When The Stars Align

chapter seven | home sweet home

THE HOUSE LOOKED exactly like I remembered it. The house was huge, half built with grey slabs of stone and half moderinzed with glass panels. Lysander locks his bike onto the gate, beside two others and a pink tricycle.

Victoria grabs a hold of my wrist and tugs me towards the front door. It hasn't been long since I've been in the house, but it's been a while since I walked through there. Lysander has his keys out, sinking it into the lock.

"No wait, let Vera do it," Tori says, climbing the front steps. "I think she might need practice actually opening a lock with a key, without using a bobby pin or something like that."

I rolled my eyes, but Lysander shrugs, tossing me the keys. I hesitate before actually putting them in. Lys had a large number of keys on his keyring, jingling when you moved it even the slightest, but I knew what the house key was. They never had to change the lock because of me, because I had my own copy, too. Back at... I pursed my lips, remembering that I no longer had it on me, with is being taken away from me when I was first captured.

It was weird not stepping into the house with the smell of Mom's cooking lingering in the air, but that's what happens. Instead, a hint of lavender and lemon entered my nose. A man enters the room in a tailored suit, grey hair on his head. His eyes widened when he sets his eyes on me.

I close the door behind me, and it locks with a click. I tossed my shoes aside, thankful to not be wearing the heels anymore. The man continues to watch. I see Lysander give him a small smile, greeting him.

"Mr Hemingworth, I hope things haven't been an issue around here as I was gone. I apologise that I haven't made it home since my return," Lysander says, pulling off his jacket and placing his belongings on a side table. "Now, don't stare. Vera doesn't bite."

"So it truly is her, and not the assassin?" the butler says. "There has been word going around that the criminal looks like an older version of Lady Vera, and now it seems like those assumptions are true."

I shoot Lysander a concerned look. Mr. Hemingworth was one of the people who helped to raise the three of us, if our parents were busy. The old man shouldn't be lied to, if he didn't know the truth already. After the incident in the square, the citizens will know the truth, wouldn't they?

But really, did people think I was suffering from a disease? That's ridiculous. The closest people in my life shouldn't be lied to.

"Strange, what people say, isn't it?" Victoria says. She plops onto the couch, kicking her feet onto the coffee table, very un-queen-like. For the first time since I've seen her, she pulls out a small electronic device, hidden in her bra, I assume. She used to be addicted to that thing, and never allowed me to look at it. Her face falls as she scrolls through her messages.

The butler turns back to me. "Lady Vera, you are beginning to look quite well. Please, have a seat. May I get you anything? Water? Coffee?"

"Um, maybe an ice pack," I say, finally acknowledging the ache in my back. The cuts in my skin are slowly healing, and haven't bled through my clothing since Lysander stitched me up. "Wow, I feel so tired." I collapsed onto the couch next to Victoria.

I take the time to look around the room. For the most part, most of the things are the same, or similar. The rug is the same, still soft as ever on my feet. The couches are new but the same black fabric. Mom's favourite decorations were on the walls, but more were added from recent years. Our baby pictures were still on the wall, and next to them were ones of Lysander's kids - Aurora and Kaden - and Victoria's - Lionel, Isadora, Camden and Romeo (the twins) and I'm sure Annalise will be on the walls soon enough. There was one in particular that caught my eye.