Deception

Prologue

          It was a dreary October afternoon in the kingdom of Egadon. The streets were grey and the sky was filled with dark clouds. Zane and Atheena, aged ten, were twins. They were sitting on the street right next to the marketplace like good little children. Their mother had strictly told them to wait by the street for her to return. They had been waiting for her for the past hour. They were cold, hungry and slowly losing hope of their mother's return.

          "When do you think she'll come back Zane?" asked Atheena all of a sudden.

          "Don't know. Let's just keep waiting until she comes back," replied Zane, albeit slowly and hesitantly.

          "Are you sure she's coming back though? What if she doesn't?" Atheena quickly retorted, eyes widening.

          "She will. She has to. Plus, we can't just leave. What if she comes back while we're gone?" Zane reasoned trying to calm his sister down. He was scared, no doubt. His hands, hidden in his pockets, were trembling ever so slightly. However, for his sister, who easily panicked and got scared, he hid it well.

          "I'm scared."

          "What's there to be scared about?"

          "I'm cold."

          "Come closer then."

          "I'm hungry."

          "Egas bless! If you're so hungry why don't you go get something to eat?" Zane exploded. It wasn't like he wasn't scared or cold or hungry. Nevertheless, he had faith in his mother, unlike his sister, who seemed to doubt everything their mother did.

          "You mean steal?" confirmed Atheena with big eyes. There seemed to be a mischievous glint in her pupils at the mention of that.

          "Well, it's not considered stealing if you don't get caught, is it?" stated Zane with an equally mischievous glint in his eyes.

          Neither twin was very clever. Therefore neither thought about the consequences that would follow if they were caught stealing. They couldn't have possibly imagined what was about to happen next.

          They started small. They weren't that dumb. Carefully weaving through the crowd, they slowly made their way to the apple stand. Their first theft was easily successful. They stole an apple while the store owner was busy dealing with the other customers. Nobody noticed an apple going missing or the hand that quickly darted in to grab it.

          The next few swipes went just as smoothly. A loaf of bread there, a cloak here. Like a viper striking, they left no traces of their robberies. However, as time moved on the more dangerous and risky their thievery became. It was when they were trying to steal a very precious jade bracelet, that they were finally caught.

          "Oi, you two! What do you think you're doing? Come back here and face your punishment!" yelled one of the city guards.

          "Run!" screamed Atheena. "Run!" Of the two, she was faster, so it was no wonder that Zane, out of breath and tired from running so far, soon got caught. They certainly didn't want to face punishment for their crime. No, most people would not want to lose their hands.

          Zane was dragged to the town square kicking and screaming, begging to be released. He hadn't meant to steal the bracelet. It was all an accident. Yet, the guard didn't seem to be listening. He roughly pushed Zane up onto the platform and placed his hands on the chopping block. The executioner, Tom, rather famous for his clean and precise cutting skills, picked up an axe from the side table. He held it above his head and then swiftly brought it down.

          At that moment everything seemed to slow down for Zane. He looked out into the crowd searching for his missing twin and instead caught a woman wearing a flower-patterned scarf leaving the area. The exact same one that his mother had worn today.

          "Mother!" he desperately cried out. Then a flash of excruciating pain and a resounding swoosh signaled the end of it.

          In the back alley just close enough for a person to see, Atheena stood with her hands muffling her sobs, as she wept for her brother's lost hands.