Lies Beneath The Truth

Chapter 1: The Last Day

Eight years later

"I was as fast as you!" Laurence insisted, refusing to give in to his friend.

Lysander was standing by the side of the room, wiping his foil with a piece of cloth. He glanced up at Laurence and repeated, refusing to share his triumph. "I hit the target on you first, this is my win!"

"I'm pretty sure we hit each other's target at the same time! Sis, you saw it too, don't you?" There was a pause. "Sis!"

Laura was looking up at the sky when her brother called her. She was literally being dragged here to watch their practice as an audience, but she got bored in the middle and had watched the floating clouds instead. "No, I don't. Solve your own problem."

"You're not helping." He grumbled.

"No, I hit the target on you first." Lysander was saying.

"No, you don't."

A quiet and a somewhat somber in nature, Lysander did not find it fruitful to argue with them, twins. It's another matter when their competitive spirits crushed. Because of their stubbornness, no one was willing to admit defeat to the other. If she had been involved, their arguing would not have ended anytime soon. "Laurence," she groaned, "learn to accept the truth already."

He snapped at her. She flashed him a smile. Her brother sounded more like defending himself than arguing, he had already known he lost this match. He sucked and finally admitted, "Fine, I lost the match, but the game is a draw." Laurence and Lysander had scored five and four respectively, and this was their last round. Since Lysander won this match, it meant the game was a draw. Laurence scoffed, placing the foil back into the long basket with many other. He then pointed an index finger at Lysander. "Next time, I will win."

"We'll see about it." Lysander replied in an equally determined tone.

With the game over, Laura began making her way to the door. "Anyway, rest early tonight. You need to prepare for tomorrow." Tomorrow was Laurence coronation. No, he was not twenty-one. He was eighteen. Soon after her incident, he pleaded with their father to crown him at an earlier age. The king, who was aware that his son had always wanted to delay the ceremony, was naturally surprise. When asked the reason, her brother had replied, "I want to catch that man with my own hands." To everyone's surprise, their father acknowledged Laurence's resolution and granted his appeal. Laurence had been busier since.

The guilt from then still ate Laura. She knew she was part of the reason for his sudden change in decision. However, Laurence had told her not to worry. He was positive he could catch the man for her. Until now, he hadn't been caught. The king, though reluctant, told them that somebody was pulling strings from behind, and that the incident was only the tip of an iceberg. Laura sensed her father knew more than he was letting on.

"Laura?" Laurence called just as she was about to exit the room. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. He was standing still in the middle of the room, his demeanor suddenly different. He looked deep in thoughts. His eyes were sad when he looked up, "Want to go to the rooftop?"

They stared at each other for a long moment before Laura looked away. She knew where this was coming from. Tomorrow, he would be king; today was his last day as a carefree boy. Intentionally, she replied in a light tone, "Are you giving me a choice anyway?" Like before, he was going to drag her there even if she said no. He grinned at her.

"Then I will leave f-"

"You too, Lysander." Laurence said, interrupting him.

Lysander was about to protest when Laura walked towards him and linked his arm. Both males looked at her in surprise. "Go on ahead, Laurence, we will catch up with you." Seeing her brother gave her a suspicious look, she quickly added before he could argue, "and I'm not giving you a choice here." He gave her another look, but sighed and walked out.