Treachery, Royalty, and Annoying Girls

Chapter 4, Part 1

I looked in the mirror and found a sad girl. Her big purple eyes dimmed and distant, a black dress tight at her waist and swooping down below her, hair pinned up in the back of her head with a ribbon dangling down from it. I wasn't ready to leave the comfort of my room knowing that the only one girl who would comfort me is gone. It could have been any other girl, but Jenni was no longer here to help me get through it. I have to stay strong. Her last words rang through my ears. "Stay strong, Callix. I believe in you." I couldn't help the tears dropping down my face as I thought of everything I could have done differently. I should've stayed with her. I should've tried to stop the bleeding, I should've gotten there sooner. There was nothing I could do now. I can't change the past. I can't do anything different. Why? Because it's already happened. It should have been me.

I exited the room to find several girls waiting outside expectantly. "Let's go, Callix. We don't have all day." Marilyna snapped. I stayed quiet. She looked amused. "Aw, poor thing lost her best friend and now she's gone mute. Isn't that sad." She said mockingly. Everybody else looked like they were going to laugh, including Kasiandre. "It's not funny," I mumbled.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" She leaned forward a bit and put her hand near her ear.

"It's not funny." I started again, only this time it was a little louder.

"One more time?"

"It's not funny!" I shouted. I ran down the stairs and hid behind a pot. My tight heels didn't help any. For about ten minutes I was squatted down in tears. I heard giggles descending the stairs from several girls and saw a pair of legs in front of me.

"Dear stars, Callix. What are you doing on the ground?" Andrew asked, offering me his hand. I took it and stood up. We walked down the hall and into the courtyard where the entire space was decorated in dull colors. Lots of black and gray. There were somber looks from everyone. I instantly spotted the queen and king. The king looked proud of what happened and the queen looks like she's been crying for years. A group of five came into the courtyard. I saw two young boys, a girl not much older than I am, and parents. The mother looked like she's aged 10 years in the past three days. I walked over to the family and introduced myself.

"M-my name is Callix. I wasn't very close with J-," I paused to keep my voice from breaking. "Jenni, but she and I were friends and I'm very sorry for your loss." The father looked annoyed and her mother took two steps towards me and pulled me in for a hug. "Thank you," She whispered. She held onto me for a few minutes and finally let go. "I'm glad she found a friend." Her sister said to me. One of her younger brothers grabbed the skirt of my dress and blew into it.

"Jack," Jenni's father warned. "Her dress isn't a tissue." He turned to me. "I'm sorry about your dress." He said insincerely and then walked off with a huff. The rest of the family followed closely behind and I heard a familiar shrill squeal. I sighed and turned around with everyone else to see the spectacle.

"Why is it so dull out here?" Marilyna asked. It's almost as if she thought it was a birthday party. Nobody looked very amused with her question. The queen and Andrew didn't look very amused but the king did.

Everybody just stood around, giving around condolences. Marilyna was trying to look sad but everyone knew she wasn't. Some of the other girls were snickering to the side and pointing at the family's outfits. They weren't rich, but they weren't poor and you can tell they found the best, darkest, clothing they could.

Around half an hour later, the queen stepped up on a podium and called our attention.

"Hello, everyone. Thank you for attending the funeral of Jenni Ransom. Five days ago this young lady passed and it's been hard on most of us." She glared at the king and Marilyna. She then turned to some of the girls that were snickering earlier and gave them a look of disappointment. She picked back up after a sniffle. "Jenni was so kind and was such a light. She really brightened up the mood everywhere she went. I could see it at her school, I could see it with her family, I could see it here, with my son, with her friends. Whatever happened, we are all very sorry for her family, and her friends." She took a shaky breath. "Would anybody like to add anything?"

I stood up. "I would."

The queen wove me up. I told her to go sit down and she thanked me. After she took a seat, I looked to her to make sure it was okay to start.

"I would first like to thank her family for raising such an amazing daughter. She was very kind," I started to laugh a little, "and loud." I added remembering the first day. I heard soft chuckles come from the small crowd. I took a deep breath. "She was an amazing friend, even if we weren't very close. She made somebody laugh no matter where she went. She was always putting smiles on other people's faces. She was a natural born leader and I think she would be a great queen, but she no longer has that chance." I looked around to see her father crying. "I came into her room last night. She told me to stay strong. I know that those words weren't only for me, though. It's for all of you affected by this tragic event. I know that she wouldn't want us to be sad about her untimely death, but to look back on the good memories with her." Another wave of tears was coming over me. "I c-can't do this." I said as I abandoned the podium. I went back to my seat as the crying came down. I tried to keep it quiet as her mom said her words, and her dad's his. I continued to cry until the service was over and when everybody got up, Andrew came my way.

"Do you want to pick some flowers?" He asked me. I nodded my head and he led me to a garden. There were daisies, roses, lilies, and chrysanthemums. I chose several of each and pulled the bow out of my hair. I undid it and it was just a flimsy ribbon. I tied it around the stems of the flowers and headed to where her box was. I almost put them with the collection of bouquets but decided against it and handed the flowers to her mom.

"I think she would have wanted you to have these instead of them going to waste." Her mom nodded and gave me another hug. "Your speech was beautiful." She told me.

"Thank you," I replied. My brain couldn't form words to put through my mouth.

People gradually started to leave the area. I decided it was time to go back inside and head to my room.

I slowly walked down the hallway and heard laughter coming from the space. "Nobody will know!" I heard a voice say. The voice was too excited for me to tell who it was but I was sure I recognized it. I hit a tile and my heel clicked a little too loud. I continued to walk and saw one of Jenni's maids run across the hall and into her room. I scoffed and mumbled, "How pathetic."

I walked into my bedroom and flopped onto my bed. I let out an exasperated sigh. "M-my Lady, what a strange surprise to see you here so early." Amara stammered.

"And why are you so surprised?" I snapped. Riley came in two seconds later.

"Callix! I have to tell you something."

"What is it?" I asked. I know she could tell I was tired, but knowing Riley, it must have been important.

"I need you to come with me. Amara can't come with us."

"Why not?"

"It has to stay between you and me." She glared at Amara as she said it. Riley grabbed my hand and ran me out of the room. I followed her into the Social Room. She shut the doors and sat me down. "The murderer left a note in her room. Wrote down the next target and date."

"Who and when."

She took out a piece of crumpled paper and read it."Fawson, next week, but I found this today and it's been a week since Jenni." I gasped. I didn't like Marilyna, but I certainly didn't want to see her dead.