Chapter Four- That of Poison and Roses

Four

This is not awkward.

This is not awkward.

This is not awkward.

I repeat it like a mantra in my head, over and over until it becomes more consistent than my racing heart. I sit at a long banquet table, where the adults are at one end, and the other six of us are at the other.

All six of us.

Me, and the five Aldridge kids.

Sometimes I wish I still had a sibling, so that I wouldn't have to suffer through this alone.

I quietly stab another small piece of chicken as I pretend to be anywhere but here. Anywhere. 

The room, like many others in the palace, has tall ceilings and maroon carpet. The Eldorian flag is painted onto the wall: golden lines on the edges of a marron slate, framing a golden peony in the middle. They’re so proud of this kingdom of theirs- do they not know what their family has done?

I look around, noticing that the kids are seated in age order. My mother had made me memorize their names before: Jace, Casimir, Odessa, Nova, and Adrienne. She said it would be more polite if I knew how to properly address them.

I could care less. 

"So... is it true that in Briarwood," asks what I assume is Adrienne, the youngest, "That there are these monsters that look like people, but really they kill kids in your sleep?"

"Adrienne!" The oldest brother, Jace, known for being the perfect future king and golden boy of the family, glares at him. "Really?"

"Well that's why you guys said we can't cross the border!"

His other brother tries to hide a grin before getting elbowed by Jace. I would assume that's Casimir, infamous for being the land’s most deadly swordsman.

Adrienne looks at me, still in need of an answer.

I decide to play along.

"Oh," I say, attempting to sound shocked, "They told you? It was supposed to be a secret. I guess... now that you know, it's better you know the whole truth, huh?"

He nods his head, and I continue with my carefully crafted story.

"The truth is, we're all like that. We all have these secret abilities... and once someone finds out what our ability is, we-"

"Okay, we get it, Aily," Jace says, trying to decide between his golden boy act and the fact that I’m a Thorne.

Casimir cracks a smile, and Adrienne shoots his chair slightly away from me. The two girls, Odessa and Nova, seem to be some weird in-between between believing me and knowing that my words are absolute bullshit. 

Do I belong here, among these other royals?

Maybe I do, maybe I don’t.

But either way, I want nothing more than to leave, right now.