Time seemed to slow.
"A- Asher?" I sputtered, not believing my eyes. I didn't want to believe them. It couldn't be Asher. Anybody but Asher. The roaring of my surging confidence was replaced by the sound of the pieces of my heart shattering, leaving nothing behind but fear and heartbrokenness. Everyone else seemed to notice this, but could back down from their fight.
"Asher… why?"
Her smile was replaced by a bitter scowl. "Why?" she asked. Then in almost a yell, she said, "Why? Are you really that stupid? You didn't see this coming, did you? You know, for a moment I though you may actually figure it out! I was worried I'd left far too many hints, but when Jaron threw the note in the fire, I began to doubt. Of course, he didn't so much as think of telling you that the first letter of every sentence of the first paragraph spelled my name, did he?"
"What do you mean?'
"I felt bad about showing up and revealing myself like this, so I thought I might give you a tiny heads-up. But nooo. When I try to be nice in the slightest bit." I felt the rage begin to boil inside me. Her smug smile returned "Well, nice chat. It's been fun. But if you'll excuse me, I have a kingdom to claim." Her words froze me. What did she say about claiming a kingdom? She made another gesture and cloaked thief, now with his hood off though I didn't get the chance to see his face, seized my arms and held them firmly behind my back. I looked around to see everyone else was in the same position. Everyone except for Jaron.
Jaron had retreated beside the throne, almost behind it. I found it unusual for Jaron to retreat. It wasn't like him. Asher brandished her sword. Jaron drew his, but it was knocked out of his hands by a quick slash from Asher's blade. Eyes wide, he began to back up, until he was out of sight behind the throne. Asher made a stabbing movement, and I heard a yell. On the other side of the throne, I could see Jaron's hand fall, a puddle of red liquid forming under it. She bent down and picked something up. When she stood back up, it was a crown. Jaron's. She had killed Jaron.
She put back her red-stained sword in its sheath, and observed the crown with wonder. "Thank you, dear brother. I'll take good care of it," she whispered. And broke in to a cruel, victorious laugh. Brother?
"You have no right to that!" exclaimed Imogen boldly, surprising me on account of that Jaron had just bee murdered. "You may have killed Jaron, but I'm his wife! Put it down, you liar!" Asher mocked fear.
"Oh no! I didn't think of that! You win! Sorry, your highness, but your know-it-all friend himself can tell you that an older sibling has more right to the crown that her younger brother's wife. My name is Princess Asher Estanella Eckbert the II, the twin sister of former King Jaron Artolius Eckbert III. And, to your dismay, I happen to be roughly older by one hour."
"So you lied! You are his actual twin!" I was furious. She was not getting away with this.
"Wow, you catch on fast! Not."
"Why did you lie to us? If you are the lost princess, how aren't you executed?" There was a slight hint of desperation in my voice, even to my own ears, but I hardly cared.
She sneered. "Well, that's a long story. Rather ironic, as well. You see, beloved prince Darius couldn't bear have dear little Asher gone forever. He was the one who saved me in secret, along wit his most loyal friends." She waved her hand dismissively. "Of course, his friends are all dead. I couldn't have any witnesses, could I" My anger continued to boil, and she wasn't showing any signs of trying to cool it anytime soon.
"Darius taught me to live on my own until I was roughly ten years old. From then on, I was a thief. When I received the news that Jaron was dead, I was heartbroken. When I discovered even later the rumor that all the other royals had joined him, I decided it may be my chance to recover the crown. To my surprise, however, I arrived just in time for Jaron, alive and well, claiming the thrown for himself. Ever since then, I committed my life to taking back what was rightfully mine, hating Jaron more by the day. Eventually, I decided to pose as a humble castle servant, so I could keep a close eye on the king, his strengths, his weaknesses, his friends, and his enemies. When he discovered me, I thought I might actually have been done for. But as it turned out, it ended up better than I could have wished for!
"I took that arrow for Imogen to look good and loyal. And as I had hoped, you fell for it! When Roden offered to make me his second-in-command, I thought my plan couldn't have gone better! However, I was proved wrong. It got much better. When I found out that the Captain was foolish enough to have fallen in love with me," she leaded in close to me and whispered, "I'd gotten myself a bonus."
Overcome by anger, I tried to fight against the strong grip of the thief behind me, but failed, and she easily jumped out of the way as if it were some kind of game. She laughed. "Tsk tsk, Roden. That's no way to treat your fiancé."
"You dirty liar!" I exclaimed, clenching my teeth,
"Actually, you're just gullible. You didn't even notice the arrow I had hidden in the skirts of my wedding dress, intended to kill you at the last second, then to blame the awful cloaked archer for firing the arrow, then taking your position myself until I could carry out the same attack towards Jaron, so I could reclaim my title. But instead, my men had better ideas. They'd heard about an important wedding happening in Dryliad, and had found me just before the ceremony. I instructed them to set a specific large, wooden building on fire to interrupt he happy day. It couldn't have gone better. When I saw how shaken you were. How certain I was alive throughout that entire year! You nearly drove yourself out of your mind! Turned away your own father! I'm touched, truly, but I'm guessing those feelings are draining away quite quickly now. Oh well."
"But Jaron was the actual king! Imogen is next for the throne. Right, Tobias?" said Amarinda boldly, yet hopefully.
Tobias thought for a moment. "No. Asher is right. If she is older than Jaron, she's rightful heir."
Asher cackled. "I'll tell you the truth, I think I'll rather enjoy this," she said, gazing at the crown. "It's quite pretty." Smiling eagerly she set it atop of her head. I watched in horror. She crossed her arms victoriously. She addressed her men. "Go, and fetch everyone else. Tonight, we conquered Carthya!" We were released, and Imogen looked as though she might kill Asher herself. "Ah ah ah." Asher scolded her, waving her index finger. "If you continue this behavior, I may have you join your husband." The doors closed and we were alone with Asher.
