Try the Duplication Spell

There really isn’t much need to dwell on this. Using the spell is a no-brainer. Duncan carefully reads through the instructions, relieves that the spell doesn’t call for “eye of newt” or “the pubic hair of a one-armed dwarf,” or anything else that he doesn’t have on hand. The spell is, in fact, rather simple, so after silently rehearsing the words a few times in his head, Duncan is ready for the real thing.

Straightening himself and taking a deep breath, he says the words:

That which is one

I now make as two.

Let a clone of myself

Now come into view.

My body and mind

I do supplicate

To make a new me

As they now duplicate.

Duncan feels a moment’s disorientation and then blinks in wonder as he sees himself looking back at himself.

“Sweet!” says both versions of the prince at the same time, immediately followed by laughter and delighted claps from each.

“This is going to be awesome,” said Duncan, and he held up his hand for a high-five from his duplicate. The copy responded with an enthusiastic smack of the original’s hand. Both young men immediately yelled in surprise and examined their hurting hands.

“Not so hard!” they both said, together. Then, as they contemplated the experience, Duncan said, “Of course! The book says that when we touch, the memories and experiences we gained while apart will merge together. That high-five felt twice as intense because we each felt our own pain plus that of the other.”

“Brilliant,” responded the double. “You’re not only the best-looking man I’ve ever seen, but you’re also the cleverest!”

“Funny... I was about to say the same about you,” responded the prince. “Now, shall we make sure this will work? How about you read a few pages from one book, and I’ll read another, and then we’ll see what happens when we combine those experiences?”

They each grab a nearby book from the shelves and begin to read. After a few minutes, they set the books aside and regard each other. “Ready?” asks Duncan.

They tentatively reach out as if to shake each other’s hand. After a brief moment of disorientation, identical looks of wonderment and delight come over their eyes.

“It works!” exclaimed Duncan. “You read about the defeat of the Lochner Clan at Bazelroth Canyon!”

“And you were reading about the anatomy of the Eastern Legume Moth!” responded his duplicate. “Do they really have penises that are three times the size of their bodies?”

They both grin at each other, knowing they are sharing the same thought — that they wished there was a spell that would make them take on a certain characteristic of the Eastern Legume Moth.

“This is the best idea I’ve ever had,” says Duncan. “I’ll get through all this work in no time at all. We just have to be on the listen for MacTavish. He’ll burst a blood vessel if he finds out what we’ve done. So... how should we do this?” He looks at the assignments MacTavish gave him to read. “Which one do you want?”

His double is only half listening. His eyes are focused out the window. Duncan follows his gaze to the courtyard and sees Courtney, his sister’s closest friend and lady-in-waiting.

“I want her,” said the duplicate, whom we will refer to as Duncan-2.

Duncan smiles ruefully. He’d much rather spend some time with Courtney than to be confined here in the Library. “If we hurry and get through all this stuff, we’ll have extra time for fun later on.”

Duncan-2 rubbed his chin and said, “Actually, we can do both. Why don’t you stay here and read, and I’ll go see if I can be of any assistance to Courtney? After all, once we reconnect at the end of the day, it will seem to each of us that we have done both.”

Duncan knew that to be true, but he didn’t relish the idea of being stuck with dusty books while his double had all the fun. Besides, there’s no telling what kind of trouble he’d get into if anyone found a duplicate of himself running around, doing all the things he knew he would do, himself.