CHAPTER ONE

Brenda tiptoed out of her room and entered the palace hallway.

She looked to see if any of the guards guarding the hallway was looking in her direction and lucky for her,none of them were.

She headed to her brother's room but was stopped by two fearsome looking guards when she got to the entrance.

"Who are you?" The first guard asked pointing a spear at her.

Brenda raised her head and brought down her hood.

"Your highness" The two guards said,bowing.

"We're so sorry,we had no idea you were the one. Please forgive us" The first guard said on his knees.

"Just let me in,would you?" She said.

The second guard opened the door and she walked into her brother's room.

She walked over to his bed and woke him up.

Shane slowly opened his eyes and blinked trying to get a clear image of his surroundings.

"What are you doing here?"He asked when he saw his sister sitting beside him.

"I can't take it anymore Shane, I'm going to look for her and that's it" Brenda stood up.

"What are you talking about?" Shane asked sitting up.

"Shane,I had another dream,it was really clear this time and I saw her again"

"Who?"

"Our mother"

Shane sighed and shook his head.

"Our mother is out there somewhere" She said

"Brenda,what makes you think our mother is still alive?" He asked.

"Are you seriously asking me that?" She said, becoming upset.

"Just because you're having dreams about her doesn't mean she's still alive. I mean...she went missing twelve years ago"

"You don't think she's still alive,do you?" She asked sadly.

"I..."

"My dream was clear this time. I saw our mother asking me to come rescue her"

"Brenda,I also want to see our mother again but she went missing years ago during a war where most people were killed and I can't let you embark on a dangerous journey"

"I know and that's why I came to meet you. You'll help me,right?" She said, staring into his brown eyes.

" Brenda,I can't. I'm the king now and I have duties to perform"

Brenda wasn't disappointed.

She knew her brother wouldn't help her.

She had come to him countless times to ask for his help in finding their mother but he always gave her excuses,some of which sounded petty to her.

"Fine.Then I'll go myself" She said

"Brenda" Shane said and held her hand "I miss her too" He said again and stood up,facing her.

"Then why won't you help me?"She said,tears beginning to roll down her face.

"It's too dangerous" He hugged her"And we are not sure if she is still alive "

"I just want to see her again" She said,crying "I miss her so much"

"Me too" He said.

He felt her pain but there was nothing he could do.

He couldn't allow his sister embark on a dangerous journey to look for their mother whom they were not sure was still alive.

She came out of his embrace and wiped her tears.

"I know you're trying to look out for me but my dreams don't lie,you know that"

"They're not straight forward either"

He said "even if it's true that our mother is still alive,we don't know where she is"

"We'll never know if we don't try looking for her. We can't just give up before even trying"

He stared at her.

"Do you really want us to do this?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Alright, we'll give it a try"

Her face brightened.

He smiled seeing how happy she looked.

"But," He said "The two of us can't leave the palace. One of us has to stay and keep attending to the kingdom's affairs"

"I know. You can ask some of your men to go with me while you stay here and keep performing your duties as King. I wasn't really expecting you to go with me when I came to ask for your help,I just wanted you tell some of your men to go with me"

"Yeah, that's not going to work?"

"Why?"

"Because we can't tell anyone about this,we have to keep it a secret. We can't risk let anyone know about it else they'll think something is attached to it"

"What do you mean?"

"After twelve years we finally decide to look for our mother. It's enough reason for people to get suspicious besides we don't know who is out there to harm our mother according to the dream you had. Our mother is probably in danger if she's asking you to come save her" He said "Don't you think such a person can harm us if he or she were to find out that we are out to find our mother"

"Okay,I understand but we have no other ideas"

"Yes,we do" He said "I'll go in search of mother while you stay here and keep performing my duties as King"

"What? You know women are not allowed to lead the kingdom"

"No one will find out you're taking my place"

"What are you...Oh" She finally understood what he was saying.

They were both identical twins and one would mistake Brenda for Shane if she were to dress up as a boy and vice versa.

They usually used it in playing pranks on palace maids and guards when they were still little kids.

"I'll disguise and leave the palace without anyone's notice"

"When are you leaving?"

Now" Shane said and walked to his closet.

"Now? But,I know nothing about leading the kingdom, I've never even been outside the palace gates before"Brenda panicked " What if they discover I'm not the king" She asked Shane who was busy looking for a disguise.

"Relax, you'll do great"Shane said after he finally found a disguise,one that looks exactly like the one Brenda was putting on.

He walked to her and cupped her beautiful face.

She stared at him,her heart racing at the thought of being in her brother's position as king.

"No one is going to find out. We're doing this for mother,remember?"

She exhaled and nodded.

"This room...is your room from now on, okay?" He said"it's almost sunrise" He said again.

"You should leave now"She said.

He nodded.

"Take care of yourself" She hugged him "Bring mother home"

"I will" He assured her.

She smiled and released him from her tight hug.

He caressed her cheek and smiled at her before walking to the door.

He glanced at her one last time before finally leaving the room.

It was almost sunrise.

Brenda knew members of the royal cabinet would soon arrive.

They usually had meeting with the king twice a week to discuss about the kingdom's affairs.

Brenda dug into her brother's closet and brought out one of his clothes.

She placed it on the bed and went to have her bath.

She returned to the room after she was done and then got herself dressed up.

She found shoes match her clothes.

She packed her hair into a bun like her brother usually did though his hair was shorter than hers.

She smiled as she stared at her reflection.

She looked exactly like her brother.

Immediately she stepped out of her brother's room,two guards assembled behind her and another two in front of her.

They walked with her to the meeting room.

The members of the royal cabinet stood and bowed to greet Brenda whom they assumed to be king immediately she stepped into the meeting room.

"Your highness" They chorused.

"You may rise" She said,modifying her voice become deep like her brother's.

"Have your seats" She said again.

They all sat down.

She sat down also.

Her seat was located at the end of the long table.

They stared at her, waiting for her to speak.

Brenda didn't know whether to speak or not and even if she decided to speak,she didn't know what to say.

She had never attended a royal meeting before or spoke in a public gathering.

"So,your highness I brought him" A man finally spoke.

She looked to her right to see who spoke.

He was a slender man and looked like he was in his mid fifties.

He had a bit of grey hair and dark bold eyes.

'Finally,someone broke the silence' She muttered in her head.

But as happy as she was that someone finally broke the silence,she had no idea what the man was talking about.

"Who?" She asked him.

"My son"

"Wh..why did you bring your son?"

"Because you asked me to" The man sounded angry but was trying hard to hide his anger.

"Alright,where is he" She asked.

Perhaps her brother was the one who asked the man to bring his son.

And,since she was in place of him,she had to pick up from where her brother left off but without arousing anybody's suspicion .

Brenda watched as the door opened and a young man walked in.

It took all the self control in her not let her jaw drop as she watched the man's son walk in.

TBC...✍️