Life or Death

Chapter One

For today's lesson, I'm trying to kill my one and only friend. For fun of course. My chest is heaving and my arms ache as I swing my sword around, blocking and parrying every move Andra makes. I've always liked to think of sword fighting as a deadly dance. One wrong step, and you're dead.

Our instructor, Winston, is calling commands from the sidelines, and I make the mistake of looking over at him, temporarily disarming myself for just the right amount of time Andra needs to beat me. When I looked back at Andra, she dropped down and swung her leg to sweep my feet out from under me, and I hit the ground hard. Next thing I know she has her foot pressed to my chest and her sword is an inch away from piercing my throat.

"All right, Andra, that's enough." Calls the instructor. She sheaths her sword and holds her hand out to help me up, and I take it. Before she starts to pull me up, I pull down as hard as I can, sending her toppling. She falls next to me. I turn her on her back and pin her.

"Really, Ness? Get off!" Andra hollers. I stand and she scrambles up, elbowing me in the side before walking past me.

We head back to the castle as though we weren't just fighting to death. We'll do the same thing tomorrow, and the next day, and every day until Matthias finally deems us worthy enough to let us work for him. Any other kingdom in Lideria would argue that a princess has a very high role and has the ability, power, and leverage to make changes in matters like politics or even wars. But here in Tarnow, it means nothing. Sure, you get food and shelter and revels, but other than that, you're a toy. A pawn in a much bigger game. So, I have to prove myself to be a bishop. Every day we come out to the training grounds, work ourselves to death, and spend the rest of the day taking lessons on how to rule. If anything were to happen to my brother or the general, Andra's father, we would be the next in line to rule, so we've been preparing since we could carry a blade or read a book. Not that I could take the role of ruler from Matthias' cold dead hands.

The general is much older, so Andra stands a chance at taking his role one day. But Matthias is young and hasn't gotten sick of being king yet. If anything, he's gotten worse since he was crowned at fourteen years old, right after my parents were killed. He's always throwing parties, bathing in forced praise, getting drunk, and hurting himself or someone else in the process. He's prideful and arrogant, and he is in no way ashamed of it. He's too drunk to care.

"Princess," I nearly jump when I hear a servant's voice from behind me. Andra and I turn at the same time to see a short, stocky man, around the age of forty. Many servants and messengers come and go throughout the castle, but I've seen this one many times and have never learned his name.

"Yes?" I speak in the most regal tone I can manage considering I'm covered in sweat, dirt, and a little bit of blood.

"His Majesty wishes to speak with you and Andra. In the throne room."

Andra frowns. "Do we have time to change?"

"He has permitted you half an hour to change and clean up. His Majesty says he has someone for you to meet." The entire time he speaks, he doesn't look either of us in the eye, he just stares at the ground. I know why, but I'm not cruel enough to call him out.

I look at Andra and she is just as confused as I am. Matthias has never had someone for us to meet, ever. Most of the time we hide in our quarters in the evenings when guests are around every corner. Still, we thanked the servant and headed to our wing of the castle.

Matthias thought it would be better for me and Andra to share a wing since we're such close friends, but we both know it's just so that he has more rooms to give to the guests and courtiers he always has stayed with him. Still, we don't oblige. I'd rather have Andra a room away than go through the castle and risk running into anybody I don't want to talk to. And it's not like I have people lining up to talk to me, anyway.

"Who do you think it is?" Andra's voice pulls me out of my trance. "That Matthias is having us meet?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I have no clue. Maybe he's finally found a courtier he's deemed worthy enough to marry him?"

"Maybe." We caught each other's eye and nearly burst into laughter. I start to take my braid out as we enter the side of the castle. The castle of Tarnow, the kingdom of life, is made entirely out of stone and is way too big for just a king and his sister and yet always crowded with guests. This is, of course, Matthias' doing. It has vines and beautifully intricate plants wrapping around the outside and inside. The specific ones I study as we walk have glowing flowers budding and blooming, the only light in the cold and narrow halls. We take a turn and enter the main room, the one where anyone coming from the village enters.

The stone floors have patches of grass and mushrooms growing from beneath them, and they brush against my boots as we walk towards the staircase that leads to our quarters. After what seems like ages of walking, we finally make it to our rooms. We barely do more than nod to each other as we close our doors and prepare to meet a stranger.

There's a dress laid out on my bed for me to put on, a soft blue one, vines with thorns embroidered on the corset in a darker blue thread. I make my way to the bathroom and see that one of my ladies' maids has drawn a bath for me. I tie my hair up in a way I've seen many girls in the mortal world do and step into the bath. I scrub the dirt and grass off my body and face and wrap a towel around me when I finish. I head back to the room and slide into the dress, which feels much lighter than expected.

As if on cue, two ladies' maids come and lead me to the vanity not far from my bed. One takes my hair down and starts brushing it while the other slips shoes that match the dress onto my feet and starts pressing powder on my face. The front pieces of my hair are pinned back, and blush is added to the apples of my cheeks. To complete the ensemble, the maid who is doing my makeup adds pinkish lipstick to my lips and shimmery glitter to my eyelids. When I look in the mirror, I am a completely different person than I was thirty minutes ago. A princess.

I step out of my room and cross the hall to Andra's. A short redheaded maid with shockingly blue eyes answers the door when I knock. Cherise, our favorite ladies' maid. Normally the maids don't respond when you talk to them unless you give them a command, but Cherise has no problem starting a conversation.

"Who is it, Cherise?" I hear Andra call from inside the room.

"It's Her Highness, miss."

"Oh. Well then let her in."

She steps aside as she lets me in, curtsying as she does so.

"Thank you, Cherise. And you don't have to curtsy or anything. Just call me Nessa, please."

"Of course, Your Highness." She winks at me, and I laugh.

Andra is ready to go, dressed in a long-sleeved gown the color of blood, and she's fastening on her sword. My own sword, Soul Breaker, rests at my hip. She has her blonde hair braided in an overcomplicated braid that falls over her shoulder, and she looks beautiful in a frightening way.

"Ready to go?" I ask. She nods and we make our way to the throne room to meet our supposed guest.