[NOT THE PROMPT]

“Checkmate.”

I say to my opponent, the returning answer a look of pure disbelief.

He squints at me, then at the chessboard.

In a rushed movement, the losing player stands and throws the board to the ground, the pieces scattering around. He walks away, fuming.

I drop down and begin gathering the pieces.

“Holland, you mind helping?” I suggest firmly, looking back to the guard with a scowl.

“Your Highness, my job is to protect you, not pick up little chess pieces,” he responds, “plus, I’ve never seen you actually help anyone.”

I nod my head in forced agreement, standing up and taking care of the game.

“You know I can protect myself, right?”

“Oh, yes, you can. But, as far as I recall, you asked for help picking up chess pieces,” Holland assures.

“Weren’t you supposed to deliver a message? You rudely interrupted the game,” I remark, glaring my trademark daggers at him.

“Ah, yes,” he announces, “you have been requested, along with your brother, to meet at the library for a discussion about ruling.”

/ Finally! A discussion worth discussing. /

“What about Jasper? He’s not even awake at the moment,” I retort, disgust laced heavily in my voice.

“The news will be delivered to him as well. Don’t rely on his presence to go to the meeting, Your Highness.”

I scoff.

“Mother and Father won’t do a thing if Jasper isn’t present. He won’t wake up for another few hours. It’s still six A.M, Holland.”

“You know you can call me Marcus, right? It is my name.”

“I know. Holland just sounds cooler,” I insist to the guard, smirking as I touch his shoulder and push him away.

“Ouch,” Marcus complains before continuing, “anyways, maybe if you were to go early, your parents would simply choose you.”

My smirk fades to a grimace.

“He’s the ‘prince’ of Forestye, Marcus. He always came first.”

The memory of Jasper and I at the beach nine years ago floods my brain.

_Water flooded my ears and nose, and my eyes squeezed shut. I inhaled the clear liquid before I could do anything about it. _

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_The wave pulled me up long enough to shout. “Jasper!” _

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_Nothing… _

I clench my fists and close my eyes.

Marcus stands at my side.

“Caroline, are you okay?”

“Everything’s fine. I’m just… remembering the beach,” I respond, my voice strained.

He gives me a small smile.

“I know, Your Highness, I’m sorry.”

I return his smile and shake my head.

“Let’s go to the range,” I exclaim, “I have a new trick to show you.”

Both smiles grow bigger.

“This is why I became a guard.”

“No, actually you became a guard because you needed something to do. Speaking of, how did you manage to become head guard at 18?”

We laugh.

“I was a guard for six months before they promoted me a three months ago. I have no clue, still.”

We walk off into the sunrise, talking and laughing.

“You’re going to be Queen when you’re 18 in four months,” Holland points out.

This is why he’s not only my guard but my best friend.

_My eyes opened as I mentally checked my condition._

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_There’s no longer any water in my lungs or my nose or my ears. How? Jasper didn’t save me…?_

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_My eyes adjusted to the sunlight, a sense of unease washing over me. Am I dead?_

_Disoriented, I sat up, blinking several times. Finally, I manage to make out one of our knights’ son crouched in front of me. It’s Holland. Marcus Holland. The nine-year-old. He saved my life when Jasper couldn’t._

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-/\-

This one is formatted different because I copied it from Notes *because I use the app on my phone*

This is the prologue for Trials of Twins!