The Hunted Royalty

Chapter 14

*Oh my Lordy! Sorry it's been so long! Well I've had the first half of this chapter written since forever and I've finally figured out how I wanted end. Thank the gods I did lol helps with the story plot better then the original plan lol. Trust me the next chapter should be good. May or may not get it out soon. If I can't by Saturday night then it'll be about 2 weeks.
Ok sorry for venting, here's the long awaited chapter 14!"

Chapter 14
I lie in bed, my eyelids as heavy as lead. My clock read 3:32. Witching hour. How convenient. I don't know why I can't sleep, I've been so busy lately I should have collapsed the second I walked into my room. For some reason, everytime I try, I'm jerked away from my void of darkness. Two hours. That's all I need. Just some coffee, and two hours. When I've finally given up, I go sit in the bay window in the far corner of the room. So dark, so silent, so ... peaceful. I sit with my knees up to my chest and my arms wrapped around them. My forehead gently presses up against the window and my breath fogs the glass. The few lights I can see come from where the window meets the outside world. I hear an owl off in the distance. The running of the nearby creek. Uncle Kyle is supposed to get back today. He can help me get organized for when I do become queen. He can help with legal exchanges, how the coronation ceremony is going to work, and the overall practice of ruling a country. Technically, Aunt Katelyn is the main ruler, but she prefers to just sit in the background, she doesn't really like her life being out in the open. Kyle was fine with it though so he became the more prominent one. Me on the other hand, I hate it when other people are in control and I barely have a voice. I most definitely will not be the background type.
When I look down, two people start walking towards the forest and stop when they see a nearby bench. The woman has long brown hair and the man's is short cropped strawberry blond. I can't make out their faces, but by the anxious way the women's hands are moving, the conversation doesn't seem good. Right as I'm about to go downstairs to investigate, a third member to the party comes to join them, and let me say she does not look happy. I can see her face perfectly in the light. Aunt Katelyn. Her blue eyes like my mother have pure rage in them. I can't hear her voice but she points straight at the man and women and then points back inside. The two people slowly stand up with their heads bowed and walk shamefully back inside. Aunt Katelyn stays behind for a second and takes a survey around her. Suddenly, her head jerks up to the window I'm looking out from and I press my body up against the wall. After a good two or three seconds I slowly peek my head to look through the glass and see that she's already gone. I run back to the couch as swiftly and noiselessly as possible and throw the single blanket on top of me. I hear slow footsteps not to long after. They stop by my door as if pondering if they want to come in. They decide against it. I release the breath I didn't realize I was holding. I look at my clock again,4:00. Suddenly, my heart rate slows down along with my breathing and my fatigue takes over. I drift into a peaceful and dreamless sleep.
When I wake up, there's knocking on my door. My clock read exactly six. Really? I was only kidding. I need, like, seven hours of sleep in order to be productive. I groan and throw my pillow on top of my head. A gentle laugh comes from outside that can only come from one person. His voice sounds like velvet this early in the morning, "Sounds like someone's isn't in the mood for waking up."
He opens the door ever so slightly just to let himself in and closes it. "I'll be up in ready in five more hours." My voice comes out muffled and he laughs. He sits down on the couch and peels away the tiniest bit of the pillow to see my face. I groan again and have only one hand on the pillow so I can go fully under the soft blanket.
"Fine then," He laughs yet again. "As long as I get the pillow. Five more minutes." I don't respond but my grip loosens and he grabs it from me. He lays down on the floor at the bottom of the couch, and we stay in absolute silence. After a nice five minutes of me sleeping, Karson just has to ruin it, "Wakey, Wakey, Eggs and bakey."
Before my mind can come up with any logical response, I grab the pillow from underneath his head and hold it against his throat. "Shut. Up. You are not my alarm clock."
Before he could come up with any logical response, a.k.a. realizing that I could and will actually choke him if he doesn't shut up, he starts uncontrollably laughing. Which then proceeds to make me start laughing. I slap him with the pillow over and over again which makes him laugh even harder than before. He holds his stomach and tears spring from his eyes. "You....you looked....so serious. Like you were actually...capable...of killing me." He tries to get his words out in between his howls of laughter.
"Would you like to see me try?" I giggle after every word. He nodded and right at that moment, I collapse on top of him, giggling my heart out. We laugh so hard that we both end up out of breath within seconds.
My giggling comes to an abrupt stop when I see her. She just stands there peacefully in the corner of my room. Watching us with longing. Karson lays besides me and looks at me when I stop laughing. He plays with my hair and looks like he's about to say something, but then his eyes follow mine. He sees her too.
It's not like this is the first time he's seen her. That day in the locker bay feels so long ago. I turn around and face him. My normally, calm, friendly eyes. Now wild and filled with panic as I see Karson's eyes drift from mine and back to my mother with his jaw dropped wide open. When I see her again, she's walking towards me. She looks like she's about to cry, with her sorrowful smile and her eyes pointed right at the two of us. I can barely see behind her thanks to her partially translucent body.
She comes up right to us and kneels down. Her right hand cups my cheek and she kisses my forehead. She tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear. When she moves away from me, I notice she's wearing the blue dress she wore the night of the crash. Except, this one isn't tattered and torn. It's clean, like the last time I ever saw her alive. Her and my father were going on a date for their anniversary, she came out of her room and twirled for me to show off the new, expensive piece of clothing. I laughed and clapped.
When she and dad walked out the house I promised to keep Darian safe and dad promised to keep mom safe. Only one of us kept their promise. I remember my dad walking through the front door without her. I didn't think anything of it, maybe she just had to grab something from the car. I asked him where she was and that's when I saw his eyes. He'd been crying. When he told us, I could barely see though the tears and the only words I could manage were, 'You promised' before running to my room and slamming the door shut.
Mom moves over to Karson. She ruffles his hair and laughs. It's silent of course. She can't talk. She's dead. He stares at her with wonder. I look between the two of them. She mouths four words, their meant for Karson but I see them too. Keep my daughter safe.
She turns from us and walks back to her corner. Within a blink of my eye, she's gone. I turn back to Karson and his eyes are a cross between shock and amazement. Tears start to gather in my eyes. "You look just like her." I nod and push myself up off the ground as swiftly as possible. I wipe my tears and walk out of the room without looking back.
When I get to my other room, I lock myself in the bathroom. I stand against the back wall and stare at myself for a second before sitting down. I allow myself to cry. Karson knocks on the door but I tell him to go away. He obeys without any protests.
My sobs are loud and clear to anyone walking in the halls but I don't care. All I can think about his how much I miss her. How much I want her to hold me and tell me everything is going to be alright. Now more than ever. I want her to meet Karson. Not as a ghost, but alive. With a beating heart beat, a flushed face, and a voice. I want her to whisper how cute he is when he's not looking. I want her to elbow dad when he says I'm too young. I want all that I know I can never have, and that only makes me cry harder.
Finally, I count to three and take a deep breath. I slowly pull myself from the floor and force my eyes to look in the mirror. I look ridiculous. My tank top is soaking with tears, my leggings are spotted, my blue eyes are bloodshot with tears, my skin blotchy, and my eyes have dark circles under them.
I keep the door locked and start doing my makeup. I do a butt-load of concealer, a lot of foundation, and some eye drops. I change into an oversized olive green tee-shirt, which may or may not be Karson's but that's besides the point, and some black leggings. You can still easily tell I've been crying but hopefully no one will mention it.
I head downstairs to the kitchen to grab some breakfast. Karson looks at me with sympathy, his eyes ask me if I'm okay. I reply with a smile and a thumbs up. Not time for dreading the past. At least not right now.
"Where's Aunt Kaitlyn?" I ask. Dang my voice crack. I clear my throat.
If Karson noticed, he ignored it. "She should be back any moment now. She went to grab someone."
I grab my box of cocoa pebbles from the pantry and pour myself a bowl. Karson and I sit in silence at the table while we both eat. My left hand sits free on the table. Karson grabs my hand in his and looks at me. "We'll get through this. Together. I promise." He smiles a little.
I take a deep, unsteady breath. "I know." I smile too.
All of the sudden, I hear quick footsteps from other side of the room. I stand to face my Aunt and our unknown guest. My eyes scan Aunt Kaitlyn's face. Her lips are pressed right together, her arms are crossed, and her foot is slightly tapping on the ground.
That's when I notice it. The person standing next to her has long brown hair. It's not much but by her stance of uncertainty and slight...guilt? I can tell she's the girl from last night. Also, I know that face. She has the same blue eyes as I do, the same button nose, the same light freckles.
It's Uncle Deimos's daughter. My cousin. My jaw locks and I clench my teeth. "Elpis."