Vanish (ONC Finalist)

19. Betrayal

Lupei led a small procession through the crowd into the centre of the hall; Marius, with two guards still attached, and the imposter, followed by two more guards.

She halted in front of Dax, who was still staring white-faced at Marius. She didn't think he'd even noticed the imposter, not yet.

"M-Marius... how are you?" he stuttered.

"Fine. No thanks to you. The game is up, whoever you are." He put a hand on the shoulder of the man next to him. "This is the real Dax."

Dax stared at the imposter, registering his presence for the first time. His mouth dropped open in astonishment. It was like looking into a glass.

"What... who..." he spluttered, struggling to cope with the double shock.

Marius ignored him and turned to Lady Liviana who was now wide-eyed. He gave a short bow. "My Lady, I'm sorry to interrupt the proceedings but I think you'll find my news important. This is the real Lord Dale'l'Xandro, a man you have not met in person for several years. This is not the man who proposed to you. That man is standing beside you, an imposter. I ask you to call a halt to this ceremony. Don't marry him."

Liviana was looking from one Dax to the other, astonished. "How can this be? Two men, exactly the same."

"I don't know," answered Marius, truthfully enough, neatly side-stepping a convoluted explanation. "But the man beside you is a fake. Dax would never have offered you a false marriage. Everyone at Skyber knows he is malesexual, don't they Lupei?"

All eyes were suddenly upon her.

"I... uh... er..." Lupei stuttered to a halt, not knowing what to say. That was true enough, but... she was sure the man next to Liviana was Dax, wasn't he?

Marius was still talking, addressing Liviana. "I grew up with Dax, my Lady, I've known him since I was fourteen. And I say, this man is Dax."

Marius turned back to Lupei and looked at her intently, as if urging her to agree with him. "Which man is more likely to be our Dax?" he asked. "The man who proposed marriage to Lady Liviana, knowing full well that he was making false promises? The man who sewed my eyes shut and left me to die in the dark caverns below this castle, for fear I would betray him? Or this man. My friend, who saved my life."

Bewildered and confused, Lupei, looked from one Dax to the other. Nothing made sense. She couldn't understand how a duplicate Dax could have suddenly appeared at the castle and taken the real Dax's place, right under her nose. Made him a prisoner in the castle dungeons, for Thera's sake! She didn't know what to believe. But she could see the wounds on Marius' eyes all too clearly. See the signs of hardship on his body, his trousers dusty and torn at the knees. She feared that part at least was true. She turned to look at the man standing next to her with dawning horror.

"Don't believe him, Liviana, Lupei!" protested the man she had believed was Dax. "I'm Dax. You know I am. Marius is lying." As if drawn on a string, Lupei's eyes dropped to his hands. The left was fiddling with the seam in his trousers.

Their eyes met and Lupei could see Dax start to relax, confident in her answer.

Lupei turned to Liviana. "I'm sorry, my Lady, but this man must be the fake. The Dax I know would never have tried to kill Marius."

The Great Hall exploded into uproar.