Lucky and the Killer ✔

Sarah's Mistake

"I swear!" Sarah yelled out into the open throne room. "I didn't mean to! How was I supposed to know they'd actually do it?"

"Sarah," Bella said with a flat voice, "you ordered them to cut off his head. You're the empress. Hello?"

"Well, he deserved it!" Sarah shouted, but the tears were falling down her face. "That man was a thief."

"That man was a man!" Bella yelled back.

"Boy, do you drive a hard crown," King sighed. "Remind me not to tick you off."

"I didn't mean to!" Sarah yelled.

"Let her alone," Lucky said. "It's already hard enough on her."

"I think it's hilarious," King said. "This kid just prances around the throne room yelling 'off with his head', and those morons listened to her. It's priceless."

"It's not priceless, you idiot. He died," Bella sighed.

"Eh," King shrugged. "Who's gonna miss him?"

"You're horrible...," Lucky said. She took a bite of a biscuit with wide eyes as Sarah sat sobbing in the corner.

"You like it," King said. "What does that make you?"

"Crazy," Bella chimed in. "It makes her crazy."

Lucky shoved the biscuit into her mouth again and took another bite—until her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel's. She couldn't rightly deny Bella, so she kept eating. King was laid back on the steps as if they were actually some sort of bed. He had one knee in the air, and his arms folded casually behind his neck.

He'd single-handedly been responsible for leading the clean up after the war the Third Moon brought. He had the men of the village digging holes and burying the dead in a matter of hours. For the past week, things were clear. They finally managed to get it all put back together, and King was so relieved, he often slept on the throne steps—simply because he could.

"I don't know. I think she's coherent. She has to have some smarts to have chosen me. I am, after all, obviously the best thing on this miserable planet," King nodded as he shut his eyes and started to doze a bit.

"Can you believe him?" Bella said as she rolled her eyes. "And, you, princess, are giggling at him...which makes you just as bad."

"I'm sorry," Lucky squealed. "I just think its so cute when he acts like that."

"Gross," Sarah said with a sniff.

"Exactly," Bella said. "Alright. Enough is enough. We have work to do. Sarah, did you read the book I gave you?"

"Of course," Sarah chirped. "I always read everything. I read more than you do."

Lucky laughed. She laid down on the steps beside King and stared up at the ceiling. The throne room was always her favorite place to be, and she rarely got to be there—even when her father was alive. It was the most spacious room in the palace. There was a long, wide, burgundy-colored rug that stretched out like a tongue from the throne to the doors. The walls were chiseled with decorative swirls—like waves, but her favorite part of the room was the window in the sky.

Above their heads, the giant paneling of weathered quartz let in streams of sun light from the heavens. In an hour, moon light would dash into the mix, too. It was a beautiful sight, and it always made Lucky feel like some sort of angel was watching over her. King had his eyes shut, but Lucky stared away at the all-knowing expanse of a window.

"You know, I'm going to miss going to Earth," Lucky sighed. She thought about her mom. As she'd spent the last month in the palace, roaming around at her own will, she'd started to remember more and more until she'd practically remembered everything. She knew where her mom was, but she knew she couldn't go back. They would have to shut down the portals between the two worlds. It wasn't right to mix the two types of blood if it resulted in shadows. "It's worth it, though. I couldn't stand to know that someone else had to go through what those poor people went through when their birthmarks took over them. It almost happened to Zee. I couldn't imagine, well, it won't happen to anyone else. At least, not if I can help it."