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When Halt was seven years old, it was the first time he expressed that he didn’t want to become the king of Hibernia. His parents laughed it off and told him that he was just being silly, that of course he wants to be the king. Who wouldn’t want to be the king? Halt’s brother just narrowed his eyes and took note of what his twin brother had said. Over the years, as he and his brother grew up together, Ferris grew resolute in his belief that he should be king and not Halt. Halt didn’t enjoy learning the ins and outs of court. He didn’t enjoy pouring over papers containing agricultural policies for the incoming year. If Ferris was being honest, Halt didn’t seem to enjoy much of anything about the royal life. In a different universe, this idea in Ferris would fester and grow wicked. Ferris and his brother would grow apart over the years, with Ferris almost committing one of the most grave sins, fratricide, which resulted in Halt never becoming king and leaving. Ferris would become king, but wouldn’t see his brother for decades after, right before Ferris’s death. However, in this universe, Ferris talks to his brother about his feelings instead of letting them consume him. It goes much better for him.
At age 13, after 6 years of staying relatively silent about his fate, Halt complains to Ferris that he doesn’t want the throne and that if he could give Ferris the throne, he would. This moment is what changes everything. The seed of an idea is planted in both of their minds that won’t bloom until years later. Instead of simply seeing himself as the best candidate for the throne, Ferris sees how miserable Halt would be on the throne and Ferris feels sympathy for his older brother. Halt doesn’t know how he has changed his life by uttering that sentence.
After 3 years of trying to fight their parents on the issue of succession, Ferris and Halt sit down together in their room and talk things out fully for the first time in their lives. Halt is the eldest twin, but wants nothing to do with the throne. Ferris is second in line and, honestly, is the better choice for the throne at this point. Ferris is ambitious, but he does care for his country deeply and actually enjoys court politics. Halt loves Hibernia but knows he can do so much more outside of the life of royalty. Also, Halt cannot stand to willingly be around stuffy nobles even if his life depended on it. He had threatened to throw several members of nobility, including himself on one memorable occasion, in the moat.
Halt tells Ferris about all of his misgivings and Ferris remembers Halt’s genuine offer when they were thirteen. Ferris asks Halt if he really meant what he said when he offered Ferris the throne and Halt says yes. At this point, the brothers remember that they are, indeed, identical twins. They come up with the exact same idea at the exact same time. Halt can’t actually give Ferris his spot on the throne, but Halt can give the throne to Ferris. They’ll switch places. They are identical after all, so there’s no chance that someone will figure out that they switched places. Then they realize that they are identical but they have massively different personalities. Halt tends to be more morose about his duties, while Ferris was more enthusiastic and a people person. Their parents would notice for sure if “Halt” suddenly started to embrace his kingly duties and if “Ferris” stopped trying to actively throw himself into Hibernian politics. This puts a damper on their enthusiasm until their younger sister, Caitlyn, pops up from under their bed, listening in on their heart to heart.
“Just pretend to have a fight where Ferris is really sad that he doesn’t get to be king and Halt, just pretend to have a reluctant change of heart and slowly get more enthusiastic about it. After, like, two weeks, you two can switch and no one will ever know.”
Ferris and Halt looked at each other. This was the best idea they had ever heard. They weren’t even mad that Caitlyn had been eavesdropping in on their conversation. She had just solved all of their problems.
“Wait, so I wouldn’t be the king legally?” asked Ferris. Caitlyn and Halt rolled their eyes. Ferris always had to bring up the legality of things.
“Ferris, you just came up with a plan that will allow you and Halt to fulfill your life long dreams and you’re questioning it? Plus, you and Halt have never cared about whether things have been legal or not.” She wasn’t wrong. Halt and Ferris had been the terror of several castle workers, from whom they kept stealing sweets and hiding priceless heirlooms in unfindable places when they were younger. Now, breaking the law really would benefit them.
The rest of the night was spent going over the plan and the minute details. Caitlyn had started to yawn around midnight and headed back to her room, but Halt and Ferris just kept talking through until dawn about the plan and everything else in their lives. They hadn’t talked like brothers in years.
“What are you going to do once you’re me?” asked Ferris. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer.
Halt looked at him and looked away, deliberately refusing to answer the question. Ferris understood his reluctance. They weren’t as close as they could’ve been as brothers, something that Ferris now regretted. Anyway, he had a sneaking suspicion that he wouldn’t see Halt for a long time afterwards. The brothers agreed to start their plan tomorrow and to ease their way into each other’s personality. Ferris felt like he had the easier job of the two; he only had to avoid people while Halt had to convince everyone that he actually likes them.
The next morning, Halt actually said good morning to their parents. He noticed that the King gave the Queen a surprised glance, but did not say anything. Ferris slid onto the bench without a word and gave short answers to every question he was asked. The rest of the week progressed easily. Halt and Ferris faked an argument where Halt “realized” the importance of his duties and decided to accept his fate which made Ferris upset that he would never get the throne. Halt paid more attention in his classes and Ferris tried his best to replicate Halt’s ability and love for the bow and arrow while avoiding as many people as he possibly could. The King and Queen were overjoyed that Halt was finally paying attention to his lessons and vowed to talk to Ferris later to ease the pain of not being king.
The next week, Halt and Ferris made the switch. Caitlyn helped as much as she could, distracting their parents and the staff away from Halt and Ferris. No one in the castle had ever seen Caitlyn act out as much as she had in that week. They really should have known better; Caitlyn was the most mischievous O’Carrick sibling. In a different universe, she would have made a terrific ranger. It was a good thing that she acted out because while Halt and Ferris were identical twins and knew each other very well, there were still little mistakes. Little, but noticeable mistakes. Halt grabbed his favorite breakfast that Ferris happened to hate one morning and a kitchen worker gave him an odd look. Ferris accidentally put on his armor instead of Halt’s and had to fend off questions about it all during training. Slowly, the mistakes became less common and soon no one could have told that the princes had almost been exactly the opposite of their personalities half a year ago. It didn’t escape Ferris and Halt’s notice that their parents didn’t note any significant changes in their sons.
8 months after their switch, Halt approached Ferris and told his brother that “Ferris” needed to die. Ferris was shocked but Halt explained everything. He had met a fabled ranger from Araluen who was willing to train him, but didn’t know who exactly Halt was, and Halt felt like that was where he was supposed to go. Plus, Halt explained, with “Ferris” gone, there would be less chance of people finding out that Ferris was “Halt”. It made sense, in a sad way. So the brothers (and Caitlyn, they couldn’t leave her out of this final scheme) sat down for one last time and planned the last part of their big deception.
It was a cold, misty morning when Halt and Ferris walked down to the riverbed. Halt had already said his goodbye to Caitlyn in private. It was just Ferris and Halt left. They got onto the boat together, making sure someone saw the two of them sail off. Only one of them would come back.
A ways down the river, Ferris took his hand off the ropes and turned to face Halt. Halt stared back, looking deep into his soul. The brothers had nothing left to say to each other, but they knew everything had already been said. Halt pulled Ferris into a hug, surprising his brother. They hugged and smiled, bittersweet, at each other. After the embrace stopped, Halt dove into the icy water and waded to the riverbank to start his new life. Ferris tossed Halt’s pack to him on the mossy bank. As he picked it up, Ferris thought about the diplomatic papers that gave Halt diplomatic immunity from the kingdom of Hibernia. They had agreed that Halt could keep his name if he was in a different country than Ferris. Halt had given Ferris the chance to follow his dreams and now Ferris would be able to repay his brother.
The three siblings stayed in touch over the years, writing letters in code and meeting in small towns occasionally when King Halt went on a trip and Halt could sneak away from the Corps for a few days. Once Halt got an apprentice, the visits became non-existent but the letters only increased. Every letter that Halt ever received from his siblings he kept and carefully hid under a loose board in his cabin. If Gilan ever happened to find this loose board and the subsequent letters, he never brought it up to Halt.
The last time Halt visited his siblings was when Caitlyn brought her newborn son to meet his Uncle Halt. Halt stares at little Sean O’Carrick (there was no surprise when Caitlyn kept the O’Carrick last name) and feels an overwhelming desire to protect his nephew. Sean will grow up with only one uncle, King Halt- affectionately known as “Stop” by Sean, around. There’s one time where Sean is on a diplomatic mission by himself representing the O’Carrick’s in Picta and he swears he sees a cloaked figure that looks suspiciously like his uncle Stop. As soon as Sean lays eyes one this shadowy figure, it disappears and Sean can’t shake the feeling that he’s supposed to have known the figure. Caitlyn and Ferris don’t tell Sean the truth about his other uncle until Halt shows up at their doorstep.
No one ever found out their secret. They made sure of that. There was too much riding on their silence. Ferris and Caitlyn made sure to talk around “Ferris’” death and Halt is careful to the point of paranoia of making sure no other Hibernian ever sees him. The only person who ever came close was Morgarath. Halt was, generously put, an unusual name in Hibernia and the rest of the world. So when Morgarath met Halt and learned that his name was Halt and he was indeed Hibernian, something clicked in Morgarath’s brain. He knew there was a connection between this mysterious ranger from Hibernia named Halt and the prince of Hibernia, also named Halt, he just didn’t know how they were connected. Morgarath became very busy quickly after that meeting and never really pursued the connection between the two men. If he did, he would have heard about the tragic and slightly suspicious death of Prince Ferris of Hibernia and how his older brother was with him when he died in a boating accident. As it were, Morgarath did note Halt’s uncanny resemblance to the Hibernian king/prince when Morgarath first met him, but he merely thought it was really lucky that he’s met two doppelgangers of two different heirs to two different kingdoms. When Morgarath calls Halt in for a meeting to offer him a job, the job is to work as a right hand man for him, but also Morgarath is trying to figure out if Halt would be willing to pull a Tiller/Duncan situation and pretend to be Prince Halt in Clonmel. So essentially, Halt would be pretending to be his brother, pretending to be himself. Obviously, that’s a hard pass from Halt and the meeting goes pretty much the same as it does in a different universe.
Halt, in this universe, is almost exactly the same except for a few key differences. This Halt knows that people in power can be terrible, but he also knows that people can be given chances. He knows that he has a family who loves him back home, and because of this knowledge, Halt opens up to people more. He’s still suspicious, still hates talking to people, and grumpy, but he isn’t alone. He’s grumpy when he first comes to Araluen because he misses Caitlyn and Ferris. Crowley is like a brother to Halt, but in a different way than Ferris is. He’s not a replacement for Ferris, Crowley just gets Halt on a deeper level. No one could replace Caitlyn.
Ferris, in this universe, is a good king. The love of his brother allowed him to keep a clear head and his sister was always by his side, ready to keep him on track when he faltered. Caitlyn would never let her brother lead her beloved country into ruins or let a brother ruin himself. His ambition serves him well and the kingdom of Clonmel prospers for several years until there are several years of bad crops that were completely unpredictable. A fellow named Tennyson starts causing trouble in Hibernia and Halt volunteers to be the ranger to go and stop him, along with the help of Will and Horace. Tennyson is trying to blackmail King Halt with the suspicious death of Prince Ferris and Ferris thinks that it is best to call Halt in and take care of things.
Halt doesn’t find it necessary to tell everyone that his brother is the king of Hibernia that is having trouble. King Duncan kind of knows because Araluen and Hibernia had diplomatic meetings several years back and while Halt was able to wriggle his way out of being in the country for those meetings, Duncan still figured that something was up. Ferris had shaved his beard just for that meeting to throw everyone off but Pauline, Crowley, and Duncan knew something was up. The king just looked too much like Halt to be coincidence. They confront Halt, thinking that he is the long thought dead Prince Ferris and that King Halt had tried to kill him and Halt took his name out of spite, which is a very Halt thing to do. Halt can honestly tell them that he is not Prince Ferris. They then ask why he looks exactly like King Halt and he just repeats that he is not Prince Ferris. Pauline realizes it a second before Duncan and Crowley do. They all go crazy. They cannot believe that Halt is the real king of Hibernia and that he and his twin brother have been pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes for literal decades. Pauline can’t believe that Halt kept his name. He’s like “It would have been suspicious if a mysterious Hibernian named Ferris showed up at the same time the Hibernian prince died. It’s less suspicious if I was named Halt. Also, Halt is a much cooler name.” Duncan is losing his mind in the background, because, “No, Halt, it’s not less suspicious to have the exact same name as the Hibernian king who had a long lost twin brother who died around the same time you appeared.” Crowley is just thanking his lucky stars that Morgarath never found out that Halt was the twin brother to the Hibernian king. Pauline thinks over all the suspicious things Halt has done over the years and it all makes sense. His advanced sword fighting skills, his acquired knowledge of the proper utensil to use, and most importantly, his unexplained disappearances when any Hibernian noble came to visit. It also explains why diplomatic relations between Clonmel and Araluen were strained for several years. Ferris avoided Araluen like the plague and Halt straight up refused to help Duncan with any diplomacy regarding Hibernia.
Interestingly enough, Pauline and Caitlyn have met each other. It was during the time of strained diplomatic relations and Pauline was sent by the Couriers and Duncan to change that. She meets Princess Caitlyn of Clonmel in a historic meeting that reopens relations between the two kingdoms. On opposite sides of the sea, Ferris and Halt are sweating under their crown and cloak. Out of anyone, Pauline is certainly the most likely candidate to figure the secret out. She doesn’t, but she does form a fast friendship with Caitlyn and the pair exchange frequent letters over the years. After the meeting, Halt gets a letter from Caitlyn that simply says “I approve.” Halt can see Caitlyn’s smirk vividly in his mind, but rather than annoyed, he’s touched.
Will and Horace don’t know the truth, somehow Halt never mentioned that in the mission briefing, and once they get to Hibernia, are very alarmed at Halt acting even more suspicious than usual. His hood is pulled way down on his face and his face is dirtier than usual. Will and Horace think that Halt was ran out of Clonmel years ago for a crime he may or may not have committed. Halt doesn’t try to stop this train of thought because it fits with his reputation more and if there’s a chance to mess with the boys, he will. When they get to the castle, Will is expecting to have to pull out his ranger papers and present them to the guards but Halt just mutters a phrase that sounds oddly like “Pure, Rock, Stop.” to the guards and the trio is let into the castle without a word and led into secret room adjoining the throne room. Will and Horace are super confused and apprehensive, especially when the king of Clonmel throws open the door, striding up to Halt with a frown on his face. Halt and the king, who looks exactly like Halt, stare each other down furiously for a few seconds before both break down into smiles and laughter all while hugging each other. Will and Horace are doubly confused. A few seconds later, a woman comes barreling through the doors and tackles Halt in a hug. The king joins the two of them and Will and Horace are freaking out in the background. Is Halt an assassin for the Clonmel royal family? A long lost relative twice removed? The hugging stops and Halt explains the situation but really badly so Will and Horace still only have the barest idea of why this is happening and why Halt looks like the king of Clonmel. It’ll get explained later and make a hilarious story to tell. Halt still has to disguise himself as Ferris because it’s too dangerous for Ferris to face Tennyson and the siblings find it darkly hilarious that Halt has to pretend to be himself. Halt’s beard is still cut with a saxe knife (why deviate from the things you know?), but since Ferris doesn’t feel so much like a fraud in this universe, Halt does not have to rub soot in his hair. Sean is introduced to his uncle Halt for the first time that he can remember and it triggers brief memory of a shadowy man years ago. Sean stares thoughtfully at his uncle and grabs him in a tight embrace. Halt and Sean walk out of the cloak room and Sean is almost crying, he is so overwhelmed. Actually, everyone is crying. Ferris is almost bawling from emotion and Caitlyn is tearing up. Will and Horace can’t tell if the O’Carrick’s are crying because it’s so overwhelming or if they all find the situation too darkly funny. It’s probably both, decides Horace. It’s definitely both.