Chapter Twelve

Entry:

I don't want kids. If I had them, they would only suffer. No matter how good a parent is, the child will feel pain. So, for what purpose should I bring this misery upon others? It's rather selfish to bring someone into this world without their consent.

Phoenix 

--

"Well, today sucked," Daisy remarked the second Phoenix walked into the kitchen for dinner.

"Oh?" Cole prompted.

Phoenix sat herself down and stared blankly at her plate. What "stone"? Why was Queen Amelia left unaccompanied? 

"I had no one to hang out with," Daisy pouted. "All I did was walk around looking for people. I was so excited to show off this dress, but nobody wanted to hang out with me."

"We hung out with you for some time. Besides, maybe you'll have better luck tomorrow," Cole absentmindedly remarked, more interested in dishing himself dinner than listening to Daisy complain. 

"Are you listening? I'm in distress!" Daisy said. "You only let me dress you in one outfit! It was the rest of the day that was horrible…"

Was Isla okay?

Meredith and Maribel said the Prince was nice, that he treated maids right. So he'd surely treat other woman with respect, right? Wrong- the Prince was a prick using Isla for a quick high. Probably a very quick high. 

Realizing it had dropped silent, Phoenix looked up at everyone staring behind her. 

"Guys?" she asked. She turned and smiled at Greyson in the doorway.

"Who's that?" Lucas asked. 

"Yeah, who's that?" Daisy mirrored with an excited tune, totally forgetting she was having a bad day.

"Sorry to interrupt," Greyson addressed. He wore a navy blue shirt with loose black pants. "Bird invited me, if that's okay."

"Bird?" Cole repeated with a surprising amount of attitude. "Only we call her that."

"Yes!" Phoenix said awkwardly. "Greyson, you can join us for dinner."

Nodding, he grabbed a spare chair resting on the wall, pulling up to the table.

"Come sit over here," Cole suggested, gesturing in between him and Daisy. Well, more like commanded.

Greyson looked at Phoenix and she shrugged. It was fair, she supposed, she did invite a surprise guest to their family dinner. Suddenly all conversation about Daisy's day was out the window and everyone bombarded Greyson.

"Who are you?" Daisy asked with too much flirt.

"How do you know my sister?" Lucas questioned, simply to participate.

"Why do you call her Bird?" Cole interrogated. 

Phoenix smiled at her colorful siblings. 

Greyson laughed. Starting to Phoenix's left he pointed, "You must be Lucas." 

"Bird talks about me?" Lucas smiled. 

"You're just as adorable as she made you out to be." Lucas turned to Phoenix for confirmation and she gave him a wink. Then Greyson pointed to his left and continued, "You're the fierce one, Daisy."

"That's my name, don't wear it out."

"And the intellectual, Cole," Greyson finished. 

Cole glared at Phoenix. "Why is this guy here?" 

"As I mentioned, he was invited," Phoenix felt her voice grow irked. 

"Why?" Cole pushed.

"I thought you two should get to know each other."

"Why?" 

"Because you guys both need more peers. Because you're both overprotective and caring. I think you'd get along great." 

"Well, I like him," Daisy concluded. 

"Me too," Lucas chimed in. "If he plays with me."

Cole kept his mouth shut, bottling everything inside. 

"I think this is weird too," Greyson said to Cole, "but I wouldn't mind getting to know you a little bit better. Bird- I mean Phoenix- thinks it's a good idea, so I'm willing to give it a try."

To Phoenix's relief, Cole's brow dropped, nose crinkled, and he agreed, "Fine." 

Everyone seemed to take Cole accepting Greyson's offer as a sign to continue dinner. 

"Great, now that Cole's over his grumpy mood," Daisy directed all her attention to Greyson while Cole rolled his eyes dramatically, "do you know anyone my age around here willing to hang out with me?"

"Well, there are more people your age in the Highlands, why don't we go there?" Greyson asked.

"Are you serious?" Daisy asked in disbelief. "You can take me to the Highlands?"

"Yeah," Greyson smiled. "We should all see the Highlands."

"Well Cole and I had so much fun today," Lucas interuputed. "Cole and I studied, and read, and played outside, and then I took a bath. The outside part was the best part. The bath was the worst part."

Cole smiled just a fraction. "And while the maids were giving little complainer a bath-"

"I'm not little."

"-I was able to explore the grounds a bit." 

"Find anything interesting?" Greyson said, beating Phoenix to the question. 

"Yes," Cole answered, shifting his body to face Greyson. "Did you know the palace gardens have over twenty roses in it?" 

"Are you... usually into flowers?" Greyson asked. 

"Of course he is!" Daisy sighed. "He's also secretly addicted to fruit but is too ashamed to tell anyone. He doesn't want anyone to mistake him for liking color."

Cole shot a glare at Daisy. "This new phase of you trying to expose me isn't fun."

She winked back. "It is for the rest of us."

"Fruit is tasty," Greyson shrugged.

"But pancakes from the Pancake Palace are the best!" Lucas cheered.

"That 'palace' is a dump," Cole said.

Greyson flinched back, stared at Phoenix, and she shied away. Seemed her inside joke of calling Isla the radiant "palace" back at home was no longer private. 

There Isla's name was again popping up. It was no use trying to distract herself. 

"So," Phoenix said, "about the job I'm not allowed to talk about."

They all turned to her, eager.

"Remember, what is said in this room, stays in this room, right?" They all nodded at her. "Good. I happened, completely coincidently and not because I followed her, to overhear a conversation with the Queen and possibly a soldier. He was warning her against losing a 'stone', but the Queen fled without offering any real answers. Any thoughts?"

"A stone? And who was she with?" Greyson asked.

"A stone?" Daisy reiterated; her interest peaked. "That could be anything from a rock, a boulder, or even a gem."

"If it is a gem, there are so many in this palace that it could mean anything. I think we're wasting our time," Greyson said. 

Daisy's eyebrows pinched in thought. "Greyson, do you seriously have no idea what gem it could be?"

He shook his head no. 

"This is just an idea," Daisy said, "but have any of you seen what Queen wears on her head? It swallows light whole. Whenever I've caught glimpses of her, she always has that same crown on. It's a crown that never leaves the Queen's head- the Queen who is currently being targeted by an assassin."

But if the Queen's crown was the reason for the assassins, why not just take it off? Hide the jewel to protect the Queen and the gem?

"I don't get what's happening," Lucas said. "Can I go to bed?" 

"Maybe what Phoenix heard was nothing, and Daisy is too early to make a connection," Greyson reasoned. 

"Or it's something really important that'll lead to something big," Phoenix said.

"But most likely," Greyson's sternly shut down, "we're getting ahead of ourselves and making something out of nothing. You shouldn't investigate the royal family; they could hurt you if you find anything they don't like."

A terse silence grinded the space between Greyson and her, and a seed of black rooted itself inside Phoenix's stomach. Doubt. 

"Guys?" Lucas rubbed his eyes as another yawn snuck through his defenses.

"Right, sorry Lucas," Phoenix shook her head. "Let's get you tucked into bed. Greyson, I hope you have a good night." 

They exchanged a quick look and Pheonix saw Greyson's lip pout. She rolled her eyes and nodded- they were okay despite the disagreement.

In a choir of hands, everyone waved Greyson goodbye. He smiled back, ruffled Lucas's hair, smiled at Daisy, nodded to Cole, and left. Just like that- gone as quick as he appeared. Phoenix caught herself staring at his empty chair. 

"Hey Lucas, I think you need another bath," Daisy joked.

"No, I don't!"

With that, Daisy ran up to Lucas and planted her hands on his shoulders. "Gotchu!" 

"No!" 

Lucas wiggled free and sprinted down the hall, Daisy close behind.

"He better be tucked in bed when we get there!" Cole shouted. 

In seconds, the pair disappeared, Lucas' playful screams gone. Phoenix dragged her eyes away from Greyson's chair and met Cole's eyes. 

"They'll be fine," Phoenix said. 

Cole and she were alone. No kids to eavesdrop. It was a good time to talk to him, check in. Don't mess this up. 

"What do you think of Greyson?" Phoenix asked. 

"He's interesting," Cole said, standing up. 

Phoenix scoffed. "What does that mean?"

Cole offered a small shrug. "I wouldn't mind getting to know him more."

Before Phoenix could drill him with more questions about what that meant, Cole offered a sly smirk and slipped out of the room. 

She stuck her tongue at him but froze at the empty room before her. One by one, everyone's chairs had emptied, everyone had left her, she was alone. 

Phoenix was alone. 

No, focus. The previous assassination attempts failed and the Queen was being left unaccompanied. So, Queen Amelia was either threatening enough to fight for herself, or she was doing something the guards couldn't catch wind of. 

Daisy was right- the royals were keeping a secret, and Phoenix wasn't the only one trying to uncover the truth.