"WHAT ARE WE DOING?" I asked as Lysander takes me outside. I returned to my cell the day before, pleasing the king, but he disapproved when Lysander took me back out to "interrogate me" in the morning. Victoria provided me with a spare room where I took a warm shower, scrubbing the dirt and grime out of my hair and skin. For the first time in forever, I felt alive again.
When I emerged from the shower, Victoria tossed something in my direction. I caught it with one hand, wincing at what I was holding. The fabric was soft, but I hated dresses, ever since I was a kid. It was the worst part of living my old, luxurious life. The baby blue fabric was simple enough, but the words that escaped my mouth were; "No, absolutely not."
"Come on, you'll look less like Amelia Covington if you wear the dress. We could probably pass you as a family friend, or something," Victoria countered.
"Are you really going to risk this, Tori?" I asked. She and Lys wanted a normal day full of surprises for me, but obviously that wasn't going to be easy. We had to hide most of it from the king, who was already growing suspicious of the fact that his wife is spending a lot of time with her brother while he was supposedly interrogating me. Plus, both of my siblings were public figures, and their actions wouldn't go unnoticed by many.
Half an hour later, I'm in a dress that goes up to my knees and heels too tall for me. My hair was brushed, my boring curls hanging against my back. Lysander doesn't tell me what we're doing, but I know people can see us. Curious glances are shot in our direction.
"Why can't you just tell me?" I asked again while Lysander refuses to answer my question once more. My ankles were aching as I just stood there in my heels. "Why are you even risking this, Lys? You're gonna lose your job."
"I told Tori not to give you heels to where, yet here you are in exactly those," he said, looking at my feet, for some reason. Maybe he just realised I was now towering him, when I was usually a couple inches shorter. "You've done a lot in heels though, right?"
"Like, I've spied on people and murdered them while I was in heels, yes, but I don't think that is the answer you're looking for, brother."
"Shut up with the formalities."
"If it pisses you off, then no."
He shoots me a dirty look, which was the same one he gave me when he was thirteen, the only difference being the more defined features, sharper jawline and facial hair. In the first time in a long time, I felt like Vera Carmicheal, and not an imposter.
The ring of a bell comes form behind me and I glanced behind me. Victoria was riding the bike, heels on her feet, with two guards behind her trailing with two other bikes. She wasn't going to fast, so her hair didn't flow behind her that much. She had no helmet, and I could tell by the expression of the guards that they didn't approve that for their queen.
"Your Highness, I-"
Victoria swerved around. "How dare you question our motives? My husband said he wasn't worried as long as I was with my brother, who is one of his trusted men. If you could please leave us alone."
"The girl-"
"Is simply a girl," Lysander cut into the conversation. "-and despite her history, my sister and I - who have been most affected by her actions - have decided to give her the chance to do some normal activities as we interrogate her-"
"But Captain-"
Lysander ignored the guard, turning to me. "Red or blue? Careful with the heels, though, because just because someone could do it easily, doesn't mean everyone can."
I raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you have experience."
Victoria chuckled as Lysander blushed red. "It was a dare and we don't speak of it because I was sixteen and learned my lesson, alright?"
From the corner of my eye, I saw the two guards holding the bikes exchange awkward glances. There was no way any regular citizen would address Lysander like that, knowing his rank. They were probably growing suspicious.
I walk up and take the blue one, knowing red was Lysander's favourite colour and whenever he went to select a bike, it was always a red one. It made him "go faster" apparently. Even if it was a stupid thought, from back when he was a kid, I let him ride that one. The blue one looked nicer, anyway.
Victoria dismissed the guards, them exchanging another set of confused expressions to each other, seeming very un-guard-like and unsure. The walked away, not looking behind themselves. We waited until they were out of sight until we continued.
"Bikes? Really? I don't even remember how to ride one!" I cried, fidgeting with the break pedal. "I'm gonna end up hitting my head against the sidewalk and get a concussion and lose my memories and then I won't be able to tell you the the details you want from me," I say, overexaggerating.
"Please, like Dad said, you never forget how to ride a bike," Tori said, placing her foot back on the pedal. "If it makes you feel better, the first time I rode a bike after my marriage was a couple months ago when I was teaching Izzy," she recounted, telling me about her older daughter.
"Also, you do know that two days ago, Tori was still pregnant, right?" Lysander pointed out, taking position on his own bike. "She can ride a bike after two days, you can get your ass on one too and ride."
"I've barely ate and slept for weeks now." My thinning body was an obvious sign of that. Let's be honest here, even just standing here is making my head turn. "You really think this is a good idea for my health."
"The king wants you dead."
"And what's he going to say about this? What will the public think, too?"
"Why are you the one thinking about the consequences when you're the one benefitting from this?"
I rolled my eyes. "I don't want you to get in trouble. These are my mistakes. You're supposed to be mad at me, you know."
Lysander gave a small smile as thoughts ran through his head. "You know what else Dad said? You can never be mad at family. And we're not mad."
I shook my head, not understanding my siblings at all. "Whatever, okay, but if you lose your job because of me, Lys-" I swing a leg over the bike, my dress getting caught. Ugh, you could hardly move in these things, why would anyone want to wear this constantly. I end up making it work so nothing got caught while I pedalled - which was a challenge, thanks to Tori's choice in shoes.
"There you go... you got it." Lysander pushes himself off the ground, pedalling behind me. "You remember the way home, right?"
Home. The place I grew up in, where I held my fondest memories of my family and friends, plus the one thing I don't want to remember. I gulped, knowing exactly where it was. "Yeah, yeah I do." I was going home, and it wasn't for an assignment.
"I'll take front, Tori take the rear. Wait, actually, no - last one there can rake the leaves in the front yard instead of the gardener!" Lysander exclaimed, bursting into a dash, in seconds riding out the castle gate. I put my foot on the pedal, gaining momentum, Tori doing the same.
It was weird, being out in the daylight, especially when I was supposed to be locked up. I knew a thing or two about being locked up, and it was never found. Even after that, I was always out in the dead of night, when most people were sleeping, safe in their beds from the horrors of the night.
It doesn't take me long to find my balance, pedalling like it was a second instinct through the courtyard and into the village. The wind got caught in my hair like the nights when I ran on the rooftops, a gentle breeze in the air. I felt like I was a kid again, properly riding for the first time, along with my family. This... this was what I missed.
The first bit of the city, closest to the castle, were old, victorian styled houses that stretched a couple kilometers, until the roads merged into the core of the city. We lived at the edge of the city, still near the row of houses. It was a modern estate, since Dad and his family loved to renovate the place with new styles. But Lys was more like Mom, liking things to stay the same, and the house should be more or less the same, besides it's new inhabitants.
And the history of what happened there.
Lysander took a sharp turn, ringing the bell like a little boy, alerting whoever might be there. So far, no one noticed me, and probably didn't recognize any of us because of how fast we were moving.
But then I saw him.
Brown hair now dyed with silver streaks pushed back, a smile painted on his face. He wore a button down, white shirt with a black zip-up hoodie over it. His eyes focused on the girl beside him, too perfect for this world in her baby pink dress.
And as I stared at the young couple so focused onto each other, I forgot to focus on the road ahead of me. It was Victoria screaming behind me that snapped me back to reality, hitting the breaks, but not before my bike crashed into the tree.
Apparently that caught his attention.
He broke eye contact with the girl, running over to me. He stretched his arm out, offering to help me up. I took it, trying not to look at him in the eye.
I think he finally recognized me, staring but not saying a word. His hand clasped onto my wrist for a little to long before I shook it off, placing my own hand over the area he touched.
"Vera..." he started, looking me up and down.
I hated that I had no pockets, now not knowing what the hell I to do with my hands and arms. I took a quick glance around, realising we were in the town square. Other people stayed a distance, but their eyes were on me. Maybe they recognized me, or maybe it was the name he used.
"Atticus... hey." I find myself moving strands of hair out of my face. "Nice to finally crash in to you, kind of literally." I let out a nervous giggle. I needed to stop, right now.
Nonetheless, he returned it with a warm smile and chuckle in return. "I was starting to think I was never going to see you again. It's been way too long, and I see you riding a bike? You haven't even come to visit me."
His words are so warm, but his eyes... his eyes were worried, scared, the hazel eyes filled with pain. Victoria and Lysander couldn't have just told him I was sick, because knowing him, he'd find any way to come visit me. He'd have to know I was missing. Or more.
A hand touched my childhood friend and our conversation paused momentarily. The girl in the pink dress laces her hand in his, pecking his cheek. "Come on, I thought we were going to brunch."
"We are, just wait-" he looks to me. "Uh, this is Mikayla, my girlfriend. Mickey, this is -"
He stops mid sentence as she gasps. "You're the assassin." Her voice is a little too loud, and by a little, I mean a lot. Heads turn at the statement, quiet murmurs filling the square. This... this is what I was afraid of happening.
"You aren't supposed to be out here, are you?" the girl questioned. Atticus fidgeted in his spot, not knowing what to say, but he didn't look shocked by what his girlfriend has said. "You're supposed to be locked up, beaten to death. Just wait until someone-"
"Calm down, calm down." Lysander breaks through the crowd. He must've realised neither of us were following him anymore. He walks up to me, putting an arm around my shoulder. "Despite what you might think, she's allowed out here, and is under strict watch. There's nothing to be worried about."
"Nothing to be worried about?" Mikayla repeated. "She's a murderer. She can harm anyone of us, maybe with her heels, or the fabric of her dress, maybe the pin in her hair. She could've caused something serious on that bike and she's just acting innocent, for all we know."
"Mickey, chill out, it's fine." Atticus tries to calm her down, but she swats him away.
"We know what we're doing." Victoria finally shows up. "And we would never do anything that would harm the kingdom."
"Your Highness, if I'm being honest, this isn't one of your best ideas," Mikayla says straight up. "This won't look good for you family."
I bit my lip, trying not the scream at her, but this was exactly what I didn't want to happen, and guess what happened? Plus, she knows my real name isn't Amelia, since Atticus knew exactly who I was. We were in some deep shit.
"Mikayla, this isn't you place to speak," Victoria says, then turned to Atticus. "Hey kid, how are you? It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Victoria loved Atticus like a second little brother, and he always looked at her as the older sister he never had. Same with Lysander. Atticus was just another part of our tightly knit family, and honestly, even on my first day in the castle, it was weird that he wasn't around the two.
"Everything's good, thanks Vic," Atticus says, a bit too formally. Something happened between them, and that something may have involved me - or the lack of my presence. "I guess I'm never positioned where you'd be in the castle. Kind of disappointing. Thanks Lys."
My brother gave a small smirk. "Sorry bout that, Att. King Pheon does some of the positioning for the newbies. He usually moves you around the most."
Atticus rolled his eyes. "I'm not even sure if that's a good or bad thing."
Victoria laughed. "Do we even know what goes on through his head? I sure don't, and I've been married to him for ten years now. He must be fond of you if he knows you by name."
It amazes me how the conversation went from awkwardly tense to awkwardly comfortable for me. Mikayla doesn't say a word after her outbreak, and just stood there impatient, waiting for Atticus.
Let's be real here - out family knows the Mikayla isn't a bad person. I knew that first hand, that she could be one of the nicest, sweetest, people you know. She just has her moments.
"I think we should head our way now," Tori tells Atticus. She looks around briefly, noting that people were still watching us, some eager to ask my siblings question. I mean, the queen did give birth yesterday and she didn't make a public appearance. The next day, she's on a bike, accompanied by her parent's murderer. "It was nice talking to you, Att. See you around?"
"Definitely." He glances to me. "You became quiet. I guess ten years really changes a person, doesn't it?"
"Atticus," Mikayla urges, not liking my presence.
"It was nice seeing you, Vera."
I pushed a strand of hair back - again. Jesus, I really didn't know what to do with my hands, did I. "It was great to see you again, too, despite the circumstances-" I look over at the bike, still toppled over, the tire probably flat. "- I thought you'd forget about me."
"Forget Vera Carmicheal? Never."
I gave a small smile before we parted ways. He headed towards the city, hand in hand with Mikayla. Lysander decided he still wanted to ride his bike back to his place, and began to start pedalling as soon as he retrieved his bike. Victoria kindly gave hers to someone to keep, a sweet smile exchanged between her and the teenaged girl who looked at it curiously. The two of us walked out of the square, leaving the murmurs between people behind.
"I knew that was gonna happen," I muttered. The incident was going to spread across the kingdom. "I knew this was a bad idea."
"You were eight, you couldn't have possibly fallen for him," Victoria says instead, looking behind us, probably searching for the couple. "You were never that far from us, were you?"
I shook my head, there were more than enough times that I was right under their noses, ready to be caught.
It was my mistake, making myself fall for someone I could never have.