Royal Flower

Chapter Five

A/N - The cover above was made by 

The following day, Chase and Reese met in the forest and proceeded to walk towards the castle.

"Rose's birthday party is today," Reese reminded Chase. "Are you still planning on going?"

Chase warily glanced at Reese, who looked genuinely concerned for him. "Yeah, I'm going." When he saw Reese frown, Chase asked, "What's wrong?"

"What if you get caught?"

"Psh," Chase scoffed, nearly laughing at the thought. "They said they were only checking forearms for Red Phoenix members. They'll probably also search for weapons, but I don't need any weapons."

They finally saw the Azalea castle and stopped at their normal place underneath a large tree, away from the rest of the crowd but still being able to see the balconies. It was an eventful day. Not only was Rose's birthday party today, but Amaryllis would also be crowned queen.

A little while later, Amaryllis came out onto the main balcony. She tread confidently with the crown perched on top of her wavy blonde hair and a bold pink dress fitted to her slender figure. She was just crowned queen inside the palace, and now she had to come out to address her citizens.

The crowd immediately silenced when they saw Amaryllis, waiting for what she had to say. Reese and Chase also watched warily.

Reese was right. I didn't really notice it before but now that I look at Amaryllis, she looks like a second Flora. They even look similar for sister-in-laws. Chase thought to himself.

He snapped out of his thoughts when Amaryllis opened her mouth to speak. "My people! As of today, I am your new queen. I promise all of you that I will be the best queen this kingdom has ever seen. Flora's reign was short, but I swear I will find Flora's killer and kill them myself. May you all enjoy Rose's twenty first birthday party this evening. Long live the Azalea kingdom!"

At that moment, a bunch of amaryllises bloomed across the balcony rings, and the next thing everyone saw was Amaryllis's crown being set ablaze. Amaryllis seemed unaffected, though, she just looked more eager and satisfied as she raised her hands to glorify herself. The crowd burst out into chants of "Long live the Queen", but Chase and Reese noted how some of the citizens had worried looks on their faces. If Flora was notorious for her temper, then so was Amaryllis. It didn't help that both Basil and Flora died recently, either. The flames eventually went out, and Amaryllis gave a last wave to the crowd before retreating back inside.

He heard Reese say in a bitter voice, "My God, she's even worse than Flora. She just set her crown on fire to demonstrate her power."

Chase didn't reply. Seeing the flames Amaryllis conjured made him think about the day his family died. The flames... the same aura as Flora's and Rose's. She or Rose could have been there, or even worse both of them. I have to go to the party. I have to find out if any of them were there. His eyes darkened. He had been tempted to torture Flora to know why she killed his parents and sister, Dawn, but he hadn't had time as someone had been walking towards the room. He clenched his fists. Even if had had the time, he knew from Flora's fiery eyes that she wouldn't have told him anything anyway. She would have gladly taken her secret to the grave if it meant leaving him constantly wondering, never knowing the answer to his question.

"Chase, you got to get rid of Amaryllis. She's a bloody psycho." Reese's persistent voice suddenly rang in his ears.

Chase bit his lip. "She hasn't done anything utterly crazy yet. I'm pretty sure it's normal to act that way after Flora's death." Despite what he said, he sounded like he was trying to convince himself.