|The Red Raven|

Chapter Eight

"Let's go through it again" Daisy instructed and I sighed, she was pacing back and forth while I lay on my bed.
"Fine" I huffed and hauled myself into a sitting position and making direct eye contact with her.
"Your name?"
"Drea Torianna"
"How old are you?"
"Seventeen"
"Where did you grow up?"
"Why are you quizzing me about myself. Daisy, I'm a professional at knowing my own biography" I responded with a scowl. Her face was a picture, she wasn't hurt or angry but incredibly fed up, reminded me of Bristan.
"Very well. Why are you here?" Daisy pressed on, taking a step towards me.
"To find my sister" I stated simply. Daisy waited and raised an eyebrow, I shrugged.
A slap landed on my face that stung like when I was stung by a bee on my birthday. It was the worst birthday.
"What the hell!" I shouted, jumping up and instantly sat down when Daisy towered over me.
"You need to be tested and you cannot forget this. Yes, you are here to find your sister but you are also here to..."
"...tooooo. Oh! To reinstate the true queen of Bakos!" I blurted out and Daisy clapped sarcastically.
"Well done, you got there eventually" She had the blankest expression.
"Hey it's hard" I defended myself.
"It really isn't" Daisy returned to her sheet of paper and scanned it quickly.
"Have you ever remembered information about yourself that wasn't true?" I asked, thinking I was really smart.
"How do you think I survive here?" She told me, my shoulders slumped and I thought about it for a moment. Was she telling me that she isn't Daisy? That she's created this persona? Or was she a spy? But why would she have told me?
"You've taken on another name?" I tried to sound as unbothered as possible when really I was so curious that I felt myself shake a little.
"Of course. Daisy comes from the flowers that used to grow in my mother's garden" She replied as if everyone around here went by an alternative name.
"When did you change it?" I asked, leaning my arms on the end of my bed and balancing my chin on them, Daisy wasn't watching me, she was tracing the design on the wardrobe, deep in thought.
"When my father first discovered I existed" She stated and I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
"Who's your father?" I pressed on and for a moment I thought she was going to answer.
"Oh goodness, what is this? a job interview?" She laughed fakely, "It's terribly warm in here"
"I'm not warm" I responded quietly and she spun around.
"I'm trying to make a quick getaway to avoid the rest of this awkward conversation. Act as if you believe me" She scowled and I narrowed my eyes. "Fine" she grumbled and flopped onto her bed.
I waited patiently for her to explain, she leaned her back against the wall and hugged her legs to her chest.
"my father was a very wealthy man" Daisy began, "But he made all the wrong decisions"
"How did he meet your mother?" I asked curiously, twisting my body so I leaned on my arm and faced her.
"How do you think? He paid for her time and I guess things didn't go to plan" She smirked, "Do you want a drink?"
"Sure" I replied half heartedly and almost choked on my words when she reached down the side of her bed and pulled out an enormous square bottle filled with a golden brown translucent liquid.
"Good, because telling this story requires some help" She justified and took a long swig, keeping a straight face the entire time and handing the bottle to me and continued, "Two years after I was born, my father actually got married but his new wife was barren and couldn't conceive a child"
I nodded along, taking a small sip from the bottle and grimacing as it burned my throat, Daisy chuckled dryly at me.
"She was controlling and didn't allow him to keep mistresses and so you can imagine how wonderful it was when he discovered he already had a child that could carry his fortune" Daisy explained, "So I left, I don't want his money and I don't want a future that relies on me continuing my family line. The family line that I didn't even know existed for the first part of my life and for a man that didn't even bother to ask my name before he offered me money to legitimise me. I dumped my old life and fashioned myself a new one, frankly I prefer it"
"So you have an inheritance?" I pushed and she snatched back the bottle.
"One that I won't be accepting" She reminded me, taking another king drink.
"My parents weren't married either" I told her, she didn't react and I hadn't expected her to.
"Is anyone in Direhill?" She asked with a smirk, she was right though. Marriage was only for the rich and royalty, Direhill didn't even have a chapel or a priest to conduct the service. So many people resorted to being life partners, my parents did it and so did everyone else. That was why family names weren't a concept at all in Bakos, families didn't exactly exist and saved the decision over what name the child would carry. If everyone hyphenated their children's family names then eventually they would go on for miles. It was far easier to have two given names.
"I suppose you're right" I agreed, "Do you think you'll marry anyone?" I instantly regretted my question but again, Daisy didn't react.
"You're talking about Cephy, I'm not an imbecile Drea and you're a horrendous liar and besides, telling the truth keeps you youthful" She grinned and traced her jawline with her finger, winking.
"What happens when she becomes queen?" I quizzed and that got the cogs spinning in Daisy's mind.
"I really don't know, Bristan has been her right hand man almost as long as I've known them and he won't step aside, not for anyone. He's been in love with Cephy since the very beginning" Daisy sighed, I still couldn't figure out what she was thinking.
"Does Cephy love you?"
"Cephy doesn't love anyone anymore, except that crown if she can get it"
"If?"
"Doesn't matter" She brushed it off, "Anyhoo, what's this I see between you and Mr Wilican?"
"Will? It's nothing" I fumbled for words and Daisy scoffed at me.
"Nothing?" She gasped, "He stared at you for that entire meeting! What did you do? Slip him some love potion?"
"That's not even possible and maybe we had a moment but that was it" I defended myself and Daisy sniggered in the corner, taking another long drink.
"A moment?" She slurred, "What I had with Cephy started with a moment, then several, then before I knew it she was ringing me up and commanding me to go to her rooms because Bristan was in a mood"
"Well this isn't anything like that, Will helped me when I found out about Anya" I sat up and crossed my legs, fiddling with my fingers in my lap.
"I'm sorry"
"For what?"
"Your sister, I never had one but I can tell she means a lot to you" Daisy wasn't looking at me anymore, she seemed half in a dream, her eyes glassy.
"She's all I have" I justified, Daisy barked out a laugh and I felt a wave of self consciousness.
"Are you really that stupid Drea?" She grinned, "You have us now, well not all of us but you have me, Will and Zina. We're going to get your sister back. Oh and Marco"
"Oh no not Marco" I blurted out and Daisy looked interested, discarding her bottle and leaning forward.
"No? Why not?" She slurred again.
"Marco and I aren't exactly what you might call.... friends" I explained simply.
"He brought you here didn't he? To save your sister"
"Not for my sake"
"Go on"
"Marco is desperately in love with Anya, my sister, and I'm sure he is convinced that if he helps save her then she will magically fall in love with him and they'll live happily ever after with their army of blonde and brunette babies that she pops out every year" I ranted, yanking out threads from the mattress.
"Interesting" Daisy breathed.
"What?" I scowled and she smirked.
"Nothing." She said sarcastically and threw the red suit at me, "Get changed, you need to break that in"