. And running away from this hell has been the one thing that she had always wanted.
Akila retook her hands, placing the bottle in it and a paper, "Please, Ai…you've always helped me before. Now, you'll be helping both of us. Please, just do this last thing for me."
Aila's chest felt like it was caving in, too tight, small for her to breathe. She should say no, scream. But instead, she exhaled shakily, her fingers twitching as they hovered around the bottle.
"Thank you," Akila mumbled before they walked to their queen-sized bed and lay on their backs.
Aila's heart thumped heavily in her chest. Various forms of her voice echoed in her head.
Don't do it, Aila.
It's dangerous.
What if you're caught?
Don't trust Akila.
Don't do it.
"Ready?" Akila asked, turning to look at her.
"On my count," Akila said, unfolding the paper. " Three…two…one…go," Akila stated.
Both of them read the spell, each word bouncing and syncing in perfect harmony with the other. Aila's voice trembled with the spell, the words and the meaning scaring her. Her voice cracked in between, doubt and worry etching the corners of her mind the more she read into it.
Suddenly, she felt Akila's reassuring hand on hers, making her lips stretch slightly, a bit of comfort that she wasn't alone settling in her heart as she continued the rest of the words, this time with more confidence.
Immediately they finished, they both opened their bottles. Akila downed hers at a go while Aila stared at the green slimy thing. She looked at Akila's cringed-up face, making her hesitate for a minute as her hand wobbled on the bottle.
"Go on. It's not that bad." Akila whispered.
Aila looked again at the bottle, her heart pounding more. Once she drank this, and if it worked, there was no going back. She gulped down, fear gnawing her chest as the bottle became increasingly close to her lips.
She looked over to Akila, who was staring at her with a reassuring smile.
She closed her eyes and parted her lips wide enough to pour the entire thing in her mouth, the liquid coating her throat like tar. Her nose scrunched up in betrayal, managing to give way to her throat as she swallowed the entire thing. Akila squeezed her hand more as they both shut their eyes, waiting for something to happen.
One second passed.
Two seconds.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
Aila squeaked one of her eyes open, meeting the gray ceiling. "Are you sure this is…
She didn't get to finish her entire sentence when something jolted in her, causing the rest of the words to stay in her throat. The air around them thickened, the candle flames flickering violently.
Aila gasped as her body jolted upwards and returned, a surge of energy coursing through her. Something yanked at her insides, giving rise to another thing in her. Suddenly, she felt a bit lighter, like her entire world problem had just disappeared.
Before she could get used to the feeling, she felt herself- or her soul merge into something else, a heavy impact. A loud yell tore through her lips, the same going for Akila before it finally stopped.
Her limbs felt detached, floating, or withering. Her vision exploded into bits of her life or Akila's life. Flashes of memories that were not hers floated in her brain, and Jarvis's ridiculous smile popped into her head.
Everything suddenly disappeared, and an awry, eerie silence dawned on the room.
Sweat pooled on her forehead. Her chest rose and fell, gnawing for real air with closed eyes.
Suddenly, the door opened, causing them to jerk off the bed with their eyes flying open, shoving the vial under their pillows.
Their mother stood at the door's entrance, broad and alarming, "What was that whole noise for?"
"We're sorry,
Aila's eyes widened, her chest tightening. Heat spread through her veins. This was not her voice. This was not how she sounded. She rushed up the bed, and towards the bathroom to stare at herself in the mirror. Her shock tripled as she stared at herself wide-eyed in the mirror, her heart beating faster than it already was.
It freaking worked!
She was now Akila, which means…
She turned back to see her mother standing at the entrance, her brows raised in suspicion, trying to figure what was going on, but also with her sister, whose lips were stretched out, a knowing smile on them,
"...Akila was now her."