Chapter 1 - Introduction

Once upon a time, when the world was a simpler place, there lived two girls called Anna and Rebecca. Although twins, they were not identical. Anna was very like her father; tall and blond. Rebecca was shorter and with long dark hair, like her mother.

The girls grew up in a happy home, through good times and bad. There were years when the harvest failed and the whole kingdom struggled to survive; there were times when the harvest was abundant and the whole kingdom prospered, but in either case, Anna and Rebecca's parents were supportive and loving and life was good... until the wars came. Their father was drafted into the army and marched away to defend the kingdom from dark forces and the whole country was plunged into several years of desperation and suffering.

This changed Anna and Rebecca. By the age of fifteen, they became withdrawn and difficult, and their mother found it harder and harder to control them. She became more and more desperate for somebody to help her; so desperate, she did not care who it was or how they would make her daughters behave.

Finally, after what seemed like an age of fighting, victory came and peace returned to the land, but their father did not. Instead, a tall man, with cropped hair and greying stubble, scarred from battle but still handsome in an unconventional way, knocked on the door with the news that their father had been killed defending against a cavalry charge. The messenger was a pikeman who watched the swift blow from a sword cleave their father's skull, ending his life instantly. Their mother had asked this soldier to share their meagre supper as payment for delivering this news, awful though it was. That was months ago, and he
still had not left.

Initially, he was only going to stay for a few days to recover from his harrowing experience and long journey from the battlefield, but he began to to help out around the house and gradually became known around the village as the sort of man that could be relied on to mend a fence or help shepherding the livestock. Although their neighbours now called him "Good old Bill" and wondered how they had ever got along without him, Anna and Rebecca knew there was something darker about him.

One evening, a few months after their seventeenth birthday, Bill came to find them in the old barn on the outskirts of the village. Rebecca was sat in the hayloft, her feet dangling over the side; Anna was also up there, laid on the hay, chewing thoughtfully on a straw. Before he entered the barn, Bill waited outside, listening to their mindless conversation about the local boys and their dreams of moving to the city beyond the forest. Taking a moment to replace his cynical sneer with a false smile, Bill walked in and greeted the twins. They barely acknowledged him.

"Your mother has sent me to fetch you home for dinner," he said. Both Anna and Rebecca ignored him.

"Come on girls," Bill sighed almost with defeat in his voice. "I never got chance to have a family of my own. I am not trying to replace your dad; I could never do that, but I like spending time with your mother and I like this village." Suddenly his mood seemed to change and he laughed, adding, "I even like you two!"

Anna sat up and looked and him thoughtfully, but it was Rebecca that spoke.

"I don't like you," she said, her tone flat. There was no emotion in the comment; it was a simple statement of fact. However, both Anna and Rebecca came down from the hayloft and pushed past Bill without even looking at him.. They left the barn and began walking towards their home, chattering away, while Bill followed along behind them watching their every move. This may have been the action of a protective and concerned guardian, making sure his charges got home safely in the twilight, but it seemed just a little too intense, like a cat watching its prey.

Bill smiled knowingly to himself as he looked at the girls. Despite the difficult years that had plagued the kingdom, Anna had blossomed into a beautiful young woman. She had gentle curves, and her long blond hair framed a delicate face with twinkling blue eyes. Rebecca had also grown into a very attractive lady. Her dark hair flowed across her shoulders, and her deep brown eyes shone with youthful excitement. Rebecca had the same curves as Anna, but, Bill noticed, she was around eight inches shorter. This meant that while Anna was perfectly proportioned, Rebecca looked a lot softer. She was certainly not fat; not even plump, but there was a definite fleshiness there and this was the first thing Bill had noticed when he saw the girls. It was also the inspiration for his plan, which was about to move into its next phase.