♡ Odette's POV ♡
It was twelve in the afternoon when I was notified that Zayn's cousins were coming over.
Several days had passed after the whole Prince Zayn incident, and I couldn't help but feel like his presence to me had changed. This new aura seemed to be released when I was around him, like a simple girl like me didn't deserve to be in a future king's presence, like I wasn't worth having someone like him adoring me.
However, my thoughts about King Zayn were soon diminished into thin air once Ivy had informed me Zayn was not next in line to the throne, in fact his cousin's family was the current ruler of the kingdom. The same cousins, coincidentally, that were coming over today.
Since Zayn's father had an older brother, he was not the king, but an accomplice to the throne, and would not be king unless something happened to his older brother's family. I winced at this fact, it was easy to see how power hungry rulers of history got their motivation of gaining power. Technically, Zayn was still a prince, and his sisters princesses, but they served only ceremonial purposes, Ivy telling me his oldest cousin Delia was the one true heiress left should anything happen to the king.
Apparently the Royal family coming over consisted of Zayn's uncle and his wife, and their three children, Delia, Sebastian, and Damian, their ages in that order. I was excited with meeting Delia, Falene raved on and on while she got me ready about how lovely the eighteen year old heiress was, and how pretty too.
I was put into a lemon colored sundress with a huge hat that resembled one Mother said she wore to horse races when she was young. Falene told me how much Princess Delia loved the outdoors, so she claimed to have dressed me appropriately for a day with the princess.
As she dressed me, I couldn't help but think about if I married Zayn, I would be a princess as well. However, if Zayn changed his mind before I married him and got his Mark, I could be thrown out of the house out of luck and out of royal sight. I shivered at the thought, and quickly ran outside once I was finished getting dressed, trying to shake the thought of Zayn throwing me out of the house out of my mind.
-~-
"Cousins! Welcome, welcome! So lovely to see you!" Lady Malik, dressed in a bright, sky blue sundress ran towards the cousins, immediately hugging Zayn's uncle's wife in a huge bear hug. Zayn, Ivy, the sisters, and I stood in a straight line on the huge front porch of the mansion. Zayn's mother and father had been the first to greet the Royal family, and I huffed as I waited impatiently to meet them. Zayn chuckled next to me, dressed in a semi-formal dress shirt and pants, a suit jacket thrown on over the button up.
"Patience, little swan." He mumbled to me, a happy glint in his eyes gleaming before he winked at me. My heart skipped a beat at the sight, and I nodded, earning yet another laugh from the Prince. My eyes flitted from person to person in front of us, looking for the Princess. I saw the King and Queen, and two small skinny sticks that must be their sons, but I couldn't find Delia. My heart sunk for a moment, maybe she canceled at the last second?
"Delia!" Safaa called out before running off the porch and down the long stairs. I watched the little princess run before having my breath taken away at the young lady she called to.
She wore a lavender purple tulle covered dress, curls cascading down her back in long ringlets, chocolate eyes shining like diamonds as she hugged Zayn's sister. She had just stepped out of their limousine it seemed, seeing as how I hadn't seen her until just now. She was gorgeous, Falene wasn't lying when she said that.
Delia let Safaa walk her up the steps, her eyes locked on all of her family 's before becoming set on mine. She smiled a dazzling smile at me as she reached the top of the marble steps, walking up to me. I sucked in a nervous breath before holding out my hand to her, and I bit my lip when I realized it was shaking from nerves.
Delia laughed softly as she stared at my outstretched hand before embracing me in a hug.
"Are you the famous Odette that Zayn has been talking about non-stop?" She giggled, and I saw Zayn blush from the corner of my eyes. Zayn had told Delia about me?
"Yes, your Highness." I addressed her formally, and Delia immediately placed a tiny finger to my lips to silence me, her perfectly plucked eyebrows furrowed together in disapproval.
"Just Delia, please call me Delia, Odette." I numbly shook my head, and Delia smiled before walking into Malik Manor, Zayn's sisters chatting madly at her side.
It was late in the afternoon when Delia pulled me over to take a walk in the garden, just the two of us alone. Zayn was off messing about with his rambunctious teenage cousins, getting into who knows what kind of trouble.
Delia was charming, asking me how I had adjusted to the royal treatment, and she laughed when I admitted it was quite strange to be waited on every second of the day. I had relaxed as our time together had gone on, Delia gradually becoming one of my better friends at my new home.
"Thank you, Delia." I muttered out as we decided to rest on our walk, Delia insisting we sit in a certain flower patch blooming with multicolor wonders. Her nimble fingers began to pluck flowers one by one, her long nails serving as perfect tools to poke holes in the stems to loop them together.
"What for?" She asked, fingers still busy creating the flower crown, but eyes focused completely on me.
"Being a great friend." I smiled at her, and she shook her head before grabbing more flowers to add to her creation.
"I'm sure you have many friends here. I'm only one star among the vast constellation of people in your life." She spoke softly, her words like a poet's. She was brilliant in terms of intelligence, evident in everything from her mannerisms to the way she spoke. She would make a great queen one day, I had already decided that.
"Not really," I sighed, causing Delia to stop working, a frown forming at her lips. "The only other girl here my age is Ivy, and she's not really...friend material." Ivy laughed at this before continuing her work.
"Of course not, Ivy hates everyone," Delia plucked more flowers to add to her craft, "Then again, she has a particularly good reason to hate you."
I glanced up from where I was aimlessly picking grass next to me to stare at the princess.
"She has a reason to hate me? I've only been here a few days."
Delia bit her lip before she spoke. "I don't believe it's proper for me to be the one telling you why Ivy hates you. That's a matter you should take up with Ivy herself." I sighed in frustration, Delia giving me a sympathetic look before rubbing my arm.
"Odette, you really should talk to Ivy. You two have much more in common than either of you would like to admit."
"What do you mean?" I asked Delia, watching as she put the finishing touches on her purple and orange flower crown.
"Ivy, Irene, they're two very different people inside the same body. If I could, I would say Irene is the poor lost little girl Zayn's mother took in, and Ivy is the proud, spoiled girl who came as a result of that." Delia spoke softly, like it was taboo to mention any of the strange girl's past. I stayed quiet and let Delia keep talking, I didn't want to risk interrupting and making the Princess regret her decision to speak with me and then stop.
"Interpret that however you want, I'll let Ivy finish the story for you." Princess Delia finished, a smug smile on her face as she placed the flower crown upon her head, where a real tiara would someday rest on her coronation day.
I huffed as Delia smirked at me, a giggle escaping the older girl's lips.
"So...you're going to be queen someday?" I asked, and the older girl happily nodded.
"Yes! I'm so excited, I hope I can be just as great a ruler as Father is." She said proudly. "My coronation day is in three weeks."
I gasped at this new fact, I didn't know Delia was to be a queen so soon. Heck, I didn't know princesses and princes could be coronated so young. But I only congratulated Delia and hugged her tight, both of us laughing and chatting aimlessly until Zayn and his equally tall, dark, and handsome (well, not as handsome as Zayn, but still attractive) cousin Sebastian came to get us inside.
♞ Ivy's POV ♞
I opened my maroon dresser doors, fingers fumbling to find my favorite coat for nights like these. I refused to wear any other coat except my long black trench coat.
I sighed in relief as I found it, slipping it on my slim body over the jeans and t-shirt I had changed into. The cousins were still here, and Zayn's family wouldn't notice their Royal Advisor missing. At least, I hoped so. If anyone questioned where I was, I could convince them I was still here, in the library perhaps. People were very gullible.
I buttoned up my coat and grabbed a thick maroon scarf that hung by my bedroom door, wrapping it around my neck and fixing it to cover my mouth. No one should recognize the Royal Advisor, especially where I was headed. I quickly slipped some boots on my feet before going to my bathroom, knowing the servants hadn't fixed the creaky hinges that kept the window shut in there.
The window was rather high up, so I had to stand on the edge of my gold edged bathtub, quickly pulling my dark curtains from where they covered the glass. I worked fast, no one should know I was leaving. I unlocked the window and pushed it open, getting ready for the dreading squeeze to get through the small window. It was dreadfully small, probably two feet tall and three feet wide. But I had done it before, and I would do it again.
I whined as I accidentally hit my head on the wall above the window, hoping it wouldn't bruise anytime soon. I managed to finally get my top half through the window, when I heard the creak of a door echo through my room. My heart raced as I heard footsteps come into the bathroom. I froze for a second, before I heard a male voice speak.
"What are you doing?" Sebastian Malik asked me, I could just see his furrowed eyebrows (just like Zayn's) as he stared at my butt hanging out of a bathroom window. Shoot. Wait, why was Prince Sebastian in my room anyway?
"I could ask you the same." I huffed before beginning to pull my top half out of the window and back into the bathroom, hitting my head once more on the stupid wall, causing Sebastian to chuckle at me. I glared at him, and the sixteen year old quickly shut up.
"Why are you in my room? No one goes in my room." I spat at him, but Sebastian kept his stupid smirk on pointe.
"Why are you trying to escape?" Sebastian asked, his dark eyes becoming wide, and something inside me broke at the sight of the innocent sixteen year old. We were the same age, as was Odette, Zayn was seventeen.
"I have things to do, your Highness, errands if you may. Now, may I please be excused to leave?" I asked in a formal tone, but Sebastian only shook his head no, wavy unruly locks shaking.
I sighed, Sebastian had a certain bad boy look to him, one similar to Zayn's since they hung out together so much, but on the inside, I knew Sebastian was a soft kid. He always had been, or at least for the several years I had known him. We looked similar, in terms of both appearance and the aura we gave off, but on the inside, we were nothing alike. Sebastian wasn't exposed to the evils I had been when I was younger, he was innocent, sheltered all his life, servants had always been around to spoon feed him and dress him every second of the day.
Not like the kid was a spoiled rich kid, well, he was rich. But Sebastian was never mean or rude to anyone, especially servants. And especially to me.
I waited for Sebastian to leave, to let me go free, but he still stood there, tall frame dressed in dress pants and a button up with shining shoes never moving. I bit my lip in frustration before realizing his true intention.
"No."
"But--" Sebastian started, but I swiftly cut him off.
"You're not coming with me. It's dangerous, you could get--" The tables had turned, now Sebastian began yelling at me.
"I'll get hurt! Gee, don't think I've ever heard that one before!" He yelled, taking me by surprise and making me wince at his tone of voice. He never yelled. "I never get to go anywhere! I can't go to my friend's, I can't go to buy video games, heck, I can't go to the bathroom without a servant waiting outside the freaking door! And the reason is always that I could get hurt..."
Sebastian's chest was wracked with the shaky intake of breaths, his eyes beginning to water. His fists were tightly clenched by his sides, like he wanted to punch the wall to release some anger, but he was too nice to ruin the colored paper.
It took me about five seconds to mentally debate with my conscious the pros and cons of letting the boy come. Surely it wasn't that bad? Surely he could have one night...
"Ugh, fine." I mumbled in annoyance, watching as Sebastian smiled like an idiot and ran up to me, hugging me tight.
"Thank you thank you thank you Ivy!" He happily giggled, and I gasped for air before he quickly set me down. "Where are we going?"
"A place I go to do business with very often. But first you need to change cuz you look..." I gestured toward his dressy outfit. "Too much like a royal. Let's get you changed."
I had managed to run to Zayn's room and snatched a coat and jeans for the poor boy, sure Zayn was a little taller and more built than Sebastian, but they were about the same size clothes-wise.
I led the royal out the back exit, sneaking around to make sure we were spotted by guards. No one in the royal family could know where I was. The only reason I trusted bringing Sebastian along is because he was too enthralled with finally leaving the house to betray my secret location to his parents or siblings.
We walked a good distance before coming to the royal garage. I already knew which keys I would need tonight and grabbed them off a shelf, walking toward a sleek black Ford Mustang. It wasn't too extravagant, unlike the Ferraris and Lamborghini resting next to it. It didn't hurt that a small "I" was engraved unto the smooth metal door next to the handle either. The Malik family had been very generous to me when I moved in.
I slid into the driver's seat, Sebastian doing the same on the passenger side. I started the car, smiling as the engine roared to life before taking off in the dark, moonless night, a secret prince laughing and singing along to the radio triumphantly next to me.
-~-
Sebastian's demeanor changed once he saw where we were.
"You sure this is it?" He stared at the bar across the street, one packed with people in a little corner of the city I knew extremely well.
"That's it, that's the place." I smirked at the now frightened prince. But he was braver than I thought, nodding and looking at me with those dang chocolate eyes that reminded me of a puppy's.
"Just don't get yourself wasted, please. I'd rather not explain to his Majesty as to why his second oldest child is drunk."
"Psh, I don't get drunk that easy."
"You've never touched liquor in your life, idiot." Sebastian blushed at this, and I laughed when I saw I was right. I grabbed his arm, my heart pausing it's necessary beat when I realized just how built the kid was. I figured he worked out, but geez.
"Let's go, shall we?" My voice never faulted, maybe that's why I was so good at convincing people what to do. I could hide my emotions.
We quickly ran across the street to the bar that reeked of alcohol, people were already getting drunk. I hissed slightly as a wasted girl fell into Sebastian, almost knocking him over. I quickly pulled him away from the bleach blonde, shooting the girl a look before stepping into the bar.
My hand immediately fell to my waist, making sure I was armed. I never forgot my pocketknife Dad had given me, and I never went anywhere without it. Even though we were in hiding, I couldn't risk harm coming to the Prince. It was my duty as a servant to protect him, even if I had to risk my life for his.
"You didn't need to push her away..." Sebastian whimpered in pity, his dark eyes glancing back to the poor girl struggling to stand, her other blonde friends laughing and trying to help her up.
"Your Highness, do you I need to remind you how precious your life is?" I whispered to him, sighing in relief when that kept him quiet. My trained eyes looked for a familiar face, alerting me when I found my target. Now, where do I dump Sebastian?
I bit my lip as I scanned the crowded bar, searching for acceptable seats. He wasn't about to witness what my errand was. I thanked my lucky stars when I found a seat at the bar counter. I grabbed Sebastian's hand, ignoring the nagging girly voice in my head squealing in delight, and dragged him to the counter, sitting him down and telling him to stay there like a puppy. He nodded, and I began to walk to a small corner of the building, where a tiny table rested and a tattooed man drinking a clear drink sat.
I sat down at the wooden table, a smile illuminating the twenty year old man's face as I appeared. He wore a ratty black rock band t-shirt, tattoos covering both his arms, and his messy dark hair sticking up.
"Victoria, glad you could make it." Victoria was the fake name I had given to this man a year ago. "Who's your friend?" The man pointed to Sebastian in his bar stool.
"My boyfriend..." My mind raced to come up with a name, obviously I couldn't say Sebastian's real name. My eyes focused on a very quiet Sebastian, my mouth saying the only name I could think of. "Andrew. His name is Andrew Carter."
Andrew was my dad's name.
"Ah, of course. I'm really happy you could make it."
"Anything new around here, Aaron?" I asked the man, my eyes secretly darting over to Sebastian every couple minutes, just to make sure he was ok.
"Things around here are getting quite fun, my dear." Aaron laughed, taking another sip of his drink. Fun?
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, people are acting different. People are changing. People want change." Aaron smiled, the sight reminding me of the Cheshire Cat.
"Change?"
"Little Victoria, when did you become so blind? People aren't happy here. I only wish I could live in the rich district like you." Aaron mumbled, and I felt anger begin to bubble inside me at his insult.
"Surely people are fine. They don't need to be full of rainbows and butterflies all the time." I rolled my eyes at this immature thought. Life wasn't fair. People weren't always going to get what they want.
"But they need better living conditions and less work hours. People are living in slums here, barely getting by. You're either rich, or not in this kingdom." I frowned at this. Did King Malik not approve my proposed bill to improve living conditions? I had offered that to him ages ago.
"It's hell down here, Victoria. I know most of us down here are poor, but still." Aaron paused, his eyes suddenly much more serious as he stared at me. "People are getting desperate. And you of all people know what can happen when people are desperate."
My heart clenched at the sound of this. People were getting desperate in the poor sectors of the city. Desperate people were like threatened animals. If you were to corner them, there's no telling what they'd do, attack you, or whimper and cower in fear. But the people in this kingdom had been cowering in fear for too long.
"What do you think of a bloody revolution, Victoria?" Aaron muttered before quickly downing the rest of his alcohol, squinting his eyes shut at the burn of the liquid.
"Revolution..." I mumbled, my mind racing, but my body slowly becoming numb. People were getting upset with the monarchy, and they decided it was time to start doing something about it. "Who's leading it? Surely you must know, Aaron."
But Aaron only shook his head no.
"I'm sorry, darling, but I don't know that. Perhaps if you were to give me more of what you promised last time, I could do a little more digging for you." Aaron winked at me, and I wasted no time before grabbing the small drawstring pouch in my coat pocket, throwing it onto the tabletop in front of the tattooed male. I needed this information. If Aaron was right about the revolution, then Sebastian and the Royal family's lives were in danger.
"You'll get more once you find out all the details about this revolution. I mean it, Aaron." Aaron only smiled before nodding and grabbing his payment, and I quickly excused myself from the table before walking over to Sebastian at the bar.
"Let's go." I told him, but Sebastian only pouted, a glass of alcohol in his hand and a busty bartender fluttering her eyelashes at him. His eyes were glassy and uncontrollable giggles escaped his mouth.
I quickly grabbed the drink out of his hands and slammed it on the table, fishing out a ten dollar bill for his drink (possibly drinks) and throwing it at the bartender to pay. I grabbed his arm and pulled him out of his chair, towards the exit. Sebastian only whined and moaned that he didn't want to leave, but his pleas went ignored.
Sebastian was in danger. A huge target was hanging over his head, and if his servants thought he was in danger before, he was a dead man now.
I threw his slightly intoxicated body into the passenger seat of my car, not caring if he hit his head against the headrest right now. I quickly started the car and stepped on the gas, causing Sebastian to wince as his head hit the seat again.
A single thought occupied my mind, one that caused my foot to press harder on the gas, speeding down the midnight streets back to Malik Manor.
People in the poor sector were upset. Revolution could be coming. And that meant all hell was about to break loose.