text: I WAS THE LIAR WHO WON “Get your ass over there!” I shout at my comrades, as the enemy starts to creep in. I turn my attention back to her and watch the blood pool around her lifeless body. The thick, dark crimson blood that filled her entire being. I kneel beside Robin and look at her horror-stricken eyes, the same pale green eyes, that would watch me jealously, as I kissed a girl I did not love. I shut her eyelids, not wanting to feel the pain over her death all over again, and stand up. “Get rid of the body, now,” I hiss at a man passing by and he nods. “Yes, Lieutenant Seyton,” He salutes and I tuck my gun back in its holster, before creeping out of the battlefield, leaving behind the body of Robin Whitmore. I smile as I race up the building’s stairs, I’m close to being reunited with the ones that I lost. I unlock my apartment door, hoping Camille won’t notice Robin’s disappearance. I think about it for a hot minute, then forget about it, Camille won’t care, she’s a selfish woman. “Cami, I’m home!” I grin widely as I push open the door and the girl flashes me a pearly white smile. “Lear!” She cries and hugs me, pulling me close. “Woah there,” I smirk, “Someone’s excited to see me,” and Camille laughs. “You’re a darling, Lear Dear,” She gives me a mock pout, “I was just so lonely! Being by myself is no fun,” She takes my hand and pulls me over to the couch, “It’s okay now that you’re here with me,” She kisses my cheek before collapsing onto the sofa. She sighs, running a hand through her long, wavy auburn hair. “Do you ever just...” She begins before closing her mouth and shuts her eyes. “Do I ever just...?” I prompt, and keeping her eyes closed, she continues. “Do you ever wonder if this war is going to end? I know it’s only been two weeks since we’ve had a brutal fight like this... but how did our world become so divided?” I blink, Camille’s never been a thinker, I guess we learn something new every day. “I’ve never really thought about it,” I admit, the gears in my head are turning. I’m going to have to kill Camille... but can I do it? I shot Robin with no hesitation because she was already dead. Just an empty shell of a body, walking with no true purpose. “That’s alright. A topic for another day then, I suppose,” Camille whispers before pressing her lips against mine. She crawls closer to me, sitting in my lap, and I desperately wish it was Robin sitting before me. But Robin is dead. The two of us sit there for a minute or two before I stand up. “Hey, we should get something to eat,” I remind Camille and she nods. We make our way into the kitchen in silence. Something in our dynamics has changed, is it because Robin isn’t home? No, that can’t be right. This has to be something else. Camille pours hot water out of the kettle and she stabs the noodles, as they begin to go soft. “Where’s Robin?” She murmurs under her breath, surprising me. “I didn’t think you cared, Cami. It doesn’t matter where she is,” “Well, I do care Lear. I know you love her more than you love me,” I look over to her in disbelief, “You’re not the only one who hides their true feelings, Lear,” She continues in her angelic-like voice that could send me to sleep if the horrors of my past didn’t keep me up at night. “I- What? What do you mean?” I ask, without having to fake my curiosity. “You heard me, Lear. I know you pretend you love me, I know you would choose her over me any day, and I also know that you’re a fucking traitor.” Camille digs her hand into her back pocket, pulls out a gun, loads the trigger and aims it at my face. “Why did you kill her, Lear? I saw it from the window, you idiot. You thought you could get away with shooting someone on our side. You’re such a hypocrite, you know that? Saying you hate people on the opposite side, who try to kill us when you’re the Lieutenant for the opposition, and you kill people like it’s normal. Doesn’t it hurt? To know that you are the reason someone is no longer living.” I let out a hysterical laugh, doubling over, this girl is a joke. “I don’t want to shoot you, Lear, don’t tempt me,” “Well, then the feeling’s mutual. Don’t you worry your pretty little head,” “Ah, so I was just eye candy to you. Thought as much,” “I’m serious Camille. I don’t want to shoot you,” “And yet you shot the love of your life? My sincerest apologies, but I don’t believe a damn word that comes out of your mouth,” “You think you know everything, but you wouldn’t understand,” I hiss and then it’s her turn to laugh. “I wouldn’t understand?!” She cackles but without humour. “You’re funny Lear Dear. Hilarious. I shot my brother because at that moment, I thought it was the right thing to do. You know what Nicholai said when I put the gun to his temple? He said he was glad. GLAD. That I was shooting him, and that I did him a favour because he had no more will to live, and I couldn’t stop him. I watched my parents rip each other’s throats out and I witnessed my sister sacrifice herself because she thought she was doing it for me. So cut the crap, Lear. The only thing I don’t get,” She pauses, her hand not wavering the slightest as she keeps the gun aimed at my head. “I don’t understand why you became a traitor just to kill Robin. Why the Hell would you think shooting your ‘crush’ is a good idea?!” I turn away from my opposition and pull my gun out of its holster. “Who’s the hypocrite now? You shot your brother and I shot my lover. Looks like we’re on the same plain now. However, I did what I had to,” I mutter and raise my arm, both of us a second from shooting each other. I blink, lowering my gun, “I’m not going to kill you, Camille. I shot Robin because I loved her. Because there was nothing left of her, she was empty, like she didn’t have a soul. It hurt to see her living like a mess every day. So I suppose you could say I did her a favour,” Cami puts down her gun and slurps up some noodles. “Wow, threatening,” I announce in a deadpan voice and she throws a fork at me. “It would be so easy for me to shoot you right in the heart, but I have decided I might shoot your mouth so you can shut up. We both declared we weren’t going to attack each other. If you’re keeping your word, then I can eat my noodles in peace, is that okay with you Lieutenant?” She scoffs, before continuing to eat. “Fine, but when we’re both on the battlefield, I might not spare you,” “Duly noted. Now, if we’re going to live in this same apartment, you better watch your step,” She adds before taking her cup and continues to eat her food, eyeing me up and down from the couch. Thoughts race through my head. We both know the truth, I am a traitor and I killed Robin. And I don’t regret it, not when her life was living Hell. And now... well, now I’m watching Camille eat her lunch, which is oddly perplexing when seconds earlier, we had guns pointed at each other’s head. “Camille,” I suddenly speak up, breaking the silence. She sets down her cup of noodles and looks at me, her eyes daring me to go on. “We’re not going to talk about Robin again, okay? And on that matter, we’re not going to talk about all of this. Otherwise, you leave me no choice, I will shoot you as I did to Robin,” “You’re an idiot, Seyton. Although, we can’t have everything. Life isn’t fair even to those who deserve it,” “Are you implying that you’re worthy of life’s fairness? Last time I checked you committed homicide when you shot your brother. That doesn’t sound pretty fair to me,” “Your idea of ‘fair’ is distorted and very different from mine. So you can stop talking now,” She demands, turning her back to me, and I take that as a cue to leave her alone. If she keeps going at this rate, she’ll piss me off so much I will have to kill her. I storm off to my room, pulling out my phone and scroll through my last messages with Robin. There’s a lot of teasing and joking around but I can see how half-hearted the conversations become by the end. A pang in my heart forms and I sit up, I’m going to do as much as I can to win this godforsaken war. Robin used to love counting the days since special events. And if I’ve done my maths correctly, it’s been five weeks, twenty-two hours, sixteen minutes and a few seconds since this war started. It was a small rivalry first. The Emperor of the East, Heath Smythe-Lockridge and the Emperor of the West, Algerone Rothschild weren’t always merciless Emperors. It was the classic best friends turned enemies over jealousy, who fought for the same woman. Their descendants were now the rulers on the throne, and the citizens were caught right in the middle of it all. I had been born and raised in the East, but it was a general from the West who told me I could avenge my family. I had known they were manipulating me, they had just wanted to convert as many Easterns to fight with the West. Now I'm too far in, I can't escape the life I set out for myself. And for what? To see Robin again? Even Camille knows it's impossible. I shot my best friend and the love of my life for something no one could give me. I put my phone down, and look out the window. I've made my decision, I've already decided to betray my side, but now I'm going to pull a reckless feat. I'm going to sabotage the side I joined, and make up for all the lives I ended. Even if Camille doesn't believe I've decided to turn a new leaf, then so be it, I never needed her approval anyway. Sabotaging the Western side is stupid and reckless, but the only thing I can do to end this war. Not only is it the only thing I can do, but it’s also probably going to be my last. ~ I rub my eyes wearily, it's easy to say I'm going to sabotage the West, but planning it out and doing it is going to be a lot harder. This is how it's going to work. Phase One is to exterminate the first group of soldiers, as Lieutenant, I know some of the patrols’ locations and times. Before the changeover, I'll plant the small supply of grenades I have left, in that area. Once I pull out the pins, it'll only be a matter of time before they go off. And once they do, the soldiers will be killed, if any of them happen to live, I'll shoot them before they can call for backup. The explosion will no doubt catch other guards' attention, so then I'll move onto Phase Two. The next round of soldiers will send some of their men and leave their station. They'll rush over, but by then, I'll be gone. Once their station is unguarded except for a few men, I'll shoot them down. Phase Three starts then. I've already written a note to Camille, telling her and some soldiers from the East to go to the open area. The place will be defenceless since the soldiers will be dead. That is their chance to rush the Western’s temporary base, leading to a win in that zone. What am I going to do after that? Turn myself in. Robin wouldn’t have wanted me to roam free when I knew I'd committed treason and several crimes. No one on this Earth would want me to run free. I spend the rest of the day organising my plan, making sure all my timing is correct and refining my methods. Camille doesn't bother me, but at some point, I hear the door to Robin’s old room slam, and after that, I hear crying. Not that I can do anything to help her, since I'm the reason for her tears. Not when she’s living with the man who killed several of their people. The Eastern Empire would never let me get away, they'd probably kill me, but that's fine with me. As long as this plan succeeds, I'll be fine. Until then, Robin will have to keep waiting for me a little longer. Early the next morning, I pack all my things together, knowing this is the last time I'll be in my apartment. “I’m sorry Mum. I'm sorry I broke my promise of being the best I could be. I'm apologising to you too Dad. Even though I never listened, even though I had the best teacher right in front of me, I ignored you. I'm the most apologetic to you Robin Whitmore. I never lied, you know, I did it all for you. I knew you couldn't cope with it any longer, I saw the pain in your eyes every day once your mother died. I regret that I never told you I loved you.” I whisper, my eyes closed before I open them again and quietly shut my bedroom door for the last time. Gathering all my supplies, I leave the note on the kitchen counter and softly close the door. I mutter a goodbye to my home and run down the building’s stairs, to finish what I started. In five minutes flat, I make it to the right location and wait two minutes and thirty-nine seconds before pulling out the grenades’ pins. I hide behind the rubble of the building; my timing is nearly perfect as the soldiers walk right into my trap. I cover my ears with the muffs and watch the sky blow up, stone, blood and dirt going everywhere. Phase One has been completed, and no one has survived. I rush onto Phase Two, racing to the second station, carefully slipping through the shadows of the buildings. When I’m halfway there, I stop, and hide behind a wall, hearing the soldiers race to the explosion site. I smirk, I was right, they sent half of their team, leaving five men in the base. I continue to run towards the base, pulling out my gun, shooting as I run. One down. I hide behind an overturned car, before firing again. Two down. I pick up a stray piece of metal, throwing it at two of them, and while they’re distracted, I shoot them both. Four down. The final one sneers at me, “Well well well, the Lieutenant is a traitor... whose side were you on, Seyton?” I don’t reply, firing right at his heart, and he crumples the ground, body limp. That’s Phase Two complete, and I let out a laugh. I’m already onto Phase Three, it won’t be long before Camille arrives, and I’ll turn myself in. “Lear! What on Earth is going?!” I smile, say her name and she will come. “I’m surprised you read my note,” “What do you mean you’re surprised? I find a note with my name on it, of course, I’ll read it,” “Oh, right. Well, you know what to do,” is all I say, and the soldiers from the East start rushing in. They infiltrate the Western’s base, taking down the tents and any soldiers in their way. The men from Phase Two have returned, but they’re shot dead instantly, with no time to fire or call for help. “Lear Seyton, you have helped us a great deal” I turn to one of the general’s of the East, knowing what is about to come. The battle for today is over, which means so is my freedom. “However, you are a traitor. We cannot confirm your intentions, nor can we say you are innocent or guilty. We are putting you under arrest, no retaliation or-” “Ok, let’s go,” “Pardon?” “Let’s go. I was planning to turn myself in, so here I am. Do you want to leave now?” I hold my hands and wrists out, and someone snaps some handcuffs over them. “Wait, Lear, why are you doing this?” Camille pushes her way over to me, and I shrug, “I suppose it was the right thing to do, Robin would hate me for it so...” “Oh, right. It was nice knowing you Lear, well, the nicer part of you anyway,” “The feeling’s mutual,” I reply, Robin’s voice echoes in my head, the first words she had ever said to me, as they take me away. “You know Lear, I think you’re someone who’s going to go far in life, whether that be good or bad, but in the end, you’ll give into good.”