Reiley raised an eyebrow pointedly at Sylvie, on hearing her assumption. "So we have the same last name name. Big deal. Must be a coincidence."
For those not caught up with the programme, Sylvie had pretty much figured out that Reiley was related to Ember Griffin, potentially putting their whole plan in jeopardy.
Just when everything seemed to fall into place, Alyxia griped to herself. What do we do now?
A small smile played at Sylvie's lips. "Must be a very large coincidence, then. A coincidence so large that you wanted to trick me with an alias when you first got here."
The chill in Alyxia's spine spread to the rest of her body. She was the one who gave Sylvie their real names. And if Sylvie did figure out their identities, her actions would be the cause of their downfall.
Noting the silence that had fallen in the room, Sylvie gave out a small sigh as she scratched between her eyebrows. "This is your first and last chance to clue me in and tell me the truth about whatever it is the three of you are planning."
Alyxia's senses went into overdrive, like it had when they had to run away from the raids in Fireworks, the club that served as a cover for Ignis. She felt Reiley tense beside her, her left hand itching for a weapon. Farron on the other hand seemed defensive, as if he was prepared to deny everything.
And as per usual, Alyxia did not know what to do.
But in a sudden twist of events, a corner of Sylvie's mouth twitched upwards. "But as far as I'm concerned, the only thing that matters is that you're on our side."
As she turned to waltz out of the room, she dug into her apron pocket and threw a small, dark object behind her. Farron quickly caught it, his open palms revealing that it was a newsfeed device.
"I thought you might want to see what's going on with your family name twin," Sylvie called out as she walked out of the doorway and disappeared.
With dread slowly gnawing at her as much as the whiplash of Sylvie's odd reaction, Alyxia turned to Reiley who was visibly gritting her teeth. "Reiley, I'm so-"
"I'll deal with that later," Reiley snapped as she cut Alyxia off. "For now, it seems we might have bigger problems."
As she watched Reiley gesturing for Farron to give her the newsfeed device, a terrible feeling sunk into the pit of her stomach. Even though Sylvie didn't seem too inclined to report them, even she knew that Sylvie's view of them could easily change if they made a single mistake.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!
The familiar blue light of the newsfeed hologram cast an eerie glow over the dingy room as it sputtered to life. Alyxia moved towards Reiley in order to see the words emblazoned across the feed:
FIRST SONS APPOINTED TO HIGH POSITIONS
Alyxia could barely believe what she was reading aloud:
"'The Supreme Commander Ash of the Great Peninsula has appointed her most worthy sons to key positions in the Imperial People's Government of the Great Peninsula.'"
"Wow, when did she become 'Supreme Commander'?" Farron muttered blithely, as Alyxia read on:
"'The noble Raiden Griffin was appointed the Master of the Coffers, while the noble Radley Griffin has been put in charge of the Peninsula's future conquests.'"
Alyxia took a break from reading to exclaim in confusion. "What? A chef in charge of the Peninsula's finances? And a medical professional creating war? I love them, but they have to be the worst suited people for their jobs."
Farron leaned back casually in his chair, causing it to creak dangerously. "Ah, don't you just love the smell of nepotism in the evening?" A derisive smirk played on his lips as he said this , and Alyxia suddenly forgot how to breathe.
"Well that's hardly fair," Alyxia managed to wheeze out. She took a quick breath and continued, "Besides, the Commander has to know that that decision is highly flawed."
"You know what they say," Farron drawled. "Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer, and never let your children out of your sight."
Alyxia couldn't resist the smile creeping onto her face despite the serious mood of the conversation. "I don't think that's how it goes."
A sharp snap nearly made Alyxia jump in fright, but calmed down when she realised that the snap came from Reiley's fingers. She could practically see the machinery whirring in Reiley's brain. "What are you thinking about, Reils?"
"Hm?" Reiley replied, raising her eyebrows as if she'd forgotten about Alyxia's existence. "Oh nothing much," she said as she shook her head absently. "Just more people to protect."
"Your brothers?" Alyxia guessed, but she knew it was pointless to ask Reiley when the answer was so clear.
Reiley nodded sharply. "The Commander already has one child on the run who could foil her plans. So naturally, she would want to keep her remaining two children firmly under her control."
Farron whisted lowly. "I wish I hadn't called that, but oh well." He was immediately met with a frosty glare from Reiley, and he promptly continued whisting and staring innocently at the ceiling.
Rolling her eyes, Alyxia prised the newsfeed from Reiley's grip in order to find something to change the subject with. She knew that Reiley fiercely cared about her brothers, but Reiley would never prioritise them above Alyxia herself because of her stubborn sense of duty. The best thing to do was to give Reiley time to think of a plan of action.
As she scrolled through the newsfeed, a small news story - almost too small to even be noticed - caught her eye:
ROYALS RUMOURED TO BE IN HIDING
A sudden jolt of fear pricked her, and numbness creeped into her chest. If the press had found out, that definitely meant that Ember would know as well. She gingerly tapped Reiley's shoulder, directing her attention to the story.
Reiley frowned as she scanned through the story, and then pursed her lips. "It isn't about us. If it were, the title would read 'royal', not 'royals'."
"Oh," Alyxia muttered sheepishly. "Well if we haven't been spotted, what could it possibly be about?"
"Rumors of some members of the royal family hiding out in the mountain regions, " Reiley relayed. "There was something about a mansion in Thanna?"
"A mansion in Thanna," Alyxia repeated hazily as she was taken back through the fog of her memories.
"We have reached our destination, Your Majesty," Her father's chief attendant announced as the royal armoured car braked to a halt in front of an imposing white mansion with vast snow-topped gardens.
While Alyxia was merely three years old, barely old enough to process her surroundings, she knew for sure that she had never felt cold like this in her life. "It's really cold, Daddy," Alyxia complained as she shivered in her alpaca wool coat. "Why can't we be home?"
"This is your home," Stavros replied as he took her in his arms and stepped out of the vehicle. "Your mommy grew up here, you know."
"Really?" Alyxia exclaimed as a wide grin spread on her face. Stavros nodded in reply as they approached the mansion in all of its splendour. She could barely make out the brilliant white walls of the building in the midst of all the pristine white snow.
She watched as the enormous front doors opened to reveal a regal-looking man with grey hair and hazel eyes. His face was tensed and pinched, but it seemed to relax marginally as his eyes fell on her.
"Welcome to our abode," The man welcomed them in a voice which did not sound welcoming in the slightest. "I see you've brought my granddaughter with you, Your Majesty."
"Indeed I have," Stavros' stony reply came. "I thought it would do Alyxia some good to have a little piece of her mother."
Alyxia scrunched up her nose. "You're my granddaddy?" She wondered aloud as she stared at this man who she had never seen before. "But you haven't come home to see us."
"I came when you were just a little newborn baby, swaddled in blankets," The man replied, his tone softening. "You wouldn't remember me; you were far too young."
"Oh," Alyxia said in a muted tone. An awkward, tense silence passed between the three. She squirmed in her father's arm, uncomfortable with the palpable tension in the air.
"My mom's ancestral house," Alyxia recalled as she brought her attention back to the real world. "The people there...they must be part of my extended family."
It physically sickened her to realise that she knew nothing about the people she supposedly shared blood with. They were forced into hiding for no fault of their own, except for the fact that they were related to her.
She glanced out of the corner of her eye to see Reiley analysing her as per usual. "I know what you're thinking," Reiley said with a lowered voice, "but we simply can't up and go to Thanna."
Watching as Reiley furtively glanced at Farron, she instantly understood that Reiley wanted to keep this piece of information a secret from Farron. "I understand," Alyxia replied, unable to help the resentment that seeped into her tone. Can we trust him or can we not? Make up your mind, Reiley.
Reiley responded with a look that she knew all too well, as she had seen this very same look numerous times on her father's face: Maybe some day, I'll explain everything.
Restraining herself from screaming in frustration, she quickly switched the display of the newsfeed to some peppy article titled 'Glitz and Glamour: The Dos and Don'ts of Style Beyond the Wall'. When Farron's attention returned to the two girls, he was none the wiser. His blissful ignorance only exacerbated the sick feeling in her stomach.
She absently flipped over to the part of the feed where their wanted posters usually had a starring role. Even after all of this time, the posters were out and the Imperial Army had never stopped trying to find them. They were bound to give up sooner or later, right?
The star at the corner of the newsfeed post caught her eye; symbols like those meant that the lost was interactive. Readers could post comments and the authors could see them and respond. Out of curiosity, Alyxia tapped the star symbol, and a flood of comments came forward.
Some were troll comments, while others were mostly concerned about the threat that "the traitors" posed to peace and harmony. "Well, would you take a look at that," Farron remarked off-handedly as he joined Alyxia in scrolling through the comments. "Looks like we have some fans."
Alyxia rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but laugh at his words. The Imperial Army was certainly no fan of theirs.
While she kept on scrolling, the word 'Hipster' caught her eye. Promptly stopping the scrolling motion, she clicked on the comment to read it better.
I think I may have seen people like these three lurking near the tapestry stall in the Hipster. They seem like bad news.
Alyxia heard Reiley curse under her breath. She glanced at Farron, who seemed as if all of the colour had drained from his face.
"Well, don't think much of it," Alyxia offered nervously, trying to remain optimistic. "They'll probably only look into it if it's credible. They can't simply take the word of a commenter."
"It doesn't matter," Reiley growled. "The suspicion is enough. When was this comment posted?"
"6:49," came the clipped reply from Farron. "Right about when we got home. "
"That gives us a small margin of an hour for the authors to have seen it, right?" Alyxia guessed. "It would take time for the press to notify the patrols."
"Not if the government monitors the newsfeeds 24/7," Reiley shot back as she jumped to her feet, clearly frustrated. "Which by the way, they do. We need to inform Sylvie immediately and evacuate."
But they knew it was far too late when a blood curdling scream of a child rang through the thin walls of their safehouse.
---
A/N
I did tell you to get ready.
Lav.