Beyond Her Beauty

CHAPTER 8 (Envelope √)

earlier that he does.” Lezen flushed, —Oh my God, she's too young.

Dad burst out laughing. “So, Lily, how do you feel about Prince?”

“He's gotten a bit farther further after yesterday.”

“Kitty, he’s the prince. He’s probably been busy passing legislation or anything possible that Prince should do. You know having his position is not easy.”

“He's the prince, Kitty. He's most likely been preoccupied with passing bills or doing something else the Prince might do. You are aware that getting his job is not easy.”

“I suppose so...”

I've regained consciousness.

“By the way, have you all figured out what that is yet?” How should plans be written? You understand how important it is to be aware of such matters, Lily.

“I despise being asked questions that I don't want to hear right now. But, at the very least, there were no boys. No, not yet. I believe that learning certain subjects, such as getting a teacher for legislation, is a long process.”

“You're right, Kitty; if you push yourself, things may not work.” Dad said that he seems to be pleased with what I said.

"Yes, Dad, you really get me." I said with a smile.

I had a flashback to the book bed. Should I inform them? Perhaps not? But this was my father. “Listen, you must vow not to speak about this. All right?”

He laughed. “Your mother is the only one I ever speak to, and we all know she can't be trusted with a lie, so I swear I won't tell her.”

We all knew Mom was the most talkative person we knew, so I chuckled.

I'm trying to imagine Mom being able to hold something to herself. My darkest secret is the only one she can keep.

“You can trust me, kitty,” he said as he hugged me on the shoulder. When I was a little kid, Dad told me, "Don't be afraid of your beauty. Your little baby cat.”,

“There's a secret room, Dad, and it's full of books!” I admitted softly, double-checking that no one was around. “Some books have been banned for a long time. An old one of all the countries as they once were. It seems to be very valuable and important to them, so let us keep it a secret, okay?”

He shook his head, stunned. I knew, Dad knew that book I've been saying. The old banned book is well known and very popular.

“It’s amazing. You type what you’re looking for, and it searches through all the books in the room and finds it.”

“How?”

“I don’t know, but that’s how Kaden found out what night party was. He even …” I looked up and down the hall again. I decided there was no way Dad would tell me about the library, but if I told him I had one of those secret books in my room, it might be too much.

“He even?”

“He let me borrow one, just to see...”

“Oh, that’s very interesting! What did you read? Can you tell me?”

I bit my lip. “It was one of Crono Milléa’s personal diaries.”

Dad’s mouth dropped open before he composed himself. “Lily, that’s incredible. What did it say?”

“Oh, I haven’t finished. Mostly, it was to figure out what night party was.”

He considered my words for a moment and shook his head. “Why are you too worried, Lily? Clearly, Kaden trusts you.”

I sighed, “I guess you’re right.”

“Amazing,” he breathed. “So there’s a hidden room around here?” He looked at the walls in a whole new way.

“Dad, this place is crazy. There are doors and panels everywhere. For all I know, if I tipped this vase, we might fall through a trapdoor, you shouldn't go so far.”

“Hmm,” he said, amused. “I’ll be very careful making my way back to my room then.”

I laughed.

“Which you should probably do soon. I need to get Lezen ready for tea with the queen.”

“Ah, yes, you and your tea with the queen,” he joked. “All right, kitten. I’ll see you tonight for dinner. Now … how best not to fall into a secret hatch?” he wondered aloud, spreading his arms out like a protective shield as he walked. Dad is my best of best friend. He makes me laugh in every single word.

Once he got to the stairwell, he tentatively put his hand on the rail. “Just so you know, this is safe.”

“Thanks, Dad.” I shook my head, hugged him, and made my way back to my room.

It was difficult not to skip down the halls. I was so happy my family was here, I could hardly stand it. If Kaden didn’t send me home, it was going to be harder than ever to be separated from them.

I rounded the corner to my room and saw that the door was open.

“What did he look like?” I heard Lezen ask as I approached.

“Handsome. To me anyway. His hair was kind of wavy, and it never stayed down.” Lezen giggled, and so did Lucy as she spoke. “A few times, I actually got to run my fingers through it. I think of that sometimes. Not as much as I used to.”

I tiptoed closer, not wanting to disturb them.

“Do you still miss him?” Lezen asked, curious about boys as always. She's too young. I don't want to talk about that kind of stuff.

“Less and less,” Lucy admitted, a tiny lilt of hope in her voice. “When I got here, I thought I would die from the ache. I kept dreaming up ways to escape the palace and get back to him, but that would never really happen. I couldn’t leave my dad, and even if I got outside the walls, there’s no way I could have found my way back.”

I knew a little about Lucy’s past, how her family gave themselves as servants to a family of Threes in exchange for the money to pay for an operation for Lucy’s mother. Lucy’s mom eventually died, and when the mother found out her son was in love with Lucy, she sold Lucy and her father to the palace. She's one of the princesses here. Kaden's cousin.

I peeked through the door to find Lezen and Lucy on the bed. The balcony doors were open, and the delicious Angeles air wafted in. Lezen fell into the palace looking so naturally, her day dress strawberry details hanging perfectly on her frame as she sat braiding parts of Lucy’s hair back and letting the rest fall free. I’d never seen Lucy without her hair pulled up tight into a bun. She looked lovely like this, young and carefree.

They're close?

“What’s it like to be in love?” Lezen asked.

Part of me ached. Why hadn’t she ever asked me? Then I remembered, as far as Lezen knew, I’d never been in love.

Lucy’s smile was sad. “It’s the most wonderful and terrible thing that can ever happen to you,” she said simply. “You know that you’ve found something amazing, and you want to hold on to it forever; and every second after you have it, you fear the moment you might lose it.”

I sighed softly. She was absolutely right.

Love is beautiful fear.

I didn’t want to let myself think too much about losing things, so I walked inside. I know losing is part of human life.

“Lucy! Look at you!”

“Do you like it?” She reached back, touching the delicate long braids.

“It’s wonderful. Lezen used to braid my hair all the time, too. She’s very talented.”

Lezen shrugged. “What else was I supposed to do? We couldn’t afford to have dolls, so I used Lil's instead.”

“Well,” Lucy said, turning to face her, “while you’re here, you will be our little doll. I am going to make you look as pretty as the queen.”

Lezen tilted her head. “No one’s as pretty as her.” Then she quickly turned to me. “Don’t tell Mom I said that.”

I chuckled. “I won’t. For now, though, we have to get ready. It’s almost time for tea.”

Lezen clapped her hands together excitedly and went to settle in front of the mirror. Lucy pulled her hair up, managing to keep the braids together as she made her bun, putting her cap on to cover most of it. I couldn’t blame her for wanting it to stay as it was a little bit longer.

“Oh, a letter came for you, miss,” Lucy said, handing an envelope to me with great care.

“Thank you,” I replied, unable to keep the shock out of my voice. Most of the people I expected to hear from were currently with me. I tore it open and read the brief note, its deliberate scratch completely familiar.

Lily,

I have found out belatedly that the families of the Elite were recently invited to the palace, and that Father, Mother, and Lezen have left to visit you. I know that Kenna is far too pregnant to travel, and Gerad is much too young. I’m trying to understand why this invitation wasn’t extended to me. I’m your brother, Lily.

My only guess is that Father chose to exclude me. I certainly hope it wasn’t you. We are on the edge of great things, you and I. Our positions can be very helpful to each other. If any other special privileges are ever offered to your family, you ought to remember me, Lily. We can help each other.

Did you happen to mention me to the prince? Just curious.

Write soon.

Kitty

I debated crumpling it up and tossing it in the trash. I had hoped Kit might be getting over his caste climbing and learn to be content with the success he had. No such luck, it seemed. I threw the letter in the back of a drawer, choosing to forget about it entirely. His jealousy wasn’t going to spoil this visit.

Lucy rang for Anne and Mary, and we all had a wonderful time getting ready. Lezen’s effervescent attitude kept us all in good spirits, and I found myself singing while we dressed. Not long after, Mom came by, asking all of us to double-check that she looked all right.

She did, of course. She was shorter and curvier than the queen, but she was every bit as regal in her dress. As we walked downstairs, Lezen clutched my arm, looking sad.

“What’s wrong? You’re excited to meet the queen, aren’t you?” I asked.

“I am. It’s just …”

“What?”

She sighed. “How am I supposed to go back to khakis after all this?”

The girls were animated, and everyone was sparkling with energy. Natalie’s sister, Lacey, was about Lezen’s age, and they sat in a corner, talking. I could see how Lacey resembled her sister. Physically, they were thin, blond, and lovely. But where Lezen and I were opposites personality-wise, Natalie and Lacey were so similar. I would have described Lacey as a bit less whimsical, however. Not quite as clueless as her sister.

The queen made her rounds, speaking to all the mothers, asking questions in her sweet way. I was in a small group listening to Elise’s mother talk about her family back in New Asia when Lezen tugged on my dress, pulling me away.

“Lezen!” I hissed. “What are you doing? You can’t act like that, especially when the queen’s present!”

“You have to see!” she insisted.

Thank goodness Silvia wasn’t here. I wouldn’t put it past her to admonish Lezen for something like this, even though Lezen didn’t know any better.

We made our way to the window, and Lezen pointed outside. “Look!”

I peered past the shrubs and fountains and saw two figures. The first was my father, speaking with his hands as he either explained or asked something. The second was Kaden, pausing to think before responding. They walked slowly, and sometimes my dad would put his hands in his pockets or Kaden would tuck his behind his back. Whatever this conversation was, it seemed intense.

I glanced around. The women were all still engrossed with the experience, with the queen herself, and no one seemed to notice us.

Kaden stopped, stood in front of my father, and spoke deliberately. There was no aggression or anger, but he looked determined. After a pause, Dad held out his hand. Kaden smiled and shook it eagerly. A moment later, they both seemed lighter, and Dad slapped Kaden on the back. Kaden seemed to stiffen a bit at that. He wasn’t used to being touched. But then Dad put his arm around Kaden’s shoulder, the way he did with me and Kit, the way he did with all his kids. And Kaden seemed to like that very much.

“What was that about?” I asked aloud.

Lezen shrugged. “It looked important though.”

“It did.”

We waited to see if Kaden had a conversation with anyone else’s father; but if he did, they didn’t go to the gardens.