Different Worlds // n.h.

chapter thirty-one // the scheme

Gracey's POV

I awoke with a start; it took my eyes a second to adjust to the dark lighting of my room. I jumped into a panic when I realized what day it was.

March 30th.

The day I would be risking my whole job, risking my safety, to hear a silly meeting that was probably all just a misunderstanding. But what if it wasn't a misunderstanding? What if it was something much greater, much more dangerous? If I don't go, it could even risk many other lives. It was better for one person's life and job to be put in danger rather than hundreds of others'.

Niall and I originally planned to spend time together today, but I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. Why was I feeling so nervous? Maybe I should call in sick today; it would give me some time to mentally prepare. But I knew Niall would be suspicious.

I pulled myself out of bed and trudged to the kitchen to have some breakfast. As it was a Saturday, the whole family was there to enjoy breakfast. However, this didn't help get my mind off a single thing. Melody seemed very melancholy, though she had a smirk on her face. All I could think about was what evil thing she might be planning.

"Are you okay, my love?" Niall leaned over and whispered in my ear. "You seem very quiet today."

"I'm fine! Just tired is all." I faked a smile and stuffed my face full of more food to avoid speaking anymore. He gave me a concerned look but quickly went back to eating his food.

I was grateful that, seeing as it was Saturday, I didn't have to watch Christian and Adrien: they were set to go on a day trip with King Bobby. Though, I was nervous to see Niall. Usually, I'd be overjoyed, but I knew he was suspicious of my behavior and I didn't feel ready to tell him about anything.

Soon enough, everyone left the room and it was only me, Niall, and the quartet playing silently in the background. Niall took my hand and led me in a slow waltz; some sort of Tchaikovsky piece echoing in the background.

"No meetings today. I can't wait to spend my whole day with you," He mumbled in a low voice before kissing me on the forehead.

It was as if all my worries melted away. I felt that when I was with him, nothing else mattered. I can worry about the stupid meeting later. Right now, all that mattered was him.

"I can't wait," I whispered, standing on my tip-toes to kiss him.

~~~

I leaned against the door, my heart thumping out of my chest. I had just said goodnight to Niall, though it took quite a bit of convincing to get him out of my room. I checked my phone: 9:45. 15 minutes to spare. I needed to get there as soon as possible and find some sort of hiding spot within the room.

I dashed towards the door at the end of the eerie hallway. The room was filled with antiques; furniture that seemed hundreds of years old, dusty paintings of former royal leaders, and drawers filled with tarnished jewelry.

I couldn't look around for much longer; I heard footsteps quickly making their way towards the room. I panicked, looking around for any place to hide. I quickly made my way towards a small wardrobe in the corner of the room. I closed the door and left a space barely wide enough to peep through.

Melody walked through the door, her face full of malice. But she seemed excited and had a strange glint in her eye. She sat down and checked her watch: 9:59.

The clock ticked to 10:00 right as the second figure arrived. My breath caught in my throat. Dread filled every fiber of my being and the urge to scream tore against my lungs.

Victoria. Victoria was the second figure.

"Good evening, Melody." Her scratching voice spoke.

"Take a seat, Victoria," Melody responded; she had a manic tone in her voice. "The masquerade ball has been rescheduled to mid-May. I'm eager to go through with this plan as soon as possible, though I feel it's best to wait until the event."

"How is this going to work? Even if you'll be wearing a mask, they'll see you with Greg."

"I'm not stupid, Victoria. I've thought this through. You will be the one to carry it out. No one will recognize you."

"Will I get a sum of the money?"

"Of course. But for this to work we need to figure out all the details,"

Melody pulled out a binder; it seemed as though she had been thinking her plan through for hours at a time. I noticed she seemed more absent lately. Was she working on her scheme this whole time? "How will you sneak past John?"

"He gets back from work late, but even later than usual since he still searches for his ridiculous daughter Grace every night. She's good for nothing, I don't even understand why he cares so much. As well as his other stupid children; his oldest son runs away multiple times a week," She laughed. "He still hasn't learned his lesson."

It felt as though my heart shattered into a million pieces. What did she do to Milo? What has she done to the rest of my siblings? I felt so selfish for leaving them just so I could have a better life. I never really thought about how she would treat them after I left . . .

"You say Grace is her name?" Melody spoke, skepticism in her tone. "Around what time did she run away?"

"September."

Melody cleared her voice. "How important is she to you?"

"I could care less about her."

"Let's add her into the mix. She's too close to Niall anyway, we can't risk it."

"Are you saying we're talking about the same person?" Victoria asked.

"I fear we are."

"She's a sly brat; hopefully she won't figure out our plan before the ball. Do you have any ways to get around that?"

"I know just the buttons to push to make sure she doesn't foil our scheme."

"Perfect."

I grew more and more lightheaded with every word they spoke. Not only was I in danger, but Niall, the King, and the Queen were as well. Melody pulled out a list and went step-by-step on how to pull off the whole thing. I was in such a panic that I only heard a few words: disguise, gun, money, and glory.

But the next sentence that came from Melody's lips is what horrified me the most.

"It's settled then. On May 13th, we kill the Queen."

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a/n

DUN DUN DUUUUUNNNNNNNNN

it all goes downhill from here, get your popcorn and hold on tight to your seatbelts

ok anyway ily guys sm, hope you enjoyed the chapter <3