The Inaugural Address

PART III - CHAPTER X

10.

"No, no, no..." I hear Mabel mumble as she jumps back to my side inside the ditch.

"What? What did you see?" I reply, anxious as ever.

"The doppelganger – he's back," Mabel replies, her words sending a bolt of frustration through my lungs as I inhale in pure disbelief.

"How many doppelgangers of me are there?!"

"Shh, we can't blow our cover," Mabel responds. "This is the Haus of Scorpius, they probably manufacture these doppelgangers all the time."

"What do we do?" I ask, hopelessly. "All I want to do is find Alexander – he deserves to die for everything he has done."

"First, calm down. You have to be level headed right now." Mabel placed her hand on my shoulder. "And then you need to kill yourself."

"What?!"

"Your doppelganger, sorry. Kill your doppelganger."

"Why would I..."

"You have to! That's the only way people will know who the real Philip is!"

"Okay, well if that's the only, why didn't you kill yours when we first saw it? Are you even Mabel? I don't know anything anymore."

"Philip. You know I'm the real Mabel. I met you in Taupo, long before the tour of the territories. After I invited you to the rebellion, you ran away to the cliff with the swing, the one that overlooked the lake with Brock right behind you. He talked you into coming back to speak with me. We started prepping for the tour, you talked me out of working undercover for Alexandria's administration after that botched interview. We saved each other's lives countless times during the tour of the territories. I kidnapped your first doppelganger and sent him in your place right before they shot him and he fell into Alexandria's arms. I trusted you never sent those letters to Alexandria, the one's Alexander faked. Ever since the Inaugural Address, I've been by your side. I've been here for you all along. Now you need to be here for yourself."

While taking a deep breath, I watch as Mabel then grabs my hunting bow from her side, pushing it into my arms.

"The fake you is about 50 or so meters that way, it looked like he was giving another speech for propaganda purposes. Just shoot one of your arrows at him and this will all be over, I promise."

Mabel waits then for my hand to grasp the bow and I numbingly take it. I slowly get up from my hiding spot in the ditch and locate my doppelganger in the distance.

I find myself – like Mabel said – speaking in front of a group of cameras, as if for a propaganda shoot. I raise my bow slowly and try to take aim as soldiers fight in my line of view. As I exhale, my shot clears up and I go to release the arrow, but right as my finger is about to release the arrow, I see Alexander approaching my doppelganger.

Before I can think another thought I transfer my aim to Alexander's chest.

I release the arrow.

As I hear the arrow pierce flesh, I reach for another arrow. When I look up again, I see my doppelganger right in front of my face.

"Hide," I hear myself say.

Dumbfounded, I feel myself pulled down by Mabel. Together we watch my doppelganger run out into a clearing. Who was this doppelganger, and why was he helping me?

"I told you to shoot yourself!" Mabel whispers, harshly.

"I'm sorry! I saw the opportunity to shoot Alexander and took it!"

We both then sneak a look toward the battlefield, seeing myself running and dodging the attacks of troves of Alexander's loyals. I also see Alexander down, where I shot him, surrounded also by his loyals. I turn back to Mabel, who looks back to me, her jaw dropped and her eyes wide.

"You shot him," She starts, "Thank god you didn't shoot yourself, I guess."

We both then look back to the battlefield, where we witness one of Alexander's loyalists throw out a white piece of fabric. A surrender. Alexander was dead. Other loyalists around him clock the white fabric, and suddenly more and more white fabric begins to populate the battlefield. My doppelganger smiles as he sees the loyalists chasing him stop their pursuit once they notice the now sea of white overtaking the battlefield. They too then offer whatever white fabric they can. They surrender as well.

Mabel hugs me as we collapse into the ditch, crying. What comes next suddenly doesn't matter, all I can consider is the fact that Alexander, the source of all our despair, is gone.

Mabel and I remain in the ditch for a moment, or for a minute, I cannot distinguish time. We have waited for a moment of relief ever since the tour of the territories. We have finally received our peace.

After who knows how long, we raise ourselves from the ditch. We see troves of medics and nurses scattered across the field, assisting the wounded, removing the dead. I see a group fast approaching where I stand.

The familiar faces of Kaster, Valerie, Leo, and Brock quickly escort their way across the field toward Mabel and I. Through tears of relief, in front of them I see another individual, who, although I did not recognize – I knew instantly.

"Nice shot, baby brother." I hear the Empress greet me.