Chapter 22: Imagine That

Song Connection: "She Never Loved Me"

Jaime had finally left his room for the first time in several hours, and he was wandering around the castle, completely oblivious to the events that had transpired. He felt empty, lost within his own intrusive thoughts. The Ember he so desperately wanted to know and had tried to love without prejudice was beyond repair, and he knew it. What broke his heart so thoroughly was that she was willing to throw away a promising future for a brief moment of self-fulfillment. She'd always been like that, and he'd fed into it because he'd been blinded by her selfish sabotaging ways.

Amber of Enchancia and her friends and family had done absolutely nothing wrong. On the other hand, there was no undoing all the damage Ember had done, nor could he revive all those who'd perished at his hands just because he'd so desperately wanted his twin's approval and love. He now knew it was pointless, because she'd never loved him, and she never would. They'd caused so much pain for so many people, and he'd lost friends and loved ones along the way. Never had he felt so alone and ashamed before…

"I can't forgive myself," he whispered as he walked, ignoring the strange looks the workers were giving him before moving about their daily routine. There were far more people around here than there had been before. "I was blinded by Ember and her desire for blood and revenge… I was so naïve to think…" He looked up briefly as he paused, noticing for the first time just how red everything was. Red—the color of rage, anger, passion, hatred… The color of Ember… "I can't stay here… Things would be better if I just…" He reached the room where the others were currently housed, still mumbling to himself, "There's a rope in the toolbox in the back storage in here. She won't miss me, and no one else will either…"

Jaime reached the back entrance to the room and placed his hand on the doorknob, turning it once to open it. Immediately, he was stunned to see his own parallel counterpart's lifeless body on the floor. Given his state of mind, and what he'd originally considered doing, seeing James like that made his entire body go numb. However, he couldn't process everything because, as expected, the Enchancian crew paused their ritual to confront him.

"Who are you?" Sofia demanded, storming over to him, using her magic to slam and lock the door behind him, causing him to jump in apparent fright. Her eyes widened. "You… You're Ember's twin, aren't you?"

"Jaime," he responded, confirming her theory. "And you… Sariya…"

"I'm Sofia," she corrected, frowning. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Ember?"

"I've never been less 'with Ember' than now," he answered dejectedly, his eyes closing. "I'm not here to hurt anyone… I know my sister was responsible for whatever happened here, and I am deeply sorry for that."

"'Sorry' isn't going to bring James back," Cedric snapped, his patience being tested since he'd had to use nearly all his strength to stop such a powerful ritual. However, it was necessary.

Amber stood from her spot near James, and she walked over to Jaime, taking his hands. Holding his hands was so different from holding her own brother's hands. This prince's hands weren't as defined as James's, whose hands were often used in knight training and hard labor. Also, Jaime was clearly younger, maybe a decade younger, and he still had a youthful look about him, despite the very distraught and defeated expression he wore. "Tell us about your sister. Please. What has she done?"

He hesitated before responding, "A lot…"

He explained everything she'd been doing the last several years, including the Cedric and Sofia parallel couple locked in the dungeon, their parents being exiled, and so many other things. He acknowledged that she was probably too far gone to save now, and he was devastated because he loved her so much and wanted to save her from herself.

"I never wanted anything like this to happen," he admitted, tears filling his eyes. He looked sincerely toward Amber, who bit her lip after hearing his words. "I am… so sorry that she…" He shook his head. "Maybe if you had been my twin instead of Ember, I could have had a better life… I can't help feeling jealous of your brother, you know. He got to experience a level of warmth and kindness I never did. I've heard all about you, Amber… I know what kind of queen and person you are, and James was lucky to have you in his life…"

Amber wasn't really sure what overtook her at that moment, but in a display of deep empathy, she embraced Jaime, holding him tightly as he finally broke, sobbing into her shoulder. "I know you've probably done a lot of terrible things, Jaime… With a life in this place, with a sister like Ember… I'm sure it wasn't a good experience, and I'm sorry you went through that. Whatever you have done, while it's not my place to forgive, I hope you find some peace in knowing that…in a sense, you are my brother…from a different time and place. And I love you."

Given that Amber sounded exactly like Ember, Jaime couldn't handle those words. He'd wanted to hear him for the past two-plus decades that they'd been alive, and never once had she uttered them. Amber was healing a wound that Ember never attempted to, and his heart both crumbled and swelled at the same time. He hugged her tighter, sobbing more heavily, continuing to apologize for every bad deed he or his sister had done. She wasn't his Ember, but she was Amber—her counterpart… Knowing that gave him a sense of comfort and peace of mind that he hadn't been expecting to experience. Not when he'd been so close to ending it all…

Cedric, Sofia, and Desmond stood next to each other near James, continuing to watch this unexpected encounter unfold.

"What happened to him?" Jaime wondered, gesturing toward his inverse twin.

"Your sister hit him with her dark magic," Cedric explained curtly. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate and revere Amber for her extremely empathetic approach to the young prince, but he didn't trust him. Not yet. He had yet to prove he was any different from that sister of his, and until he did, he wasn't prepared to give him the honor of empathy. "Amber has agreed to partake in a dangerous ritual that could save his life, at the risk of ending her own. There must be a volunteer willing to risk death to save another, regardless of who it is. Curious, isn't it, Prince Jaime? How someone innocent would risk her own life to save another's… Because your sister took him away from her in a moment of jealous rage…" He held up the box. "It's a dark magic ritual, and while there's no guarantee one, both, or either will survive, she wants to try."

"Let me do it," Jaime volunteered, frowning. "There's no reason to jeopardize Amber's life…" Seeing that Amber was about to disagree, he smiled sadly and placed a finger to her lips, much like he'd done to Ember recently. Thinking of his twin deeply hurt his heart, so he dropped his hand to his side. After all, it had done what he'd hoped: hushed her for a moment so he could plead his case. "Amber… You have so much to live for. You haven't done anything wrong, and all you want is your brother back. But I am in such a dark place right now… There's no way I can forget everything I've done, even if I'm forgiven, which I never will be. James deserves to live, and so do you. But if I die, I deserve it… I've blindly followed Ember all these years without a thought of anyone else, and I realize now how ignorant it was. But I can't change the past, so…let me change the future."

"You could die," Cedric told him bluntly, ignoring Sofia as she grabbed his arm to calm him a bit.

"So be it," he answered, lowering his head and staring at James. "It's not like I have anything left to live for anyway…"

Amber embraced the prince once more, but this time, she gently kissed his forehead in an affectionate manner, and she whispered, "I love you, Jaime." She could tell he'd longed to hear those precise words for years and never had, and she hoped they brought him some level of comfort in the dark recesses of his mind. She looked to Cedric, who silently sought her approval, and with a heavy sigh, she nodded after releasing Jaime. "Are you sure about this?"

"I am. And I have dark magic coursing through my veins, so I would have a better chance of survival than you would anyway." He smiled calmly at the queen who was so much like his sister, and yet was completely opposite from her. If only things had been different… "Thank you, Amber… And… I love you too." He'd never said those specific words before, but they felt incredible. Even if he did die today, at least he had the chance to hear and say what he'd only ever dreamed about.

Sofia grabbed Amber's and Desmond's hands and pulled them off to the side, while Jaime took Amber's place next to James. With a nod from Amber, Cedric lifted the box again, restarting the magical ritual, and the room was filled with a bright light for a few minutes as the chanting and whispers from the box continued. When he finished, Cedric collapsed to the floor, dropping the box, which snapped closed upon falling open.

Sofia hurried over to the sorcerer and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "I am. Just weak…"

Amber's eyes darted quickly to James and Jaime. While Jaime seemed to be slumped over, unconscious, James…began to stir. Her hands flew to her mouth as she watched her brother sit up, shaking his head, staring around in confusion. "James?!"

"Amber? Ahh!" He fell back to the floor when Amber all but tackled him in a very tight hug, tears falling down her cheeks as she placed affectionate kisses all over his face. Normally, he would have wiped them away in faux annoyance, but he could tell she was a mixture of devastated and relieved. "Whoa, sis, calm down. What happened?" He sat up, pulling her into a sitting position next to him.

"Ember hit you with some powerful magic. You died, James…"

"I did?" He grinned. "Brilliant. Ow!" He felt a sharp smack against his shoulder, and he grimaced, rubbing it. "Amber! What was that for?"

"You idiot! Don't you dare put yourself in danger like that again! I lost you and I—" She felt herself immediately wrapped in a warm hug—a hug she never thought she'd experience again. She sobbed into James's shoulder, a heavy release finally leaving her weary body.

James chuckled, caressing her back and playing with some of her hair simultaneously. "I'm sorry, Amber. I just wanted to protect you…" He smiled as Sofia hurried over, joining the twins in the hug. "Hey, Sof!"

"James, you were so brave, but don't do that again," she laughed, enjoying the moment with her siblings.

However, there was a bit of an ominous air in the room as the attention turned to Jaime. Desmond and Cedric both knelt next to him, and when Desmond checked for vitals, he frowned heavily.

"There's a pulse, but it's very low. I think he's slowly slipping away."

"There's no guarantee," Cedric informed Desmond and the others. "But with his experience with dark magic, there may be more of a fighting chance for him, like he said. However, right now… I wouldn't hold my breath."

Amber wasn't sure why those words cut so deeply, but they did. She held onto James tighter than before, burying her face into his chest as he protectively held onto her in return.

To be continued…

Next Chapter: Cracks in the Foundation