Playing Princess

Playing Princess 1.15

Why does it have to be so far away? I thought desperately, clutching my hands together only to let them fall apart then twiddle together again. Even at the furious speed Andrew was travelling at, we still had about half an hour left to go. Allegra was equally fidgety but whether it was from excitement or nerves, I wasn’t quite sure.

I was finally going to meet her; my twin sister. The only other sister than Peyton.

The thoughts tingled in my mind, a rush of giddiness surging through me. Allegra, Andrew and Joey had all done their best to tell me how to act like Izzy but all of that had applied to when she showed her face in public. Acting as Izzy sure as heck didn’t mean I was nothing like her. Even Allegra said so herself how different we were.

Except for that one time, I reminded myself dryly. We both cared for the people.

I wasn’t too sure how Izzy would have reacted but seeing as I was acting as the future Queen of a population, I thought it was only natural to feel personally concerned.

Shaking the thought off, I felt my hands tremble in my lap. What would she really be like? Our tastes in just about everything were so different. Would we even get along like we did as children? Would I even remember what she was like when I saw her?

The very thought of seeing her made sent a slight thrill through me. What would it be like, to see your very own reflection before you in person? Someone identical to me, minus the eyes.

“Oh!” Tilting my head back, I gingerly pinched the contacts from my eyeballs when the car suddenly jerked and my finger jabbed painfully into my eye. “Andrew, watch it!”

He didn’t reply, too focused on driving as if he were racing a car.

“You okay?” Allegra asked from beside me.

“Yeah,” I muttered, pulling the second one out and tucked them into my purse. “Just fine.”

“So is she safe?” the girl asked my brother, anticipation in her voice. “Did you see her yourself? How are you so sure –”

“I got tipped off,” he replied with a grunt, yanking the wheel violently. The car lurched to one side and I found myself pressed up against the window, the seatbelt tugging me tightly across the chest. “Izzy somehow got a message to me but as far as I know, she’s safe.”

Allegra let out a breath of relief and even I felt secretly glad. At least my sister wasn’t kidnapped or locked up or in danger like the other two in the car had guessed.

“I was wondering,” I started.

“Izzy, if you want me to get there in time, let me concentrate!” Andrew snapped, clearly aggravated.

Stunned, I clamped my mouth shut. Did he just call me Izzy?

Allegra’s pale hand suddenly found mine, squeezing reassuringly. She shook her head and smiled, seemingly much more relaxed than she was several minutes ago.

With a sigh, I returned to gazing out the window for the next half an hour.

It must have taken forever until the car drew to a screeching halt by a pair of wrought iron gates. Andrew and Allegra were out in a flash, slamming the door shut behind them while I scrambled out, struggling a little in the white dress. At least it only came down to my knees – but it had too many puffy tulle layers for my liking.

“Wait up!” I called, throwing the door shut and ran after them, grateful for the flat shoes Allegra had picked out for me. My shadow was elongated by the headlights that Andrew had kept on, the engine purring behind me.