Kings and Queens

TROIS

Chapter Three
Our Usual Place
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It had been approximately 9 months since Zachary's  death. Emilia still remembered the day that the news reached her ears, she was taking a warm bath to balance the cold that reigned outside her palatial inspired mansion. It was a cold day, and she enjoyed her bath with a lavender scented face mask submerging herself into some french expensive oils her mother had gifted her for Christmas.

She admired the way the snow fell and how the stars shined in the night sky from the window in front of her bathtub, a serendipitous sight as she took in the different scents that were mixing together in her bathroom. It smelled like spring, and Emilia imagined herself walking among a valley of different colored flowers as the sun warmed her fair skin.

There had been a ring of the house phone, no one was home, per usual, except the staff who were always working around the house.

There was a knock on the door, a soft, gentle knock that made Emilia snap out of her daydream. She asked who it was, Marla, been the answer she got in return, she got up from the bathtub, water dripping from her hair and skin as she stepped out and wrapped a towel around herself as soon as her toes hit the cold tiles.

She opened the door, pulling the golden handle and smiling at Marla as she saw her face. Marla had been taking care of the pair since they were young, wherever Zachary and and Emilia went, Marla followed along.

Something about her expression worried Emilia, the lines around Marla's eyes were more prominent than usual, her lips quivered and her hands shook as she handed Emilia the phone. Emilia noticed tears dwelling in her eyes and Emilia's heart started to pound against her ribcage.

Emilia's phone was off charging in her room and it was a habit of Emilia to always set it on silent. She took the home phone up to her ear. Her eyes followed Marla as she left the room, you could ever so slightly hear her voice crack after the door closed. Emilia listened, it was Augustus on the other line, she could hear him sniffling and she instantly knew something was wrong.

"I'm so sorry Emilia," his voice had gone silent for a minute, attempting to put the words together and trying to find a way to tell her. "It's Zachary, he uh, he."

"He was at the Blue-Ivy, and I don't  know what, I don't know what happened but, Jeremiah called me. We're in the hospital, something happened to Zachary. I wanted to tell you before the media publishes the story."

The beat of her chest grew stronger, she rushed to get changed, hoping that she could meet Zachary at the hospital and make sure he was alright. As of now, Lorelei Taylor (Emilia's mother) was on her way to Paris to meet with her parents, as she did so every year.

And Christian Taylor was in a business trip all the way over in Tokyo, last time she saw him was December 1st. Zachary and Emilia had spent Christmas morning alone while Lorelei went out to brunch with her friends. So there was no family around to keep Zachary company while he was in the hospital other than Emilia.

"Has he gotten out of surgery, or when can I see him? You know how Zachary hates being in the hospital, the doctors always drive him insane-"

"Emilia, Zachary jumped off from the Blue-Ivy penthouse." She stopped going though her closet, her body paralyzed. The Blue-Ivy was 85 stories high, the penthouse belonged to Jeremiah's family, and Zachary and  his friends would often spend their time hanging around on the top floor.

Augustus continued, his voice shaking, "We tried to get ahold of your cellphone but it sent us straight to voicemail." Emilia cursed herself, stomping hurriedly to her room  to check her phone. 35 missed calls in total.