Winning entry for the Kingdom of Lies contest, written by imperious54

The prompt: "Separated at birth, twin siblings, oblivious to each other's connection, lead their people to endless wars and animosity against the two neighboring kingdoms. Until, one day, a chance meeting brings the strangers together and the truth unfolds.

Who are these twins, why were they raised apart and how did they come to meet?" 

Henry.

Creuset. A great valley, never once free of snow, and dominated by a strange river that never freezes. None, from the most wizened mage to the most seasoned alchemists, could tell you why. Yet that was not Prince Henry's concern at the moment. Instead, he struggled not to close his eyes at the sight before him.

The valorous knights of the De Bruce had met the mercenary legions of House Junius. Thousands had died, and the river was now stained red with the blood of both sides. Prince Henry, who prided himself on his stern nature, had asked to be left alone, except for his trusted guards.

One of them, a young woman named Efie, came to his side. "Your Highness?" The snow crunched beneath the weight of the leather boots and half-plate armor, and her orangish eyes shone lightly behind the visor of her helmet. "The lords await your order to tally the dead."

Henry massaged his temples, taking the opportunity to turn away from the carnage, if only for a moment. "Tell them they have my leave." He stared at the ground before him, wanting to vomit. It had been different when he had been in the fighting himself.

His heart had been racing, and he had felt so powerful cutting down enemy after enemy...now he looked upon what he had done: on what he had made. "Was this your first battle?" He stared up at Efie. "You are a raised soldier are you not?"

Efie looked over at the other guards, who were occupied with tending to the perimeter. When she was satisfied that they were not watching, she turned back to her prince. "My father was a knight your highness, and my mother a priestess of Bellona." She looked at the valley for a moment, her eyes frozen for a fraction of it. "This was my first true battle though, yes." And she turned back to Henry with some effort.

"What is your opinion? On our victory I mean?" The words felt hollow in the prince's mouth.

Before she could respond, Efie looked forward again, and drew her sword. "Present yourselves!" The other guards drew their blades, and Efie called out again. "Who approaches Prince Henry De Bruce?"

The party in question were a group of Junius regulars. Wearing studded leather armor and carrying heavy shields. "I am Countess Theodora, of House Junius." The voice of a stern woman came from within the group. "I have come to parley." The assembled soldiers then made way for their leader.

Henry saw the woman in front of him. She was petite, but athletic in her build, and had black hair and silver eyes, just like his own. "What have you come for? "He asked in his stern, but respectful way.

"The day is yours." Though weary, the Countess' voice was not beaten. "We accept what terms you demand. But we ask that you allow us to collect our dead."

Henry looked over her a moment, gauging her for any lies or hint of treachery "You have my permission." He then raised a hand, signaling he had not finished. "Your men will be under supervision, and looting will be punished for either side. Are we clear?"

The Countess nodded. "Of course, that goes without saying." She stood straighter. "Do I have your leave to begin?"

"Yes...but I will accompany you."

Theodora.

Six...she'd lost six friends today. And she had just loaded the last of them onto a corpse cart. Trudging through red snow and loading up open eyed youths onto a cart would never have been a pleasant experience for Theodora. Doing it in the midst of defeat was excruciating.

"I'm fine Lieutenant, but fetch a doctor for her." The Prince had relayed these instructions to one of his officers, who looked as shocked as she was. Henry, that was the fool's name, walked over with a cloth, to try and halt the bleeding. "Let me take a look."

"It's not that bad." The body of her friend had been trapped with magic. It was an ice spell that hurled frozen blades at her when she had touched the corpse. "It was my fault for being careless." Now she looked at this chivalrous fool, who attended her despite her insistence.

He was competent for a layman. And there could certainly have been worse company in this field of death. At least she had found what she searched for. "All for this..." She looked upon the ring in her hand, set with a sapphire stone.

Henry was focused on his work. "What is it?" But he tried to make conversation.

"It's something I've had since I was a child. Milos-" She caught herself just in time, and held backs some tears "-my friend asked for a favor of mine before the battle, for all the good it did him."

"That's a precious gift for friend." Henry finished wrapping the bandages around her arm. "He probably put the spell there so no one would take it."

"Sounds like something Milos would do." She looked at the ring with a disdainful glare. "He always thought himself noble." To her surprise, Henry looked at that ring...with some mounting horror.

"You said you were born with that ring?" He took off his gauntlet, and showed a ring on his hand. "I was born with this one as well." The ring on his hand was an exact match to hers. "What does this mean?"

"There must be some mistake." Theodora gulped down. "This is the signet ring for the Dukes of Augustine. It's our right to the duchy. The reason we-"

"The reason our families have been fighting." Henry looked at his ring curiously. "My uncle told me that my father was killed in battle. And that your father had laid claim to his titles."

"My father claimed your uncle had killed his friend the duke." Theodora's voice was becoming strained. "And that he fought for...for the rightful heir." Both Prince and Countess looked at each other, their matching eyes and hair...and almost instantly found some strange connection. "But why? Why did they lie to us?"

Before they could find the answer, Theodora saw one of the corpse's eyes come alive with red fire.

The Reason.

The battle had turned out rather well. Yes there was the usual horror that came from the rising dead, and the tears of the beleaguered defenders as they failed to strike down their risen loved ones...But Xavier had enjoyed the more personal nature of it.

"Move them quickly." He commanded his crimson armored knights. "We've spent enough effort making sure no one got out alive. I will not be undone by a lack of slaughter." He looked at blood on his kilij, and cleaned it off with his naturally red cloak.

"Your Excellency." Efie, now wearing the proper crimson armor of a vampiric knight, walked towards him. "We've raised most of the corpses, and are moving them through the portals now." She licked blood from her fingertips, her eyes flaring with each sip and her pale features retrieving just a hint of color.

"Excellent." He sheathed his sword. "Immortality has its drawbacks, but intrigue and mass slaughter certainly help to pass the time." His gold draconic eyes scanned over the bodies at his feet. They had been the Prince Henry and Countess Theodora.

"Yes, Your Excellency. If I may ask-" There was a predatory curiosity in Efie's voice. "-Why all the effort for this?" She pointed at the dead siblings. "Why kill the parents and saddle them with competing families if we were going to corpse their armies anyway?"

"It's more efficient this way my dear." Xavier cast white flames on the dead siblings. "If we space out our harvests, especially amidst persistent wars, it seems less malicious. And taking all the corpses leaves even less evidence to stack against us." The bodies were ash in seconds.

"I see." Efie bit her lip with lenoine teeth, still curious. "But why wait such a long time? Why go through all this intrigue?"

"It amuses me." Xavier cast his hand in a wide indication of the battlefield. "I could have just waltzed in and killed their families, that's true. But this-" He pointed at the ashes. "-was far more satisfying. To build their entire lives towards hating each other, revealing that it had all been for nothing...and then cutting it all down." He smiled. "There's no bigger joke than a falsely lived life. Indeed, you should have seen the look on the sister's face when the boy fell. I heard she had lost many loved ones today, so sending her after them was probably a kindness."

"And a convenient step towards building our army." Efie smiled.

"Indeed." Xavier motioned for her to follow. "Most undead armies attack en masse in a single attack." He looked at the ranks of walking corpses marching through arcane rifts, and grinned. "Our approach will be a bit more nuanced..."