Re Birthday

Chapter 12

When dawn finally ended the night, we lay beside one another staring up at the ceiling. For once we were in no hurry to get up. Though inevitably we did arise, Rin changed into a clean dress, and I simply wore the same outfit as I had the day before. It didn't matter to me what I wore anymore, we had both resigned ourselves to fate and expected to die today. We descended the staircase hand in hand, our yellow fingernails reflecting one another. Today we didn't care who knew we were twins. It made absolutely no difference to anything anymore.

The day dragged the same as the night had. We waited for hours on end in the throne room, anxiously awaiting the news that the battle had begun. The waiting alone was painful, and we spent these hours in silence, not knowing what to say to one another anymore. At lunch time I prepared some tea and sandwiches for Rin. As I presented this to her on a silver tray she smiled up at me, finally something familiar.

"Oh, it's tea time" She smiled sadly, trying to imitate some of her old happiness. I smiled at her, sharing the feeling. Understandably she wasn't hungry, and she nibbled aimlessly away at the tiny sandwiches. She managed one small triangle shaped slice, and half a cup of tea. She uncharacteristically offered me some of her food, I accepted it gratefully, realising I hadn't had time to eat properly in days. Despite my own worries I managed to finish the sandwiches that Rin didn't want. After this I took the dished back to the kitchen, leaving them to be cleaned. I remembered seeing the woman who washed the dishes fleeing earlier. I returned to Rin and placed a hand on her shoulder to steady the both of us. I wanted her to know I wasn't going anywhere. It was difficult, everything we did felt like it was being done for the very last time, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of loss at this, even though I hadn't lost anything yet.

Finally, late afternoon, we received news from a frantic messenger that the blue kingdom had attacked, and that our own people were beginning to join in. Now it was a matter of counting down the minutes. Fear gripped my heart as the hours passed, we could hear them through the walls of the castle, and were able to tell that they were getting closer all the time.
Rin succumbed to tears of terror, I sat her on my lap, cuddling her, reminding her of all the good times we'd had. How we'd played as children, how I'd made her tiaras and pretended she was a princess.

Screams everywhere as the remaining servants fled the castle, leaving the two of us alone. For the time being at least. The battle was moving closer, our soldiers surely couldn't hold out much longer. I gently rocked Rin back and forth as chaos ensued around us, destroying our home from the outside. More screaming as people outside were ruthlessly cut down. I was numb to it as I held Rin in my arms for the last time. I sung quietly to her, pretending the destruction around us wasn't taking place.

"You're forever my lady as I am your servant, the cruel hand of destiny broke up two beautiful twins" I sang softly to her, a song that mirrored our situation perfectly. Another loud sound from outside, perhaps a turret being broken down. "And I'll love you forever no matter what we do" I continued gently. She sighed. It would all be over soon, no doubt about it. It was getting dark; night was upon us once more. The sound of the gate being torn down at last made me wince. I could hear the enemies swiftly making their way through the gardens, slashing away at the beautifully arranged foliage as if it were nothing.

I shut my eyes tight willing it all away. In my mind I retreated back to the time Rin and I had shared on the beach that day, the day I'd made that promise to her. Why hadn't I kept it? Now was truly her time of need. If only I could dress her as me once more and sneak her away to the beach again, to stare out at the sea, to have no worries...An idea. I opened my eyes, back to reality, they were so close. Yet I finally had an idea, though if it were to work we had to hurry. I seemed to be stuck in a sitting position cradling Rin, I shook her gently, waking her from a slumber I hadn't even know she'd been in. I had to make her listen; understand in such a short space of time!

"Rin! Stand up please!" I urged her, shoving her from my lap. She got to her feet wearily, staring at me emotionlessly. I looked her up and down, we were about the same size still, I was a little taller, but not enough for it to be noticeable unless I was standing beside her. She blushed as I inspected her, she covered her chest instinctively, she swayed uneasily on her feet. It wasn't the best idea, but it was the only one I had, the only one that could possibly work!

"Rin, I have an idea that could save your life if you do exactly what I say, you have to promise me now that you'll do what I say!" I spoke hurriedly, and she blinked at me in confusion, tilting her head as I always did. Alike in so many ways, it could work. Sure I didn't have her hips, or her feminine chest, but I had to try.

"I promise?" She said uncertainly, her voice was croaky from staying silent for so long. I smiled at her; sure I could save her this way. Oh it had to work! I began to remove my clothes as quickly as I possibly could. She blushed deep red, clearly startled by my sudden actions.

"What on earth are you doing?" She gasped as I removed my pants so that I stood in my underwear. I yanked her arm pulling her towards me, turning her around so that I could undo her dress.

"Len!" She gasped making and attempt to slap me, clearly horrified by my behaviour.

"Rin, remember when we were kids, I'd let you borrow my clothes so we could get you out of the castle for a while?" I asked quickly, unlacing her corset hastily.

"...yes" She answered slowly, beginning to see what I was thinking, as she now let me finish unlacing her back.

"Well that's what we're going to do now, except I'll be wearing your clothes this time as well" I wrenched the dress off her body, ploughing my way through her petticoats, if I was going to masquerade properly I would need to take all of her clothes. What would they say if they found the queen wearing men's underwear.

"What?" Clearly Rin hadn't been expecting this little twist. She shoved my hands away modestly, hesitantly removing her undergarments herself. Now was not the time for modesty though.

"There has to be a Princess here for them to capture, if there isn't they'll eventually find us anyway and kill us both, if they think they have the Princess they won't bother searching for the servant boy" I helped her into my own clothes. She stumbled a little as I helped her into the pants; she had never worn pants before and seemed out of her comfort zone.

"Len you can't!" She cried as I began to pull the layers of petticoats over my own head.

"No, I must, it's the only way I can keep my promise and save your life" I pulled her dress over my head, smoothing it down into place. I beckoned for her to help me with the laces at the back, which she did despite her disapproval of my plan.

"Len they'll kill you" Her voice broke on the world kill, and she began to cry again. They had broken through the doors, the castle was big, but it wouldn't take them long at all to find us here. I remembered my hair, pulling the bow from it quickly so it resembled Rin's; I quickly tied her hair up as I would mine. I fumbled a few times as fear consumed me. I grabbed her roughly by the shoulders giving her the final instruction.

"I want you to escape, the old kitchen, run there, grab my black cloak and leave that way, don't try to leave the kingdom yet, just get out of here, lay low" I ordered her. She shook her head, babbling she wouldn't leave me; she didn't care about the promise. Well I did. I smiled warmly at her; I had to get her out of her quickly. I cupped her soft face in my hands, kissing her pink lips gently before speaking again; this calmed her down a little.

"I love you Rin, I couldn't have asked for a better twin, but now I want you to leave, please do what I say" I spoke to her softly, she looked so fragile. She hesitated, a loud crashing noise making her move more quickly. She sniffed as tears flowed down her pale cheeks.

"I love you too" She whispered sadly, finally turning to leave as I had instructed, she sprinted from the room leaving me alone with my thoughts. I prayed that she would survive. I'd never felt so alone. I remained standing; I would play the role of Rin as best as I could. I had to convince them I was the real Princess; I couldn't allow them to think I wasn't. The plan would only work if they accepted me as Rin. I trembled as they neared; I doubted they would kill me on the spot. They would torture me for my crimes. I wasn't Rin, but I felt I deserved the punishment; I had committed many sins myself, worse than my twin. Besides, if she was evil, so was I, we were twins, we had the same blood running through our veins. Evil blood. Not that I believe Rin was evil really, she could never be evil.

The doors burst open, a woman in red armour and a man clad in blue stood triumphantly at the door. My heart was racing with fear, never had I been so scared before in my life. Still I had to put on a good show, had to convince them...I knew both of these people I realised as they advanced towards me, brandishing swords. Perhaps they would kill me immediately; perhaps I was too evil to be kept alive any longer. Meiko, the daughter of the first man I'd killed. I hardly recognised her. Her once long hair that had reached her mid-back had been sliced off, so that it was now level with her nape. Her eyes were clouded over with hatred as she stared at me. Kaito, he had no wounds to suggest he had been fighting; only his dishevelled appearance gave this away. He glared at me hatefully, just as Meiko did.

Meiko went round behind me, I allowed her to bind my hands together with rope. It cut deeply into my wrists, she pulled it tight. She held me still, not that she needed to, I wasn't going anywhere. I donned an emotionless mask as I expected Rin would in such a situation. She would never let them see her fear. I stared coolly at Kaito, though on the inside I was crying out.

He brandished the sword, placing the sharp tip against my throat, letting it tear my skin a little so it bled. It hurt a lot for such a small cut. Needless to say I was terrified, yet I kept my cool and smiled cruelly up at him. What would Rin say? He was buying it s far; he really believed I was Rin. How disrespectful to treat a princess this way...

"You're such a disrespectful man!" I hissed spitefully at him. If I was going to die I saw no point in pretending to like this horrid man. Sucking up would get me nowhere, and tears would only satisfy him more. He was sneering down at me, relishing in my, well, Rin's downfall. I glanced at Meiko now pacing beside me. She didn't remove her gaze from me, even as she paced. Unlike Kaito she didn't smile at my downfall, she seemed frosted over, her expression towards me cold, but not mocking. I remembered the day I had killed Meiko's father, I remember her crying out his name in pain. I'd really hurt her and now...I was getting what I deserved. I realised I was beginning to think too much like myself again, I had to think like Rin. If I were Len I would break, cry, beg for forgiveness. Rin would never act in such a way, she was royalty, and royalty didn't need or bow to anyone.

"Finally your reign of evil is over; you will pay for what you've done to everyone." He had his hand raised as if he meant to strike me. I glared up at him, would he really hit a young girl? Especially one who was a princess? Oh how I hated this man, not only was he ready to overthrow my sister, but he seemed quite willing to beat her as well. I was certain now that I had not made a mistake trading places with her, I would never want her to be treated in such a way. Finally Kaito's gaze shifted from me to Meiko, I relaxed ever so slightly, knowing that neither of them was watching me.

"Take her Meiko, we must throw her in the dungeons, then we will announce to everyone that the battle is over, we have won." He smiled triumphantly, the sort of smile I knew would make the real Rin melt. The thought enraged me, what did she see in this vile man? I was thrust forward by Meiko; she gripped my bound wrists tightly. I winced a little as she dug her nails into my arms. I squeaked slightly in pain, Kaito sneered at me once more before turning to leave.

"I believe the dungeons are down that way Meiko, I shall announce our success to the people, you lock her away." He spoke rudely about me, as if I weren't even present in the room! He smiled at her before turning away from her, going back the way he'd come. I got the impression that the pair had been planning this for a while, yet how a prince and a simple village girl had met I'll never know...then again Miku had been a simple village girl as well...Miku...no I couldn't think of her right now, it made me too emotional. I was kicked violently in the leg, making me cry out.

"Move!" Meiko growled, kneeing me again, forcing me into motion. I wanted to scurry away, but that was what the servant would do. The princess would keep her composure and glide gracefully, even if it was to the dungeons. So this is what I did. Mimicking my princess, I moved slowly towards the dungeons. Despite Meiko's kicks and bellows, I maintained this until we reached the bottom of the stairs and was standing in the dungeons below. She roughly unbound my hands, I would've rubbed them with relief, however I was thrown forward violently, landing face down on the cold cobbles of the prison cell floor. My knees throbbed painfully; even through the layers of petticoats beneath the dress I had felt the impact of my fall. I made a move to pull myself up, but was kicked in the side. My hands went to my ribs in some sort of attempt to ease the pain. I could feel angry tears in my eyes, not because I'd never been beaten before, but at the thought that it could be my twin in this position instead of me! I stared up at Meiko furiously, only to see she had a hand over her mouth. She seemed to be struggling to hold her own tears in. My anger cooled and subsided. I wondered what was going on with her. She turned away from me, a foolish move really since I could easily have made an attempt to attack her. However I wasn't about to do that, I had to surrender to them or else Rin may end up being in such a position soon enough. I could see her armoured body shaking a little as she held herself together. She spun back round to face me. A few tears of pain escaped from her red eyes. I must've been staring at her with sympathy, as she brought her hand down on the side of my head. My vision blurred as she did so, making me feel ill. I shut my eyes, trying to ease my nausea.

"Don't look at me with sympathy! You're the one who's going to die, just like my father, YOU'RE the reason he's dead!" She shrieked at me, her voice breaking as her cool composure broke. She seized a handful of my hair, yanking at it. I was terrified, I knew I was going to die at some point but what was she going to do to me now? My hands instinctively went to my head; she pulled hard at my hair. I screamed, ordering her to release me, only making her pull harder. I was certain she would pull my hair out by the roots if she continued. I was relieved to hear the low voice of Kaito addressing her.

"Release her Meiko, she's not worth it" He spoke monotonously, I could tell he didn't mean this. He longed to harm me just as much as she did; he hated me for what I'd done to Miku. Meiko reluctantly obeyed him, throwing me to the floor once more. I breathed a sigh of relief, glowering up at the pair. Kaito put a comforting arm around her, carefully avoiding her metal armour. I wondered if there was something between the two of them. She wiped at her watery eyes, regaining her cool.

"Why don't you search for the key to this cell, I want to speak with princess Rin alone." He said the word 'princess' mockingly. Meiko nodded, making her way further down the dungeons, searching for some sign of a key. I knew where the keys were yet I didn't want to make it too easy for them. He peered around the corner to make sure Meiko was a reasonable distance away from us before looking down at me with disgust once more.

"Don't look at me with such distaste, I am still royalty" I attempted to copy Rin's way of speaking, her own voice. I was fortunate my voice hadn't broken yet or else this would have been a very difficult task.

"Look little girl, you are no longer considered royalty, you have no rights now, you're a prisoner in your own castle." He spoke to me as if he were bored. I laughed a little, oh how ironic. Rin had been a prisoner in her own castle for years now, what difference did this make? Even more ironic, they believed Rin was a prisoner now, yet she was now more free than she'd ever been before, they had the wrong prisoner.

"This is no laughing matter, you obviously don't understand the seriousness of the situation" Kaito spoke seriously. If only he knew. But he would never know, that was the way it had to be. "You will be executed tomorrow afternoon at three o' clock, in front of your people, they deserve to know your reign of terror is over" He declared. Yet it seemed he had something else to say, something he was reluctant to speak about perhaps.

"So your servant has abandoned you, not so loyal then is he? Just as well really, if he were here I'd kill him as well for what he did to Miku, but he's not worth hunting down." He laughed spitefully at me. Yet I found I was also laughing, oh he really was buying it! He thought I'd abandoned Rin, when the reality was I had made the ultimate sacrifice for her. He shook his head at me, obviously believing I had succumbed to insanity.

"We shall see how funny this is tomorrow at the guillotine!" He declared, leaving me once more, shutting the cell door behind him. He waited patiently for Meiko to return, I wondered if she'd find the key at all, it was hidden in a discrete place, beneath one of the loose cobbled at the bottom of the stairs. To my amazement after what I guessed to be half an hour she returned with the ring of keys. Now all they had to do was figure out which key fit this particular cell. They chattered between themselves, making no attempt to acknowledge my presence. After a few attempts with various keys, we heard the metallic click of the key in the lock. Kaito shook the gate a little, making sure that it was securely locked before motioning to Meiko to follow him. Before they left I saw her loop the tiny rung of the keys to her sword holster. Any chanced of me escaping were gone now.