Bad Blood

Chapter 13: Vincent's worries

"Amelia?" Vincent knocked on Amelia's bedroom door again and again. "Amelia, open up, it's me." He kept trying. When he saw Amelia run away from breakfast, he immediately told his dad that he went too far, and then he rushed after Amelia. But now she wouldn't open her door. "Amelia, please."

"Leave her," Lorena said as she walked to Vincent. "She clearly wants to be alone."

Vincent stopped and let out a deep breath. "Dad went way too far, she didn't deserve that."

Lorena nodded.

"It's not Amelia's fault her mom decided to have a one night stand."

Lorena once again nodded. "But she's the product of that."

"But she didn't choose to be," Vincent sighed once more. "It's not fair she gets judged because of her mother's actions."

"You're right," Lorena then walked to the door and started knocking too. "Amelia?" She knocked again. "We're here for you, we're on your side."

Vincent smiled when he saw his sister do that. He knew she was concerned about family, about Amelia. Unlike their dad.

"We'll give you some time alone but please, if you need to talk to someone, we're here." Lorena said before retreating. She then looked at Vincent. "Let's give her some time."

Vincent looked at the door one final time before following his sister back to the dining area. They both sat down at the table, where their dad was almost finished with his breakfast.

"So, how is she doing?"

Vincent rolled his eyes and then looked down, he started eating. Next to him, he saw Amelia's breakfast. He sighed.

"She wants to be alone," Lorena said as she dug into her breakfast too. "I think she's still having a hard time with her mother's passing."

Piers sighed as he put his empty plate aside. "My sister should never have gotten an illegitimate child. There's no good thing about that."

Vincent kept his head down, trying so hard not to listen to the nonsense his dad was saying.

Lorena slowly nodded. "It was indeed a stupid move on aunt Cassandra's part," She said, immediately making Vincent look at her in disbelieve. "But it's not Amelia's fault."

"She gets the blame for the thing her mother did," Vincent finally said, defending Amelia. "And that's not right."

"Amelia is the successor in Cassandra's lineage. Whether she likes it or not, she'll get the blame for the things her mother did. Because she's last in that line." Piers said, then he got up. "Now, I'm going to today's meeting." He then looked at his kids. "You should hurry, they won't wait for you."

"We'll hurry, dad." Lorena said to which Piers nodded and left. Lorena then looked at Vincent. "Are you almost done?"

Vincent nodded. "I wonder what the meeting is about."

"It's about border control."

Vincent raised his eyebrows. "Border control?"

Lorena nodded. "They want to put guards at our borders so they know who gets in and out of the kingdom."

"That sounds terrible," Vincent said as he put his empty plate aside. He then got up, to which Lorena followed his example. "People won't like that."

"People like safety, they will like border control." She then walked away, to the meeting room. Vincent followed her.

When they arrived in the room, their father motioned them to sit down next to him. When they did, Vincent looked around. "Where's Amelia?" He asked his father, but he was too busy greeting everyone.

Then Lord Ernest, the oldest member and spokesman for the Crown, stood up. "We've gathered here to discuss our borders and whether we should put guards at every entrance."

"I think we should..."

Vincent didn't listen to Lord Rufus. Instead, he looked at his sister. "Lorena?" He whispered. "Lorena?"

Lorena looked at Vincent. "What?"

Vincent scooted closer. "Where's Amelia?"

Lorena looked at the biggest chair at the table, which was empty. She then looked at Vincent, shrugging. "She probably needed more time." She then continued following the debate.

"I think border control is exactly what we need. "Prince Piers said, immediately gaining everyone's attention. "We should think about the safety of our people, which is why knowing who gets in and out of this kingdom is a necessity."

The lords all seemed to agree with him. "I think this meeting was just a confirmation of a rule we all agree on." Lord Robert said, chuckling.

"So it's a new rule?" Lord Brock asked everyone.

Then they looked at Lord Ernest. He got up. "It's a new rule." He took a tiny hammer, ready to declare the new rule as accepted.

"No, it's not." Vincent said, getting up.

"Vincent, sit down!" Piers mumbled angrily. He tried pulling Vincent down. "Down!"

Vincent shrugged his dad off and then looked around the table. "Aren't we forgetting something?" He asked to which everyone looked around before settling their gaze back on Vincent. "The only person who can accept a new rule isn't here to do so."

Then they all looked at the biggest chair at the table, the chair of the ruler. Lord Ernest looked at Vincent. "If our Queen decides not to show up in meetings, we have the right to accept rules."

"Maybe our Queen wasn't informed about this meeting," Vincent said. He knew he was risking his family's reputation here, but he felt like something was going on. He wondered if Amelia was purposely not informed. "I demand we reschedule this meeting so the Queen can be a part of it."

Everyone gasped at Vincent's tone, but Lord Ernest sighed. He knew he couldn't deny this request. "Very well," He looked around the table. "We'll reschedule the meeting to tomorrow, same time." He then looked at Vincent. "Is that good for you?"

Vincent nodded and then got up. He left the meeting room and ran to Amelia's room. "Amelia!" He knocked on the door. "Amelia, please open up."

There was still no answer.

"Please," Vincent sighed as he leaned against the door. "I've got important things to say," He then looked at the door. "Things that might get in the way of your secret meetings."

Then suddenly the door opened. "Get in." Amelia went aside so Vincent could enter.

In the hallway, hidden in a different corridor, someone else had been eavesdropping. And that someone now knew that the Queen was meeting up with someone, outside the border.