Kendall Hill, as it was to the public, was still missing. There were some sightings of him here and there but each time he escaped.
And even worse was that the King was still sick, and though it wasn’t explicitly stated that he wasn’t at the palace, Memory presumed he and Queen Pearl were still in France. It left Prince Edward, and possibly his brother, in charge.
She wished she was there to help. To make Prince Cassian smile because he couldn’t do it on his own. To make him forget his worries because he had too many.
Memory cried.
The snow sprinkled around campus lightened her heavy heart. As the library closed, Memory gathered up all her belongings and left.
Viletta had gotten a new car, which unbeknownst to her, was paid for by Memory. Even then, Memory preferred to walk, lest she crash into another Prince and wind up playing princess again.
Plus, the sky was really pretty. There were stars littered about, and the full moon stood out against the dark velvet–like sky.
It started to snow again, and Memory briefly contemplated going by bus. But she was only five minutes away, so it wouldn’t be worth it.
She supposed she should’ve worn thicker clothes. And her shoes were completely inappropriate for the eight inches of snow that landed in Whecombe Pass that day.
Suddenly, the hair on her neck stood on end. She swirled around, but there was nothing threatening in sight.
I’m going crazy.
Memory rubbed her eyes, shifting the stack of books to her other arm. Chills crept up her spine.
“I see you have made good use of the money.”
Memory blinked. Did she just hear something? Great, even his voice was beginning to bug her at every waking moment.
“Memory.”
She turned around as saw him standing in the snow, pink–faced. She laughed.
“Great, now even my hallucinations look real.” She chuckled to herself, laughing at how absurd she’d become.
“Hallucinations? No surprise there.”
Memory choked. His voice sounded so real. And then she felt a light grip on her arm. Her books were being taken away, and she shrieked, falling back in the snow.
“You–you’re real!” She sputtered. He stood tall, tapping his foot and setting down her books on the sidewalk.
“Duly noted.”
He was dressed in expensive slacks. While he didn’t necessarily smile or frown, his eyes betrayed every emotion he felt. And Memory was familiar with each one of them. Not to mention, the raccoon–like eyes were still there. Staring at her.
She gasped for air. “But–but–”
“I suppose I could have gotten a guard to give you this–would have spared me the time–but here.” He fished a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her.
“How did you find me–”
When she didn’t take the paper, he forced open her hand and pressed it onto the palm of her hand.
“All the terms of the contract are complete.” He said, and walked away. Just like that.
Memory sat up, the snow soaking her clothes. She unfolded the piece of paper with shaky hands and realized it was an address, written in neat handwriting.
Her mother’s address, more specifically.
She stared at the paper, almost burning a hole into it. And then looked up.
He was fading away.
“Thank you, Prince Cassian!” She yelled, gripping the paper tightly. She was afraid it would fade away too.
“Memory, did you hear?!” Lulu pointed excitedly at the TV screen. Memory had finally gotten around to buying necessities for their new apartment, perhaps a little too excessively.
Memory took off her cardigan, making sure the slip of paper was still in her hands. It felt so surreal.
“Yes, Lulu?” She said, still in a daze.
“The King–he’s dead!”
Memory forced her eyes to look up as Lulu rambled on.
“I mean, three deaths in one year? Must be rough! Queen Beryl died like last week too.”
“What do you mean the King is dead?” Memory fell onto the couch, watching the anchorwoman pull up pictures of King Darius. Somehow, he looked friendlier in pictures compared to real life.
But he’s still down–right scary.
“They say he succumbed to his sickness or whatever.” Lulu wrinkled her nose. “My friend said she heard that he was poisoned.”
Memory shot up. What if Elliot too had–?
No, that’s impossible. She wrung her hands together nervously. It can’t be.
“Well, I take that back.” Lulu said, enraptured with the events being played on the screen. “He’s in a coma.”
Memory looked up. “Coma?”
“They don’t think he’ll ever wake up.”
“There’s a big difference between coma and dead, Lulu.” Memory laughed nervously, still thinking about Elliot. “You had me for a minute there.”
Her sister shook her head. “Same thing in this case. You know the eldest’s son coronation was announced this morning?”
Prince Edward.
Sometimes, Memory really hated the fact her sister was smarter than her. “We’re getting a new King.”
“Yeah. Next week.” Lulu turned to Memory excitedly. “Can we go? Please?”
Memory wasn’t even listening. “Prince Edward’s king. Oh god. This is all so messed up.”
“Can we please? We can afford it, right? Coronations don’t happen every day!”
“We can, but–” I really don’t want to see him again.
A sudden thought struck her. “When was this announced? The King thing?”
Lulu giggled. “This morning. My friends couldn’t shut up about it.”
Confused, Memory made her way to her small room, tumbling onto her desk chair. It was nowhere as comfortable as the one she’d had at the palace, but it was hers. Actually hers, which is all that mattered.
Prince Cassian came even though his father...Memory stared at the folded piece of paper in her hands. He made it really, really hard to hate him.
As she changed into her nightclothes, the pepper spray she carried fell out of her pockets. She’d lost the habit during the stay at the palace, since she almost never wore clothes with pockets in them.
She picked the spray up. The last time she’d used it…she could replay it over and over again in her head. Oh, if only she’d known what she was getting into at that time.
A smile lit up on her face. If she had this spray on her when Zoisite was bothering her, or when Martin hit her, life would’ve been so much easier.
Martin. She’d completely forgotten about him. He’d even swallowed his pride and tried to help her, in his weird way. And Memory couldn’t shake the feeling that he was right. But regardless of what his brother would’ve done, the King was as good as dead.
He kept talking about Tourmaline. But what did she do? Does he hate her because she’s the mother of his niece?
She frowned. Her accusation of Tourmaline had been way off. Even Chrysander, who was level–headed as far as she knew, was convinced she had nothing to do with the heirloom being stolen or the poisoning.
What had Martin wanted to warn her about, then? “Listen, I must warn you about…”
Great. Now she was sinking deeper and deeper into something she desperately longed to forget. If she couldn’t be a princess anymore, then she needed to stop this nonsense and put it in the past.
She could go to the moon and back! She could live wherever she wanted! She wasn’t going to live in Whecombe Pass anymore. Tomorrow, she was going to buy a house, no, a mansion! And maybe then she could forget.
That little inkling of worry was still there. And confusion. There was a part of her that wanted answers. She couldn’t live like this, not with the guilt crushing every bone of her body. She needed to see, she needed to know before she let her last dream leave her.
She still had the bracelet Prince Cassian had given her, too, she realized. A
token of good bye.
Which is probably why she told Lulu,
“I guess we can go.”
Her mother could wait.
Even with her newfound financial status, she balked at the ticket prices. Suddenly, because of the announcement, the price of any transportation leading to Sugrove was multiplied tenfold. Viletta was furious.
“I can’t afford that. Neither can you two.” She gave Memory a pointed look. “Leave it. Besides, who wants to see a spoiled brat put a crown on his head? Bo–ring.”
Even Memory was convinced until Lulu pouted.
“It’s my graduation gift, right?”
Lulu pouting was a sight to behold, and Memory couldn’t resist. She bought the tickets anyway, hoping she wouldn’t regret it.
“What about school?”
“Hah,” Lulu laughed, “No one’s going to school. I’m pretty sure everything’s closed for the next week or so.”
Memory huffed. It was like the hullaballoo with Prince Quincy’s death all over again.
“This obsession with the royal family is ridiculous.”
“Jealous, Memory?” Viletta poked her but Memory slapped her hand away, not bothering to have the last word as she left to pack.
Memory willed the days to slow down, but the more she did, the sooner they came. She didn’t want the day in which she was forced to realize she would never come back to come. Coronation day meant she was never going to be anything but Memory Confiance, a girl who once scammed Kind Darius’ mother.
But the day came. Suddenly, she woke up to Lulu’s excited squeals and was making her way to the airport in the ungodly hours of the morning.
Even at night, the airport was flooded with people who evidently didn’t need to sleep. Memory didn’t fail to notice that the majority of people on her flight were female.
Thankfully, they rode in first class, exciting Lulu even more. She was like a small child.
“How could you afford this?” Lulu exclaimed, watching as they were served food on a silver platter.
“Just like everything else in our apartment?” Memory questioned, spearing a slice of chicken with her fork and stuffing it into her mouth. “I was thinking, we should get a house after you graduate.”
Lulu perked up. “Near Helviera University? Please tell me you won’t let me go into their dorms.”
The chicken was too good to eat when cold, so Memory didn’t answer her until her plate was completely cleaned and sparkled.
“Why not? You’re expensive, you know. And the dorms are actually like mini houses. Helviera University can afford it.”
“I’d rather stay with you.” Lulu admitted, finishing her own plate. To one–up Memory, she even licked the entire plate until it looked like it had been freshly washed. “What are you going to do? About your own schooling? I thought you wanted to major in political science.”
“Heck no.” Memory leaned back in her large seat. It was practically a bed. “I don’t even need to study, actually.”
“What are you going to do, then?”
“I was thinking about becoming a professional equestrian.”
She couldn’t help but grin when Lulu choked on her spit. “Well.” Her sister started, reminding Memory of her own mannerisms. “Er, go for it. But since when did you like horses?”
“Since I decided I liked them.” Memory lied down on her back, pulling a blanket over her head. “Goodnight, Lulu.”
“But–”
“Bye.”
They arrived at the Sugrove airport around nine. As expected, Lulu started choking on the air, unused to the humidity. And to make things worse, instead of snowing, the sky was completely sunny.
“Are you sure we’re in the same country?” Lulu asked, being pulled along with the crowd of people leaving the airport.
Memory nodded. Sugrove was at sea – level, and not that far away from the coast. Meanwhile, Whecombe Pass was in the middle of nowhere, and was much higher up, close to the mountains.
As they waited for the public bus, Memory watched Lulu stand in awe. Regardless of the posters with Prince Edward’s face littering the city, she reminded her of when she first arrived at the Sugrove.
“I didn’t know billboards could do that.” Her sister finally said as the bus screeched to halt at their stop. Memory laughed.
“Pretty neat, huh?’
“It’s crazy.”
“Wait until you see the palace.”
It was difficult to actually get near enough for Lulu to make out the shapes and sizes of the individual buildings that compromised the palace. And given the amount of people that were crowding around the iron gates, Memory decided to book a room in a hotel and stay there until the actual time for the coronation.
Memory, dreading every moment that passed, pleaded with Lulu to return or heck, even watch the coronation from the hotel room itself. But Lulu, rational as well as good at persuasion, left her begrudgingly conceding to her sister’s demands.
“Fine. But it’ll be crowded and we probably won’t even see his face.”
Lulu sighed happily. “I’ll be breathing the same air he does! I’ll be a mile within where he stands!”
Memory eyed her carefully. “What about Kyle?”
“Just because I like him doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate beautiful people.” Her sister responded, twirling around the room. Memory’s stomach lurched, its contents threatening to make reappear.
Beautiful? Wait until he opens his mouth.
She finally coerced Lulu into taking a nap, and the two didn’t wake up until it hit noon. Memory wasn’t shocked to see the entire hotel empty. There was no one at the front desk, not even a single person, and when she stepped outside everyone was marching in the direction of the palace.
Memory and Lulu walked along, watching the events unfold on the large screens that had been placed around the city.
The cameras panned over every member of the family, youngest to oldest. Zoisite was first, standing as tall and expressionless as expected to.
No frills, thank god.
Prince Cassian popped up next, and Memory felt her heart constrict painfully. He didn’t look proud or like someone that had just accomplished the scam of a lifetime and managed to save the Eastcote family from bankruptcy and possibly the country’s death.
Memory turned away, waiting until Chrysander showed up. Prince Edward, of course, would be last.
Chrysander wasn’t smiling. He looked pained, and it was the same with Tourmaline. Lulu sighed.
“She’s so pretty.”
“Yeah.” Memory gritted. “Her voice isn’t, though.”
She barely saw the weird look Lulu shot her as they marched along. Tsavorite, technically, was part of the Jackson family. But the cameras still showed her amongst the crowd, poised like the perfect lady. Her husband and son were sitting next to her, unmoving.
Queen Pearl was there, too. Her belly bump was quite obvious, and with horror Memory realized she was pregnant. Murmurs broke out in the crowd as they pointed to the Queen.
She stood stiffly, eyes motionless. While Memory hadn’t expected her to cry at the news of her husband’s situation, she didn’t think the woman was cold enough to frown.
But then again, this was the same woman that didn’t bat an eyelash when her two year old son was presumably killed.
They marched closer to the palace when they were stopped. The palace gates were open, but only those important enough were allowed in to watch the coronation with their own eyes. For the rest, the screens had to do.
Prince Edward stood up, and was it just a trick of the lighting or did he look nervous? His lips were twitching, which was what happened to Prince Cassian whenever he was the slightest bit nervous or anxious.
He was dressed in a garish gold robe, contrasting with his family’s elegant suits and dresses. It matched perfectly with the sun, Memory thought, closing her eyes.
The national anthem was sung, rituals were done, and the entire time Memory wa
tched as if she was in a daze. This was where she had to let go. She had promised herself, hadn’t she? The mere fact that Prince Cassian hadn’t asked her to come, or made any contact with her since leaving with the exception of fulfilling his promise said everything.
She had the answers now. There was no need to worry about anything involving the Eastcote family–it was none of her business.
Memory turned, bored out of her mind. She stepped out of the line, pushing against the moving crowd when she noticed they all began to scream, ducking.
She swirled back towards the screen. Prince Edward was on the ground, his arm bleeding profusely. A shot echoed in the background.
The screens flickered into black.
“Lulu!” Memory cried. “We have to go!” She ran towards her sister, but her sister was dragged along.
“Memory!” She writhed, trying to move towards her. Someone knocked her to the ground as they ran. Memory tried reaching a hand out but she was forced backwards as well.
“Jade?” Someone exclaimed. Memory gasped, ducking and pulling her sweater over her head. “Princess Jade!”
Memory spluttered nervously. “No–I–”
“Oh, Princess!” The maid standing inches away from her stepped closer. She grabbed onto her shoulder before she could escape. “You’re here! GAURDS! PRINCESS JADE IS HERE!”
Memory didn’t know how anyone could hear anything over the sound of screaming and utter terror, but suddenly she was lifted up and out of the crowd by three guards dressed in stark black. In their arms were guns, too.
“Let me go!” She howled, kicking and scratching them anywhere she could. “I need to find my sister! Let me go!”
They paid no heed as they dragged her into the palace, and the iron gates were shut.
Screaming ensued. Memory couldn’t tell the difference between hers and someone else’s.
She was lugged along, and even as she dug her heels into the ground, it made no difference. She was moving further and further away from the gates.
“Protect the Princess!” The maid accompanying them shouted. “Take her to the ball room! I’ll find his highness–”
The Liars Page 25