The Divine Violence

Chapter 5

Written by: Mace

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Aliyah's POV

Aliyah sat at the desk in her bedroom, immersed in her planning. She had already drawn up the rough idea for Amir's funeral. Aliyah had written letters to florists, tombstone carvers, carpenters, and the royal officiant.

There were ink splatters on her fingers and her hair was a mess. It stresses her out, trying to coordinate a funeral in a short amount of time. She has less than a week to plan Amir's funeral. There would be a closed casket, a disrespect to her older brother.

Aliyah stared at her checklist, feeling helpless. A knock startled her from her thoughts, and she quickly wiped her hands and smoothed her hair.

"Come in!" Aliyah called, placing her tiara on her head.

Her younger sister, Amelia, entered and Aliyah let out a breath of relief. Amelia was a mere year younger than Aliyah, and the two were somewhat close. She took the tiara off of her head, setting it on the desk as she stood to greet her sister.

Her sister's brown hair was pulled into a braid, flowers weaving through her hair. Aliyah eyed the vines moving up her sister's arms, wondering what had Amelia anxious.

"Is something wrong, sister?" She asked, walking up to Amelia.

"I know you're busy... but father asked me to inform you of something. There's a ball scheduled for tomorrow night," Amelia answered as Aliyah pushed away a vine that was growing around her sister's throat.

"A ball! For what? So close to Amir's assassination! What is wrong with him?!" Aliyah yelled, a small fire flickering on her palm.

She quickly leveled her breathing, trying to keep herself calm. Aliyah was determined not to have another breakdown. Amelia glanced worriedly where the flame was on Aliyah's palm, but didn't say anything about it.

"To announce... a few things and show we are not scared of some lowly assassins. At least, that's what father told me," She answered, smiling sympathetically at Aliyah.

"Not scared? Is he an idiot? Of course, we're scared! One of the most protected people in our kingdom was assassinated!" Aliyah exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Amelia flinch, and Aliyah quickly glued her arms to her side. She hated the way her little sister looked at her like she was a bomb about to explode. Which... isn't completely wrong.

"Sorry, I'll write a letter for the Palace Seamstress to make sure to get me a dress by tomorrow night," Aliyah mumbled, rubbing her temple to try and alleviate her growing headache.

"Mother has already ordered all of our dresses, the seamstress is just doing last-minute additions," Amelia replied, hovering by the door.

Aliyah opened her mouth to say something but decided against it. She nodded to her sister, waving her hand in dismissal. Amelia promptly left the room, leaving Aliyah to her frustration.

She glanced at her tiara, wanting to destroy the piece of jewelry that ruled her life. The ruby gems embedded into the silver frame were as red as blood. It mocked her, all of her responsibilities flashing through her mind.

Aliyah tore her eyes away from the tiara and walked up to her wardrobe. She changed, deciding to just have a servant send up her dinner. Aliyah walked to the door, poking her head out and looking over at Milo.

"When a servant passes, tell them I want my dinner sent to my room," She told him, smiling dimly as she saw him nod.

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