The Liars (8 page)

“Oh, Zoisite…”

“
Aunt
Zoisite.” The girl snapped. “You just came here. You have to talk to me respectfully.”

“Sorry.” Memory held her hands up. “I didn’t know. I’m a crazy person, like you said.”

“Oh.” Zoisite smirked, reminding her too much of Prince Cassian for it to be normal. “Can…can I run with you?”

Memory shrugged. “Why not? But those shoes…”

Zoisite, along with the dress, had kitten heels on. And they were rather pretty–Memory didn’t want to be the reason she ruined them. Or worse, the one Diana yelled at for destroying a completely beautiful pair of shoes.

“I want to run!
”

“Um.” The people in the royal family were getting
weirder by the minute. “Why not barefoot?”

“Barefoot?” The girl asked
as if she’d never heard of the term. Behind them, Tourmaline shouted for the girl in that obnoxious voice of hers.

“If you’re not coming, looks like your sister needs you.” Memory pointed to them. If she wasn’t quick, Diana would be gaining on her. “Coming or no?”

Zoisite sat down in the grass and pulled her heels off.

“I’m coming.”

Memory grinned and dashed ahead at a medium pace, Zoisite trailing behind her. The girl didn’t smile nor frown, but had a perfectly placid expression in place. The reason why she wanted to run in the first place became clearer the closer they got to the stables.

She’s probably annoyed by the ‘prim and proper’ ways they have here.

“Do you like to run?” Memory huffed, and Zoisite shrugged.

“I’m not allowed to run.”

Memory’s eyebrows were pulled into a frown. “Why not?”

“Palace rules.”

“Why are you doing it now?”

“Because you are.” Zoisite panted, slowing down as the stables were only fifty feet away. “For an old lady, you aren’t
bad.”

Memory turned around and started jogging backwards. “Of course not. I was on the track team in middle school.”

“What’s track?”

Her response died in her throat when she tumbled backwards, slamming into another person. She fell onto the ground, and the little girl sneered.

“I take that back. You are horrible at running!”

Memory groaned, looking up to see who she bumped to. To her immense embarrassment, it was Elliot. And just looking at him made her forget any retort she had to Zoisite’s comments.

“We seem to meet like this quite a bit, princess.” He pulled her up, and Memory, covered in dirt, sighed.

“Sorry.” She
brushed all that she could from her clothes. “I wasn’t looking.” At least he couldn’t see her blushing. All he could see was a brown face.

His lips twitched. Barely. “It is alright.” He walked over to the stables, leading a black horse out.
She had never seen a horse in real life, but this one was beautiful. She had a long mane and soft eyes.

“Is that yours?”

“No.” Elliot responded. “It is Prince Edward’s.”

“She’s pretty.” Memory asked if she could touch her, and when he nodded, she stroked her mane. The horse neighed
happily.

“Her name is Irma.”

Memory grinned. “Couldn’t think of a better name? Like, the blank knight? Or shadow hunter?”

He stared at her but didn’t reply, swinging onto the back of the horse. Zoisite pointed at the horse.

“I want to ride it!” She whined. Elliot turned to her.

“Ask your nephew,
Lady Zoisite. I have no right.” He galloped away, and Memory was left with a stomping child.

“It’s not fair.” She cried. “It’s not fair!”

“Zoisite, I mean, Aunt Zoisite. Why can’t you ride the horse?”

Zoisite huffed. “Edward owns all the horses. And he thinks I am too young to ride.”

“Well…” Memory eyed her height. Maybe it wasn’t an age problem–three-foot tall people did have a higher chance of falling off and getting hurt compared to six-foot tall people.

“
Elliot is really mean.” Zoisite said, and made an expression that Memory thought as supposed to be pouting but wasn’t quite right.

“Well. He seems kinda nice.” Memory kneeled next to her. “Who is he, by the way?”

The little girl’s mouth contorted into a frown. “You do not know?”

“I’m new here.” She reminded her.

“He’s my cousin.”

It took a moment to remember that Zoisite, this little girl, was King Darius’ sister. So Ell
iot must be King Darius’ cousin.

“Why is he here?”

“I do not know. I do not care.” Zoisite sighed. “Can we call a maid? My feet are dirty.”

Grinning, Memory slipped off her shoes. “That’s the point.
C’mon. Don’t tell me you’ve never done this in your life.”

“But it is true! Mother will lock me inside if she finds out I got dirty.”

Memory, feeling more pity for the little girl by the minute, held out a hand.

“She won’t.”

Zoisite refused to touch her but smiled anyway, forgetting about her previous tantrum with the horses. She spun around in circles, smiling as she ran, and Memory told her about the game of tag.

“You’ve never heard of tag?” She deadpanned. Zoisite sniffed.

“It sounds like a stupid game.”

“Well, you’re stupid. Twerp.”

That got Zoisite fired up. “I’m better than you! And prettier!”

“But I know stuff you don’t. Like tag.” Memory poked
her and ran off, laughing maniacally, and Zoisite joined her, smiling widely. The biggest smile Memory had seen on anyone since she’d entered the palace, including Diana’s.

That night, Prince Cassian visited her. And he looked dead serious.

“How come I get in trouble for being on the men’s floor and you don’t for being here?” Memory gestured to the maids who were sweeping the halls outside.

He smiled secretively. “Women tend to keep secrets if given proper incentive.”

Memory gagged. “I can’t believe anyone would find you charming.”

He pointedly rejected the bait and made her sit down. “My brother was not happy, but let it go. He’s under the impression you’re still new here. And that you’re the same child that vanished eleven years ago.”

“Okay. So what’s the news?”

“Two things.” Prince Cassian held up a finger. “First, King Darius is arriving from England this evening. He will be seeing you. Get your act together.”

Memory shuddered. If Queen Pearl was scary, than King Darius was down-right terrifying.

“Okay. Second?”

Prince Cassian
pursed his lips. “Zoisite…she is locked in her room for the next two weeks. I know, from my visit in Helviera, that people tend to play around. But there is no room for that here. Tourmaline was extremely upset and reported to Queen Beryl.”

Aghast, Memory protested. “That’s not fair! She’s only a child. And she had major issues. Do you want her to sit around and
sip tea with women or play with children her age?”

“She is the King’s brother, Jade. Children are born for the sake of running the country, not playing.”

Memory wouldn’t give up. “But it’s not fair to take away her childhood. Do you know what it does to people? I mean, it’s insane.”

“Jade, please let go of anything you learned previously.”
Prince Cassian leveled his gaze dangerously. “The way you were brought up was uncivilized. Please learn that.”

Snarling, Memory stood up. “Uncivilized? Are you saying that my parents were savages?” Her voice rose with every octave. “Horrible, compared to the likes of you? I was never raised, I raised myself! And
after coming here, all you pompous idiots treating children like adults, it’s no wonder you turned out so abnormal!”

The last word echoed in the room, and Memory huffed from the long tirade she’d just had. She watch
ed as Prince Cassian got up with a cruel glint in his eyes.

“I see.”

And he left.

Chapter 7

Memory refused to apologize. She wouldn’t. Nope, she would never.

Which was exactly why she was standing in the elevator, her finger hovering over the first floor button.

It hadn’t been even an hour and guilt hit her like a waterslide. What did she say wrong? She didn’t even do anything wrong! She’d only been trying to play with Zoisite.

Besides, if the little girl got in trouble, shouldn’t she have too? But maybe the grandmother, like everyone else, thought she was an outcast. Still a child. Learning the ways of royalty.

Memory couldn’t do it. Her pride was too strong, and someone needed to tell
the Prince to get off his high pedestal. Besides, he probably had other, more important things to do than worry about a little commoner insulting him. In fact, it probably amused him more than anything else. Why should he care what a nobody called him?

She left the elevator, feeling guilt for no absolute reason, when the doors across from hers opened. It was Ruby, muttering to herself, and aunt Tsavorite was with her.

“Oh, Ruby, look. There’s your niece.” She pointed at Memory. “She is lovely, is she not?”

Ruby nodded. “Yes yes, beautiful nose.”

Tsavorite smiled and shrugged when Memory pointed to her nose.

“Beautiful? My nose?”

“Ruby has her quirks.” Aunt Tsavorite said. From what Memory knew, she was forty-two years old, yet she looked so young and bright.

Memory sighed. “Okay. I’ll be in my room.”

“Jade!” Aunt Tsavorite called. “Would you like to have tea in my quarters?”

“Tea?” Memory wrinkled her nose. “Sorry. I hate tea.”

Aunt Tsavorite let out a breath of relief. “Thank goodness there is a sane person here. How about hot chocolate?”

“That I can do.”

Aunt Tsavorite’s room wasn’t as nearly as decorated nor big as Memory’s, but it was a guest room so it was to be expected. She ordered one
of the maids to bring them hot chocolate and cake. She gestured to one of the velvet seats, and Memory sat down, unabashedly making herself comfortable.

“How have you been?”

“Good.” Memory shrugged. “Bored, to be honest.”

“Ah.” Aunt Tsavorite nodded understandingly. “I wanted to see you and talk to you in private but you were in your rooms. I was under the impression you were scared, or perhaps studying very hard. Being the King’s daughter is not easy.”

“Tell me about it.” Memory leaned back in the seat. “I’ve had a rough day. What about you, aunt Tsavorite?”

“Oh, just call me Tsavorite.” She laughed, and it was a welcome sound. “Aunt makes me seem old, which I’m not. Never.”

The food arrived and while Memory did her best to be proper and hold the cup of hot chocolate like she’d seen Tourmaline do with her tea, she was surprised to see Tsavorite wolf it down and stuff her mouth with cake.

“I’ll be here until Zoisite’s birthday party.” She said with a full mouth. “Please, don’t mind my manners.”

Memory, happy that the woman didn’t care, wolfed down her cake just the same. “How’s your husband?”

“He’s fine. Work and all that.”

“How long have you been here?”

Finished with her food, Tsavorite wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her gown and pushed the silverware off to the side. “I was going to leave last month, but the funeral delayed my leave. I then decided to stay until Zoisite’s party.”

Zoisite. That girl. “She’s so young.” Memory mused. “When I was that old, all I did was play hopscotch.”

Tsavorite stared at her before bursting into laughter. “Ah, I keep forgetting you were gone for
a whole eleven years. What is sophotch?”

“Hopscotch? Er, I’ll show you sometime.” Memory finished the last of her hot chocolate and asked for a second. “Prince Quincy…how did he die?”

Sighing, Tsavorite clasped her hands in her lap. “Don’t ask too many questions, Jade.”

“Yes, but–why is everyone so secretive about it?”

The woman waved her hands around. “No need to worry about it, Jade. Leukemia. He was young and small, his body couldn’t handle it.”

“Right.”

“Oh, Zoisite.” Tsavorite ungracefully changed the subject. “Mother just condemned her into a week in her room.”

Memory, going along with the subject change, nodded. She carefully noted how Tsavorite let out a breath of relief when she dropped the subject of Prince Quincy. “Why? Besides, it was my fault.”

“Mother knows you are unaware of protocol. But Zoisite knows but she still broke it.”

“You can’t tell me running around barefoot on palace grounds is illegal.” Memory said straight-faced. Tsavorite hummed and nodded, and her eyes widened. “You’re serious?”

“But of course. We’re palace women. We do no running of any kind.”

“So we pretty much sit around and drink tea? Even ten year old girls?”

Tsavorite sighed. “Things have changed. When I was young and lived here, there were a lot of children around. His majesty, Tourmaline, Ruby, and I. Even with rules in place we couldn’t be stopped from wreaking havoc.” Her eyes wrinkled with nostalgia, and Memory could easily see her recalling her younger days.

“Zoisite was a surprise. I didn’t think mother, especially so weak, could have another child but she did. Father was terribly happy but she wasn’t, as it worsened her condition.” Tsavorite let out a long breath.

“Once father passed away, she fell so ill she couldn’t move. I was married and had a thirteen year old son of my own, King Darius was always away with Chrysander. You were gone by that time and for the next two years, Prince Edward and Cassian were taken to the summer house overseas for protection. There was no one around for Zoisite to play with. No stable father figure, no healthy mother. She had Tourmaline and sometimes Emerald, both of which aren’t great company.”

Memory was reminded of her own childhood. She had no one her age to play with and often played alone the rare times she wasn’t trying to protect Lulu or go to school.

But Zoisite’s situation was maddening.

“Sorry to ask, but is Emerald the redhead?” Memory asked, veering away from the topic at hand for a bit.

Her aunt-not-really nodded. “She is my cousin. Not by blood.”

That was interesting, definitely something she needed to know. “What do you mean?”

“I know it’s tough, trying to know people you used to know, but it’s just so odd for me.” Tsavorite chuckled. “My father had two brothers, Balthasar and Yale. Yale was the eldest and he was adopted, since my grandmother thought she was barren. But she wasn’t, of course. Anyway, Yale was kicked out of the palace when Ara, your grandfather was named king. He married the daughter of the royal family in Germany and regained his status. Emerald is their only child.”

I really need a history lesson.
Memory nodded, pretending like she understood, but actually couldn’t get past “Emerald is my cousin, not by blood”. Oh well.

“I…I best get back to my room.” She stated awkwardly. When Tsavorite stared at her quizzically, Memory elaborated.

“Father. He’ll be visiting me.”

“I see.” Tsavorite murmured, half to herself. After thanking her, Memory slipped out of the room. But before the door closed, she heard someone’s voice, a voice that didn’t belong to Tsavorite, trickle out of the room.

Weird.

Memory was so scared that she didn’t even notice when Diana clothed her in a dress. It was the first dress she’d worn since the disaster that was high school prom, but she didn’t care. Not when the freaking King was about to meet her.

He obviously doesn’t care much about me–I mean Jade–if he waits this long to visit me.

Diana bid her good luck, and another maid who turned out to be Sarah’s older sister, Alexa, led her to the mysterious West Wing.

The walk was a long one, going from her room to the parlor in the
Main Wing, and from there another underground hall led to the drawing room in the West Wing.

“I cannot go farther than this, princess.” Alexa
curtsied. “Um. You can let go now.”

Memory realized she’d been gripping the girl’s hand so
tightly it was turning purple.

“Sorry!” She yelped. “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

“You were nervous.” Alexa smiled genuinely–she was the complete opposite of Sarah. “Good luck. The King is waiting in the first room on the left.”

Even wiping her hands on her dress didn’t remove all the sweat from her hands. Memory felt hot. And slightly dizzy.

Her feet felt like Jell-O, and any moment she would topple over. This could not be happening.

Do it for the money, Memory. The money. Twenty-five million, remember?

Memory took a deep breath and pushed open the doors. The first thing she noticed was that it was a relatively small room, with one wall completely made of glass. There was a coffee table in the middle and a couch on either side.

The King himself was sitting on one of them. In his hands was a newspaper, and she couldn’t see anything but grey hair and a gold crowd.

“Come in.”

His voice was strong and nearly swept Memory off her feet. It unnerved her to the bone, but
somehow, she made it to the couch without falling over.

The King set the newspaper down, folding it carefully and setting it aside. Memory could see where
Prince Edward and Prince Cassian got their eyes from–King Darius’ eyes were just as blue, if not bluer, but there was a flicker of danger in them. A warning.

Memory crossed her legs like she’d been told by Diana, and even sat without slouching. King Darius picked up a cup of tea and sipped it carefully, watching Memory’s every move.

Don’t talk unless he does, say as little as possible, and don’t eat anything if you think it’ll make a mess.

It felt like a millennium passed before he spoke.

“Your eyes are just like your brothers.”

Memory dared to look directly at him, but after a second, she flinched and looked back at her lap.

“Your hair. Perhaps years in the sun brightened it?”

He was waiting for an answer.

“Um, yes.”

“Did you say something?”

“Yes.” Memory said louder with more confidence. “I spent many years in the sun.”

“I did not ask where you spent your years.” King Darius took another sip. “I am quite disappointed that you have not lived up to the standards of a royalty.”

Don’t get mad, don’t get mad, don’t get mad…I want my dignity back!
“I can hardly complain if life treats me unwell.”

“I suppose. You have your uses, after all, and there is
nothing that cannot be remedied.”

Memory’s ears turned red. This guy was bonkers. The theory that
Prince Cassian was abnormal because of his upbringing was true. If she had this guy as a father, she would’ve lost her sanity years ago.

“But blood is not the only thing that matters. If I hear of the feats you have done, like the one earlier today, you will be dropped from the family register. The title of princess does not come as easily as you think.”

Blushing, Memory looked down in shame. “Sorry.”

“Sorry does not fix anything. Your brothers have worked hard, and as the third child I expect you to live up to that. And even then I will not be impressed. Understood?”

“Y-yes.”

“Next week, extended family will be arriving. A ball will be held. It is your first time seeing them in eleven years. Do not embarrass me. “
King Darius stood up. “Help yourself to some biscuits. They are the best in the country.” He said arrogantly. When he left, Memory sighed in relief, clutching her chest tightly.

“Oh my god. Oh my god.”
This is the single most scariest thing I’ve ever done. And I survived. Oh my god.

Nervous, Memory stuffed her mouth with the biscuits on the table, hoping it would quell her anxiety. But it didn’t leave, even that night. She tossed and turned. What if the
King kicked her out before Queen Beryl died, before she convinced her to hand over the inheritance? What then? It would be twenty-five million dollars down the drain.

She eventually fell asleep, but was plagued by nightmares. Diana rushed in on more than one occasion, but Memory, stubborn and prideful, refused any help.

“I’m just scared.” She told her. “I’ll be fine.”

It was a repeat of the previous day; Memory dashing through the palace halls, screaming bloody murder, while Diana chased her with a broom. She was hiding behind the gold statue near the parlor when Elliot appeared out of nowhere.

“Princess?”

Memory froze, jumping. She burst into a fit of coughs. “Diana?!”

“It is Elliot, princess.”

“Oh. Well.” Memory’s heart started pounding. “At least I didn’t fall this time, right?”