universal circumstances, if you're from another universe, the energies of that galactic plane have a bit of an influence on your growth if you're there long enough. It doesn't mean that two separated twins won't look alike, but their personalities or characteristics may be off-sync, which is different than if they were together all the time."
She paused to make sure we understood before she carried along as her eyes specifically landed on me.
"Your mother never struggled to get pregnant and had Starlight with ease. However, her twin sister, who used to be of this universe, couldn't get pregnant with her husband. Infertility is very tricky with magic users because multiple problems can contribute to the inability of getting pregnant. It's also something that can't easily be fixed with anyone's magic. It has to be very specific, which is tedious for those who’ve borne powerful children but aren't as powerful in multiple areas of strength," she explained. "I also have to add that certain individuals are chosen to give birth to demigods. Your mother was chosen for both Starlight and yourself. However, her sister wanted to give birth to a child but simply couldn't get pregnant. So they thought of a magical way to have a surrogate do the job."
"So...my mom was a surrogate?" I asked but wasn't really understanding how that was possible when she was already pregnant with me. "I'm not sure I get how that's possible."
"It's normally not, but your mother has keen senses and knows exactly when she's pregnant before any test can confirm it. Seeing as you were just beginning to develop, they could tackle the possibility of creating a second baby with her sister's energy and husband's sperm. Your mother had to be put in a pod for twenty-four hours, to trigger the process of the sperm reaching the egg to fertilize. They then had to keep her an extra twenty-four hours so that the fertilized egg had enough time to travel and reach the destination. During that process, they sped up the beginning growth of what would have been Alice until it matched Brianne's. That way, if they were twins, the process would begin in unison."
None of us spoke as we just stared at her.
"Hmm. Was that too complicated?"
"No," Finnick immediately. "We're just kind of...stunned."
"Lost," Kaito commented.
"Confused," Connor muttered.
"So technically speaking, Alice would have been my cousin but instead my mom offered to carry her with me and gave the illusion she was carrying twins. But then why didn't the hospital or anyone else know about this?" I inquired. "I mean, if you're having twins isn't it more obvious than if you’re having a single child?"
"Yes, you're right," Professor Phoenix agreed. "However, your mother hid her pregnancy rather well. She didn't show until she was rather close to delivering. As for why no one else knew, your mother had both of you in a private room that was aligned with the hospital room in the other universe. You were born first and Alice second. When she was born, they got a gatekeeper to carry her through to her sister to play the final part of delivery."
"Does that mean her parents both know?" I inquired.
"No. Only her mother. That's another side of the story, but I'm not in the position to let you know about it." She winked.
"Doesn't that mean you've known Brianne's family for a very long time?" Finnick pointed out.
"I know a lot of things," Professor Phoenix proudly stated. "But in terms of how long I've known the Harlow family, it's been quite some time. That's also a story for another time," she encouraged.
"What do we do now?" I questioned. "We may have passed Semester Six, but there's still so much unsolved. The trial with Elisha. Elijah being involved with the arrow attack and potentially being a twin. I don't even know what happened when I fell unconscious during the exam."
"Alice arrived with another male and helped keep you stable while protecting us from the second wave of arrows which were engulfed in flames," Jax replied. "They were easier to stop since I'm a fire user and Alice seemed to be as well. It was a bit of a stupid move to light them up, but Elijah could have done it as a distraction so he could bail."
"Who was the guy with the wings?" I inquired.
Everyone looked at me, which left me blinking innocently.
"So...there was no male with wings? Gold ones?"
There was another long silence.
"FUFUFUFUFU!"
We flinched, then all looked down to Fuwa as