The melody of the piano plays as women and men dance like butterflies and children play around the Palace like little fairies. While I ... I sit alone, all by myself, with nobody to dance with. I would have been one of those people dancing in this gaudy castle if my partner had come.

In the distance, the groom is waiting for the arrival of his would-be bride – my sister. But she is not here yet. I know why: she does not want this wedding to happen.

This wedding is forced, and the groom is evil. He will treat my sister badly, just as he treats others. But I cannot stop the wedding when my grandfather needs new puppets to follow his orders. Even if I told him about this guy, he would ignore me as he did in the past – only because I have no talent.

I tried every form of art but was bad at all of them, while my sister, on the other hand, was good at everything.

If you already do not know about the Beckett family, let me give you a brief introduction. The family is known as the “Worlds Most Artistic Family.” But if you are not good at at least one form of art, you are not a part of the family. That is why people did not know me before this wedding. They just came to know that my sister – Eliza Beckett – has a twin, and that twin is me.

The Beckett family hid me to keep its name. My twin and I were victims of the family.

I tried every form of art but was bad at all of them, while my sister, on the other hand, was good at everything. My grandfather compared me to her every time, saying how talented she was – no, how talented she is, and how worthless I am.

Dancing in the hallway, she one day broke one of the vases, drawing our father’s rage. Father beat her with our mother’s cane. From that day onward, she pretended to be mute and deaf so she did not need to hear our father’s rage again.

Our father felt pity for her, and my twin became everyone’s favourite.

They even found a ‘scientific’ reason for her deafness.

“Neurological damage caused by excessive pressure extended by the twin during pregnancy progressively led to hearing loss,” the family doctor had told our parents.

I handed him the glass. But after I did, I realized the terrible mistake I had made.

Our mother became even more violent towards me ever since, blaming me for everything. My sister became more embarrassed about herself. She asked me for forgiveness every time I was yelled at. I forgave her.

I know she was in danger and she lied to protect herself from our mother.

I was more liked by men than my sister was. The people who knew me wanted to see me as if I was a beautiful picture in a golden frame. This did not, however, make my twin jealous; she was happy for me.

Now she will forever suffer, I have to think of something to save her. Wait ... what if I poison the groom? I took two glasses and put apple juice in one of them, then I went to the groom.

“Nice to meet you. Prince Anwir IV, right? I am Eliza’s twin. You might already know me.”

“Yes, your Royal Highness. Nice to meet you too. What is it that you need from me?”

I handed him the glass. But after I did, I realized the terrible mistake I had made.

I did not know if I handed him the right glass, and I am also allergic to apples ... But what is done is done. As I drank mine, I thankfully did not feel anything bad. But why was he still okay? I was confused, so I decided to meet my partner – Romeo. He is a researcher in medicine. He will know if it will take more time for the allergy to kick in. Just when I was about to leave, my grandfather came and gave me a drink.

“For you,” he said.

I am not interested in drinks, but because of how kindly he offered that to me I could not say no. As I drank it, I felt a little weird, but I thought that was because I had never tried alcoholic drinks before.

I felt weak and fell to the ground. Romeo called out to me,

“My rose! Wait, why is blood coming out from your mouth?”

I somehow managed to escape my grandfather and went to see Romeo under the tree where we had first met just outside his home.

As I asked my question, Romeo gave me a suspicious look.

“And why are you asking me how long it will take for a person to die from an allergic reaction?”

Crap! He guessed I had done something. I told him the whole situation. He was shocked at first, but then he calmed down.

“Listen, my love! I know what you are doing is for your sister’s safety. But do you not think you are putting yourself in danger?” he said calmly.

“I know, but ...” I looked for an answer.

“I say you should run away with your sister and come with me before the groom dies. We all will go away from here and live somewhere far away. What do you say?”

“Yes ...”
I felt weak and fell to the ground. Romeo cried out to me, “My rose! Wait, why is blood coming out from your mouth?”

I knew at that moment I was about to die. My last words to Romeo were,

“Please, save my sister, my love.”

My vision turned black. And then I woke up to see Romeo carrying my lifeless body to his hou- se. He did not have the time to see how I died. All he knew was that he had to save my sister.

He went to the castle to see if the wedding had happened or not. It did not. He secretly came to Eliza’s room. She was tied to a chair because she had tried to escape the wedding. As he freed her, she ran away with him to another place. People found my dead body and buried me without thinking about how I died.

People believe Eliza Beckett ran away with her ‘secret lover’, but I know she ran away with my lover, Romeo Elegy.

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Aopar Sarbajaya Nur is a writer from Bangladesh born in 2010.