When The Stars Align

chapter five | lower your voices

WE WALKED DOWN the corridor, curious gazes following us, wondering why the queen and the Captan of the guard was walking with a criminal, without being handcuffed, and walking farther and farther away from the dungeons. We turned a corner, and walked into the nearest bedroom, Lysander closing the door behind us.

The room was being used. A couple items were strewn around the room, a couple toys placed in the corner. Lysander tossed his suit jacket onto a chair - this was probably where he was staying. He ran his fingers through his hair, obvious signs of stress on his face.

There was also a crib in the corner, where Queen Victoria sets down the newborn baby. She was fast asleep already, falling asleep peacefully in her mother's arms as we were walking here. I doubt she's going to stay like that in the next-

"VERA ANNALISE CARMICHEAL, WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Victoria's voice pierced through the hair, throwing me off guard. I stumbled backwards, my back hitting the wall, making me wince of pain. "You disappear and come out of nowhere, and you only show up when you're seconds away from being executed."

Lysander holds his sister back from raging, trying to calm her down, but he probably felt the same way. "Gosh, Tori, what will the kingdom think if they hear you cussing like that? But honestly," he turns to me. "Vera, shouldn't you have, I don't know, came back home instead of going on some murder spree. Like sis, come on."

"It's not that easy," I muttered, my voice low. "I didn't have many choices. Don't you think I'd go back home if I had the chance? And could you please lower your voices, my head hurts." I winced again, realising that everything was spinning. I needed to sit.

Lysander takes his hands off Victoria, walking towards me. "Come on, I think you need to sit down. You look like you're about to faint."

"I feel like that, too."

"Do you want anything to eat?" Victoria asked.

My siblings went from a hundred to zero really quickly. They went from screaming their faces off to acting like everything was okay, that we've been family and nothing less for all our lives.

I shook my head, taking a seat on the bed. My blood soaked shirt feels weird against my skin as I sit.

The quiet settles into the room. The baby, miraculously, didn't awake as Victoria was screaming. The three of us don't say a word, the two fo them staring at me while I focus on my feet. I didn't want to be in this position.

Lysander then, after a couple minutes, went into the cupboards, looking for something. Victoria comes to sit next to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. I brush it away as the pain settles in.

And then the tears start, running down my faces one by one. My hand covers my mouth and I pull my knees into my chest. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I put you through that. I didn't want to, honestly. I just... I just..."

Victoria runs a hand through my hair, planting a kiss on my forehead. "I'm sorry I screamed at you, I guess you did have a reason." I felt the bed shift in weight as Lysander got onto the bed. "But you murdered out parents."

"I-"

"Do you know how long we've been waiting to find the murderer, Vera? We've been hunting you down for the longest time. We wanted you locked up. Dead," Victoria continued, biting her lip. "The second the hood was removed... goddammit Vera, I knew it was you the second I saw you. You look exactly like her..."

"I-" My mouth refused to form any words.

"And then, I couldn't let you die, Vera. Because you were so close, and I couldn't let you die knowing that I could've stopped it. I couldn't let you go so quickly, because there had to be some misunderstanding-"