THE HOUSE LOOKED exactly like I remembered it. The house was huge, half built with grey slabs of stone and half moderinzed with glass panels. Lysander locks his bike onto the gate, beside two others and a pink tricycle.
Victoria grabs a hold of my wrist and tugs me towards the front door. It hasn't been long since I've been in the house, but it's been a while since I walked through there. Lysander has his keys out, sinking it into the lock.
"No wait, let Vera do it," Tori says, climbing the front steps. "I think she might need practice actually opening a lock with a key, without using a bobby pin or something like that."
I rolled my eyes, but Lysander shrugs, tossing me the keys. I hesitate before actually putting them in. Lys had a large number of keys on his keyring, jingling when you moved it even the slightest, but I knew what the house key was. They never had to change the lock because of me, because I had my own copy, too. Back at... I pursed my lips, remembering that I no longer had it on me, with is being taken away from me when I was first captured.
It was weird not stepping into the house with the smell of Mom's cooking lingering in the air, but that's what happens. Instead, a hint of lavender and lemon entered my nose. A man enters the room in a tailored suit, grey hair on his head. His eyes widened when he sets his eyes on me.
I close the door behind me, and it locks with a click. I tossed my shoes aside, thankful to not be wearing the heels anymore. The man continues to watch. I see Lysander give him a small smile, greeting him.
"Mr Hemingworth, I hope things haven't been an issue around here as I was gone. I apologise that I haven't made it home since my return," Lysander says, pulling off his jacket and placing his belongings on a side table. "Now, don't stare. Vera doesn't bite."
"So it truly is her, and not the assassin?" the butler says. "There has been word going around that the criminal looks like an older version of Lady Vera, and now it seems like those assumptions are true."
I shoot Lysander a concerned look. Mr. Hemingworth was one of the people who helped to raise the three of us, if our parents were busy. The old man shouldn't be lied to, if he didn't know the truth already. After the incident in the square, the citizens will know the truth, wouldn't they?
But really, did people think I was suffering from a disease? That's ridiculous. The closest people in my life shouldn't be lied to.
"Strange, what people say, isn't it?" Victoria says. She plops onto the couch, kicking her feet onto the coffee table, very un-queen-like. For the first time since I've seen her, she pulls out a small electronic device, hidden in her bra, I assume. She used to be addicted to that thing, and never allowed me to look at it. Her face falls as she scrolls through her messages.
The butler turns back to me. "Lady Vera, you are beginning to look quite well. Please, have a seat. May I get you anything? Water? Coffee?"
"Um, maybe an ice pack," I say, finally acknowledging the ache in my back. The cuts in my skin are slowly healing, and haven't bled through my clothing since Lysander stitched me up. "Wow, I feel so tired." I collapsed onto the couch next to Victoria.
I take the time to look around the room. For the most part, most of the things are the same, or similar. The rug is the same, still soft as ever on my feet. The couches are new but the same black fabric. Mom's favourite decorations were on the walls, but more were added from recent years. Our baby pictures were still on the wall, and next to them were ones of Lysander's kids - Aurora and Kaden - and Victoria's - Lionel, Isadora, Camden and Romeo (the twins) and I'm sure Annalise will be on the walls soon enough. There was one in particular that caught my eye.
I stood up, walking over to get a closer look. The picture was taken the day Victoria got engaged, with thirteen year old Lysander and eight year old me standing on either side of her in front of the castle ball room. She was dressed in a cream coloured lace dress, and I wore a similar one but in a faded pink. Lysander wore a suit that I'm sure he hated. We all had bright smiles on our faces.
I looked closer and saw what I was looking for - the black, six pointed star hung around my neck.
Six months after the picture was taken, Victoria was officially married, creating the biggest major change in this house, with her moving out and living with the king permanently in the castle. Just before my ninth birthday, I'm gone too.
Victoria leans in over me, looking at the picture, too. "Life was so much simpler about three months before that was taken, wasn't it?"
I nodded. Just then, Mr Hemingway comes back with the ice pack. Lysander seemed to disappear, so it was just me and Tori in the room. I continue to look around.
Lysander's family portrait was hanging on one wall, looking recent because of Kaden's age, looking similar to what he looked like yesterday. Aurora held onto her father tightly. She was probably more fond of him than her mother. Lysander pressed a kiss onto her forehead in te picture, too.
Opposite to that, above the fireplace, was our family portrait, still hanging in the same place as ten years ago. Actually, no. The picture was hung on the wall when I was five or six. My toothless smile was on display as my siblings held me tightly, our parents hovering over us.
"If only things didn't change," I muttered. The nostalgia was strong.
Victoria takes the ice pack from me, helping to press it onto my back. "Change is prone to everyone, we just have to learn to move on from it, when it happens."
"Hey, Vera!" Lysander calls from upstairs. "Come upstairs and look around. Also, change because I want to take you on in a sword fight."
I raise an eyebrow and look at Victoria. "You do know that I'm not allowed, right? You've literally helped to put these laws in place."
"I don't give a shit, but I want to beat you! Dad always made me go easy on you, but you were too good, and you were eight," Lysander pouted. He was right - I was already skilled with a weapon back then, and most kids my age couldn't even hold one up.
I crossed my arms, rolling my eyes. We were away from the public, so it was okay, right? Victoria shrugged, but let out a small giggle. She didn't really have the same interests but enjoyed when we bickered. She led the two of us upstairs.
The hand railings are smooth and I glide my fingers on them. The stairs don't creak under my weight, just the sound of my footfalls bouncing back up. The second floor was where my bedroom was. I walked to the end of the hall, where the door was slightly ajar. Lysander was in there, already with a sword in hand. He changed into a pair of sweats and sat at the edge of my old bed.
I look around again. Things looked the same, and probably no one entered the room - let alone touch the things in it. The walls were still pale pink - gosh, I really loved pink, didn't I? The photos put up by my parents were still on the walls. Stuffed animals took over one corner of the room, the giant red teddy bear being the most noticeable. Dad won me that at the fair when I was four.
The room smelled oddly of fresh flowers, but I didn't see any in the room. I took a seat on my bed, the covers neatly tucked underneath the mattress.
"I'm so tired," I whined, lying on my back, then winced in pain and turned onto my side. "This bed is really comfortable. I forgot how nice it felt."
Lysander rubbed my back. "You haven't been sleeping well, have you? Guards said you don't eat much, either."
"Everything is stale. I hate it."
"Wanna watch a movie instead?"
It doesn't take long for me to choose a movie out of our large collection of CDs, picking one of my favourites from when I was a kid. Hemingworth brings up some fruits and hot chocolate for me, coffee for Lys and Tori. We end up building a pillow fort, blankets covering us like we were the same age as their kids. I pressed my head against Lysander as he stroked my hair. For a moment, everything was okay. For a moment, we were normal again.
It was yelling that woke me up.
The pillow fort was down, instead placed on either side of me. I was tucked into the blanket, the warmth protecting me from the cold. The popcorn we brought in half was through the movie was done, the bowl on my side table. The lights were dimmed, and the sun was already down, the stars out.
At first, the yelling was just muffled, my brain still fuzzy. Then the voices became clear.
"You should have said something. How could you risk the public's safety for your own gain-"
"She wouldn't hurt anyone-"
"She already has. She hurt your family more times than she should have-"
"Yet we're dealing with it fine."
"That's not the point, Victoria. The point is that she's a criminal. She's a theif, a murderer, she's lied to us on multiple occasions. How do you know she's still in the house? Maybe she escaped when you weren't with her."
"She wouldn't." But Victoria paused, thinking her thoughts through. It would be easy for me to escape, but I'm not doing that. I pull myself out of the bed, my bare feet touching the cold ground.
I don't remember when I changed out of the dress but now I was in a pair of sweats I remember Victoria wearing at one point. I grabbed a spare hair tie from the dressing table in the room, pulling my hair into a loose pony tail.
And on the window, I see the message.
tonight, 10:30 pm. you have the chance to run and join us, it's going to be a fun one. choose wisely, vera carmicheal.
The note wasn't signed. It didn't have to be for me to recognize the writing.
I panicked. This was bad - this was really bad, and despite the last ten years of my life, this can not happen tonight, and I won't be a part of it.
But... knowing them, tonight was going to badly. Really badly.
I open the door, which let out a groan. The yelling continued.
"How could you abuse your position like that? You're going to lose your job. What will everyone think when they find out?"
"She's my little sister, you think I'll just watch as she goes through everything, knowing all of it was my fault. I wanted to give her another chance, and she was fine outside today. If only it wasn't for that girl-"
"Mikayla Halston had every right to question her safety."
I make my way down the stairs, my hands shaking. I didn't want my siblings to take the fault for this. This could have easily been avoided if I just kept quiet and pretended I didn't know what Lysander was talking about when he was asking me those questions.
I stand on the staircase, watching as the four adults argued. No one paid attention to me, the girl who was the topic of the argument, standing right in front of them.
"She's eighteen, an adult, and is accountable for her actions and has to serve her sentence as it was given-"
"Actually-" I break my silence. "- I'm still seventeen, for a couple weeks, anyway. And you didn't give a proper sentence, you wanted to get Lysander's input in it. And I guess, now that you have his input, you'd rather him not have a say." My voice stays firm as I talk to the king.
Theres fury in the king's eyes. "YOU! YOU'RE GOING TO THE DUNGEON YOU WON'T BE COMING OUT UNTIL YOU'RE JUST BONE." His blue eyes are never kind when they look at me.
Horror fills the eyes of my siblings. "No..." Tori studders. "No, you can't do that, Pheon-"
"AND YOU-" For the first time in a long time, he's angry at his wife. At least, the king never expressed his anger to his wife publicly, in front of others. "You are to act like my queen, because that is what you are. You are to be a lady and close your mouth."
Victoria crossed her arms. "If you wanted to marry a proper lady, I shouldn't have been your first time. I'll listen to you but you can not get between me and my family?"
"Your family? Our kids are your family!" The king exclaimed, fury in his voice.
Kids. That's who's missing.
"Where are your children?" I asked, looking around. Please don't let them be stuck at the castle. Please don't let them be stuck in the castle.
"Well, obviously, if you're in this house, we aren't bringing them here," Sophia states.
This was bad. This was really bad. This is why the notes says it was going to be a fun one. They were going to-
"Vera..." Lysander starts, looking at the expression on my face. "Vera, what's wrong? What do you know?"
"What day is it?" I asked, barely a whisper. "And the time?"
Victoria glances at her phone. "September thirtieth, it's half past ten. Why?" She paused, her face falling. "Vera, you're scaring me. Just spill it."
Sophia rolled her eyes, King Pheon looking like he wanted to rip me apart. "It's just another one of her lies. She's playing with us, can't you see? She's deciding the right moment to run from us. There's probably a weapon hidden in her hood, or strapped to her back, maybe."
"Vera..."
And then the phone started ringing. But not the regular land line. Our parents and just our family in general was always prone to some danger, so for security measures, we had another land line.
So the ringing that almost sounded like a siren was the emergency line. And things were about to turn bitter.