C L (First Version-Complete)

45: The Unfortunate Twin

"Slade, you should be like your frère aîné (older brother) more," pappa said and chugged the booze down his throat.

Of course, because that was all I needed to hear every morning. Pappa made sure that he would compare me to Sevor every time he saw me.

Sevor was the smart one. Sevor was the strong one. Sevor was the next chieftain of our village.

And me?

I was just in the background doing laundry, cooking with Mamma, and doing the basic household chores because he  deemed me stupid and a screw up.

The nepotism never affected me as much. I knew my twin was good at basically everything and I admire him for it. I wasn't jealous. At first I was but as he showed me his genuine support and concern as the older twin, I just never bothered hating him. He was polite and I will never despise him just because Pappa acknowledged him more than me.

"I'll try pappa," I replied weakly.

I stood up and wiped the blood off my lips and positioned my body into an offensive stance. I was sparring with Sevor and as always, he would make sure to beat me up in the cleanest way possible wherein mamma wouldn't get a hard time cleansing my wounds.

"Come on Slade, stand up. You can do better than that!" Sevor encouraged. We were only ten years old yet his modesty was unbelievable. Sevor stood calmly in place and I decided to tackle him to the ground.

I was a lousy fighter and I always charge ahead without thinking what my next move would be.

I placed a heavy step forward and sprang towards Sevor. I let out a shout and then got the air knocked out of my lungs when my twin lifted me and swiftly tossed me behind him like I weighted nothing.

"Try harder Slade!" Pappa shouted. I can already hear the annoyance growing in his tone. "You'll never be as great as Sevor if you continue to slack off. I don't have a weak son so either be like Sevor or get out!" he spat. A pang of pain hit my heart and I shakily rose up. My body was already smothered with dirt and my twin only got his feet dirty.

"Slade, come on. Please try harder," my twin begged. I knew that he wanted to take it easy on me to let me win but pappa will know if he did so and he'll also hit him. He rarely hits Sevor but I don't want my twin to get hurt because of me.

"I think that's enough Devias," I heard Mamma interfere. She always arrived before pappa got too enraged. I was spared from the bruises.

Pappa grunted. His features were wrinkled from frowning too much and his growing stubble made it seem that mamma married a mortal dragon. "He won't learn if we spoil him."

Mamma sighed and then stepped down from the bony stairs. The houses of the village were made of gigantic bones of either our ancestry or just other creatures. The only wooden parts of the structures were the sliding doors. We lived in the mountains. It was much safer here than the low lands.

Mamma took my hand in hers and then walked me up.  "Take Sevor into some hunting. Slade and I will start cooking the vegetable soup."

Pappa slapped his forehead and then stood up. His black loose robe hung on his strong and muscular build. "You should stop spoiling him-"

"When did we ever spoil them?" Mamma interrupted with a sharp glare. Her long black hair was tied into a high pony tail which enhanced her sharp looking features despite her gentle personality. I fondled with my own filthy hooded tunic that ended just above my knees with my head shamefully facing the floor.

"They may be twins but that does not mean that they think alike. They are two different individuals with different identities, get that into your head," Mamma bravely reprimanded.