Chapter 12: Chase’s Identity
BANG!
Theo's plan to disarm Chase of his lance had succeeded, just not quite the way he had imagined.
The wooden lance broke in half under the powerful force from the slam of the dagger. An explosion of sawdust and woodchips followed the sound of the impact. The top half of the lance broke off and was sent flying. When it landed it embedded itself deep into the dirt some feet away from the surprised Theo.
Before neither Theo nor Chase could react, Bella announced the result at the top of her lungs.
"The winner is THEODORE" She shouted.
The silence that followed Bella's announcement was filled with her own applause.
"Um…" Theo relaxed his body now that the fight was over and stared at the remaining lance hilt in Chase's hand.
"Well, I guess this means you win," Chase chuckled.
Does it? Theo thought.
"Wait, but you landed a hit on me," Theo said.
"Yeah, but you didn't surrender, nor did you lose your ability to fight," Chase argued back.
"I would have lost my ability to fight if we were using real weapons."
"We weren't fighting with real weapons," Chase said matter-of-factly.
"But…"
Theo didn't believe this was his victory. If they were dueling for real, a metallic lance wouldn't have been broken so easily, and Theo would have likely not been able to continue fighting after taking the hit to his head. It was Chase's win no matter how Theo looked at it.
"I'm the judge here, and I judge Theodore is the winner," Bella said.
"But Chase is clearly the better fighter," Theo wouldn't give up.
Chase gave a slightly amused sigh.
"It doesn't matter who is the better fighter. What matters is who is the winner of this duel. Do you want to know about Bella and me or not?" He asked.
Theo couldn't deny that, but in his mind, he still wasn't convinced he was the true winner between the two.
"Fine," Theo gave in.
Chase smiled and looked over to Bella, who gave him a nod.
"You might want to sit down for this," Chase said and set the remains of his wooden weapon on the ground.
"Um, okay?"
Puzzled by the reason, Theo walked off of the grass and sat down in the garden chair.
"Bell, can you bring me a bucket of water?" Chase turned to Bella while he came onto the stone path beside the patio, where Theo was sitting.
"Sure," Bella walked away and disappeared into the house at once.
Theo was becoming more and more confused as this went on.
"Why are you doing this?" Theo asked.
"You will see," Chase answered with a mysterious smile.
What made the least amount of sense to Theo was why the two had to hide their relationship from him, whatever that relationship might have been.
A silence went on as the two waited for Bella's return.
"So, how long have you known Bella?"
"Quite a while."
For reason unknown to Theo himself, he immediately jumped to the conclusion that they were lovers, and they didn't reveal that as soon as they had met because Bella was reserved about her personal life. For another unknown reason, Theo didn't like that hypothesis.
Soon, Bella came back running with a bucket of water, which was spilling out onto the stone with every step she took.
"Here," she said and put the bucket down on the ground in front of Chase while panting.
"Thanks," Chase said.
Deciding to just stop thinking and watch, Theo threw all of his questions aside and stared curiously at what Chase was about to do with the water.
Chase dipped both of his hands into the bucket and gathered some water in his palms. He then brought the water up above his head and released it onto his head. After some shuffling with his hands, the odd brown color began to come off of Chase's hair. The water washed away, and what was left was strands of gold, slightly darker than Bella's, but it was almost the exact same shade as hers.
"We are actually siblings," Chase explained with his eyes closed from the water dripping down onto his face.
Oh, Theo thought. He wasn't as surprised as he thought he would have been after discovering the two's "secret". If anything, he was quite relieved that it wasn't anything more… suspicious.
But again, the question that plagued his mind earlier hadn't disappeared.
"Why were you hiding this from me?" Theo asked.
There was a brief pause from the golden-haired couple before Theo had his question answered. They looked at each other and turned back to Theo simultaneously as if a telepathic conversation had just occurred between them without Theo's knowledge.
"Bell is, well, you know, somewhat… mischievous, let's say. She thought it was funny to mess with you," Chase said.
"Is that so?" Theo looked over to Bella, who returned his gaze with a comically strong nod, sending her hair into the air.
Theo couldn't help but burst into laughter. Was that it? A practical joke? A prank? There was so little about Bella's life that was part of Theo's knowledge that it might as well just have been the case.
However, there was just a sliver of doubt or mistrust deep in Theo's mind, which he thought was inevitable because of just how little he knew about them.
Seeing Theo's good mood, the two joined in his laugh.
Theo felt like he was beginning to venture into the unknown that was the background of his overtly affectionate and incompetent maid, which wasn't a bad feeling at all.
"Well, um, if you are the brother to my maid, then I wish to get to know you more," Theo said with a smile after his laughter had ceased.
"And as the employer of my sister, I also wish to get to know you more," Chase reached out his hand and the two engaged in a firm shake.
Theo could feel that it was the beginning of a strong bond between friends. So could Bella, apparently, as her face was essentially glowing.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone