Royal Games

Chapter 13

Classes start the next day. I have an hour-long lecture in the morning, and another lecture scheduled for an hour in the afternoon. Before Isaac left last night, he asked me to meet him for lunch. The plan is to walk a little off campus to find a more secluded spot to sit. As I leave my first lecture, he's already waiting for me just outside.

"Hey Ally. Ready to go?"

"I just need to grab some food first." I begin walking towards a café I saw on the campus tour yesterday. Isaac falls into step beside me. "Do you need anything?"

"I've got everything I need with me already." Isaac lowers his voice. "Including a magic book."

"I'm not sure you're supposed to talk about that kind of thing around unseelies." I chastise.

"I don't think anyone's paying us much attention. You'll get used to talking about seelie business in public anyway. Magic is performed all the time on Earth; humans simply never notice."

"Can we talk about something else for now. Like..." I take a moment to think. "What do you usually do in your spare time?"

"Watch TV, play video games, meet friends in the park. I also do my fair share of baking."

I shoot him a questioning look as we join the food queue.

"Baking?"

His laughter is music to my ears. I could get used to hearing it.

"Everyone's always surprised by it, but it's true. I can make a wicked chocolate cake."

"I just might have to be the judge of that." I pick up a cheese sandwich and bottle of sparkling apple as I speak. "I used to spend a lot of time playing with my friends. Over the years, we saw less and less of each other, but still texted and called regularly online." My voice turns wistful. "If only I could talk to them now."

"Why can't you?"

"They, um. I mean," I hesitate. "I don't know if it's safe." I whisper, before stepping up to the counter to pay.

"But you said you had a friend you could talk to about accessing specific books for research." Isaac's statement has a clear question in it. I curse my loose lips again. Growing up in a palace, I should know to be more careful with my words.

"I know I did." We stroll out of the café. "And if I can figure out a way to guarantee a message isn't intercepted, she can help."

"That's a big 'if'. Do you have any idea how to do that?"

I sigh. "Not yet. A phone can be hacked, so that's out of the question. A letter's probably the best way to go, but it could still end up in the wrong hands easily enough."

"There must be a spell to get a letter straight into the hands of the intended recipient. It can't hurt to look."

"I never actually thought of that. I'll admit I'm used to sending animals with my letters."

"Unfortunately, most animals on this planet are unseelie, so you'll have to find a new method."

"On that topic, are you aware of a nature reserve nearby? You know, one where Earth's seelie animals are usually found."

"No. There was one where I grew up, but I don't know of any round here."

We sit down on the grass. The campus is still in clear view, but there are a lot less people out here. I feel much more comfortable talking about magic now.

Isaac brings a large book out of his bag.

"Secrets of the dark realm." I read aloud. "Where did you get it from?"

"Found it in the library this morning. Seriously, this information can be left in plain sight for humans and they just assume it's fiction."

"Occult society might not assume that." I grab the book and begin leafing through the pages. "This could take a while to get through."

Pausing to read a page about pure darkness (pure evil, which is thankfully extremely rare), I take the opportunity to eat my first sandwich. This is actually quite an interesting book.

Isaac scrolls through his phone. His face contorts into something I can't read.

"I hope you're doing something useful." I say.

"Yeah. I was going to look up spells to help you send a letter, but a news story caught my eye. It says here that a princess was killed last week on her birthday."

Bile fills my throat. An unsettling chill runs down my spine. My heart races and my stomach churns. It takes years of practice to keep the emotion off my face, and to keep my sandwich inside my body.

"Read it out loud." My voice is quiet, but I manage to keep it steady.

"Princess Alyssa of Opa has been presumed dead this morning. She went missing on the night of her birthday, after her mother took her to a private family room in a tower and left her alone for a minute. When her mother returned, the tower had toppled and there was no sign of the princess.

"After days of searching for the missing princess, the tiara she was believed to have been wearing that night has been found. Blood on the tiara, and the scraps of fabric from her ballgown, appear to indicate a violent struggle. Despite no body being found, the king and queen have made the heart-breaking decision to announce the assumed murder of their daughter.

"They, along with the rest of the court, have gone into a period of mourning. But, before closing the doors of the palace, Queen Dahlia had this to say about her beloved daughter..."

I don't hear the rest of the article. Nothingness flows through me like a roaring river, drowning out the rest of the world. Clarity fills my head, because I can no longer feel any heart to listen to.

The truth sinks in. My mum ordered my assassination and, because I ran away, was able to fake its success. She has gotten away with it. My friends, and the rest of my family, are none the wiser. Unless they helped...

But my dad tried to warn me about a traitor. He's the only one I know for sure I can trust. I need to get a message to him.

"Ally!" A panicked voice breaks through my thoughts. I snap my head to the side and notice familiar sapphire eyes. I remember my surroundings. Isaac. University. Earth. "I've said your name, like, three times. You were completely zoned out. What happened?"

"Sorry. I, um, I just..."

"Wait. Didn't you say you say it was a week ago you were attacked?"

I fumble around in my mind for a reply that won't blow my cover.

"Yes. I... grew up the town by the palace. I knew the princess. She found me during the attack. We switched places, so the attackers would follow me instead. She was the friend I wasn't sure if I could contact. I thought she would've made it back to the palace, but clearly I was wrong." I state the facts, no emotion behind the words.

"That was a dangerous thing to do." Isaac says gently. "But also very noble of you."

"Thank you." But my face remains expressionless.

"And you didn't want me to know, because you wanted to protect the princess?" He guesses.

"Yes."

"It all makes so much sense now. And I'm sorry for your loss." Sadness is obvious in his eyes, but I still don't feel anything.

"The princess is gone." Is the only thing I can say. I can faintly feel my heart again, as it tells me that my words are true.

Isaac spends the rest of lunch trying to brighten my mood, but no amount of joking around can bring even a spark of joy back to me. I know my eyes would be blank if I looked in a mirror.