"A locator chip?" Alyxia queried as she explored the mansion in the light of the late morning, Reiley and Farron at either side. "In Farron's shoulder?"
"Yep," Farron confirmed, his hands buried in his pockets. The sunlight shone through the ceiling-high windows, casting a sort of halo around Farron's brunet head. "We got it out though."
"Who is 'we'?" Alyxia demanded, getting more confused by the second. "And when did this happen?"
"I gouged it out of him," Reiley answered grimly. "Last night, while you were sleeping." The faintest of smirks played on her lips. "And I made sure it hurt."
"Real considerate of you, Reiley," Farron retorted, rubbing his shoulder. "But it was unavoidable, I guess; I didn't want to disturb your sleep, Alyxia."
"Like she would have done it," Reiley snorted. "Our Royal Highness here is famously squeamish. She likes you, but she doesn't like you that much."
"Reiley!" Alyxia exclaimed indignantly. At the sound of her raised voice, Beckett immediately appeared out of the shadows and in their path, forcing them to a halt.
"Is anything the matter, Your Royal Highness?" Beckett inquired. "Has Griffin been acting inappropiately? I assure you, she will be sternly-"
"How did you pop up here?" Alyxia puzzled.
"I am always at your beck and call, Your Royal Highness," Beckett answered. "Should I reprimand Griffin?"
"That will not be necessary," Alyxia ordered, annoyance pricking her. "She is my friend, and not your underling."
To her further annoyance, Beckett simply nodded and bowed. " Understood, Your Royal Highness. Remember, I shall be around if you require my services." He stepped aside, allowing them to continue their walk through the mansion.
"As I was saying," Reiley resumed as they marvelled at the elaborate portraits of Alyxia's ancestors and family members which adorned the walls, " We destroyed the chip, but Ignis could have already gotten our location. This place is compromised. "
"Are you saying we have to leave?" Alyxia sputtered, whipping her head around to face the other girl. "But we just got here! I just got my family back!"
"I know it's inconvenient," Reiley reasoned, "But remember that Ignis isn't just after you; they'll take any chance to get their hands on royal family members. Your family are sitting ducks up here."
"So what, at least I'll be with them!" Alyxia burst out. "At least I won't be out on the road again, with no home and no clue who I am or where my destination is!"
Reiley sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're being unreasonable. Moving around's our best bet. If you want, maybe we can find some secure channels of communication so you can keep in touch-"
"Ah, because you always know best, right?" Alyxia scoffed. She was finding it immensely hard to contain her anger and pain. To lose her family when she had just found them, when she finally felt that she belonged somewhere? She would simply not let that happen.
"You're lashing out," Reiley stated, her calmness sounding increasingly forced. "You should think it over for a bit, then maybe you'll come to your senses."
"I assure you, I am perfectly in my senses," Alyxia fumed. "You know what, just because you barely have a family doesn't mean that you get to deprive me of a family too!"
Dread and regret immediately set in the pit of her stomach as she saw Reiley stiffen. "I'm sorry," Alyxia choked out. "I didn't mean what I said."
"No, you did," Reiley acknowledged. "And you're right. Families exist to complicate things. So I suggest you say your goodbyes before you get slaughtered with the rest of them because of your own pride, idiocy and inability to detach."
"Yeah, and detachment worked out just fine for you, didn't it?" Farron shot, stepping protectively in front of Alyxia. Ignoring the spontaneous butterflies that erupted in her stomach, her subconscious registered that they had stopped right in front of the doors which led to the dining hall.
"I'm sorry, we must be having different conversations because I don't remember asking for your opinion!" Reiley fired back. "Besides, it's all your fault we're in this mess anyway. If you'd fessed up earlier, we wouldn't be on the run again."
"Uh, guys-" Alyxia started, but Farron broke in.
"I could have easily kept the chip a secret and let Ignis come for you, but I didnt. I deserted the organisation that raised me for you, and this is the thanks I get?" Farron demanded.
"Guys, I think-"
"Oh do you want a gold medal?" Reiley mocked. "Newsflash: we make sacrifices so that she doesn't have to. Isn't that what we agreed to, Farron?"
"Guys, listen to me!"
"What?" Reiley and Farron snapped at the same time, darting their heads to look at her in unrehearsed synchronisation.
"I think you have an audience."
They followed Alyxia's outstretched hand which gestured to the open dining hall, in which all of the adults were gathered.
Alyxia gave a nervous wave to her family. "I apologise for them. They can be at odds quite often."
"Not an issue," the woman from her father's side of the family, grandmother Terra, dismissed as she waved Alyxia inside. Reiley and Farron followed, sheepishly ducking their heads in the presence of the royal family.
"We were meaning to summon you and your...companions either way," Grandfather Boreas admitted. "Take a seat, the three of you."
They obediently slid into three empty chairs, as Alyxia surveyed the room. Both sides mirrored each other's impassive expressions, and it was clear that something was not sitting right with them.
"We have been informed that you intend to leave," Grandmother Terra began, scanning Alyxia with her eyes. Alyxia felt as if she had been turned into stone by her gaze. "Is that true?"
"We have reason to believe there's serious risk to the family if-" Reiley answered, but was immediately cut off by a sharp gesture from Grandmother Terra.
"I was talking to my grandchild, not you," Grandmother Terra chastised, and once again turned her attention to Alyxia. "Well, Princess?"
"Um..." Alyxia trailed off in a manner most unbecoming, her mouth suddenly dry. "I haven't really thought about it. But-"
"Well then, that's that," Grandmother Terra announced with an air of finality in her tone. "There was absolutely no need for us to panic and jump to conclusions. Alyxia isn't leaving."
"Hold on," Alyxia ventured. "I never said-"
"Do you mean to say that Beckett is not a reliable source of information?" Grandfather Boreas demanded. "He has been working for us for decades, and has always reported to us perfectly!"
"So Beckett was spying on us," Farron reflected, running his hand through his hair. "Why am I not surprised?"
"But Her Royal Highness has just confirmed that she is staying here, which is contrary to the information he gave us," Grandmother Terra replied. "She's remaining with us, and will remain here until this whole awful affair blows over."
"Uh, you're putting words in my mouth there-"
"You're putting words in her mouth!" Grandfather Boreas retorted as murmurs arose among the rest of the gathered adults. "Your side of the family does not speak for her on our watch!"
"Neither does yours!" Grandmother Terra boomed. "Just because she has your family name, it does not mean that you have a trademark over her!"
Both heads of the families were on their feet, and the murmurs of disagreement had turned into shouts of protest and reprimand. Alyxia could barely even hear her own thoughts as she watched the two divided groups which she called her family fight at each other's throats.
"Well this is great," Farron quipped as he fought to be heard over the ruckus. "Didn't know your families were professional screaming match champions!"
"Neither did I!" Alyxia yelled. So much for not wanting to leave.
Reiley poked Alyxia in the shoulder and jutted her head towards the set of doors which were lying ajar, as if to indicate a way for them to get out. As Alyxia's family squabbled amongst each other, the triad silently left their seats and slipped out of the warzone.
Alyxia let out an audible sigh of relief as they shut the door behind them. "That was terrifying. I never want to see that again."
"Families really are disappointments," Reiley reflected, patting Alyxia on the shoulder. "Welcome to the club."
"They really went to bat against each other over you, huh?" Farron griped. "Must be nice."
"Not the time for 'the grass is greener' sentiments," Reiley growled as they gradually made their way to the garden after grabbing their royalty-issued winter coats. Alyxia shuddered with delight as she pulled the warm fur over her body. Her family may not have known how to get along, but they really knew how to deal with the frosty winters of Thanna.
It was for this reason that she could take pleasure in the icy wind that whipped through her hair as they stepped outside. In front of them, they younger children frolicked in the sbow, while the older ones sat at the steps and chattered amongst each other.
"There you are," Beau greeted as he spotted the trio, a corner of his mouth lifting up in what Alyxia could only assume was a smile. "I know you're the heir to this entire kingdom and all, but I still have to keep tabs on you."
"Join us!" Khi chimed good-naturedly as she patted an empty marble space near her. Alyxia graciously sat down, while Farron settled down near Beau and Reiley slid in next to Alyxia. "Us youngins have to stick together, right?"
"You can say that again," Alyxia giggled nervously. "I should have probably taken your warning about the animosity between the adults seriously."
Alyxia recounted the events in the dining hall with occasionally inputs from Reiley and Farron, while the rest listened in rapt attention. Beau and Khi's faces were portraits in stoicism while Arion seemed depply engrossed, and Mel seemed as if she was physically hoding back tears in a similar manner to the way that Lia was holding back her laughter.
Arion whistled lowly as the story ended. "If I were you, I'd run away as fast as I could from this place."
"It isn't always this bad, though, is it?" Alyxia enquired, hoping against hope that she was right. "Please tell me it isn't always this bad."
"It's usually worse," Beau admitted with a small shrug. "They must have been toning it down in your presence."
"Great," Reiley grumbled. "If they get any louder, they'll lead the Imperial Army right to us."
"Haven't you tried reasoning with them?" Alyxia ventured. "They'll listen since you're kids, right?"
"Quite the opposite, actually," Mel replied mournfully. "Since we're just kids, we don't get a say in anything that happens in the family."
"But on the bright side, at least they can agree on that one thing, right?" Lia beamed as she nudged her twin with her elbow. "Besides, we all get along just fine. That's a definite win for me."
It was at that specific moment that a stray snowball hit Mel right at the back of her head. The young girl rose up in rage, scooped up a ball of snow and threw it in the general direction from which the guilty ball had arrived. It found its mark on Demi's shoulder, who quickly responded with a snowball of her own.
"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Lia declared with a beaming grin on her face as she scooped up snow and fashioned them into balls as ammunition. In due course they had a full fledged war on their hands, each person for themselves as they dodged and hurled snow. The older ones joined the younger kids, Beau and Reiley even teaming up to get as many people as possible.
Alyxia quickly jumped over Laurel's snowball as she threw one at Farron's back, and burst into laughter as she took in Farron's indignant expression. She immediately changed course though, as Farron began to chase her through the thick snow and the barrage of snowballs. Her cheeks and stomach hurt from laughing too much; as she remembered, she hadn't had a lot to smile about for a while now.
At the end of it, with all of their energy spent, she crawled to the stoop in front of the doors while some children lay down in the snow to make snow angels. Next to her, Farron chuckled as he shook the snow from his unruly hair, the icy white a stark contrast to his dark brown hair. "Good game."
"Wasn't it?" Alyxia exulted, unable to stop smiling. "To think I wasn't able to have any of this for most of my life."
"It's a shame," Farron agreed. "You deserve to be happy with your family." He stopped in his steps as he stared at her, pursing his lips to hide a smile. "You've got snow on your hair."
Despite the cold, Alyxia felt her face heat up. "Really? Where is it? Oh lord, this is so embarassing!"
"Not embarassing," Farron corrected as he took a step closer, causing Alyxia's heart rate to skyrocket. He gently stroked her hair as he brushed the snow off with his hand. "Just cute."
Alyxia was saved from potentially embarassing herself even further by tripping over her words when Reiley swooped in and punched Farron on the shoulder. "Good game, Lennox."
"Ow, that's the bad one!" Farron yowled as he rubbed his shoulder protectively. "But I guess I deserve it for being an ass to you back there."
"Now that I think about it, you do," Reiley replied with a smirk on her face. "Anyways, apologies are in order. I should have taken your family into consideration, Alyxia."
"And I should have taken our survival into consideration," Alyxia admitted. "Does this mean we're buddies again?"
"When did we stop?" Reiley countered with a rare smile on her face. "We still do have a lot of planning to do about where we go from here, though."
"That can wait for later," Alyxia dismissed with a wave of her hand. "First, group hug!" She squealed.
"I really don't think that's necessary-" Reiley interjected, but Alyxia quickly pulled her and Farron into a hug before the former lieutenant could continue. She revelled in this sensation, of her arms around Reiley's and Farron's shoulders, and Farron's arm around her waist with Reiley's across her back. In the piercing cold of the snow that surrounded them, their embrace created a warm safe pocket in which she felt all of her worries disappear for the moment.
She knew the cold of the winter would seep in far quicker than she would like it to, but this burst of warmth was enough to see her through to the goal of spring in her future. The spring the Peninsula would only see if she succeeded in removing Ember Griffin's poisonous hold over the nation.
***
A/N
I told you not to expect fully regular updates. But in my defense, I'm sick as hell. Soooooooo yeah.
This is a bit of a filler chapter, I know, but character development is a thing I need to do so deal with it.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter and stay tuned for the next one!
-Lav.