Playing Princess

Playing Princess 2.28 Final

She was so still. I’d never seen a person lie so still before.

“She’ll live,” I murmured to myself. Glancing at Kyle, I crossed my arms and licked my lips. “She’ll live, right?”

“The bullet punctured her lung.” Kyle shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets. “But she’s breathing fine. Just lost a lot of blood. Lucky Joey was there.”

“Yeah, lucky,” I said softly. Through the narrow window gap in the door, I spotted Joey seated beside his sister, his hands clasped around hers. Allegra had been pale before but now, she just looked deadly.

“From what I know, if she wakes up, she’ll recover just fine,” Kyle mused. “But she looked pretty bad.”

“What she did was wrong.” A slight hint of bitterness dripped off my tone but it had already been a week; long enough to calm down. Allegra had been kind to me from the beginning. There had to be a good reason why she’d turned on us like that.

At least, that was what I wanted to believe. Joey hadn’t allowed any visitors since, and he had no idea Kyle and I had snuck off to check up on Allegra.

I’d done my hair up in a bun then tucked it beneath a beanie, my disguise topped off with a large pair of sunglasses.

Yet that didn’t stop some of the passing patients or nurses from giving me sidelong glances. I just hoped it was because they wondered why a traitor to the Crown had visitors, instead of recognising me as Izzy’s sister.

I couldn’t help but wince at the damage that had occurred that day. Though I received the scolding of my life once Peyton and my mother realised I was back in Aldern, I couldn’t have been happier to see them at the ball, after the attack. Not only had we surprised the entire security system since there were now apparently twin princesses, but the King himself. My own father.

Andrew had apparently forgotten to tell him that I was here, or let him in on the plan. He had claimed it had been a smart move on his part, since Elliot was probably prone to tell Slater who turned out to be a cult member from the beginning.

A shiver ran up my spine then skittered down my arms, my skin prickling.

Of course it had to be him. Even those closest to the King couldn’t be trusted.

“I still can’t get over your ridiculous attack on Slater,” I spoke aloud, trying to break the tension.

Kyle grinned broadly. “My greatest moment, yet.”

“So you’re saying your international chess title isn’t worth much anymore?”

His smile faltered. “Wait, let me rethink that –”

The door opened and Joey stepped out, dragging his feet. He looked up slowly, and by the time I could see his face, I was taken aback at how haggard he looked.

In fact, he looked horrible: pale skin clung to his gaunt face, his eyes were dull and lifeless, his hair was mussed and unkempt, as if he’d slept on it for days on end.

“What do you want?” Joey straightened a little and shut the door behind him gingerly.

“We were just checking,” Kyle stepped in before I could bite back.

“We don’t need your money, your help, or your anything,” he said sharply. “Now leave. And tell the King –” Venom dripped from the very word. “– to stop sending us money. I – we don’t need it.”

I stepped out from behind Kyle. “Joey, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Those medical bills are soaring, Allegra has an arrest warrant set out for her and your family still has some debt to pay off –”