FAKING ROYALTY [l.zvhal]

chapter twelve

I've never been the one to enjoy listening to people being screamed at. And when I'm being yelled at, it's a terrible feeling. But in this case, I'm not veing yelled at for once. But I am indeed being forced to listen to it.

The yelling is echoing throughout the halls, and it's somehow coming into my room. Even with shoving my head into pillows to block off the sound, nothing works. I'm in my closet hiding in a far off corner as well.

Suddenly I hear the large double doors of my room open, and the sound of Laurance's voice.

"Y/N?" Laurance calls out. "Y/N, where are you?"

I frown when I notice the closet door opening. He walks in, and I try to hide myself more into the dark corner.

"Y/N," he sighs. "I know you're in here. Come out."

I stand up, and I wlak towards him. He shuts the closet door, and the yelling remains.

I'm pulled into his chest, and I lightly sob into it. Laurance rubs my back as he whipsers calming words into my ear.

The yelling concludes with a slammed door, and I look up at Laurance.

"It's over," he says. "Knowing my father, he's going to his resting chamber."

He smirks as he grabs a tiara, and then he grabs my arm pulling me off into the hallway.

"Where are we going?" I ask him.

"Reliving a memory from when I was a child," he replies, and soin enough we make it to an empty throne room. He sits me on the cold and large throne, and he stands in front of me. "When we were younger, Alex, Cadenza, and I used to play here sometimes. Father would watch from a distance, and he would sometimes play along. We would normally pretend to be kings and queens as we sat on the throne. There's even a painting somewhere of the three of us sitting on the throne together."

"You'll have to show me that later."

He frowns, "I don't know what happened to it."

Young Laurance, the age of eight, begins to run around the palace floors with his sisters. They decided to leave the garden, and six year Alex begins to chase her older siblings with bare feet and a rose in her hair. She falls, and Cadenza looks at her after hearing smalls sniffles that lead to tears.

Cadenza picks her up, and begins to carry her over by Laurance. "Let's play a game," Cadenza says.

"What kind of game?" Laurance asks.

"I don't know," Cadenza replies.

Laurance jumps up, and he begins to run up to the throne. He climbs on top of it, and he sits properly.

"I'm father!" Laurance proudly states, and Hayden walks by the throne room. But, Hayden stops and watches for a bit.

By now Alex has stopped crying, and she runs up to Laurance commanding him to lift her up to sit next to him.

Cadenza smiles, but then an idea pops into her head. She announces of her leaving, and she begins to run off towards her room. Hayden scoots over, and he was shocked to see that she didn't notice his appearance. Cadenza quickly runs back inside with a tiara, and she gives it to Laurance.

"Wear it," she says. "You'll be king!"

Laurance grimaces at the female tiara. "It's for girls," he hisses. "I want father's crown. Then I'll be king!"

"We don't have father's crown," Cadenza scoffs. She loves the tiara Laurance is now putting on wti distaste, and Hayden leaves quickly to get his crown. "Besides, you're just a boy, not a king. Now scoot over, I want to sit down too. I will be queen after all. And that's before you'll ever be king."

Laurance grumbles an 'you can't tell me what to do,' and Cadenza pulls her age over Laurance. It may only be one year apart, but it's an important year apart.

Hayden walks in with his crown sitting perfectly on his head, and Laurance smiles.

"Father, tell Cadenza that she can't tell me what to do!" Laurance exclaims.

"It appears you did as she told, son. After all, there is a tiara on your head," Hayden says. He takes the crown off of his head, and carries it over to him in his arms. He takes the tiara off of Laurance's head, and he places it on Cadenza's head. "But, I think that this crown better suits you."

The crown is set on Laurance's head, and it nearly falls off from from the size difference.

"It doesn't fit," Laurance complains looking down at his hands in defeat.

"You'll grow into it," Hayden says. "But right now all I see is a king," he then looks at Cadenza. "And a queen."

"What about me daddy?"

Hayden looks down at Alex and messes with her hair a bit. She pouts, and he looks down at the rose in her hair.

"Well sweetheart, with that rose in your hair, you're a princess," he comments. "But soon you'll be a queen."

He places the tiara on my head,and he guides me over to the throne.

"What happen to Hayden? He seemed so nice back then.

"The same thing that happened to Garte; all the power got to his head. That's why he only wants us to be kings and queens. The power will live on with the name Zvahl. Why do you think he's so angry with Alex?"

It suddenly clicks to me. "She did something to tarnish the Zvahl name."

"He was waiting until after her wedding to announce of the pregnancy. That way, it seems proper," He sits me onto the throne, and he quickly kisses me when he sees nobody's around. "You look like a true queen. Oh, what I wouldn't do to know that you were by my side as my queen."