A Game Of Hearts

hearts

chapter 1| Caspian 

I did it. I can't believe I actually did it.

I stared at the reflection of the moon in the running water with disbelief on my face.

I finally escaped my mother. And that wretched kingdom.

I'm f*****g free.

I splashed water all over my face and grinned at my very faint reflection in the dark water. The evening was still silent with the distant noise of clashing metal promising the arrival of guards that are still unfortunately on my tail. It's surprising they haven't caught up to me yet.

Then again I had left articles of my clothing around the forest to 

 My jaw started to ache with how hard I was smiling. I'd not smiled in so long and the feeling felt weird but a good weird.

It was still dark out since I had fled in the evening during one of my mother's famous bloody evening ball. An event where she would empty out the prisons for the evening and allow all it's inhabitants to have a night of dancing, that's until they are all forced to kill each other. 

It seemed like the best choice to leave then, considering everyone including my mother and guards would be busy as everyone in the palace was expected (forced) to attend the ball as spectators. She told everyone that's it's just so they can too enjoy the show but we all knew the truth.

It was a subtle threat and a firm promise of what was to come if anyone dared cross her.

And she made sure we all got the message loud and clear.

I looked around in an attempt to recognize my surroundings but sighed as I knew it was hopeless. My mom had only given me a basic but not very educational rundown on all the other kingdoms in an effort to make sure I never figured out a way out.

But from the greenery starting to form on the ground in contrast to the forever frozen land I'd grown up in I could only assume I was nearing the Kingdom of Spades. The kingdom was our closest (and only) ally so maybe I could thrive better there.

I could camp here for the night and then make my way into KOS and lay low for a few months. Maybe I could play it off as a refugee or prisoner that managed to escape...no that's not believable, no one usually manages to. Maybe I could just play it off as a traveller from the Kingdom of Diamonds? I glanced down at my pale almost white skin and snorted. 

"Forget it. I'll figure it out when I get there."

"I'm sure you will" 

My head snapped to my right in shock. Whilst I was deep in thought I failed to notice someone creep up on me.

There was a woman a few feet away from me, washing her face in the river bank. She seemed to be unbothered by approaching a stranger as she carried on doing whatever she was doing without sparing me a glance

My eyes slowly drunk in her black leather-covered figure, unintentionally lingering on her wide hips. I saw her hand click in front of me and my eyes snapped back to her face, a dark blush covering my cheeks as I had been caught staring.

"Yeah, eyes up here buddy." 

She was darker skin confirming my thoughts that she was not from this kingdom. Runaway prisoner? My eyes travelled to her full cheeks and I crossed out that suggestion. All prisoners were starved until the day they were released from their suffering, that or they died of hunger.

Some even resorted to cannibalism.

I got to my feet and approached her slowly. How did I not hear her? Where did she come from? I watched her take out her bun and her long dark shiny hair came tumbling down and it was long. It was up to the back of her knees, the longest parts almost touching her ankles. She ran the cold water from the stream through her scalp.

How do you even manage hair like that...?

"So what did you do?" She asked. 

My eyebrows pinched together in confusion.

 "You're wearing the ruby sash of the royal heart family" She explained pointing at the sash across my chest that was mandatory for me to wear "From the way those guards were chasing after you I assume you stole it".

I looked at her warily as she began to tie up her hair once more. For her to know my origin would undoubtedly be dangerous considering it was far from believable and...my mother wasn't the most liked in the land.

 I internally sighed; I guess I'm going from a royal to a robber. "Yeah... Are you going to turn me in?" She threw her head back and let out a roar of laughter.

"Me?" She giggled "Nah, don't worry I don't like the heart family much family either" I winced. "As a matter of fact" She mused before flashing me a dazzling smile "I'm probably going to rob you too" She giggled, her tone and voice throwing me off her threatening statement.

Her hand sprang out to grab my sash and my eyes widened as my hand immediately flew up to grab her wrist.

Her eyebrows rose up in surprise before her eyes flashed with determination. She yanked me forward and I stumbled into her, heat crept up my neck as I looked down at her in shock.

 She leaned forward, a sly smirk on her face "You know, you're kinda cute". She leaned back and headbutted me.

My hand flew to my nose as I fell back holding my aching face. A ripping sound rang through the midnight air and I looked up to see my sash in her hands.

Well... whatever was left of it. 

I tried to be angry with her but the mischievous grin on her face and the playful look in her eyes I couldn't help but chuckle. "Okay nice game love, now give it back" She wrapped it around her neck like a scarf, the red rubies glistening under the soft moonlight.

"Hell no, this is worth five hundred thousand silver pieces" She grabbed her duffel bag and looked at me with a raised eyebrow "What you're not gonna fight me for it?"

Her stature was relaxed, telling me she wasn't really taking this seriously but she also seemed disappointed. She obviously came up to me in search of a fight.

"I don't hit girls sweetheart" Another laugh escaped her lips again making my heart flutter.

"Well, thanks for the new scarf!" She turned around and walked off for a few steps before turning her head to wink at me and then taking off into the dark woods. I bolted after her but she was surprisingly fast.

"Wait!" She glanced back at me with irritation on her face before picking up her already fast pace. I barely managed to keep up with her but that didn't matter as her arm stuck out suddenly to grab a random branch that was in her path, she quickly managed to lift herself onto it and soon she was scaling the tree with ease. 

I caught up to the tree she was climbing and I looked up. I could barely see her with the tree leaves blocking out any light leaving me alone in a dark forest with nothing but the sound of the rustling leaves of the tree and a thief that was slowly getting away from me and I could do nothing about it.

 I tried to grab the same branch she did to follow her but as soon as I put a little bit of my weight on it, it snapped.

A cruel cackle came from above me and I looked up to glare at her. "That was cute, cmon try again." I narrowed my eyes at her "Try again, look, I'll even wait for you" She jeered. She settled herself on a branch near her but as she sat a loud crack ran through the forest.

 Her eyes widened and she quickly scrambled to get on another branch but was to late as the branch gave way beneath her.

Panic struck threw me as I saw her body cut threw the air, breaking many in fact all the branches in her path as she was quickly approaching the ground. I ran to where I calculated she would land and brought my hands out to catch her. 

She landed in my arms and she immediately wrapped her hands around my neck to keep her balance.

"Thanks" She breathed in surprised. Her hair was messy from the fall causing wisps of it to fall in her face making her look startled and clearly shaken up by the fall but she quickly sobered herself up from it. "But I'm going to have to beat you up now" Her legs flew to my neck and she threw herself forward taking both of us to the forest floor. 

She tried to crawl away but I grabbed her ankle and dragged her back to me, she struggled as her feet kicked aggressively in an attempt to get me off but it was too late as I had pinned her beneath me.

She tried bucking me off and swung multiple punches but I caught her flailing arms and pinned them down. Her chest rose and fell as she caught her breath, realizing she was trapped. I took my short victory as a chance to grab my sash when my eyes zeroed on her empty neck.

Both our heads snapped up to see the silver sash hanging on a branch, flowing softly in the midnight breeze. "That was a pretty expensive scarf" I narrowed my eyes at her. She shrugged her shoulders with a smug look on her face.

"I guess no one gets the sash".

I shook my head "No no no no you're getting your ass back up that tree and collecting it for me"

"I don't want to" She bit back she began to fidget again, as she searched for a way out only making me pin her harder into the cold ground.

"What do you mean-

She silenced me by slapping her palm over my mouth. I looked at her questioning but her eyes shot me a look that said 'shut the f**k up'. I heard nearby horses that made my eyes widen in fear at how close in proximity they sounded. 

They soon faded away and we were quiet for a second till the mystery women shot me a glare, removing her hand from my lips. I spat to the forest floor dramatically. "Who knows where your hands have been" She scowled, clearly taking offence to my dramatics.

"Shut up the guards are still nearby they might hear you" She glanced around assessing our surroundings carefully. I frowned at the calculated but nervous look on her face, so she's a criminal on the run from the guards too.

I guess we now have that in common.

An idea popped into my head as I glanced down at her. She looked at me with spite "I'll scream" I smirked at her.

She raised an eyebrow at me, her eyes trying to call me out on my bluff but I kept my face stoic of emotion. "I don't care about getting caught but you seem to so if you don't get that for me I'll yell at the top of my lungs".

She didn't look impressed nor fazed. I shrugged and threw my head back and opened my mouth to scream. "AH-"Okay okay!" I stopped and grinned down at her, my smile only widening at the scowl that was on her face.

"Get off me" She snapped.

I raised an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes "I won't run get off!" I slowly got off her and we both got to our feet and dusted ourselves off.

I looked up at the sash that still hung on a broken tree branch, it taunted me from its unreachable height as the silver linings shimmered in the darkness. I had to get it, I wanted something to remember my father by and that's the last thing I had of his.

"I don't think I'll be able to get it," She said after a moment of thinking.

I advanced to her with a dark look in my eyes and she raised her hand to stop me "I actually can't, look" I looked up to see that all the branches she used to get up there had snapped from her fall and were now borderline unclimbable.

I chuckled darkly, all playfulness and attraction vanishing "Then I guess I'm going to have to kill you" She snorted.

"Well, you can try" I cracked her neck and my knuckles dramatically. "Orrrrrr" She stretched, her face still in thinking mode.

"What if I" She bit her lip to think, making my eyes zone on her plump pink lips.

"I can't get it but I can take you to the KOS, you were heading there anyways right? and there are faster ways of getting money there annnnnd I'll help you get away from the guards?" She negotiated. She seemed genuine but I couldn't really judge her considering she had just stolen from me moments before.

But she also had what I didn't. A sense of direction. At least with her, I'd know she'd at least be leading me somewhere and anywhere was okay really, just as long as it was miles away from this place.

I sighed knowing that this was better than nothing.

"Okay, let's go." She gave me a victorious smile and I shot it down with a dark glare.

"I'm sorry about your scarf by the way" She chirped as we began our journey.

"Shut up".