Page 101 of Remi's War (Four Dark Horsemen 2)

“I do not!” he snaps and then drops on the grass right in front of me, crossing his feet and reaching for his own hamburger. “You just always like to be a prince.”

Octavius offers me a can of soda, and I nod while still listening to the boys bicker.

“I’m prettier than you.”

“No, you aren’t.”

“I am!”

“Whatever. Next time, I’m the prince, and Remi is the guard.” He glances at me. “Then we will switch.”

Too confused with this, I look at Octavius, who throws a nut in his mouth and shrugs.

I guess that’s supposed to be an answer in itself.

“Let’s play something else,” Florian suggests and sits up, excitement shining in his eyes. “Now that there are the four of us.”

Munching on the hamburger and drinking my soda, I’m really afraid to say a word, because they aren’t cruel to me.

In fact, they even want to play with me!

How strange.

“Figures you change your mind once I have a chance to win,” Santiago grumbles and swallows his bite before asking, “What do you want to play?”

“The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!” Florian exclaims, and my brows shoot up. I heard about the myth; the pastor once mentioned it.

“We go to private school and have tutors,” Octavius explains, as if that’s supposed to mean something to me.

“Okay,” I say and bite on my hamburger again.

“So each one of us picks a horseman, and we arrive on this earth to cause chaos!” Florian yells and jumps up, raising his arms while his friends just shake their heads.

Among the three, he seems to be the most cheerful one. And his finger pads are smeared in gray so he must paint a lot too.

“He’s my best friend in the whole world,” Santiago informs me, taking a napkin and wiping his hands. “But he is loco.” With this, he stands up too and then grabs a camera next to them, snapping a few pictures of Florian who makes funny faces.

“That’s great.” Since I have no clue what that word means either, I find the courage to ask Octavius, “What does it mean?”

“Crazy.”

“Oh.”

Well, I guess it’s fitting.

Santiago overhears it though. “You need to learn Spanish. All of us speak it. And French. And German.” I nod, although sadness fills me while I finish my hamburger.

They are very nice today. Maybe because they need a fourth member to play and are bored. But once it wears off, they will ignore me.

Princes are not friends with the commoner. Why would they want to be my friends anyway?

It’s not like I have any toys or could buy them sweets; plus, they will be too embarrassed to be seen with me in public.

“Who is your best friend?”

Octavius gives the boys the side-eye glance when they fight over the camera. Florian snatches it and runs away. Santiago is hot on his heels, though. “No one.” A beat passes, and he offers, “We can be best friends.”

“Great idea!” Florian yells, throwing his arm over Santiago’s shoulder as they sway to the rhythm of the music, the camera dangling around his neck. “This way it's fair.”

---