Page 77 of Things Get Dark
“Princess.”
Mikeal
Isaw the momentmy princess thought there was any hope for her and I won’t deny the satisfaction I took in stealing it from her.
My twin brother and I have known for some time now what would be expected of us. Twins are rare but have happened in our colony before. Normally, the eldest son inherits the leadership role so there had to be measures in place for this situation.
Twins aren’t unheard of. The Greenhouse values life and fertility and multiple births are viewed as sacred. We aren’t the first set in history. This ritual was put into place for a reason.
The Ceremony was always our destiny, just like Reina.
The twin children of the leader should select one person from the community, gender and sexual preferences considered, and then hunt them in the woods to claim their life partner. Whoever claims the Chosen will be the next Leader of The Greenhouse.
We’ve always known we would select Reina. The other young women who hoped for this position stood no chance.
Amos and I had to decide on our Chosen so that one of us couldearnthe privilege of capturing her. Our rules were laid out clearly and we played by them.
Select our Chosen and prepare to win her.
For hours, we’ve sat through all the rituals and heard all the prayers. We’ve been wished luck by the elders. Then we listened to our father explain before the crowd how the events would go.
My brother and I were to start on opposite sides of the wooded area with no view of Reina’s starting point. She’d be blindfolded and walked to her own starting position shortly before midnight.
Once the new day began, she’d be given back her sight so that she could run and hide, while we attempted to find her.
As if she ever stood a chance.
However, our playing by their rules wasn’t out of duty or respect. While we understand our position here clearly, we knew that the time for disruption and chaos was coming.
Amos was adamant that we tell Reina about The Ceremony, despite the tradition dictating that we must not let the Chosen know. I almost broke too. However, the game of chase would be a lot less thrilling if she had warning.
I need her fear.
It’s sick and twisted but this girl has never bent to anyone. Tonight, she will bend for my brother and I. Or maybe she will break.
Either way, I crave it. Since the day she tried to put me in my place, I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to return the favor.
“Princess, you aren’t scared…are you?” I taunt her, running my tongue over the top of my teeth.
She spits. “Pendejo.”
It’s not the first time she’s used Spanish to insult me. Her and her mother speak it frequently in their home. When we were younger, she taught us all the bad words she knew.
“Now, Reina. That wasn’t very lady-like. You know your role now, you might as well step into it with grace.” My tone is condescending. I want to rile her up. I want the fight.
“Get fucked, Mikeal.”
That wasn’t very nice. She must see the change in demeanor her words have brought forth because her eyes begin shifting, trying to find a path to safety. But there isn’t one. We made sure of it.
“Run, Princess. You’re not going to like what happens when I catch you but chasing you down will make it even more fun for me.”
She doesn’t hesitate. Running for her life, she takes flight.
I give her a ten second head start, taking in deep breaths while trying to control the hard on pushing against my pants.
Reina doesn’t disappoint, running as fast as she can.
Unfortunately for her, my twin and I are experienced hunters in these woods and have placed our own traps and placed plenty of equipment in the area for tonight’s festivities.