Under the Roses

27 - No Mystery as Great as Misery

LORY

"I don't know how you can just sit there and read like that!" Charlotte said, sounding both awed and exasperated as she marched over to Lory, fan and parasol in hand.

Lory peeked over the top of her book. "What?"

"I mean, Alice has been missing for, what, a week now!" she said. "And you're just..." She gestured vaguely.

Lory frowned. "I don't know what else you want me to do. I already let Austin know. Prince Ambrose has offered resources. The Guard is on it now. It's not like we can just go out and look for her; she could be anywhere. And they're looking for her already." She raised her book again to hide her face.

"Lory!" Charlotte smacked the book down onto Lory's lap.

"Ow!"

"Sorry—But seriously, Lory!"

"I am serious."

Charlotte huffed, snapping open her fan. "You're being dense."

"I am not. I am being reasonable."

"Reasonable how? Don't you realize that we could be doing something to help?" Charlotte fanned herself aggressively.

Lory sighed, shifting her position in the shade of the tall tree so that she was turned slightly away from Charlotte. "What could we do that the Guard couldn't? We're two girls. We're still children!"

Charlotte gaped at her. "I can't believe you!"

Lory just raised her book again.

"You're not even reading that." Charlotte tapped the book's cover with her fan. "Lory. Listen to me."

"I am reading."

"You are not." She put the fan into the book and tipped it back to reveal Lory's face. Lory raised an eyebrow at her, and Charlotte sighed. "You're affecting."

"What?"

"I know you, Lory. You're lying. And you're smarter than this—you do realize that we are some of the wealthiest people in all of Cerieve, right? We're not just 'two girls' or 'children.' You're a Pleasance. I'm a Winters. Do you even want to find Alice?"

Lory stared at her.

Charlotte blinked.

Lory shoved Charlotte's fan out of her book, snapping it shut. She picked up her fan and parasol and stood, walking off down the field.

"Lory!" Charlotte called.

Lory ignored her, continuing to walk. There was no feeling in her feet, or legs, or hands, or arms, or her body...

Because what if Alice wasn't just missing? What if it was something worse? What if she'd been taken by someone who...someone who would hurt her? Someone who didn't care that she was only eleven and a little girl?

What if when—if—when—they found her, she was—

No. Don't think about it.

But how could she not think about it? She'd been to the field hospitals. She'd seen what horrors could happen to the human body. She'd seen the blood, the bones, the—

Stop. Stop it.

Lory sank down to her knees, her book, fan, and parasol tumbling out of her hands onto the grass. She squeezed her eyes shut, hands gripping the grass. Don't think about it.

What were the chances of something like that happening to Alice? They were normal. She was normal; Alice was normal. These things didn't happen to them. They were just like everyone else, just...richer. With less to worry about. They lived simple lives. They weren't different, they weren't special, they weren't targeted, they weren't—they didn't—they couldn't—