Faults

Chapter 8: Aydin

* Trigger Warning *

"Please! I'm telling you! You have the wrong twin!" I scream at the castle guards as they drag me down the village path.

As I struggle in their grips, I get a glimpse of where we're heading. The door to the castle dungeon is looming ahead of us, like a black hole waiting to suck me in. I've tried implanting thoughts in the guards' minds, but something about their armor is preventing me from doing so. The metal is most likely enchanted to be able to deflect magic, making this quite the predicament for me.

The guards pull me into the dungeon and throw me into an empty cell. "Please! Listen to me! I'm Aydin, I swear I didn't do anything," I yell.

All the guards do in response to my bellowing is laugh as they shut the heavy wooden door, locking me inside. "It was my brother!" I wail at the guards.

I hear their footsteps echo through the corridor, giving me the hint that it doesn't matter what I say or how much I beg. They don't care.

I sit down on the cold, dank floor and lean against the jagged rocks lining the wall. Tears come to my eyes but I force them back. Eventually someone will notice that they've got the wrong brother, right?

When the guards came to the door, I didn't know what to expect. I hadn't done anything wrong but they took me anyway, refusing to say anything about why I was taken down here. It wasn't until I had seen the smoke rising from the castle that I knew what had happened.

Alas, no matter how many times I screamed and told them who I really am, they didn't listen. If only I could just speak to Archie. Surely he would recognize who I am, wouldn't he?

I sigh and rest my head back on the wall. The tears are stinging my eyes again. You can't cry, I tell myself.

Blinking back the tears, I think about what Taylor did. My own brother traded my freedom for his and all for a petty crime. I know we hate each other, but how could he betray me like this? Family obviously means nothing to him, and I'll be sure to return this treatment when I get out. If I ever get out.

This is all Taylor's fault. If he hadn't tricked me into answering the door for the guards, I would be at home continuing my life. Instead, I'm sitting in a cell for something my insolent brother did.

Destroying royal property, especially the castle, is a serious offense. The punishment is often torture, imprisonment for an insurmountable amount of time, or death. It all depends on the damage done, whether or not someone was hurt, and the method.

I have a feeling I'm going to be stuck here for a while since Taylor attempted to burn down the castle. Although, it seems that it was unsuccessful because the whole building wasn't engulfed in flames when I was brought down to the dungeon. I probably won't be executed but neither of the other two punishments sound very good.

Torture and lengthy imprisonment are both terribly unfortunate outcomes, but at least the imprisonment one would be mostly painless. Mulling all this over, my sadness about being brought here turns into pure rage.

In the past months, Taylor has learned how to control his ability, allowing him to create fire with just his hands on command. This has made him a lot stronger and in turn, it's made me slightly defenseless. If Archie hadn't come over when he did a while back, I probably would've been burnt to a crisp.

That's the thing about my brother–he never holds back.

He doesn't know when to quit or when he's gone too far. Today is an excellent example of that. I know he despises Archie almost as much as he does me, but committing arson is taking it way beyond where the disagreements lie. He had no real reason for this other than his dislike for my best friend.