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They had been brought to London, because they were twins, as far as they could tell. They had been raised; not by a family, but by a town, for as long as they could remember. They remembered a man who was always yelling; and then just the town, who provided food for them, and clothes, but otherwise shunned them. The only thing they remembered before that was a ship.
“They called is 'changeling' and wise children.” Suki said.
“Just a lot of words that meant we were different.” Saki retorted.
But they had been drugged, and bundled off to a strange house. There, they had been given brand new clothes and kept in a nursery, filled with, Saki said, toys that were far too young for them. But they knew they were not there to be given a good home. They knew they were there for no good purpose, but they didn't know what. Even as early as the first time they saw Cedric, they knew that he had brought them there; but he never touched them. Even so, once he had come and gone, they felt weak and sick. Even their strange native powers couldn't tell them why this was, or where their energy was going. But as time went by it got worse; and then, from time to time they noticed that they would fall asleep, for no reason. Suki identified it as something in their food, but there was nothing they could do. After a few times, Saki noticed strange marks painted on his body. The strange 'knowing' they had always had was disrupted. When that came back, Suki became determined that they would not be caught unawares again. And they weren't. The twins could tell that they were to be taken away; and stayed limp, while they were brought out of the cloistered nursery and into a carriage. They rode for what seemed to small children playing that they were asleep as hours. Then they were picked up, and brought inside; passing though several flights of stairs and at least eight sets of doors. They were put down against each other; in a room that was cold. They heard doors close, and smelled the scent of matches.
“You can stop pretending now, children.” This was the first time Cedric had spoken to them directly. They opened their eyes though, and stared at him. They said that he was not as affected as I was. He smiled at them, and adjusted the sleeves of his robe. “So you've caught me, have you? Do you think you're clever as well as wise?” He smiled. “It doesn't matter, you know. I was hoping to save you for the solstice; but my wife is starting to get suspicious, and the equinox is almost as good.”
“What are you going to do to us?”
“Wise children can give their powers up; given certain rights. With two of you, I shall use the magic to gain everything that I could possibly want. You will die; but what do you really have to look forward to?” He reached forward, and grabbed Suki by the chin. “Such strange eyes you have; I wonder where they came from? A traveling player? Or are you actually changelings?”
As much as it had pained Saki to see his sister frightened, he had leaned away, Where they had been placed had been ringed by a circle. When he leaned, he smudged several glyphs.
“I wonder what will be left when I'm done?” Cedric seemed amused at their fear. “You two are so different from any other person I've seen. Will you dissolve into nothingness, or just be stripped of your magic; would that kill you? I confess; I rather hope you live, one of them has already, and became an excellent servant. Twin servants are adorable.” He let go of Suki's face, and ran his hand across each of their heads, pulling a few hairs, and backing out of the circle. They clung to each other again, feigning more fear then they actually felt- not that they weren't terrified.
Cedric apparently didn't notice the lines that Saki had erased and began his spell.