The Deadliest Game

One - Princess Velvet Bishop

Princess Velvet Bishop

"Think it'll start raining?" I turn to my twin brother as we stop for a moment. The grass where the horses graze is still wet with morning dew, and the sun is barely rising. Still, the sky threatens rain. Mother would be very mad if we ruined our riding cloaks, especially since we aren't supposed to be out here at all.

"I hope not." Axel says, looking up at the clouds. He looks almost exactly like me. We have the same blonde hair and blue-grey eyes, with the same pale complexion. I've always been told the hair is from Father, and the eyes from Mother, but nobody has ever explained our skin. Everyone else has nice slightly tanned skin, but we look like we've never seen the sun.

"We should hurry." I nod to Axel, and he snaps out of thought.

"Yeah. The servants will be getting up soon." Axel nudges his horse, who starts to trot down the path. I squeeze my thighs against my horse Mare, and she follows Axel's horse.

As the sun rises higher, I nudge Mare into a gallop, passing Axel and his uncreatively named horse Bishop. I guess when Axel was eleven, Bishop seemed like a grown-up thing to name his horse because it's the King's last name, and he loves it even now. "Bishop is part of the family, so he gets the family name" Axel always justifies. I just shake my head and laugh every time he brings it up.

"You think you can go faster than ol' Bishop and I?" Axel laughs behind me, and I hear the clopping of Bishop's hooves speed up. I push Mare faster, and she responds. We fly down the path, getting closer and closer to the town. My hair comes undone from its clasp, and flies out from my royal purple hood. Riding fast always makes me feel free.

Suddenly, Axel is beside me, laughing and nudging his horse on. I give Mare a nudge and we edge in front of the boys. "Nice try!" I call over my shoulder. The sky is overcast, threatening to start pouring down at any moment.

"Hey! Slow down!" Axel yells as quietly as possible. I focus on where we are, and see the town. I didn't realize we were so close to home. I sigh, and draw the reins in. Mare lets out a disappointed whine, and I pet her mane.

"Only if you say I win." I smirk as Axel pulls up next to me.

"Yes, Velvet, you win. I really don't feel like getting in trouble today."

"Fine. I agree." I sigh. We ride silently down the dirty streets of the Commontown, and I almost gag at the terrible smell. These people get up the earliest, so we really need to hurry.

"Who died here?" Axel chokes, clearly disgusted.

"Probably lots of people." I laugh. Axel gives me a disappointed smile, because even though he's trying to be empathetic, I know my twin is cracking up inside.

"Here we go." Axel nods at the gate to the Inner City, and I jump off Mare, reins still in hand. I take the brass key from my neck and turn it in the hole. With a click, we're back home. The gate opens smoothly, and Axel rides through. I take the key back and drop it around my neck again. Mare allows me to mount her, and we walk onto the cobblestone streets of the Inner City. It's a little louder, but no one here will be up to work for another hour or two. Even the guards aren't doing their rounds yet.

The Stablehouse is still unlocked from when we got our horses a few hours ago, and Axel is feeding a Bishop a carrot when I ride in. He helps me unsaddle Mare and gives her an extra carrot. I clean my hands in the water pail by the door, and then dry them with the rag used by the stablehands. Father would have a fit if he knew how unladylike I was being right now. Mother might be proud. Maybe.

"Let's go." I clasp my hair back up and hold the door open for Axel.

"What's on the schedule for today?" Axel whispers as we walk around to under my third floor room. There's a balcony, and I left the sliding door open like usual.