Prologue
Alexis Owens-Lieutenant Harper.
The name was glowing atop the list of brilliant performers that I had the pleasure of seeing.
Myself, Sebastian, my father and my mother sat in the golden box, with an excellent view of the stage. In my lap rested a playbill, the names of each wonderful actor were perfectly strung across the two inside pages.
My sister’s photo, her radiant and young face, proudly stood at the very centre of the first page.
Alexis Owens plays our lead character, Lieutenant Harper. Alexis is our youngest actor, just turned fifteen, from Yorkshire, in the North of England.
My heart swelled with pride at the thought of my sister, stood in the centre of a stage, stood with a thousand people stood before her, stood fearless in front of such a large crowd.
I glanced to my side. Sebastian, Alexis’ doting boyfriend, stood with his eyes locked on the stage, a caring smile rested gently on his face.
“Excited?” I asked.
“To see Alexis? Always.” Sebastian nodded.
My mother was glued to her phone, my father was nose deep in a stack of paperwork he had brought with him, but at least they were here. This was the first show of Alexis’ that they had attended, and she did three a week. Two on Saturday and one on Friday evening.
Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry made it awkward for Alexis to attend the weekday shows, she performed at the ones during the holidays but unfortunately, school had to come first.
Myself, Sebastian and Andre Riva, Alexis’ best friend, had attended almost every single one of her shows so far, and it never got boring to see her.
When she appeared on stage, my heart swelled with pride. Her blonde hair was tied up, hidden by a brown wig. Her blue eyes replaced with brown contact lenses.
Alexis was my twin sister, and my closest friend.
I would do anything for her, even if it meant spending 9 hours of my weekend watching her act like a performing monkey for the peasants of London town.
The lights in the theatre dimmed, and my parents finally looked up and paid attention to their only daughter, who was now walking across the stage.
She looked different. She looked smaller and less confident. Her posture had gone from being straight backed to being hung and low, it was hardly noticeable, but I saw it immediately. I had spent every day of the last fifteen years with her. I knew her far too well.
Was there someone in the crowd she was nervous to perform for?
Or was there something else going on that she wasn’t telling us yet?
Either way, I’d certainly get to the bottom of it, soon.
