Duty or Desire

Some are governed by rules while others are ruled by need. When the twain do meet the balance between them can be nigh impossible to maintain. 

Zykriel and Gilmael Calanthe are identical in form and features yet they are as different in nature as day and night. Outgoing Gilmael is not hesitant to use whatever means he has at his disposal to gain what he wants. Small wonder his king and cousin deemed him perfectly suited to head Ylandre's Intelligence Ministry. Heir apparent of the great northern fief of Losshen, Zykriel is self-effacing and almost indifferent to the attention paid to a high-born blueblood. He does not relish employing either power or influence to achieve his means.

Even in the handling of affairs of the heart, they differ. Romantic and possessed of a more traditionalist view of wedlock, Zykriel would sooner forgo intimacy than indulge in empty liaisons or attempt to circumvent the rules that bind his social class. In contrast, Gilmael's skepticism toward love and marriage coupled with a general disregard for society's strictures enable him to partake of casual relationships and one-night-tumbles without any qualms.

Ironically, it is tender-hearted Zykriel who faces disillusionment and loneliness when a political gambit forces him into a potentially loveless future. Whereas cynical Gilmael finds himself examining his beliefs and behavior once his attitude toward a longtime foe undergoes an unexpected sea change.

In the dual-gendered realm of Ylandre, there is no certitude of conjugal bliss even for the wealthy and privileged. And for the twin scions of one of the most powerful Houses in the world of Aisen, it is less so when they do not know if they are loved for themselves. Or desired for what their name and station can bring to the matrimonial table.