Royals Rise

by K. Manna

  I wiped at the spilled chocolate milk with my napkin. “No biggy, it happens. I’m going to go and change. Will you ask Keendra to help clean this up?”

  “Of course,” Indee said.

  Both Indee and Bree got up from their seats and started wiping up the mess. I took another napkin and dabbed at the brown, wet spots on my clothes as I walked out the door. There was nobody around. The halls were almost silent. I was riding up the escalating stairs, watching each floor pass by, when Roz came walking by, all glamorous and beautiful, as usual.

  “Hey, Roz!” I called out.

  Seeing my messy outfit, she asked, “What happened to you?”

  “Oh, just some chocolate milk spillage. Not my fault, of course. I’m going to my room to change. What are you up to?”

  Roz looked at me then with concern in her eyes. “My parents have set an official date for my wedding, and I just came from my dress fitting.”

  “I’m so sorry, Roz. I don’t know what else to say—”

  Roz interrupted. “It’s fine, Go-Go. This is just the way it all works.” She looked down at her hands, which were fiddling with the bow on her dress.

  “Isn’t it weird how things work? I mean, how did this whole idea of arranged marriages originate in the first place?” I questioned.

  Roz shrugged her shoulders. “Who knows? But it really sucks. It makes me want to run off to some other country and hide my identity.”

  “Don’t talk craziness. Being married won’t be that bad. I’m sure the Zylo and Zyla have chosen a good match for you. You know they want you to be happy.”

  “I hope so, but with politics and money involved, who could ever know? Money always seems to come first.” Roz’s voice was a whisper as she looked down the long hallway.

  My gaze followed hers down the hall to see a maid standing in front of a door. She didn’t seem to notice us as she opened the door and pushed the cart into the room.

  Roz looked back at me. “Hey, my ceiling is finished. Do you want to come and see it quick?”

  “I thought you weren’t supposed to have any of us in your room? I don’t want to get caught or get you in trouble.”

  “My father and brother went to the mainland and shouldn’t be back for a while, and my mother is resting because she hasn’t been feeling well. I’m pretty sure we will be just fine. We just have to watch out for Sir Felix and Dr. Avery. They tell all, if you know what I mean,” Roz explained.

  “What about the cameras?” I asked.

  “You can leave that to me. Let’s just say, I know the guy who works in the camera room, and we’re pretty good friends.”

  I nodded. “Ah, I see. Well, let’s make it quick then.”

  “Besides, it’s not like I will be living here much longer. I will be married off and probably forgotten soon enough,” Roz said softly, grabbing my hand.

  Roz walked swiftly down the opposite hallway from where the maid had been. I followed closely behind, trying to memorize the path. There were so many turns that I wondered if I’d be able to find my own way back.

  What a maze.

  Thankfully, we didn’t meet another living soul as we tiptoed quietly to her room. Sneaking around like that made me feel like a naughty little kid doing something that I knew I shouldn’t be doing. The butterflies in my stomach fought with the adrenaline coursing through my body. We had one goal and one goal only: not to get caught. A squeaky noise came from down the hall, sending us both into a panic. Roz swiftly gripped my arm and pulled me behind a statue of a very large lion. We stood together, breathing heavily. After a few moments of complete silence, she peeked from behind the statue and pulled me forward to follow her again. Within minutes, we came to a silver door with a sparkly jeweled letter “R” attached to the front of it.

  Roz opened the door to a spacious room that looked elegant but with a splash of funkiness. Her walls were painted teal and outlined in deep purple. Different-sized frames hung from the walls with other creative pieces of artwork. An awesome, antique-looking purple velvet couch decorated the corner of the room and sat next to a marble sculpture of a fairy. Long fringed curtains tied in the center with shimmery rope hung from the gigantic windows overlooking the ocean. It was picture perfect.

  “So, do you like the ceiling?” Roz asked.

  “Oh, I haven’t even gotten to that yet. I’m still taking in all of your other cool stuff.”

  Roz smiled. “I love decorating. I should have been an interior designer. I just know that’s my calling, but obviously that’s not ever going to happen. When I marry, I will be expected to act as a wife and pop out babies, especially sons to carry on the family name. How lame is that?” She began to pull hairpins from her hair. “I’m going to change into something more comfortable. I’ll be right back.”

  Roz walked into her closet where dozens upon dozens of gorgeous dresses hung. She closed the door behind her, leaving me alone in her big, fancy-funk bedroom.

  I can’t believe she trusts me when she barely knows me. Some chicks would totally slip something valuable into their pocket, but fortunately, I’m not like that.

  Frames filled with pictures of the royal family stood on her dresser. A cute pic of Roz and the Zyon caught my eye. Given their rounder, childlike faces, it must have been taken years ago. It was strange to see the two together in such an informal and intimate setting, their heads tipped together, exchanging affections the way normal siblings do.

  He’s so dang cute, even then. If he hadn’t been the Zyon, I would’ve totally chased him around at recess. Oh yeah, the ceiling, Margo. That’s why you came here in the first place.

  With a tilt of my head, my eyes looked up to find one side of the ceiling painted with shades of orange and yellow. A large, bold sun marked the daytime portion of the ceiling, following a fading sunset. Sunset streaks turned into deeper blues and purples surrounding the different phases of the moon. The sun-to-moon phases arched across the entire ceiling in the shape of a rainbow and were followed by a string of silver stars speckling the night sky.

  That Truman dude did an awesome job. I envied his painting skills, and I wanted this ceiling.

  Roz strolled out of the closet with her hair down, dressed in a casual, but still nice, sweat suit. “So do you like it?”

  “Yeah, it’s awesome. Truman is a great painter. And for how big your ceiling is, he did it pretty fast, too.”

  “I know, he worked really hard,” Roz said.

  I looked at Roz in her sweat suit. It was hard to believe that she actually dresses like a normal person sometimes. She always looks so, so royal.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” Roz asked.

  “Like what?”

  Roz crossed her arms. “You’re eyeing me up and down like I look funny or something.”

  “No, it’s not that. I’m just so used to seeing you all dolled up, the hair and the dress and all,” I explained.

  “Yeah, that’s because I’m expected to look that way. My mom would freak if I went out looking like this, but I wish that I could. I get so tired of having to fit the image and look a certain way. I mean, who really cares?”

  “I think it would be fun to dress up every day and to look like a zyness,” I said, still walking around the room checking everything out.

  Roz sighed. “Believe me, it gets old.”

  I noticed another picture on the shelf of the Zyon standing by himself.

  More cuteness. Those suits that he always wears make him look so manly and—what’s the word—sophisticated.

  “Your brother doesn’t seem to mind.” It shot right out of my mouth before I could stop it.

  “Doesn’t mind what?”

  “Ya know, the whole look. Dressing in suits and styling his hair, looking all royal. He always looks so proud,” I said, still studying the picture of him.

  Roz laughed.
“Ha. Yeah, that’s because he is. He has too much pride, to tell you the truth. He tries so hard to impress people, especially our father. He can’t seem to help showing off and wanting all of the attention. He loves all this royalty stuff and being so damn important, but it can really get annoying.”

  In a way, I understood how Roz felt because her description of her brother matched the way I often felt about my brother. Still, I asked, “Don’t you think, if it were any of us in his place, that we would do the same? It would be really hard not to let it go to our head.”

  Roz shook her head and sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe. I just get so annoyed because we used to be so close when we were younger. We had so much fun, but now I feel like I hardly know him. He has changed so much.”

  Still on the Zyon’s side, I said, “We all change. Your brother has a lot on his plate right now with his coming out and meeting all of the Alacorians. He needs to grow up so fast and learn how to be a ruler, our future Zylo. There is so much being expected of him. Anybody having to go through all of that would change, Roz.”

  “Yeah, I know. It sucks because I feel like I’ve lost my brother and my father. I’m no longer my brother’s best friend or daddy’s little girl. All of my father’s attention goes to my brother, while I’m being married off, like I mean nothing. Like I don’t matter anymore.”

  I sat beside Roz on her bed. “They do care. Like you said, it’s just the way things are.”

  “Yeah, well, you wouldn’t be saying that if you were the one being forced to marry some strange guy that you’ve never even met. I think …”

  Suddenly, a beeping sound came from somewhere in the room. I looked around, wondering where it was coming from and why. Roz walked over to the dresser and flipped a little switch that turned the beeping off.

  “My father’s boat just pulled in, so I should take you back now,” Roz said hurriedly.

  “Good idea,” I agreed, adding, “And just so you know, I didn’t take anything from your room when you were changing in the closet. I’m sure you have to worry about that kind of stuff.”

  Roz shook her head. “Nah, it’s just stuff.” She opened her bedroom door. “Even if you did take something, I would replace it with my daddy’s money.”

  Thankfully, I made it back to my room without getting caught. Roz took me back through the maze of hallways. I hope no one noticed her wandering the halls in her sweat suit. We wouldn’t want the Zyla to find out about that, would we? That would get kind of old, always having to wear dresses. I do love comfy, lazy-day pants. And when I wear them in public, nobody cares, especially me.

  Having returned to my room, I was finally able to change out of my sticky outfit. I put on a new pair of sweats and grabbed my jade stone. I never knew when it might come in handy, plus it had become such a habit to always carry my stone with me. I felt anxious without it. I looked into the mirror before heading out the door.

  Whoa, a little messy there, Margo.

  As I combed my hair and started to pull it up into a tight ponytail, there was a knock at the door. It obviously wasn’t Lottie. She wouldn’t have bothered to knock.

  I opened the door to find Sir Felix standing there. “Sir Felix, it’s you again.”

  “It is. Where have you been? I have been looking all over for you.”

  Quick, think!

  “Well, Indee accidentally spilled my drink all over me at lunch. My outfit was such a mess that I came up to change. Then I … uh, I felt so tired from practice. It was very hard today and wore me out, so I took a nap.”

  Sir Felix looked at me suspiciously. “I knocked on your door.”

  “Really? When?” I acted surprised.

  “About twenty minutes ago.”

  I gave a little laugh. “Oh, I can be such a heavy sleeper.”

  Sir Felix scratched at his temple. “All right. Well, you have been summoned again. Dr. Avery has been waiting impatiently.”

  Oh, shoot! I hope I didn’t piss anybody off.

  Sir Felix led me through the halls as fast as his sense of decorum would allow. My heart began to thump faster and faster, not because of our awkward pace, but because of the possibility of finally seeing the Zyon again. Tiny butterflies started up in my belly, swarming in circles, in and around every organ, and even bumping into ribs.

  Finally! Finally! Finally! I’m going to see the Zyon. I hope.

  Sir Felix glanced back at me. “Well, don’t you look happy?”

  “Why do you say that?” I asked.

  Sir Felix shrugged his shoulders and had a little smirk on his face. “Because of the smile on your face and the little skip in your step today.”

  I tried shyly to hide my smile—like it mattered.

  Dr. Avery quickly answered the door when Sir Felix knocked. He sounded a tad out of breath as he showed me to my usual scanning chair, reclining it for me.

  Is he mad at me? He usually talks more than this, always saying, “Do this, my dear” and “Do that, my dear.” Had he seen Roz and me? Or is it because Sir Felix couldn’t find me and now I had put him behind in his busy schedule?

  Dr. Avery sighed. “I’m sorry, my dear Margo, if I’m not my chipper self. I have been extremely busy all day, and now this scan has so suddenly been requested. My days were so much easier when I had a nurse here to help assist.”

  “Why don’t you get a new one?” I asked.

  Duh, wouldn’t that make sense?

  “I will, eventually, but not until after the Royals Rise. The interviewing process and training take time, which I don’t have at the moment.”

  Dr. Avery positioned the scanner over my head after situating the cushion beneath my head and neck. He then walked back to his workstation, pressing buttons and flipping switches.

  “I have been piecing together your scans, and I think that I am beginning to have an idea about what we are searching for in that complicated little head of yours,” Dr. Avery explained.

  “And what is your idea?” I asked curiously.

  Dr. Avery made a clicking sound with his tongue. “Ah, that is not for me to tell.”

  “Oh, come on, it’s my head,” I complained. “Why did you say anything at all then? I can’t stand when people leave me hanging.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that.”

  I pouted, “Uh-huh, clearly.”

  “All right, the scan will begin. Please sit still now.”

  Sighing in my seat, I rolled my eyes with annoyance.

  What good would it do to whine? Dr. Avery isn’t going to give in. He’s no sucker to be persuaded.

  Dr. Avery wouldn’t tell me, but I so badly wanted to know what they were searching for in this freakish head of mine. Thoughts of seeing the Zyon soon filled my mind, replacing any other thoughts that I had been having. Then I remembered the vision of Onnika in her short little dress, sitting dangerously close to the Zyon.

  Blah!

  These thoughts unraveled into thoughts and images of Onnika and Gage, kissing.

  Blah, some more! My own bro, how could he be so dumb? Just because a girl is cute does not mean you gotta kiss her. Gage, you nitwit.

  More horrible images of the Zyon kissing Onnika played like a movie in my head over and over.

  Brain, why do you torment me?

  Dr. Avery thankfully cut through my crazy thoughts. “On to the next scan, my dear.”

  He came toward me, whipping out the amber bottle that held the scent that would knock me out within seconds. Removing the cap, Dr. Avery waved the little bottle back and forth beneath my nose.

  Hot damn!

  Immediately my nose hairs felt like they were being singed.

  I scrunched my nose. “I hate that sh—”

  REWIND …

  The sky grew dark extremely fast that night. I walked down the dimly lit sidewalk a
lone and a bit unnerved. Something was off. Nothing looked familiar, not the houses, not the streets, not even the sky. Everything seemed different, strange somehow. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I kept on walking anyway. A streetlight flickered at the end of the road.

  Where is everybody?

  There were no cars, no people, no house lights on, no usual noises or racket, not even an insect. As I walked farther down the sidewalk toward the flickering light, my senses somehow alerted me. I couldn’t see anything of concern around me, but there was definitely something off, a strangeness being carried through the air that I didn’t agree with.

  Why is this jacket in my hands?

  I threw it down on the grass and heard a jingle. I searched every pocket.

  Whose keys are these? They aren’t mine.

  I stuffed the keys back into the pocket of the jacket, left it on the ground, and then continued to walk down the eerie street.

  A cold wind blew, causing me to tense up, and I instantly regretted leaving the jacket behind. The strangeness that I had felt minutes ago crept through the darkness in the distance from across the street. Human figures were coming closer and closer, five of them walking toward me with a purpose that was of no good. Clear-cut trouble!

  What should I do? Where should I go? They outnumber me, and I have no weapons, no protection whatsoever. I have no clue where to run in this creepy place.

  A warm sensation pulsed inside of my jean pocket.

  What is that?

  Still staring at the five dark figures coming toward me, I quickly drove my hand deep into my pocket, finding a hard object. I pulled it out.

  A stone? What is this for?

  I looked back up.

  Oh, no!

  They were walking—almost floating—over the grass near the sidewalk across from me. The stone in my hand began to feel warm and pulsate with a dim glow of green. Suddenly, a sense of confidence and power ran through my blood.

  This is all up to me. I will not let them ruin me.

  I stood tall and started to walk toward them. My eyes met each of theirs glaring back at me.