Chapter 4 - The Prince in the Mirror
# Chapter 4 - The Prince in the Mirror
The boy wearing Jack's face raised his sword, and the king whispered a name that made Sarah begin to tremble.
"Julian."
The crowned boy stopped smiling.
"Hello, Father."
Jack stared at him.
It was like looking into a mirror that had learned to hate him.
The same dark hair. The same narrow jaw. The same scar above the left eyebrow. Even the way he tilted his head was familiar.
But there was something different about his eyes.
Jack's were dark brown.
The other boy's eyes were silver.
Not grey.
Silver, like polished coins catching the light.
"Who are you?" Jack whispered.
The boy stepped away from the glowing shaft beneath the throne.
"I was about to ask you the same question."
He wore a fitted black military coat embroidered with silver thread, high leather boots, and a narrow crown shaped like seven interlocking blades. His sword was long and slender, its black metal reflecting the blue lightning rising from the Hourglass Engine.
Sarah moved in front of Jack.
"Julian, put down the sword."
The boy's smile disappeared.
"Don't speak to me."
"Please."
"You don't get to say that word anymore."
The bitterness in his voice made Jack hesitate.
This wasn't simply an enemy.
This was someone who had been hurt.
Badly.
Julian turned toward Edmund.
"Did you miss me, Father?"
The king looked as though he had aged another century.
"I was told you were dead."
Julian laughed.
"Of course you were."
He pointed his sword toward Sarah.
"She told you, didn't she?"
Sarah's face tightened.
"I believed—"
"That's what everyone says in this family."
Julian's gaze shifted to Jack.
"And there he is. The precious child. The one who got to grow up somewhere the sky doesn't break every night."
Jack swallowed.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Of course you don't."
Julian stepped closer.
"You got birthdays. School. A grandmother who tucked you into bed."
His voice hardened.
"I got a locked room and a machine that screamed whenever I tried to sleep."
Jack's stomach twisted.
Sarah reached toward Julian.
"I searched for you."
Julian struck her hand away with the flat of his blade.
"Don't."
Aldric immediately raised his sword.
"Stand away from her, boy."
Julian glanced at him.
"Sir Aldric."
The knight froze.
"Still serving the same king? Eight centuries of loyalty. Impressive."
"I serve the crown."
"No," Julian replied softly. "You serve whoever keeps you alive."
Aldric's expression darkened.
Julian smiled again.
"Ask him about the eastern tower, Jack."
Jack looked at Aldric.
"What about it?"
The knight said nothing.
Julian continued.
"Ask him why the enemy reached the courtyard without breaking the outer gate."
Edmund turned sharply.
"Aldric?"
The knight lowered his eyes.
"My king, I can explain."
Julian laughed.
"Then explain quickly. The next bell will be your last."
A deep metallic chime rolled through the castle.
The first bell.
The Hourglass Engine's silver rings accelerated.
Outside, the invading army answered with a thunderous roar.
Jack stepped backward.
"What happens when the bells stop?"
Julian looked at him.
"Someone gets erased."
The king drew his sword.
"Enough riddles."
Julian's eyes narrowed.
"Careful, Father. You already killed one son because you didn't like his answers."
Edmund flinched.
For a moment, Jack almost felt sorry for him.
Then he remembered the execution chamber.
The raised sword.
The king standing beside it.
The apology that had come too late.
"You're not going to kill him," Jack said.
Everyone turned.
His voice shook, but he forced himself to continue.
"I don't know who Julian is. I don't know what that machine does. But nobody is killing anyone else."
Julian studied him.
Then he burst out laughing.
"Oh, you're wonderful."
Jack clenched his fists.
"What's funny?"
"You sound exactly like Jonathan."
The name silenced the room.
Julian's smile faded.
"He said the same thing before they cut his heart out."
Sarah gasped.
"Julian!"
"What? Are we still pretending the first prince died peacefully?"
Jack stared at Edmund.
The king's face was pale.
"Jonathan was ill," Edmund said.
Julian tilted his head.
"That's what they told you."
The second bell sounded.
A crack spread across the throne room floor.
Blue light poured through it.
Sarah seized Jack's wrist.
"We have to reach the western passage."
Julian immediately raised his sword.
"Nobody leaves."
Sarah stopped.
"Julian, listen to me. If the Engine completes its cycle—"
"I know exactly what happens."
"Then you know Jack isn't responsible."
Julian's expression hardened.
"He carries the missing half."
Jack frowned.
"The missing half of what?"
Julian looked directly at his smartwatch.
"The key."
Jack instinctively covered it.
Julian took another step.
"Give it to me."
"No."
"Jack," Sarah whispered, "don't let him touch it."
Julian smiled bitterly.
"There she goes again. Choosing him."
Sarah's eyes filled with tears.
"I never chose between you."
"You chose every day you didn't come back."
The words struck her into silence.
Jack looked at the boy wearing his face.
For the first time, he noticed a faint scar around Julian's neck.
Not a cut.
A perfect silver ring, as though something metallic had once been fastened there.
"What happened to you?" Jack asked.
Julian's expression changed.
For a heartbeat, the hatred disappeared.
Then he looked away.
"Something you wouldn't survive."
The third bell rang.
And the doors exploded inward.
Three armored soldiers flew across the chamber.
Behind them entered a woman in black.
She was tall and slender, with silver-white hair braided down her back. Her armor was dark as midnight, and a crimson cloak hung from one shoulder.
A black hourglass was painted across her breastplate.
The invading army's insignia.
Aldric immediately moved in front of the king.
"Enemy commander!"
The woman ignored him.
Her gaze went straight to Julian.
"Your Highness."
She knelt.
Julian's face tightened.
"Captain Mara. I told you to remain outside."
"The western passage has been secured."
"By whom?"
"Our people."
Sarah stared at the woman.
"Mara?"
The captain slowly raised her head.
Recognition flashed between them.
Jack noticed.
"You know her?"
Sarah did not answer.
Mara stood.
"Lady Sarah."
Her voice was controlled, but her eyes betrayed something complicated.
"I wondered whether you would ever return."
Sarah's expression hardened.
"I thought you were dead."
Mara gave a humorless smile.
"Everyone seems to believe that about everyone in this kingdom."
Julian lowered his sword slightly.
"Enough reunions."
He turned toward Jack.
"The watch."
Jack backed away.
"No."
Mara studied him.
Her expression softened unexpectedly.
"So that's him."
Julian's jaw tightened.
"Don't."
"The resemblance..."
"I said don't."
Mara fell silent.
But Jack had seen something in her face.
Not hatred.
Pity.
And that frightened him.
"Why do you look at me like that?" he asked.
Mara hesitated.
Julian stepped between them.
"Because you're wearing a dead boy's face."
Jack felt anger rise.
"So are you!"
Julian froze.
The words hung between them.
Then, slowly, he smiled.
"Good."
Jack frowned.
"What?"
"There's some fight in you after all."
Julian suddenly lunged.
Jack barely had time to move.
The sword flashed past his shoulder, slicing through his hoodie.
Sarah screamed.
Aldric rushed forward.
But Julian twisted, caught the knight's blade against his own, and drove him backward with surprising strength.
Jack stumbled against the banquet table.
His heart hammered.
Julian moved like someone who had trained for years.
Jack had never even held a real sword.
He was completely outmatched.
"Stop!" Sarah shouted.
Julian ignored her.
He advanced again.
Jack grabbed a silver serving tray and raised it instinctively.
The sword struck.
The tray split in two.
Jack fell backward onto the table.
Julian pressed the blade against his throat.
"Now," he whispered, "give me the watch."
Jack stared up at his own face.
"Why?"
Julian's eyes flashed silver.
"Because if you keep it, one of us dies tonight."
Jack swallowed.
"Which one?"
Julian hesitated.
And in that hesitation, Jack saw the truth.
Julian didn't know.
A violent blue flash erupted from the watch.
Julian cried out and staggered backward.
Jack's wrist burned.
The screen displayed a new message.
DUAL HEIR CONFLICT DETECTED.
ONLY ONE PRIMARY VESSEL MAY REMAIN ACTIVE.
Sarah covered her mouth.
Julian stared at the screen.
"No."
Mara stepped forward.
"Your Highness?"
Julian's expression twisted.
"She lied."
Jack looked at him.
"Who?"
Julian slowly raised his eyes.
"Eleanor."
The fourth bell sounded.
A deep tremor shook the castle.
Dust poured from the ceiling.
Outside, the black-bannered army began chanting again.
But this time, Jack could understand the words.
"BREAK THE HOURGLASS!"
"BREAK THE HOURGLASS!"
"BREAK THE HOURGLASS!"
Julian turned toward Mara.
"Call off the assault."
She blinked.
"Your Highness?"
"Now."
"But the western tower—"
"Do it!"
Mara hesitated, then hurried toward the shattered doors.
Sarah stepped closer to Julian.
"What did Eleanor tell you?"
He laughed softly.
"That Jack was an empty vessel."
Jack's blood ran cold.
"What?"
Julian looked at him.
"She said you weren't real. That you were a copy carrying stolen memories."
Sarah shook her head.
"That's not true."
Julian's eyes filled with something dangerously close to tears.
"She said I was the original."
The king slowly lowered his sword.
Sarah whispered, "Julian..."
"She said the Engine had made a mistake. That when you returned, it would try to replace me."
Jack stared at him.
Julian continued.
"She told me that if I destroyed your watch before midnight, I could finally leave this kingdom."
His voice cracked.
"Fourteen years, Jack. Fourteen years watching the same sun rise over the same mountains. Fourteen years hearing people tell me I was a prince while locking every door I tried to open."
Jack felt his anger falter.
"Why didn't you just leave?"
Julian stared at him.
Then he pulled back the collar of his uniform.
The silver ring around his neck began to glow.
Sarah gasped.
Aldric whispered a prayer.
Jack looked at the mark.
"What is that?"
Julian's voice was barely audible.
"A leash."
He touched the scar.
"Every time I crossed the castle boundary, it stopped my heart."
Jack felt sick.
"Who did that to you?"
Julian looked toward the throne.
"The Engine."
Sarah stepped closer.
"Julian, I didn't know."
He laughed bitterly.
"You keep saying that."
Jack watched the two of them.
He wanted to hate Julian.
The boy had attacked him. Threatened him. Tried to steal his watch.
But Jack could not stop imagining what it would feel like to spend fourteen years trapped in a castle, believing freedom depended on killing someone who looked exactly like you.
"Maybe Eleanor lied to both of us," Jack said.
Julian turned.
"What?"
"She told you I wasn't real. She told me nothing."
Jack glanced at the watch.
"And now the machine says only one of us can exist."
Julian's expression hardened.
"That's the rule."
"Whose rule?"
Julian hesitated.
Jack stepped closer.
"Who decided that?"
The king looked toward the Hourglass Engine.
Sarah remained silent.
Aldric stared at the floor.
Jack felt his fear transform into something sharper.
"Everyone keeps talking like this machine is God."
The mechanical lion turned its head toward him.
He continued.
"But someone built it."
The silver rings slowed.
Jack noticed.
"Someone programmed it."
The lion's eyes flashed.
"And someone decided that children were disposable."
A low mechanical voice emerged from the throne.
"UNAUTHORIZED INQUIRY."
Julian stared at Jack.
Sarah whispered, "Don't provoke it."
Jack ignored her.
"Who built you?"
The Engine did not answer.
"Who made the rules?"
"UNAUTHORIZED INQUIRY."
Jack stepped toward the shaft.
"Who made Jonathan?"
The entire chamber shook.
"ACCESS DENIED."
Julian's expression changed.
Jack turned toward him.
"You see?"
Julian swallowed.
The fifth bell sounded.
A massive crack split the wall behind the throne.
Beyond it, Jack glimpsed a narrow corridor illuminated by pale blue lamps.
Not torches.
Electric lights.
He froze.
"What is that?"
Sarah turned.
Her expression became one of pure terror.
"The old laboratory."
Jack stared at her.
"Laboratory?"
Julian looked equally confused.
"I thought that section was sealed."
"It was," Sarah whispered.
Aldric stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, the walls are failing. We must evacuate."
But Jack was already moving.
He ran toward the crack.
"Jack!" Sarah shouted.
He squeezed through before anyone could stop him.
The corridor beyond was cold and impossibly clean.
White walls.
Metal doors.
Fluorescent lights flickering overhead.
It looked nothing like the medieval castle.
It looked like a hospital.
Jack's sneakers squeaked against the polished floor.
Behind him, Sarah struggled through the opening.
"Jack, come back!"
He ignored her.
At the end of the corridor stood a large glass window.
Beyond it was a room filled with machinery.
Rows of metal beds.
Suspended cables.
Monitors displaying unfamiliar symbols.
And six glass chambers.
Jack approached slowly.
Inside the first chamber lay a small skeleton.
A label beneath it read:
SUBJECT J-01 — JONATHAN
Jack's throat tightened.
The second chamber contained another body.
SUBJECT J-02 — JOHN I
The third.
SUBJECT J-03 — JOHN II
The fourth.
The fifth.
The sixth chamber was empty.
Its label read:
SUBJECT J-06 — TRANSFERRED
Jack stared at the empty chamber.
His hands began trembling.
Then he noticed a seventh chamber at the far end of the room.
Unlike the others, it was still active.
Blue liquid filled the glass cylinder.
Inside floated a small human figure.
Jack stepped closer.
The figure was a boy.
Fourteen years old.
Dark hair.
Pale skin.
His face.
Again.
Jack stumbled backward.
"No..."
Behind him, Julian entered the laboratory.
He stopped dead.
"What is this?"
Sarah appeared in the doorway.
When she saw the seventh chamber, she screamed.
"Don't touch it!"
But Julian had already approached the glass.
He stared at the motionless boy inside.
The figure's eyes were closed.
Its chest rose and fell slowly.
A monitor beside the chamber displayed a heartbeat.
Jack looked at Julian.
Then at the boy.
"How many of us are there?"
Sarah sank against the wall.
"I don't know."
The king entered behind her.
His sword slipped from his hand.
It clattered across the floor.
"No," he whispered.
Julian turned toward him.
"Father?"
Edmund stared at the chamber.
"Jonathan?"
Jack felt a terrible chill.
The king stepped closer.
His face was wet with tears.
"Jonathan..."
The boy inside the glass opened his eyes.
They were bright blue.
He looked directly at Edmund.
Then he smiled.
The laboratory speakers crackled.
A child's voice filled the room.
"Hello, Father."
The king fell to his knees.
The boy's smile widened.
"You finally found me."
Jack stared at the monitor.
A new message appeared.
ORIGINAL SUBJECT: JONATHAN
STATUS: ALIVE
AGE: 814 YEARS
Julian staggered backward.
Sarah covered her mouth.
The boy inside the chamber slowly raised one hand.
And pointed directly at Jack.
The speakers crackled again.
"That's the one."
Jack's heart stopped.
Jonathan's expression turned cold.
"The one who stole my life."
Then every monitor in the laboratory flashed the same message.
EXECUTION ORDER REACTIVATED.
TARGET: JACK VALE.
AUTHORIZED BY: SARAH.
Jack slowly turned toward his mother.
She was staring at the screen.
Her face had gone completely white.
"Mom?"
Sarah shook her head.
"No..."
Jack stepped backward.
"You signed it?"
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Jack, I can explain."
He looked at the woman he had spent fourteen years longing to meet.
Then at the execution order bearing her name.
And for the first time since arriving in the kingdom, Jack was more afraid of his mother than of the machine.