text: &#x200B; “Who...are you?” ”That’s what I want to ask you-” he snorted, the exact same way I do- “and why the heck do I have a doppelganger?” “Well I’d like an answer to that myself. Is this the Empire’s new plot, replacing officers with spies that look like them?” I asked. “Replace you? Oh *please,* have you read too many detective novels? Even if we had such a fantastic plan, why would I waste my time to take the place of an insignificant soldier when I could be using that time to come up with some strategies? Not to mention my father would never al-” he suddenly stopped himself, as if he had let slip something he shouldn’t have. ‘Strategies?’ I thought to myself, could this guy in front of me be one of the battle strategists of the Empire? If so, should I just kill him now when I can and weaken the enemy? He seemed to have sensed my thoughts, shifting himself I saw him clutch the knife in his hands a bit tighter, but it seemed more like a reassurance for himself than a threat for me. “What sort of rotten luck do I have to end up in this situation?” he sighed softly, “One second I was just scouting out the area for the summit(?) looking for any traps and the next I’m falling down a goddamn hole...” he stopped and looked at me “How did you end up falling down right after me?” “...I was scouting, same as you. Heard a noise and investigated... and-” “And the next you’re falling down a goddamn hole huh?” he smiled in a rather self-deprecating way. “Well aren’t you the least bit interested in how we look so alike?” I asked,trying to change the subject “Of course I am, but what does it matter? There’s all sorts of strange things in this world.” He sighed again and spoke “So what do you reckon we should do now? We can’t climb our way out, that hole we fell in through is now clogged by rocks and the tunnels out of here are all too narrow for a person” “We can only wait for rescue” I said. “Rescue?” he said mockingly “And how exactly are we going to be rescued? No one saw us fall in, no one’s familiar enough with the terrain to notice a hole blocked by rocks and certainly no one’s going to think that two people happen to buried under those rocks. And even if rescue did come, then what? You do realize that we are enemies right? IF my people come, they most probably will kill you on the spot...and the same goes for you.” “It’ll all work out somehow,” I said,trying to sound more confident that I felt. “Ever the optimist aren’t you?” he sneered at me. “Well do you have a better plan than to hope someone will come rescue us?” I snapped at him, my patience was limited and this guy seemed to be stripping it away every time he opened his mouth. “...No.” his voice seemed to crack, I couldn’t make out his expression in the dim light but I could guess that it wouldn’t have been much different from how I felt.” I don’t,” he said again. “So we wait,” I said as I slowly stretched out my legs and leaned back against a boulder “I’m Raza by the way.” He didn’t reply for a few seconds but then I heard a low chuckle “An apt name considering you’re such an optimist...I’m...Connor” “Pretty apt yourself isn’t it?...strong willed” I couldn’t help but chuckle back but he didn’t reply. “Do you think we’ll be rescued?” he asked after a while “Even if rescue came,both of us leaving this place and surviving is honestly near impossible” “But near impossible doesn’t mean zero right?” I said aloud more to myself than him. “...yeah you’re right” a voice softly said across from me. Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx “Hey,” my voice sounded faint even to me “ how long do you think we’ve been here?” “What’s the matter Mr.Optimist? Starting to get homesick?” his voice was weak. “Are we...are we not going to make it?” “You mean are we going to do in here?...Honestly our chances don’t look great,” his voiced seemed to grow stronger despite the crushing words he uttered “but don’t forget, near impossible doesn’t mean zero.” “You have the pendant right?” I asked despite how hard it was getting for me to open my mouth. “For the last time, yeah I do, just as you have mine...and if one of us makes it out and the other doesn’t, we’ll make sure to hand the pendant over to the other side to be send to our parents,” even as he talked his voice was becoming fainter till I could hardly discern what he was saying. “Hey...” I said again but this time I didn’t get a reply. I felt panic surge through me and weakly tried to move over to were he was. But the action made my head spin and I powerlessly fell to the ground. As my vision began to black out I thought I heard faint voices and a rumble of machinery. I tried to speak but I could no longer control my body. Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The light was too bright. I had a blinding headache and my whole body felt numb. I could smell disinfectant in the air. Forcing myself to open my eyes I saw the blurry outlines of a spacious room. Blinking through the pain behind my eyes I saw my surroundings come into focus. I was in a well lit room, lying on a cot placed among a row of similar ones. Frowning I tried to recall what had happened. “I was...I was stuck in that cave with him, it appeared I didn’t imagine the voices before I lost consciousness but if I had been rescued...what had happened to him?” I felt apprehensive thinking about it, he might have been my enemy but once you go through that sort of experience with someone you develop a sort of bonds. All I could hope was that he would have been rescued too. “Your...Your Highness Connor.