It was the sound of hooves thundering down the cobbled street that woke Cassandra. She sat up in her bed, immediately attentive, and looked at the clock. It was four in the morning. Cassandra jumped up, quickly splashing cold water on her face and throwing on her black gear before rushing out the door of her small bedroom. As she hurriedly laced up her combat boots and grabbed her weapons, she tried to think of anything that would bring the king’s men here, to her relatively peaceful city. With her exceptional hearing, she could hear the words “market square” and “important announcement” being muttered several times outside in the darkness of the morning. She was just focusing in on one of the conversations while slipping on her hooded cloak, when the door to her small house banged open.

“Cassie!” a feminine voice said. “ We need to get to the market place! There’s going to be…”

“Some big announcement. I know.” Cassie replied as the owner of the voice got closer.

A beautiful young woman with blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin turned the corner and burst into the living room where Cassandra was stringing her bow.

“This is so exciting! Apparently, the prince might even be there!”, the girl squealed

“God, Bex, calm down! It’s just an announcement.”, Cassie said, rolling her eyes at her best friend.

The two couldn’t be more different. Rebecca, or Bex as Cassie called her, was a light kind of beautiful. Everything about her was happy, cheerful. When you looked at her, you couldn’t help but think ‘She looks like sunshine and rainbows.’. She was wearing a peach dress her long blonde hair brushed over her shoulder. Rebecca Solomon was the epitome of a polite, soft-spoken woman to those who weren’t close to her. In stark contrast with her, her best friend wore black. Black everything. Cassandra had a dark, mysterious air around her. Her dark brown eyes were always shadowed and her silky black hair was pulled off her face in a braid that fell over one shoulder. She looked dangerous and exciting; someone who would kill you if she wanted to, but someone who also wouldn’t hesitate to save you if you were innocent.

“Are you coming?” It was Cassie who was the impatient one now. She was already at the front door, holding it open. Bex ran out, grabbing two apples on the way. She tossed one over her shoulder, knowing that Cassie, with her lightning fast reflexes, would catch it. Munching on their apples, they made their way through the dark streets towards the market square.

“So what exactly is this announcement about?” Cassie asked, taking a bite out of her apple.

“Well… I don’t really know. I guess we’ll just have to go see like everyone else for once. I’m sure it’s not important enough for you to dress like you’re planning to kill the entire King’s army.” Bex answered, glancing pointedly down at Cassandra’s weapons.

“It’s something important enough for them to wake up everyone at this god forsaken hour. I would rather not take the risk.”

“You don’t have to sound so excited, Cassie.” Bex said sarcastically. She knew Cassandra wasn’t a morning person.

“I like my sleep. I don’t like not knowing what’s happening though. Come on.” Cassandra said, ducking into a dark, empty alley. She smile deviously at Bex.

“Oh no. No, no, no. No. I know that look. Whatever it is, I’m not doing it.”

“Calm down. I’ll be back in ten minutes. The market place is right there, yes?” she said, pointing towards the back of the alley, where she could se the lights and the people milling around.  Bex nodded cautiously.

“I want you to go in there and mingle. Talk to people, see if you can find out what’s happening. Got it?”

“Okay. Meet up back here or in there?”

“In there. Ten minutes.” With that, she flipped the hood of her cloak over her head and jumped onto a cart that was near her. Reaching up, she grabbed the hanging sign of a deserted shop and pulled herself onto the roof. Crouching down, she winked at Bex, who started running towards the back of the alley that opened up into the market place. When Bex looked back, Cassandra was gone.

It was getting lighter. Cassie leaped from roof to roof with a speed and agility not quite human. She stopped and crouched at the edge of a building, listening intently.

“Are they all gathered? His Majesty wants to make sure everyone hears.”

She could faintly make out the voices that no ordinary human would ever be able to hear. They were coming from the tent that had been set up at the far end of the square. She got up ready to get closer, but whirled around instead, sensing a presence behind her.
“ I wouldn’t bother.” a strong British voice said. “ I doubt it’s anything important, much less anything to do with you and I.”
“Who asked about you? I’m only concerned if it has anything to do with me.” Cassandra replied. “ I like to know what’s going on around me, Alek.”

“Then find out when they make the announcement.” A blonde boy with golden eyes stepped out of the shadows. He was dressed similarly to Cassie, wearing black gear. Cassandra laughed quietly.
“ I assume you already know? If you didn’t I doubt you would be trying to stop me. So why don’t you tell me?”

“ Do I get something in return?” the boy said smirking. He already knew what the answer would be.

“ How about you keep that pretty little head of yours on?” Cassandra said, smiling sweetly.

“The prince is here. He’s going to announce some boring thing about the crops.”

Cassandra smirked. “Poor idiot. He’s just a puppet.” Alek chuckled at that.

“Want to go back? Where’s your faithful sidekick?”

“Let’s go” she said. “ And Bex is not my sidekick.”

They jumped off the roof they were on, landing silently in a crouch. Slipping into the crowd, they spotted a mane of blonde hair making it’s way towards them. They walked towards her.

“Hey Bex.” Cassie said.

“Cassie! I was right, I was right! The prince is here! He’s in that tent surrounded by those guards!”

“We know.” Alek interrupted. He was sitting on a stool that Cassie was pretty sure he had just taken from the fruit stall next to them.

“Oh, you’re here.” Bex said, her lip curling in disgust as she took in the sight of the boy in front of her. Cassie looked at her in amusement.

“ Don’t smother him with your enthusiasm now, Bex.” Cassie said, laughing.

“ Why are you here?” Bex asked, directing her question towards Alek.

Alek smirked and said “Well, here I was thinking I could say hi to my friend and not get assaulted by questions.”

“You are not my friend.”

“Who was it telling me that they thought Alek looked hot in his gear? Oh wait, Bex, wasn’t that you?” Cassie interrupted, smiling.

“You thought I looked hot?” Alek laughed.

Bex was bright red by now, and turned on her best friend when a horn trumpeted through the air calling for attention.

“We will talk about this later. We are seventeen year old teenagers, it’s completely normal to say that.” Bex whispered angrily.

“Shhh, okay, whatever.” Cassie said, rolling her eyes and turning her attention to the platform in the middle of the square. Alek laughed and got up, kicking the stool back over to the stall and coming and standing next to her. She looked over and he smiled down at her, his amber eyes twinkling.

“So how do you think I look in gear?” he whispered.

“Shut up.” she said.

The prince was climbing the stairs towards the platform. Cassie swore at least fifteen girls in the crowd almost fainted.

“Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to be in your beautiful city.” The prince said in a strong, deep voice. Cassie rolled her eyes at Bex.

“Someone’s laying it on a little thick.” she whispered. Bex snorted quietly.

“I am here today to announce that, as I will be turning eighteen this year, my father has declared that all farmers shall earn twice as much for the crops they grow and sell for the year. It is our way of showing you that we appreciate the support from everyone, including the lower class.” The prince stopped and waited for the cheering and clapping to begin, but in the square there was pin drop silence. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

“We will also be holding a week long festival at the palace to celebrate my coming of age. Everyone is welcome. I hope you will come.”

Now the cheers started. If you were a peasant, or anyone of the lower class, going to a festival in the palace was a once in a lifetime opportunity. The prince smiled and waited for the cheering to die down.

“Seriously? They woke us up at four in the morning for this.” Alek scoffed.

“ I have one more announcement to make. Please, would Rebecca Solomon to please make her way to the platform.” Whispers filled the square. Cassandra turned to look at Alek and Bex. “Uh oh.”

“Bex, you better go.”

Alek and Cassandra watched their friend make her way up to the platform. The prince definitely did not expect the owner of the name to be so pretty, because his mouth fell open. It was only for a second, but Cassie was trained to notice every thing.

“Hello, Rebecca.” The prince smiled at her.

“Prince Richard, Your Majesty.” She replied, curtsying

“I want to ask you about those two people you were with. The ones dressed in black.”

Bex, cool as ever, didn’t even hesitate. “I wasn’t with anyone, Your Highness.”
“Don’t lie to me Rebecca.” Richard said, looking deep into her eyes. Bex smirked slightly. This haughty prince thought he could get anything just by wooing ladies. Most girls fell for it. But Bex was not most girls.
“I’m not lying, Your Majesty.”
The prince’s face twisted, showing shock and surprise that his tactics hadn’t worked. He rearranged his features back into the calm smile, but Bex could see that it was strained. He sighed.

“Do you know why I want to see them? I think they might be the offspring of something… not human. I think they’re only part human. They’re special.” He whispered, leaning closer to her and smiling. Bex smiled inside. As if she didn’t know that. Only one of them was part angel. The other, her best friend, was part god and a lot of other things. But of course, His Majesty didn’t know that. She looked at Prince Richard. “I’m sorry sir, I don’t know anything about people like that.”

The prince snapped his head up and searched the crowd. His guards were milling through the townsfolk, who were looking around in confusion. Bex knew who his guards were looking for. She also knew that they would never find them. She heard a whisper in her ear “My house right after.” She smiled and turned around just in time to catch the wink Cassandra sent her. When Bex blinked, her best friend was gone.