concealed

chapter three: demons

Lydia:

Seven innocent people dead. Because of what or who? No one knows. No one. Right now, Nicholas, Nestor, Raven, and I were seated in Nestor's bedroom. Raven would have probably been fawning over him if the situation was different. The Palace had to make a few calls to call people to evict the dead bodies. Their bodies will be identified soon. It was traumatizing, but Raven and I have seen worse. Not that I'm comparing the situations. It's a fact.

"...Lydia?" someone calls.

I look up at the voice.

"Mhm?" I ask Raven.

"What were you thinking about? We were talking about what... happened today... and we thought of seeking your opinion," Nestor explains.

I was about to answer when an annoying voice interrupts me.

"By 'we', they mean Raven and Nestor. Count me out, I don't need your opinion," Nicholas points out not-so-nicely. Nestor gives him a look.

Fine. If he wants to act immaturely in such situations, I'll be the mature one.

"For god-sake. Act maturely, for once. This is not some situation we get to bicker in. Seven people lost their lives because of- we don't even know WHAT. They were supposed to go home. They were supposed to go home to their families. And let me remind you, they died. Gone. They're never coming back and never even got a chance to say a proper goodbye to their families. So, while you say you're the future King of Meraki, please act like one," I walk over to where he's sitting while ranting.

He doesn't flinch. He doesn't cower because of the intensity of my glare. He keeps staring at me while I wait for him to say something.

"You do not tell me what to do. But of course, in honor of the innocents who died today, I'll act maturely," he says, in a very formal manner.

Thank god I knocked some sense into him. I exhale a breath of relief.

Warning: Do not, absolutely do not joke with me in the matter of life and death.

I'm brought back to the moment when Nestor clears his throat.

"So, we kind of still need to discuss what happened..." he trails off.

"First thing we need to know is the order in which all of it happened. It was an earthquake kind of situation, it went on for a while. Then the screams. The chaos. And at last, the bodies forming a word... Idyllic." Nicholas states.

For once, I agree with him.

"Idyllic means happy and picturesque. What I don't understand is the fact that someone would think seven bodies laid out to form this word would actually mean it," says Raven, looking at nothing in particular. I can tell she feels a little disturbed and I honestly understand because neither of us has faced such a situation in a few months.

"I agree with her," says Nestor.

"Could it be some kind of warning?" Raven asks.

"I don't think so. It doesn't make sense. What warning would the word 'Idyllic' make? None. It's probably a sign that the murderer loves such sights. Definitely a psychopath," I point out.

Surprisingly, Nicholas nods at my statement. I'm not too sure but he might have muttered something along the lines of "Right for once." but I decide to ignore it.

"We need a name for the earthquake situation. I'm not going to call it the 'earthquake situation' every time we have to talk about the earthquake situation," Nestor says.