Evil Twin

In Olden Times: The Evil Twin (Approx. 1,700 wds.)

The border posts of the kingdom had been put on high alert (code red)
after reports that the legendary villain, the Black Knight, and his
abominable horde of accessory villains, were planning an invasion.
"Halt, who goes there?' demanded the sentry.

"You know me," said the figure, lowering the cloak that had covered
his face.

"Of course. Prime Minister Abe. Everyone knows you." The story of how
Abe had risen from poor farm boy to mayor of his town to prime minister
through his services to the king and queen was as well known as that of
King Arthur and his knights. "But what are you doing here?"

"We heard that the Black Knight might be in this area."

"There's been no sign of him. But it's cold out here. Come inside and
have a cup of mead."

The sentry turned to go in. Prime Minister Abe immediately drew his
sword and smote the sentry on the head, knocking him unconscious. He
waved his hand and a hundred or so hideous creatures, all dressed in
black, followed him across the border. "Here's your armor," said one of
them. Abe put on the armor, which was all black.

What's going on here? Anyone familiar with the exploits of the honest,
loyal and brave ex-farm boy will protest that this can't be the real
Abe. It wasn't. As most readers, especially those who have read this
story's title, will already have guessed, it was not Abe at all but his
evil twin, Ethan, because even in olden times, long before soap operas
and bad movies had been invented, an evil twin makes a really good
villain. And, yes, Ethan, Abe's evil twin, was indeed the dreaded Black
Knight.

Why hasn't the evil twin come up before in these adventures? Well, for
one thing, Abe's family didn't like to talk about him. Ethan had been a
problem even as a young boy, lying, cheating and stealing, and trying
to lay the blame on his brother Abe. But their mother would have none
of that. As soon as he was old enough, she told Ethan, she was going to
enlist him in the King's army. But, before she could do so, Ethan had
run off with a circus passing through town. From time to time, hints of
Ethan's doings reached the family. He'd left the circus in the company
of a ferocious strongman and a sinister dwarf. They attacked unwary
travelers. They tried running a protection racket in coastal towns
raided by Vikings. They'd infiltrated the garbage collectors guild in
Camelot. Then, a few years ago, the rumors had stopped and everyone
assumed he'd been killed in one of the gangland wars. Who could have
imagined that Ethan had become the Black Knight?

Okay, let's get on with our story. It was several days later, a
beautiful day, the sun shining, the sky an innocent blue, a day to get
out of the drafty castle and be outdoors.. Abe's wife Rose was in a
meadow, picking flowers. Bob, the family dragon, who'd been Abe's
companion in all his adventures, was with her. Bob by now had retired.
His scales were more gray than green and he only rarely could muster up
the energy to breathe fire.

"I wish Abe would get back," said Rose. "Since he became prime
minister I hardly see him. There's always something to attend to. The
treacherous French are always trying to undermine us The defenses need
strengthening. Then there are all those knights wandering around on
quests and getting lost in the woods. There's no end to it."

"Where's he now?" asked Bob.

"The northern forest. Some wolf has disguised itself as a grandma and
is luring young girls. How anyone could mistake a wolf for an old lady
is beyond me."
Bob was about to reply when an arrow whizzed past him and thudded into
a tree. The next thing they knew a horde of armed figures all in black
came riding toward them. "Don't kill the wench," yelled the knight who
seemed to be their leader. Bob did his best to fend off the attackers,
swishing his long green tail back and forth to knock riders off their
horses and summoning enough breath to scorch others. Rose, who was no
shrinking maiden, fought also, snatching up a sword from one of the
fallen enemy and flailing away. But there were too many of them. Spears
and swords pierced Bob's hide. He fell and lay on the ground. "No,"
said Rose, running to him.

"It's too late," said the knight who was the leader. "He's gone." With
that, he picked up Rose, placed her on his saddle in front of him, and
the whole pack rode off, yelling and shrieking horribly.
.
When Abe returned from the northern forest that night he was met with
the terrible news: his wife Rose had been abducted by a band of raiders
and Bob the family dragon had been killed trying to defend her. Abe
felt his knees give way and had to sit down.

"There's more," said his aide. "The raiders left behind a note for
you."

Abe opened the note and read. "Come to the Cave of Doom at midnight
unarmed and alone if you want to see your wife alive again."

"Do we have any idea who these raiders are?" Abe asked.

"We suspect it's the Black Knight and his followers. Several peasants
were eyewitnesses. They say the evildoers were all dressed in
black."

Abe looked at the note again. "The Cave of Doom? Where's that?"

"Oh, that's only the cave by the river. Villains always like to use
names like that."

"And they always want to meet at midnight when ten or eleven o'clock
would do as well. All right, I have no choice. It's the Cave of Doom at
midnight."

"You'll take along a large force with you , right?"

"They say to come alone if I want to see my wife alive."

"But if you do that you don't stand a chance."

"I know that. Have our men follow me but stay on the other side of the
river and keep out of sight."

As always happens in such tense situations, the night was dark and
stormy, with black clouds obscuring the pale moon. There was no sound
except for the hoots of a few owls in the distance. Abe entered the
cave. There was a dim light at the far end. Abe walked toward it. The
first thing he saw was Rose, her arms held behind her back by a huge
ruffian, the ex-circus strongman.. "Abe," she called. "You shouldn't
have come. It's a trap."

"Are you all right?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'm sure we can talk this out."

"Of course we can," said a figure clad all in black, now stepping
forward from out of the shadows..

"The Black Knight, I presume."

"They call me that. You may know me by another name."

The Black Knight removed his helmet. "Ethan! I should have
known."

"You've done well for yourself, brother."

"Well enough. If it's gold or silver you want for my wife, I've
brought all my savings."

A short twisted figure materialized out of the gloom, the sinister
dwarf. "I'll take that," he said. He opened the bag Abe had brought.
"Hmmm, not much swag here for a prime minister."

"You were always too honest, Abe," said Ethan He laughed, not a
pleasant sound. "No, I want much more than your pitiful ransom. I want
to rule this kingdom."

"Impossible."

"Is it? Just think. The king trusts you implicitly. We can easily, er,
remove him, then you, the Prime Minister, will rule. Of course, it'll
actually be me. But we can do this together. Join me, brother, and
there's no telling how far we can go."

"And if I join you, you'll release my wife unharmed."

"Certainly."

"Don't listen to him, Abe," cried Rose, struggling to free
herself.

"Rose, I have no choice," said Abe.

"Splendid," said Ethan. "I knew I could count on you, brother. You've
always needed me to give you some gumption."

At that moment, a red streak of flame hurled through the cave and a
booming voice said, "He doesn't need you. He's got me"

"Bob! They told me you were dead."
"The reports were exaggerated" said Bob. "We dragons have tough
hides." Another streak of flame shot out and suddenly the Black Knight
was devoid of his armor, which had melted. Rose twisted away from the
startled giant who'd been holding her, dashed over, picked up the Black
Knight's sword and held it to his throat.

"Help," called the Black Knight. "Where is my band of evildoers? Come
help me."

"Your band ran away into the hills when they saw me," said Bob, "and
the force of King's men in back of me. They're being rounded up
now."

"Brutus," Ethan said to the strongman, "Do something."

"Give it up, Boss. We're done for. Besides, this lady told me and
Grumpy here she'd fix it up so we can have our own circus if we'd stop
being bad guys."

"Oh, that it should come to this. Am I the only villain left? Lead me
to the dungeon."

"I have a better idea," said Abe. "I'll take you to our mother. We'll
see what she and Rose can do to reform you."

"No, have mercy," pleaded Ethan.
But it was no use. Rose and Abe's mother saw to it that Ethan had a
healthy diet instead of all that wild boar meat he was used to, got him
a new wardrobe (you don't look good in black at all, Rose told him),
enrolled him in knight courses and eventually Abe sent him to France
where he used his cunning ways to spy on the French and proved very
useful to the kingdom. Abe went back to his prime ministerial duties
but spent much more time with Rose and, as a natural consequence, they
soon had two fine children. As for Bob, he once and for all retired and
threatened dire things if there was yet another sequel.

The End