“I’m just about done here,” said Leana. “Should we follow the same protocol on my way out? I yell once I’m on the other side of the bedroom door?”
“If you really are a human, you need to get out of this house as soon as possible.”
Leana didn’t say anything.
“Did you hear me?” asked Amelia. “I’m serious. The Queen is dangerous and she wants every human in the mansion, in the city, dead. I think you should pack a bag, right now, before they all get home, and run.”
“I don’t have anywhere else to go,” said Leana. “I can’t go back to the District. I tore my ID tag out and I broke the law by running away. They will throw me in jail.” Her voice cracked when she said jail. “Oh my god, I have to warn the others. Some of the humans who work here have families, kids.”
“Wait!” Amelia stood up and opened the door, hoping she could have a moment to figure out the best way to tell people so as to not create a city-wide panic, but the woman was already gone. She ran to the bedroom door and saw Leana start for the stairs. Amelia was about to step out into the hallway, when she thought she saw a shadow of someone run around a corner at the other end. It was probably just another member of the house staff, but it gave her pause. She can’t go running around the castle right now. It’s too dangerous. Eldan would be home soon, she hoped, and then she will know for sure how much trouble she was in and what needed to be done. She stepped back into her bedroom, closed the door, and locked it.
The next two hours Amelia spent with the phone glued to her ear. She called her family’s house first, and Lia picked up. She started crying the second Amelia said hello. They talked for a long time, both of them giving full updates on everything that happened the last month or so. For every question Amelia asked her little sister, Lia had three to ask in return. Amelia had to keep curbing the conversation back to District Eight and away from her current situation— which was getting harder and harder to sugarcoat. She didn’t like lying to her siblings, but she felt now wasn’t the best time to reveal this might be the last discussion sheand Lia ever have. There is just no good way to tell a person that.
“What’s been going on at home?” Amelia asked, darting yet another question about life in Meldania. “How is everyone?”
“It’s funny you should ask,” said Lia. “Everything has actually been pretty good. After you went missing, mom and dad were actually really worried. They looked for you for weeks. Once the officials said they should probably give up hope, they both sobered up and stopped going out.”
“They what?” Amelia nearly dropped the phone. “No way.”
“It’s true,” said Lia. “They sat all of us down and told us how sorry they were. They said they wanted to change, to get better, so that we can be a family again. It’s only been a month, so none of us are holding our breath or anything. Lord knows this isn’t the first time they’ve tried to clean up their acts. I will say though, this time it does feel different.”
A bewildering wave of emotions washed over Amelia in that moment. She could hear the hope in her sister’s voice, and for a moment, she felt it too. But not a second later was that hope replaced by a cocktail mix of envy and doubt, with a guilt-ridden garnish. She was angry that her parents suddenly decided to be decent people after she was gone, and she wasn’t convinced these new attitudes were here to stay.
“I wish you were here,” Lia said, bringing Amelia back from her spiral. “Are you coming home soon?”
“I don’t know.” Amelia sighed. “I will know soon, though.”
“Can I tell everyone you’re alive?”
“If you want.” Amelia released a small laugh. “Unless you think that might change things. Maybe mom and dad will go back to their old ways if they know I’m still around to clean up their messes for them.”
Her sister was quiet on the other line. Amelia knew she might have crossed a line. Just because she was cynical, didn’t mean she had to dash Lia’s hopes.
“I’m sure they will be happy to hear the news,” Amelia added. “You should tell them. Listen, I have to go. There is someone else I need to call.”
“Okay.” Lia’s voice was full of disappointment. “Will you call tomorrow?”
“I’ll try.”
“Bye, Ame.”
“Bye, sis.”
Amelia put the phone back on the hook and sat down on her bed. Her sister’s voice was a sort of monkey-wrench, and the more she talked, the more Amelia felt like the monkey-wrench was being used to slowly dismantle all of her future plans, piece by piece. Being in Meldania was like being in a new world—one completely separate from Amelia’s past life and everything in District Eight. She realized, after hanging up with Lia, that over the past few weeks she had really started to envision herself there. All of her plans had started to shift from being about getting home to being about getting a promotion at the Meldanian nursery and wondering if anything would ever happen between her an Eldan. Even when she was planning her possible escape options, should she need one, Amelia was always factoring in Eldan and trying to figure out where they would go hide out until it was safe for them to return.
Now, all she could think about was going home. An ache began to form in her stomach as she thought about how much she missed her family, and she contemplated a reality in which she never saw them again. It would be very dangerous if she did go home. For all of them. If she was caught sneaking back in without her ID tag, she would be arrested on the spot. Assuming she managed to get all the way home without setting off any alarms, she would then be putting her whole family at risk. The minimum sentence for harboring a fugitive in District Eight is five years.
She shook her head, trying to shake away these perilous thoughts, and forced herself to dial Victoria’s number. Seeing as it was the middle of the day, she didn’t expect Vic to be home, but she thought she could possibly leave a message.
Victoria answered after the third ring. “Hello?” She sounded as if she’d just woken up.
“Vic?”
There was a shuffling sound and then Victoria’s voice was louder, as if the phone was now pressed right up against her face. “Amelia?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“But how— I thought you were—”
“I know. I’m sorry I couldn’t call earlier.”
“So you’re okay?” said Vic. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” said Amelia. “For now, at least.”
“Lola told me what happened to you,” said Vic. “She said you got picked up by the same sellers she did and that you were sold to some shifter just minutes before the police showed up and saved everyone.”
“The police did come?” Amelia’s shoulders relaxed as a weight she hadn’t known she’d been carrying was lifted. “Thank god. I wasn’t sure they would.”
“Wait, you knew?”
“Yes. I wasn’t sold to a shifter. I was saved by him. He took me and then made some anonymous call to his friends on the force.” Amelia frowned, remembering for the first time since he’d told her, that the Prince had connections with District Eight law enforcement. She made a mental note to ask him about that later. “I’m living with him now, in a shifter city outside of the District lines.”
“Thank god you’re alright,” said Victoria. “I’ve been so worried.” She sounded as if on the verge of tears. “It’s been really hard.”
“I understand,” said Amelia. “Er, I guess, I don’t really understand. I’ve never had my best friend disappear before, but I can guess, and I’m guessing it’s not so pleasant.” She laughed, but Victoria remained quiet. Usually Vic was a fan of Amelia dry sense of humor. “Is something wrong? I mean, besides the obvious.”
“Baby Bud died.”
The phone slid from Amelia’s hand. She caught it by pushing it against her chest. She could hear Victoria’s muffled voice, catching only a few words here and there, as she described how Bud’s allergies went untreated and she got another infection. As the information sank in, Amelia f
elt all the muscles in her body tense. It was anger which coursed through her system, not sadness.
How could her parents let this happen?
But it wasn’t all their fault. It’s hard, living in a place like District Eight. For some, it’s downright impossible. Both Bud and Amelia’s parents were just looking for a way to get through the day, and then their chosen methods became addictions instead of habits, and it’s not like the shifters running the District were running around setting up treatment centers or helping the unemployed find work.
That was who really let this happen. The shifters.
The shifters.
Bringing the phone back to her ear, Amelia heard herself telling Victoria she had to go. She promised to call back as soon as she could, at this point not really taking any note of what she was saying or what was being said to her.
She heard the sound of the front door closing downstairs just as she hung up the phone. Eldan was home. She could tell by the footsteps coming upstairs that it was him, not his mother or brother.
He knocked on her door and called for her in a cheery voice. “Amelia, it’s me! Open up, I have good news.”
Amelia didn’t immediately go to the door. She waited for him to knock a second time and repeat her name, this time in a questioning tone. “Are you okay? Did I wake you?”
She got up and opened the door, saying nothing.
He smiled at her and walked in. “The Council voted that, seeing as my father is still alive, the decision regarding the fate of the humans of Meldania need be put on hold. For now. They want to hear what he has to say, if he is up for it, and then they will deliberate.”
“So what does this mean exactly? For me, and for the other humans living here?”
“It means we have some time to figure out a better strategy. And that you are all safe here until further notice.”
Amelia rolled her eyes. “That’s comforting.”
“I know it isn’t the outcome we were hoping for,” said Eldan. “But the other bit of good
news is that the Council has ordered my mother to stay somewhere else for the time being. They do not trust her to be living in such close quarters to all the humans she so desperately wishes to get rid of.”
“And your brother?”
“He is going to stay here, but truthfully he is harmless without her. He couldn’t make a decision for himself if his life depended on it. Besides,” Eldan scoffed. “I can take him. If it comes to that.”
“You would fight him?”
He shrugged. “Of course. For you.” He looked at her and then away again. “I’ll have to anyway,” he said. “One day.”
“What does that mean?”
“My father had two sons, and now that he is coming to the end of his life, it will soon be time to declare who will be his successor as King. That person will rule alongside my mother, until she passes, and then he will marry and bring into power a new Queen.”
“And that right doesn’t just automatically go to Lendir?” asked Amelia. “I thought since he was older…” she trailed off.
“That’s now how we do it here,” said Eldan. “If there are two sons or two daughters, or more even, who are in line for the throne, they fight to determine who will rule. This is why my mother is trying to push her agenda now. With my father still breathing, but incapacitated, she holds all the power—except that held by the Council, of course. After my father dies, however, she runs the risk of me usurping the throne, and then she’d have me to deal with. And I would block her every step of the way. She wants to do this before me and Lendir fight.”
“Is it a fight to the death?” Amelia was somewhat afraid of what the answer might be.
“Sometimes. If no one surrenders.”
That fact sat heavy, floating in the space between them. Amelia wasn’t sure what to say. Thankfully Eldan spoke first. “Let’s not worry about that now, though.” He shook his head. “It could be months, a year even, before we have to cross that bridge.”
Amelia nodded in agreement. “You’re right.”
“Right now, we just need to focus on the issue at hand. I have an idea of how we might stop my mother, but I’ll need your help.”
The corners of her mouth began to curl-upwards, producing the first smile she’d worn since talking to Victoria. “I’m in,” she said. “Whatever it is, I’m in. I’m ready to fight.”
8
Long Live the King
“So, you’re saying you wouldn’t like it if every human in Meldania was slaughtered for no good reason?” Amelia raised her eyebrows, the tip of her pen ready to start writing the moment the chef starts to speak.
“I would not like it,” he said. He was wearing an apron, which had yellow stains on it from the breakfast preparation. He was the seventh shifter staff member Amelia had interviewed that day, and the twentieth she had talked to since Eldan had given her this assignment two days prior. “I don’t think this house would function without the human workers. Who is going to wash the dishes and scrub the floors?” He put a finger on his chest and laughed. “Me? Not likely. We need the humans. Not just here, but in all of Meldania.”
“Okay,” Amelia said, taking down every word of the man’s statement. “I appreciate your time. Now, if you could just sign here, underneath this paragraph. By signing, you are saying that you did in fact say everything I wrote down here and that this is your official, unbiased stance on the issue.”
She handed the clipboard and pen over to the chef, who did a quick read-through of the statement and signed.
“Thank you so much,” she said. “You have been a great help, and I will now let you get back to work.” He smiled at her and left in the direction of the kitchen.
Amelia took the page off the board and added it to the pile she had forming on the table next to her. She stationed herself in the dining room, and had scheduled a time to speak with a number of staff members that day. She prioritized speaking to the shifters, knowing their statements would hold a lot more clout with the council. She would collect and present statements from Meldanian humans as well, just to really hammer home the point, but their opinions and signatures could not be counted in the legal case Eldan was building against his mother. Humans are not full-fledged citizens of Meldania. Similar to how it is in District Eight, they are treated, under the law, more as permanent visitors. They are given certain rights and certain protections, but in regards to political representation, they have none.
Eldan’s place was simple; he was going to evoke an old law, from the dragon society that the Meldanian dragons descended from, which states that if the majority of citizens disagrees with a political move enacted by the monarchy, they can present their case to the council, who can decide to remove said monarch from power. It only happened once, according to the history books Eldan was able to find, but the political move which landed said monarchy in hot water was of a similar nature to the one his mother was currently trying to promote. The King and Queen who were ousted were trying to purify the dragon bloodline by forcefully sterilizing shifters who were only partially dragon— those who had one parent who was a different type of shifter or even, heaven forbid, who was human.
Amelia was put in charge of interviewing anyone and everyone who was willing. Meanwhile, Eldan was spending his days at his father’s bedside, waiting for moments of clarity, in which King Ernad may be present enough for his son to explain what was going on. He had on him a recording device, which would capture the conversations he had with Ernad when the man was lucid. If he could get his dad disagreeing with the Queen’s plan to kill the humans on tape, and show it to the council, it would be the final nail in Queen Clarin’s coffin.
Amelia was reading through some of the other statements when someone cleared his throat. She looked up, expecting it to be her eleven o’clock appointment, and found Lendir leaning in the doorway instead.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
Amelia picked up the stack of papers and held them against h
er chest. “How is what going?”
“Your little interviews.” He grinned. “Or did you think I didn’t know what you and my brother are planning?”
“Am I not allowed to talk to the people who live and work in this house?”
“Apparently,” he sneered. “You are allowed to do whatever you want.” He walked towards her and leaned on the table, bearing his weight on his hands. “But not for long.” His face was only a few inches from hers. His breath smelled like meat and cigarette smoke.
Amelia held her position, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of moving away. “You will never be king,” she said, not completely convinced of what she was saying, but trying to sound confident nonetheless.
He looked like he could have slapped her. Instead, he leaned in even closer, as if about to kiss her and said, “I like you when you’re angry.” Sensing that he might try something if she didn’t dodge his advance, Amelia ducked her head and stood up.
“I don’t have time for this.” She grabbed her clipboard and pen and walked out of the dining room and into the kitchen. Thankfully, Lendir didn’t follow her.
She tracked down the chef she was speaking to and asked him if he could tell the rest of his staff, most of which had scheduled to talk to her sometime that day, that she would be taking a lunch break and would be back to continue the interviews in an hour. The chef grumbled something about personal assistant to the Prince’s girlfriend not being his job, but agreed to help her out anyway.
Amelia then snuck out the front door, looking to make sure Lendir wasn’t lurking somewhere, watching her. She headed, on foot, to the facility where Eldan’s dad was staying. The Prince had been there all morning and Amelia thought it would be nice to surprise him and maybe get a chance to finally meet the King in person.
In the lobby of the hospice facility, Amelia asked the person manning the front desk where King Ernad’s room was located. The man gave her a funny look and asked for some sort of form of identification. “Only family members and Council members are allowed in to see the King,” he informed her. “Are you part of his family or on the Meldanian Council?”
Sold to the Prince of the Meldanians Page 9
