What does he do, exactly, staying up this late? Play video games?
Zoisite frowned. “Alright. You would have ruined the trip anyway.”
“Jade!” He hissed. “What is going on?”
Memory’s eyes darted back and forth. “Er, aunt Zoisite convinced me to…well…”
“Escape? There’s a reason why she can’t leave.” He seethed. “I’m calling the guards.”
“Oh no–” Memory darted forward, arms outreached, as she grabbed the collar of his shirt. He still moved forward, causing her to fall over the windowsill and into the room, knocking him over. His crown fell to the carpeted floor with a thud.
“GAURDS–”
Memory slapped a hand over his mouth as he tried to wriggle free.
“This is when being heavy helps, psycho.” She motioned for Zoisite to join her, and she did, sitting on his legs.
“Your highness?” They heard someone call. “Are you alright? I think I heard something.”
Zoisite mouthed the word ‘butler’, causing Memory to lean forward next to the Prince’s ear.
“Don’t call the guards, just let us explain. Please?” She slowly lifted her hand off his face and he gasped for air.
“Your highness?” The voice called again.
Prince Cassian’s freakishly raccoon like eyes flickered from Memory, and then to Zoisite, and he coughed.
“Everything is fine, Buford. In fact, you can excuse yourself for the night.”
They heard a door quietly opening and then closing, and it was then Memory stood up, forcing her heartbeat to slow down.
“I almost thought we’d get caught.”
Prince Cassian narrowed his eyes at her, struggling to stand up and groaning when he finally did. “You did get caught.”
“Yeah but…you’ll let us go, right?” As Memory spoke, the Prince closed the windows and pulled the curtains across.
“For what? To let you get kicked out?” He stared at her knowingly, and Memory gulped. Zoisite tugged on his shirt.
“But it has nothing to do with you.” She wailed. “I have never been outside the palace, and–”
“So what?” Memory chimed in. “What does it matter if I get kicked out, anyway?”
He gave her a look that said ‘you know exactly why it matters’ but she pretended not to notice.
“Get Elliot, then.” He fumed. “I have nothing to do with this.”
Memory flushed red. “You just had to bring him up, didn’t you?”
“I don’t like him.” Zoisite wrinkled her nose. “I had to go to his room earlier today, and he didn’t even talk. Just stared. He’s creepy.”
Memory shot the little girl a warning look while Prince Cassian boiled with anger.
“You were in his room?” He fumed, and Zoisite nodded, oblivious to his rising temper.
“Princess Jade wanted to give him her num–” She stopped as Memory pinched her shoulder. “Ow!”
“Okay then.” She declared. “Let’s go get Elliot, Zoisite. He’s nice and understanding–” Before she could move, Prince Cassian yanked her back.
“You are not going anywhere.”
“But you just said–!” Memory closed her mouth when he glared daggers at her.
“I am coming with you.”
Chapter 11
“You wouldn’t have gone three feet without me.”
“Forty.” Zoisite corrected the Prince. “That’s the distance from Memory’s balcony to your window.”
Their ‘aunt’ was ignored as Prince Cassian, clothed in gym clothes of all things (all his other clothes were too recognizable), pulled out his car keys. Him, Memory, and Zoisite peered around the corner, staring at the iron gates of the palace ahead of them.
Memory slapped his hands. “Are you stupid? We’re not driving!”
He smirked. “I own four cars, Jade, one of which is parked in a public garage for safe keeping.”
Memory nearly fell over. “And–and you got angry when you crashed into me? Four cars?!”
He nodded, motioning for her to move. “The motion sensors are spaced ten feet apart. Move towards the stables and then loop back towards the side most fencing.
“Four. Four.” Memory looked at the sky. “King Darius gives his sons four cars, but doesn’t let his baby sister leave the palace. Can I say chauvinistic pig or what?”
Poking her, Zoisite opened her mouth, appalled. “I’m not a baby!”
The other two hushed her simultaneously, Memory still reeling with the fact that Prince Cassian might be richer than initially thought.
Pfft. And he needed to me convince an old woman to give him money.
Either way, she obeyed, half-crawling half-running towards the stables and then turned towards the left. It was a roundabout way to get to the fence behind the stables but it did the job without lighting up any lamps.
Zoisite and Prince Cassian joined her, with the latter panting heavily. Memory inwardly laughed at his lack of athletic abilities but the laughter died the moment she looked up at the fence.
Dang. It was taller–much taller–in person. At least as tall as the West Wing.
“What now?”
Prince Cassian gave her a sidelong glance. “We climb.”
Her throat died up. “Um.”
“Where’s the rope you used?”
Memory inaudibly handed over the bag, still staring at the fence. At least they were quite a ways away from the West Wing, and the part they were climbing was skillfully hidden behind the stables, but still.
“And what if someone shoots us, thinking we’re thieves?” She asked as Prince Cassian pulled the rope out of the bag.
“You should’ve thought of that before.”
“Why are you here, then? King Darius will probably be angrier that his second and perfect son snuck away compared to little old weird Jade who grew up with peasants.”
Of course he ignored her. The ropes in his hands were thrown over his back as he slid his right foot between two iron rods. Memory was still dubious.
“Couldn’t we have gone from the front?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
Behind her, Zoisite coughed. “Only Julie can open or close the gates, dummie.”
“Ganging up on me? That’s not nice.”
“Both of you.” Prince Cassian looked down at the two. “Quiet. Or I will personally see to it that you never see the day of light again.”
The girls were effectively quieted, leaving Prince Cassian to do his work. He threw the rope over the gate, watching as it latched itself onto a golden swirl on the end of the rods.
His footing in the first place had been risky, so it wasn’t a surprise when he slipped and fell, Memory acting as a landing pad.
The second time tonight. Great. Her face was smashed into the grass, and her chest clenched painfully. Prince Cassian was lighter than Zoisite, thought, which was unusually odd.
He scrambled away from her like she was the plague and brushed down his clothes. Memory remained on the ground, trying to keep her breathing in check.
“You could say sorry.” She said, her voice muffled. They really don’t have manners. No one here does. Except maybe Elliot.
The three made their way up the rope with Zoisite freaking out once they reached about fifty feet. Memory, who was at the bottom, gently pushed her up.
“Think about freedom.” She told her. “You’re almost there.”
Prince Cassian was the first to swing over and slide down the rope into a patch of bushes. Zoisite came after him, and the two didn’t wait for Memory, immediately running across the road and into the thick trees.
“Hey!” She lurched forward. “Wait for me!”
It was when they reached the main road and crossed it when Zoisite began to shout, standing on her toes and reaching her hands out as far as she good. Memory and Prince Cassian watched from distance, with him groaning.
“She’s finally been out here once. She will definitely not settle with staying in the pal
ace.”
At that, Memory nudged him. “Why’d you come, then?”
“You two wouldn’t last three seconds without me.”
“Ah, there’s the narcissism I was waiting for.” Just after she closed her mouth, Zoisite twirled and tripped backwards, knocking her over. Memory screeched.
“The third time! I swear I’m going to–”
“Let’s go.” Prince Cassian said hastily.
Despite the late hour, the city was lit up with neon signs and glittering lamps. Prince Cassian led them to Central Park, only two miles away, and he sat down at the nearest bench and Zoisite learned the wonders of monkey bars and swings. Memory, after showing her how to swing on her own, left Zoisite and joined Prince Cassian on the bench, careful to leave at least five inches of space between them.
The two watched Zoisite quietly. Her nose wasn’t upturned snootily, nor the edges of her lips curled into the infamous smirk–she was just laughing. It was like seeing her breathe for the first time.
“Why don’t they let her leave?”
Prince Cassian glanced at her briefly. “No female is allowed to leave without permission.”
Even in the twenty-first century, the palace of all places supported the whole male-superiority thing. Memory could only huff at that.
“Why? Zoisite said–”
“Has anyone told you that you talk too much?”
“No.” She paused. “It’s just a question.”
Prince Cassian lowered his gaze at her. “It’s none of your business.”
Memory, uncomfortable under his glare, resumed to watching Zoisite run around and winced when she ran into a pole.
“You can’t just expect me to sit around in my room all day.” She was about to stand up to help her aunt (as silly as that sounded) but sat back down when Zoisite merely rubbed her head before running around the park once more. “You got me into this mess–I at least should know what I’m dealing with.”
He sighed, looking down at his clasped hands. “Did you talk to grandmother?”
“I tried.” She grinned wryly. “Except crazy horses, parties, and idiots tend to get in the way.”
“You have one job.” He said, smirking when Zoisite fell onto the slide. “She is almost as clumsy as you.” He motioned.
“Yeah yeah.” Memory waved her hands around. “I’m trying. Why is it so important?”
“You really don’t understand?” His voice lowered a few octaves, and Memory pulled her sweater around her small body tighter.
“Um. Not really?”
“How would you act if your family’s entire livelihood was threatened to be taken away by one person?” He asked, resting his chin on his hands.
Memory was suddenly reminded of her mother, but didn’t show it. “I’d work hard. Go with it. There’s no point in stopping and doing what…what can’t be done.”
“We do not sit around and drink all day. I do not know if you have ever run a country, but…” The Prince paused, “Never mind.”
She took another look at his exhausted face and hunched back, knowing exactly what he was talking about. Poor guy was probably worked to the bone.
Still.
“Someone had a happy childhood.” She replied sarcastically. “Not exactly rainbows and fluffy unicorns, huh? Tell me about it.”
He nodded, agreeing. “Especially with the intruder and the heirloom issue and countless other things.”
“Did they find it yet?” She asked, genuinely curious. As far as she knew, they hadn’t found the crown yet, and Prince Cassian’s nod confirmed it.
“No trace of it.”
“Oh…do you,” She gulped as an inkling suspicion nagged at the back of her brain, “Do you think the thief used the secret passages?”
His forehead creased, like the idea had never occurred to him. A bead of sweat rolled down his face.
“That’s definitely…” He murmured, “Huh. But even I had no idea they existed, and I’ve lived there for the entirety of my twenty-one years of living.”
“I wonder too.” She snorted, “I’m confused, though. I mean, you’re dad knew, I knew, and Chrysander knew about them. Who else?”
“Uncle told you about them, right?” Prince Cassian asked, and Memory nodded in confirmation. “He also as a map, I assume. I’ll take the liberty of confirming who he found the information from. It certainly is a possibility.”
She shivered, suddenly scared. “Odd.”
They spent almost an hour observing Zoisite. Even in the dead of the night, she had so much energy that it was like she’d inhaled fifteen cups of coffee. At one point Prince Cassian dragged her over to a sandbox and ordered her to sit and play. She wouldn’t, but when Memory showed her how to make a sandcastle, she was effectively tamed.
“Elliot.” Memory mentioned suddenly. Prince Cassian, who was sitting off to the side and watching the two girls paw in the sand, raised an eyebrow.
“What about him?”
“Will…will he be okay? Your–I mean, our stepmom threatened to kick him out.” She lowered her voice. “She’s hella scary.”
To her surprise, the Prince chuckled. “He’ll be fine. Hovering on the edge, but he’ll need to do more than that to get himself kicked out. He’s too valuable, contrary to what others say.”
“He doesn’t seem to be liked.” Memory noted, patting the sand.
“I daresay you’re the only one who does.” That earned him a pile of sand thrown in the face. Satisfied, Memory wiped her hands and stood up, only to be pulled back down by Zoisite.
“Look!” She said, “I made an octopus!”
Memory glanced at her sculpture and gasped. It was almost five feet tall, and while it was more of a clump than anything, she could see the faint lines of where the eight legs of the octopus were supposed to be.
“How did you–? And so fast?”
Chuckling filtered into her ears from next to her. Prince Cassian leaned back, a hint of a smirk on his face.
“She has royal blood. We are not normal children.”
Memory held up her hands in defeat. “I give up. I give up on life.”
“Hm.”
“What are you good at, then? Being annoying?” She inquired, more spiteful than she’d intended it to be.
“Touché.” He grabbed a pile of sand and made a move to hit Memory but she ducked in time. “But since you asked…writing, actually.”
She paused and Zoisite laughed.
“Poetry. Gushy, mushy, poetry.” The girl said, fixing her octopus sand sculpture.
Memory burst into a fit of giggles. The idea of the Prince, of all people, indulging in such a flowery pastime was more than slightly ridiculous.
Next to her, Prince Cassian shushed his aunt. “No!” He denied fervently. “Story-telling. Fiction, non-fiction…”
Keep telling yourself that. Memory smiled to herself, and then keeled over in pain when tiny rocks hit her in the eye.
“Zoisite!”
“This had got to be the weirdest day ever. Like, ever.” Memory was aware of how stupid she sounded, but making a comment on the situation was too good to pass up. Both she and Zoisite were covered head to toe in mud and sand. Memory wanted so bad to smack the smirk off of the Prince’s face, but the only thing that kept her from doing so was the fact that they were walking around downtown Sugrove.
Zoisite, initially, hung back, unwilling to go into the rowdy and dusty place.
“It’s gross looking.” She said, shuffling her feet. And then she yelped, jumping into Memory’s arms. “A BUG! IT’S A BUG GET IT OFF ME GET IT OFF–“
“Got it.” Memory held up the beetle, laughing wickedly as Zoisite began to cry. Prince Cassian pinched her arm.
“Hey! This is what she wanted to see. The real world.” Memory flicked the bug away. “That’s what it is. Bugs everywhere. Calm yourself.”
They strolled along the roads, Memory pointing out different things to Zoisite. The girl–and not surprisingly, Prince Cassian–didn�
��t know what cotton candy was. Aghast, Memory promised to get them cotton candy the next day.
“It’s closed, though.” She said. “Wait until tomorrow. I’m sure I can get Diana to bring some.”
Zoisite threw a tantrum, wanting the treat the moment Memory explained its sugary goodness, and couldn’t be consoled until Prince Cassian threatened to take her home.
“It’s almost three am.” He said. “We should go back soon.”
Memory gave him a sideways glance. “Why? What time do you wake up, anyway?”
“Four.” He muttered. She jumped.
“What?! That’s like, not even an hour of sleep today. What is wrong with you?” She let Zoisite slip out of her hands and watched as she pushed her face against the glass of a shoe store. “You have to work, but you aren’t going to be sane if you keep that up.”
When there was a lack of response, she faced him. “I’m serious.”
“Jade,” He started, rubbing his eyes, “Focus on what you need to do. How do I put this into words you would understand? Don’t be spastic?”
“Well, I would if I hadn’t been having nightmares lately.” She blurted, but realized too late that it was an embarrassing thing to admit. Shockingly, he only blinked.
“Nightmares?”
“Yes.” She admitted. “I don’t know. I just can’t…sleep.”
He looked concerned. “For how long?”
“It’s been at least a few weeks.” As she yawned, something rumbled in her chest. It wracked her lungs, and suddenly she was coughing out red. Prince Cassian rushed to her side, patting her on the back with his cold hands as she covered her mouth and with horror saw drips of red on her fingers.
“I. What?” She wheezed. “I was sick a while ago…but never this bad.” She glanced up at him. “Why are your hands like freaking ice?”
Prince Cassian’s hands fell.
“Let’s go.”
Back outside the palace, the trio looked up at the intimidating iron gates.
“I don’t want to go.” Zoisite moaned, choking on what seemed like a sob. “I want to go to the zoo! And the amusement park! And–”
“Zoisite.” Prince Cassian started firmly, gripping the girl’s shoulders and forcing her to face him. “No one knows of this. Okay? And don’t try to leave again.” He looked pointedly at Memory. “The same for you, sister.”
The Liars Page 14
