Gold Blood

Chapter 13

"Miss, I'm here to take you to the dress makers," Jana told her walking into her room. Acelynn smiled brightly at the young maid and stretched like a cat in her bed. "You look comfy," Jana stated pulling the curtains away from the window.

    "I am," Acelynn yawned rubbing her eyes with the heel of her hands. "It's so warm, I don't want to leave!" Jana laughed at Acelynn and walked over to her pulling the blankets off of her bed. Acelynn groaned and tried to grab the blankets from Jana, failing miserably Acelynn climbed out of bed and over to the closet. She snatched a pair of  loose fitting pants and a baggy shirt off some hangers and quickly changed.

    "Want me to do your hair?" Jana asked with hope in her eyes. Acelynn's hair was still in a perfect braid from the day before but she couldn't say no to that look.

    "Of course!" Acelynn replied with a smile. She skipped over to the bed and sat on the floor. Jana sat behind her on the edge of the bed and undid the braid in her hair.

    "Actually, I think you should leave it like this!" Jana exclaimed happily fluffing her hair until it sat the way she wanted it to.

    "If you say so," Acelynn replied moving to stand up. Jana moved away from the bed and towards the door.

    "Time to go, you'll get breakfast after!" Jana ordered shoving her out the door. Acelynn groaned and followed closely behind her. Jana whistled a pretty song as they walked towards the dressmakers. Jana knocked softly on the door before pushing it open.

    "Hi Jana, hi Acelynn," Miss Lyndy chirped as they walked into her studio. Acelynn smiled at her before letting a yawn escape her mouth. "Sorry for the early morning, I have plenty of people to see and I'm so excited to start on your dress!" Acelynn smiled in response and stifled another yawn.

    "I'll be back in an hour to get her," Jana told Miss Lyndy closing the door behind herself. Miss Lyndy nodded her head and motioned for Acelynn to stand in the middle of the room on a small pedestal.

    "Do you know what colour you want to wear?" Miss Lyndy asked grabbing a tape measure from the cluttered desk in the corner.

    "Do you think red would look okay?" Acelynn asked looking at herself in the mirror. Her long hair hung down to her belly button in soft waves and her eyes were bright and alert. She had filled out remarkably, not looking like a skinny red girl anymore.

    "If you're trying to send a message than yes, but if you want to be on the King's good side I wouldn't wear red," Miss Lyndy advised her. Acelynn thought about it for a moment.

    "Would black be better than?" Acelynn asked looking around at the different fabrics in the room. "I have no idea! Will you just chose for me?" She asked desperately.

"How about a light grey?" Miss Lyndy suggested holding up a soft light grey colour. Acelynn nodded her head in agreement. Miss Lyndy smiled and placed the fabric on her desk. It looked silky from where Acelynn stood and she desperately wanted to feel it.

"Can I feel it?" Acelynn questioned looking at the fabric. Miss Lyndy laughed and nodded her head. Jumping down from the pedestal she took one large step towards the desk and placed her hand on the fabric. She had never felt something like that before.

"You'll like it even more once you wear it," Miss Lyndy told her gesturing her back towards the pedestal. "Are you excited for the party?"

"I think so, everytime I think about it I get butterflies in my belly! I don't really know why, it's not like I'm nervous about it or anything," Acelynn told her with a shrug. Miss Lyndy gave her a knowing smile and let out a soft laugh.

"Do you think that maybe you like the Prince as more than a friend?" Miss Lyndy asked wiggling her eyebrows at her.

"No way!" Acelynn replied forcefully. She thought about it for a moment longer before shaking her head.

Phoenix

    "Nixon can I come in?" Phoenix called out knocking on his brothers door. Moments later the door opened and Nixon allowed Phoenix to come in. Nixon sat down on his bed and looked at his brother.

    "Can I help you?" he asked impatiently. Phoenix rolled his eyes and went to sit at his brother's desk.

    "I haven't seen you in a while and I miss you I guess," Phoenix replied looking back at his younger brother. Nixon nodded his head and he fought back a smile.

    "I guess I missed you too," the smile broke out onto Nixon's face and Phoenix grinned back at him.

    "Have you ever thought about what it would be like for you to be king?" Phoenix asked. Nixon's head snapped towards him in disbelief.

    "No, that's your position and I can happily say that I do not want it at all!" Nixon practically yelled.

    "It was just a question, no need to get your panties in a twist," Phoenix grumbled back. They slowly got caught up on each others life and what they had been up to.

    "Do you ever think about what it would be like when dad dies?" Nixon asked out of the blue. They both were laying on Nixon's bed with their heads hanging off of the end letting the blood rush to their heads.

    "All the time. Mom wouldn't have to try and protect us from him. She could actually leave the palace by herself without him having a fit. Maybe she would even fall in love with someone and be happy," Phoenix sighed trying not to think about it. "Acelynn would be the perfect wife and Queen," he muttered sitting up allowing the extra blood to leave his head.

    "Who says she wants to marry you," Nixon snapped sitting up as well. "Just because you are going to be king doesn't mean that every girl wants you."

    "I never said that I was going to marry her! What has gotten into you?" He fired back at his brother.

    "Get out!" Nixon growled standing up and stomping over to the door. He threw the door open and waited for Phoenix to leave. Huffing Phoenix got off of the bed and walked out the door. Once he was outside of Nixon's room the door slammed behind him.

Nixon

    "Who does he think he is?" Nixon muttered as he walked along the secret passageway. He kicked at a small stone that had found its way into the palace safety routes. Most people had forgotten about the passageways that they used before Nixon and Phoenix were born to escape the palace if something were to happen. He had stumbled on an entrance when he was trying to hide from his father.

    "General Scott how much longer do you think that girl is going to need until she is ready?" King Orion's voice boomed from behind a wall. Nixon must have found his way across the castle and behind his father's office.

    "She hasn't made any progress with it, we need other gifts to compare it to," General Scott replied. Nixon could hear the King sigh and he held his breath.

    "We need more people to talk to, I want all the other Generals here to discuss the plans," King Orion ordered.

    "What are you going to tell them my King?" General Scott asked. Nixon held his breath hoping that his father would answer that question. Nixon wanted to know what was going on.

    "I'm going to tell them that we need to find a way to teach the new girl to control her gift and be able to use it on one thing and not everything. They will be informed that she will be used to take over Islea and she is going to help our army destroy Islea's," King Orion answered. Nixon gasped and scrambled away from the wall. Acelynn couldn't be used by him, he would break her! He had to tell Phoenix! Nixon sat against the far wall for a moment while he thought about it. He couldn't tell Phoenix, because then Phoenix would save Acelynn and she would fall in love with him. That couldn't happen, Nixon wanted her to fall in love with him. Rushing back to his room he pulled a piece of fresh paper out of his desk and wrote down exactly what he heard his father say.