Chapter 1 Days Passed
~JAPETH'S POV~
ONCE UPON A time, Japeth thought he could have love. The love of a boy who he'd once called his best friend.
It was that same boy who Japeth's twin, Rhian, loathed. While that same boy once filled Japeth's heart with joy, it was also that boy who'd filled Rhian's heart with hatred.
If Japeth knew anything, it was that there was a fine line between love and hate, and an even greater line between bonds of blood and friendships. In fact, Japeth knew that all too well.
Too much time had gone by since Japeth had last seen his best friend. Too much time had gone by since he'd learned of his true love's death and vowed to bring him back from the dead.
Aric...Numerous times, Japeth found himself unable to sleep at night and he'd whisper the raven haired boy's name to himself over and over again as if to remember it. Just the thought of Aric, his best friend, his only love, made a sense of longing fill Japeth.
There was a black hole where Japeth's heart used to be. It was a hole that Aric had dug up when his life was cut short. No matter how many times Japeth tried to fill it, the hole still lingered there—a gaping reminder of Aric's absence.
Despite his grief, Japeth pushed himself to keep going on with his life. He ate when supper would come around. He continued to plot alongside his brother in their grand plan to take over Camelot. Even when Rhian continued to urge Japeth to be more evil, more malicious when he posed as the Snake, Japeth listened.
Japeth spent most of his days fighting his brother. Over and over again Japeth would wear his mask of scales and use his scims to attack kingdoms—kingdoms that Rhian would "save."
In his golden lion mask, Rhian would ride in on his white horse like some champion to save lives. With his scaled mask and skin tight suit, Japeth posed as the lion's sworn enemy, the snake who claimed he was the rightful heir to Camelot's throne.
Day after day, Japeth and Rhian kept on the tiresome act of fighting one another, attacking and saving kingdoms over and over again until the days seemed to become shorter and shorter.
"I will fight to protect Camelot until my last breath," The lion would state.
"A kingdom to which I have rightful claim," The snake would respond, his voice chilly and sure.
"And what right would that be?" The Lion asked.
"I am King Arthur's eldest son. It is my birthright to take Camelot's throne as my own. Tedrosss is the true sssnake in this tale," Japeth would say, repeating lines he'd rehearsed a thousand times before.
That was how most of the lion and snake's conversations went as far as any unsuspecting person knew. All witnesses would see was a mighty lion, a masked hero, protecting Kingdoms from a snake who caused unrest in the endless woods.
And perhaps that couldn't be further from the truth.
When Rhian and Japeth weren't posing as the lion and snake, things weren't as normal as people might believe.
After leaving Foxwood and the only home they knew behind, the brothers had been on the move, constantly traveling from kingdom to kingdom. They'd camp out in the woods at night because Rhian insisted they couldn't risk being seen and recognized by people.
"We wear masks," Japeth had hissed at his brother. "Nobody is gonna be able to recognize us! I'm tired of camping out in the woods like we're dogs."
But no matter how many times Japeth tried to drive his point home, Rhian still insisted they be "cautious."
It was just recently that Rhian and Japeth settled down in a secluded spot a few miles away from Sherwood Forest. They'd been staying in that particular spot for three days now which was rare because Rhian always insisted they never stay in one spot for more than a day.
Just two days ago, Japeth had attacked Fourpoint, holding numerous people hostage and threatening to hang them in a twisted game he forced Sophie and Agatha to partake in. The girls had been saved of course by the Lion, who'd revealed his face after sweeping Sophie off her feet.
"Rotten men," Japeth had informed his brother days before Rhian kissed Sophie, "Rotten men is her weakness...Lucky for us, you're the most rotten of them all."
That's why Rhian had kissed Sophie after saving her life. Worming his way into Sophie's heart was a big part of the brothers' plan that they couldn't mess up. Without Sophie and Rhian's wedding, Rhian would never obtain the powers of The One True King.
It was Sophie who'd once stolen Rafal's heart. It was Sophie who Rafal had believed would be the one to tip the balance between good and evil. He'd been correct of course, but he hadn't seen Sophie's betrayal coming before it was too late.
To avenge Rafal and Evelyn's mistakes, one of their sons had to wed Sophie, the one whose blood was as evil as their father's once was. Since Japeth had a slim view of the opposite sex (partially due to Aric's influence), and Rhian was far more "warm-looking" than Japeth, it was decided that Rhian would be the one to marry Sophie.
Plus, there was absolutely no way that Japeth would marry some girl, especially a girl as gullible and annoying as Sophie seemed in her and Agatha's dumb storybook. Not to mention Sophie was the one who'd ripped Japeth and Rhian's family apart. Rafal had chosen Sophie over Japeth and Rhian's mother and that was a mistake that'd gotten both Evelyn and himself killed, leaving Japeth and Rhian as orphans.
Japeth recalled coming face to face with his father's killer that day at Fourpoint. In a map room in Jaunt Jolie, he'd pinned her and Agatha against the wall whilst taunting them and telling them the truth hidden deep within his tale.
Tedros was the true snake, Rafal had just wanted companionship, and Aric was the Snake's true love. Japeth had been wary to admit that last part, to tell two girls who obviously wanted him dead that he had a weakness.
Sophie and Agatha knew Aric of course. Japeth had seen him throughout their storybook. From what he'd read in The Tale of Sophie and Agatha, Japeth had found out that Aric had gone to the School for Boys and had also taken a Position as Dean alongside his mother, Lady Lesso.
Sadistic and emotionless, is what anyone who encountered Aric in Sophie and Agatha's storybook would describe him as. But Japeth, of course, saw Aric much differently.
Anger was Aric's strong suit. Being Emotionless was Aric's usual behavior. It was back in Arbed where Aric had been more open with Japeth by his side. Without Japeth, Aric must've closed himself off so he wouldn't have to get close to anyone else the same way he'd gotten close to Japeth.
So far, it'd been forty-two days.
Forty-two days had passed since Japeth learned of Aric's tragic death. It'd been about two months since Japeth truly lost his best friend, two terribly long months of pain and anger Japeth couldn't ward off.
Japeth's Scims were worn out from attacking so many kingdoms. But he took secret delight in fighting Rhian, in posing as the Lion's sworn nemesis. Secretly, Japeth still despised his brother for having Aric be banished, and fighting Rhian is what made every day since Aric's death just a little bit more bearable. A little bit more worthwhile.
To be the snake, Japeth had to summon all his anger at Rhian, all his resentment over Aric's banishment and eventual death. It wasn't hard really. All Japeth had to do was remember that tragic day Aric and him had last seen each other and remember that tragic day he'd opened Agatha and Sophie's storybook and found out Aric had died. Picturing Aric's face in his mind was enough to turn Japeth's sorrow into rage, rage he threw at Rhian when they were posing as the Lion and the Snake.
Being the snake was tiresome, but Japeth found himself falling into the role quite well. To be a villain—to cause carnage in the endless woods and use his scims to terrorize kingdoms—Japeth had changed considerably.
The boy Japeth once was was gone, replaced by a monster who'd begun to enjoy being the bad guy. In fact, Japeth loved being the Snake as the days passed.
When he was the snake, nobody would see the face behind his scaled mask, nobody would know how shattered his heart was. The Snake was a threat to the woods, a conniving monster who spewed lies about Camelot.
When it came to being the snake, Japeth found he took great delight in allowing his rage to control his mindset. The Snake was fueled by rage, especially rage towards the one person who was the cause of his inner pain; Rhian.
For Aric was gone and Japeth was too stubborn to give up on his best friend. He still cared for Aric too much to ever bring himself to let the raven haired boy go.
Japeth blamed Rhian for Aric's death because Rhian was the one who'd had him banished. Maybe if Aric was never banished by Rhian, Aric would've never gone off to kill his mother, only to end up dying.
It was also Rhian's fault too that Japeth had become the Snake. Luckily for Rhian, Japeth began to crave the release of his scims upon the woods. He began to look forward to putting on that mask and battling the Lion, because when he was the snake, there was no Japeth.
Compared to the ruthlessness and cleverness of the Snake, Japeth was weak and broken. Japeth wallowed in his self pity and mourned deeply over the loss of his true love. The Snake, however, embraced his resentment towards Rhian and was willing to do whatever it took to ensure that his other half kept his word about bringing his true love back from the dead.
Twenty-nine days passed since the Snake had begun to attack the woods, plundering numerous kingdoms into unrest. Once Rhian and Japeth's plan had been set into motion, there was no stopping it.
Every single kingdom over that twenty-nine day period had all encountered the malicious Snake who attacked them and the Heroic Lion who swore to protect their kingdoms. A hero to all! Is what the people of the woods deemed the Lion. Savior of the endless woods!
On the opposite end, people shook in fear and distress at the thought of the Snake. So strong, so malicious, They'd say. A fraud who's yet to be unmasked by the Lion...let us hope the Lion is enough to stop him!
"They love you," Japeth had pointed out to Rhian only five hours earlier. "And they hate me."
"At least I love you, Japeth," Rhian responded, applying ointment on a bruise marring Japeth's cheek. "Camelot will be ours soon enough. When we've claimed it for ourselves, we won't have to pretend anymore. We won't have to don masks and fight each other...We'll be one step closer to bringing the one we love back from the dead."
Japeth tried not to let his gaze trail over to the familiar blanket hanging on a drooping tree branch nearby. The blanket was one of the only possessions Japeth and Rhian had brought along with them from their old home on Stropshire Lane.
Rhian said the blanket was torn and no good and to leave it, but Japeth reminded him that it could get cold at night and they'd need something to sleep on if they were going to be traveling nonstop.
Of course, Japeth hadn't brought the blanket along just for that reason. That particular blanket was one of the only things Japeth had left to remember Aric by, and he couldn't bring himself to throw it out.
Rhian was luckily oblivious to the sentimental value Japeth saw in that tattered blanket. If Rhian knew that Japeth was still holding onto it to remember Aric by, he'd have made Japeth throw it out for good.
Japeth and Rhian hadn't spoken about Aric for a while now, mainly because whenever Japeth had used to bring him up in the past, Rhian would have intense reactions. Japeth's twin obviously was mentally suffering still from what had happened back at Arbed House with Aric attacking him. So Japeth never told Rhian of Aric's death. He never mentioned his long lost friend's name and that's how the two brothers found themselves working endlessly to fulfill their plans to conquer Camelot.
"What if I'm really not pretending," Japeth murmured thoughtfully, wincing as Rhian's fingers applied pressure to the bruise, "What if I'm really the Snake now, through and through?"
It was day forty-two since Aric's death.
In their temporary campsite miles outside Sherwood Forest, Rhian and Japeth huddled close. Rhian was tending to the bruises on Japeth's face as Japeth sat on a log.
"We both know you're no snake, Japeth," Rhian said as Japeth shifted his weight on the log.
"I killed people," Japeth stated, meeting Rhian's gaze. "Chaddick, that deer—"
Rhian shushed him, pinching his arm. "Chaddick was onto us," Rhian pointed out firmly. "You said it yourself, Japeth. He'd somehow gotten whiff of our whole plan and he would've ruined everything if you hadn't stopped him. And that deer, Millicent, from Fourpoint. She was going to kill you, so you killed her first."
Rhian made it sound like both of those murders were justified, and Japeth wondered if Aric's death was justified. Did Aric wanting to kill his own mother justify Professor Dovey stabbing Aric in the back?
"You're no snake," Rhian affirmed, glaring hard at Japeth, but Japeth knew the truth hidden deep within his shattered soul.
"Come tomorrow, I'll be in Nottingham to meet up with Tedros traveling to Sherwood Forest," Rhian changed the subject. "I'll need to earn his trust, and I need you to come attack us. Based on the quest map we stole, Sophie, Agatha, and her friends will be in Nottingham too."
"Lucky they've got You to swoop in and save them from my scims," Japeth scowled, unable to keep the bitterness from his tone.
"Do it for me, Japeth," Rhian coaxed, squeezing Japeth's shoulder gently. "I know your scims are tired, but we're so close now. So close to getting to Camelot. I promise you that the Snake will be no more soon enough. Than, I can have my brother back. Japeth, my liege, my eagle."
Japeth stared deep into Rhian's blue-green eyes and saw his own gaze reflected back at him. The icy blue gaze of a snake reflected back at a broken boy.
Killing Chaddick was definitely no mistake on Japeth's part. From the scaled pen, Japeth learned that King Arthur had had another son before Tedros. It wasn't Rhian and him, but Chaddick, a former knight and classmate to Tedros. Apparently, Chaddick was the secret son of King Arthur and Lady Gremlaine, Arthur's old steward.
Japeth couldn't allow Chaddick to foil him and Rhian's plans and learn of his true parentage. Plus, it was Chaddick's blood Japeth needed in order to ensure Rhian successfully pulled Excalibur from the stone, a feat Tedros could not accomplish as of yet.
"Fine," Japeth said, pulling away from Rhian. "Do what you will, Rhian. I'll be there soon."
Rhian bowed his head appreciatively and moved away, towards his white horse that was tied to a tree branch. Japeth watched Rhian set his jar of ointment down before he mounted the horse, untying it from its post.
"I love you, Japeth," Rhian called, flicking the reins to signal to the horse to walk.
Japeth saw Rhian turn his head to look back at him as the horse trotted away. Rhian's blue-green gaze looked hopeful and clear as if he expected Japeth to respond to his farewell.
But Japeth didn't say goodbye and stood still as stone as he watched his brother depart, a lion riding off on his white horse.
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Hey guys. How was the first chapter? 👋😁
I deeply apologize for not updating the first chapter sooner. I was still planing out this book's plot and whatnot.
Anyway, comment and vote! And thank you to everyone who commented that I should go through with the sequel! I really appreciate that.
—Alexis Peters 🥰