A Crown's Game|✔︎UNDER MAJOR EDITING

-Chapter One-

-ASPEN

Over the hills, I can see the mist emerging, the sun peeking out in the slightest, and I immediately know that I'm late.

    I reach over to the outfit laid out from me and change as quickly as possible. Once on, I sneak out of my room and tread down the stairs quietly, and I run out the back door.

And there she sits, my best friend, Dandelion Peterson, Twelve. Or Dandy, as I like to call her. Her wavy blonde hair and cobalt blue eyes stand out. And then, she looks up and frowns. "You're late."

"Sorry, I slept in. Big day." I look down.

She raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" She stands, brushing off the occasional piece of dirt.

"The Queen's dead," I pause, "They are hosting a Crown's Game."

"What time?"

"11 am."

She whistles. she hands me my old water stained satchel holding my hunting knives and some nets. We walk out from behind the house, the golden sun peeking out from the forest.

"We better get lucky," She mutters on her way in, PE in hand.

PE, or Plant Encyclopedia, was a device that recorded every living plant, it's a rarity, and a good fifty facts about it. She adores this object, as it was given to her by her mother and her mother before that. Dandy really is a plant whiz, and I could already see her kneeling over some purple plants, her face bright.

"Aspen! Look!"

I rush over to her, and there it was, a Cassidy. The flower was created by the Thecian government because the country was dying. Cassidys' help trees and other flowers grow because they don't need water or sunlight to survive, so more for the others. Their roots grow underneath the grass and feed water to dying plants, until they wither out and release their pollen, so that others will grow.

They are worth a lot.

She picks a few and squeals. "This should get me at least thirty Lexas!"

I smile. "I'm gonna go find some squirrels." I venture a little farther into the woods, and just then, a squirrel scampers up a tree, and I throw a knife, making it fall to the ground. I run over and pick it up.

Well, this might get me at least 5 Lexas.

"Aspen! I just realized it's Mincey Monday!"

    Then It might just get me 10.

Mincey Monday happens once a month, and our whole village basically lived on it. It started a couple years ago, when these two kids named Robyn and Jacklyn started a soup business. It was called "Mincey Madness Of Soup". Yes, it's a weird name. Every month they would sell free soup on a Monday. And so Mincey Monday was born. Now everyone also has sales on Mincey Monday, and it's become a village-wide festival.

I'll probably get sell some of my rotting squirrels and chipmunks. Dandy taught me how to cover up the rotting scent. All I do is collect the money and run. No one wants a rotten squirrel, so I usually make that purchase last. I also collect spider webs, because although my mom wants me to buy string, spiderwebs work fine.

"Ready to go?" Dandy calls.

    "Yea," I respond, slinging the bag over my shoulder.

    We walk out of the woods, and I can tell that it's around 9 am, with people outside of their houses, walking to the market, socializing. Through the crowd of people dressed in their gray, bland outfits, I spot Liam, arguing over the price of turkey.