Chapter Twenty-Four

Entry

I want to cease to exist. I wonder how long it would take for them to find my corpse. Hate consumes me today. Yet, you stay with me. So I must stay too. 

Phoenix

--

"I have a couple ideas regarding the crown," Phoenix said, pushing the empty soup bowl aside.

"The whole point of keeping you in the tower was for you to heal, not plan," Greyson sighed.

"Keeping my mind on something is better than going insane," she fired back. 

"I don't like this idea."

Couldn't Greyson at least entertain differing possibilities with her? Why was he so quick to shut this down? 

"I have been hired to catch an assassin," Phoenix reasoned. "People have attacked our family, and the Queen might use the Burning Stone to do something worse than experimenting on innocents. How can you be so reluctant to fight back?"

"You could get hurt-"

"I could get hurt in this chair. I could fall and get a concussion or be victim to a random heart attack. There is no reason to worry about every small thing," Phoenix said.

"I know, Bird. But this isn't small. What about the family? They wouldn't be able to live without you," he ran his fingers through his hair and down his neck.

She stopped and stared at him. "Don't you understand that I'm doing this so that won't happen, so that we can all be safe together? If I do this job, if I protect them from all the dangers, then I can rest assured knowing that we will all be safe. It means I've done something good for them."

Greyson reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You are a good person, Bird. Don't forget it."

"So will you help me?" 

This wasn't a matter of whether or not the plan would happen, but rather, if Greyson would support them. 

"I'll help you," Greyson caved.

Phoenix smiled wildly and put her hand on top of his. He sent her a small squeeze and a shy smile. The family was going to be ecstatic when they heard that Greyson was on board. 

"How about this," Phoenix whispered. "You can be in charge of the backup plans, the escape routes, everything just in case something goes wrong."

"Okay. And the younger ones stay far away from the whole ordeal."

"Of course, Daisy, Lucas, and Cole shouldn't be in the castle at all. It'll be just you and me."

"You and me," Greyson muttered under his breath. 

"Want to scope out the castle, see if anything catches our eye?"

Anything to keep moving, don't let the thoughts catch up.

"Let's do it," he answered. 

Phoenix's mouth spread wide in an open smile; Greyson was really going to help them out. They left the dining room in search of some information on the royal family. Now, where could the Queen be? Perhaps the Throne Room like last time. 

The two walked in silence and Phoenix's mind raced with ideas. It felt good to be out walking again, no longer confined to a single room, to have her freedom back. Upon arriving at the Throne Room, they saw the doors thrown open and only one guard posted outside- no royals would be around.

"Where else could they be?" Phoenix wondered. 

"Anywhere," Greyson said. "They could be in their private chambers, in a meeting room, paying a visit to the Highlands…" 

Phoenix hadn't thought of that. Her gaze dropped to the floor and realized that following the crown was going to be a lot more difficult than anticipated. Her heart pounded as she felt Greyson staring at her from the side.

"We'll find it," he encouraged her. 

Phoenix smiled in gratitude and then dragged him to the one place she consistently ran into royalty: the library. Greyson had an inquisitive look on his face as he realized where Phoenix was taking them. 

"Why are we here?" Greyson asked as they entered the familiar space. 

Phoenix saw who she was looking for immediately and stormed over to the Prince. The Prince looked up in surprise and started to smile before he noticed Greyson behind her. What seemed to be a genuine smile fell, replaced by a cool and calculated one.

"I never thought that you'd bring Wimpy over to our space," the Prince poked.

"Excuse me?" Greyson started, but Phoenix interrupted him.

"He calls everyone by nicknames, Greyson. Don't take it personally."

"Yeah, Phoenix is right," the Prince smirked. "I call everyone by nicknames, short stack."

Really? The one time he used her name was to rile up Greyson. She could tell that Greyson was taking the bait, too, standing taller and puffing his chest. 

Phoenix tried to break up the tension, "Anyway, Prince I was wondering if-"

"Bird, why do you just let him do that?" Greyson interrupted. 

"The goal isn't to fix the Prince's bad behavior, it's to ask him a favor."

The Prince perked up at that. Greyson clenched his fists in silent protest. 

"Can you connect me with Roman again?" she asked the Prince. 

"I can," he stated, his eyes studying Greyson. The two exchanged glares.

"Thank you so much," Phoenix said and turned to leave before a fight broke out.

"But in exchange," the Prince started.

Phoenix snapped her head back at him in frustration.

"You have to let me talk to Wimpy over here, alone, for five minutes." 

"What?" both Greyson and Phoenix stammered in disbelief. 

"You did wreck my kitchen and caused me to worry. Glad to see you're okay, by the way, I was thinking you'd disappeared." The Prince didn't elaborate anymore, he just stood there waiting for an answer.

"I'm sorry," Phoenix turned to Greyson, "you don't have to if you don't want to."

"If it means you'll get to see this Roman guy, then I'll do it."

A smile naturally formed on her mouth as she looked at the Prince and saw that he was watching them closely. She wondered what would happen if she…

She grabbed Greyson by the collar of his shirt, brought him down to her, and kissed him. Greyson looked shocked but when Phoenix glanced at the Prince, he didn't seem surprised at all. If anything, he just seemed really annoyed. Why?

"I'll be waiting outside for you," Phoenix told Greyson. "Be a good boy," she mocked the Prince.

Without waiting for a response she turned and left the two boys. From the hall, she kept her ears close to the door in hopes of hearing what they talked about. The only thing Phoenix caught however, was the sound of shoes moving far from the door to a place where she couldn't hear a thing.

#

Talon didn't know what he was thinking. As he maneuvered far from the door and deeper into the library with Greyson, all he could do was think about how Phoenix brought Greyson to their library. No, not their library. Simply the library.

Once they reached a spot that Talon deemed safe from earshot, he turned and looked at this guard. Greyson was five foot eleven with hazel eyes. Training clothes that most guards wore when they are off duty hung too large off his warm-skinned body. His light brown hair was well-kept and swept back. Boring, average, dull. 

"I heard what you did to Isla," Greyson started with. 

Talon needed to swing the conversation back into his control, so he brushed it off. "And I heard what you're doing with Wrinkles." 

A look of confusion settled into the guard's features.

"Phoenix," Talon clarified.

"We're not-" 

"Of course you aren't. How would you describe Phoenix, in your own words?" Just how close was this guard with her?

"Compassionate and surprising," Greyson answered without hesitation. 

Talon could understand 'surprising' after she took down the guard in the file room, but compassionate? She did everything she could to keep her loved ones safe, even if that meant taking a Prince hostage, and that's more than mere compassion. That's fierce determination and raw passion. It's something that Talon had never seen anyone wear so magnificently. 

"What about her temper?" Talon asked. 

"Nothing exceptional, it's manageable." 

Manageable?

Phoenix must put on a strong mask when with her family. Talon looked at Greyson- manageable. Talon bet it was Greyson who locked Phoenix up in that tower. 

"What's the point of this conversation?" Greyson asked.

Talon didn't know the answer to that quite yet, so he disregarded it so his subconscious could mull it over.

"Do you love her?" he asked instead. 

A red washed over Greyson's skin and he looked down to the floor and started to fidget with his hands. Seriously, Phoenix? This kid? 

"I don't think so," Greyson replied. 

"After she completes the mission, her family and she will be moving out. Will you follow them?" 

"I hadn't thought about-"

"Of course you haven't," Talon interrupted, a bit annoyed. This conversation wasn't going anywhere. Talon needed to find the right question to ask.

"If you're worried about me distracting her from her mission, I can assure you she'll get the job done," Greyson commented.

Talon found that incredibly interesting. Greyson thought he was only checking in on Phoenix for the mission's sake? Talon wondered if Phoenix thought that way as well. Maybe he should start being his true self around her, let her know him better and see his feelings.

"I wasn't particularly worried," Talon replied, "but a quick report on her progress would be nice." 

Greyson's eyes widened slightly, and he looked down to the floor again, his shoulders hunched. 

"Well, we have a course of action and will be pursuing it in hopes to achieve the goal relatively soon," Greyson reported. 

That statement was too vague for a trained guard. What was he hiding?

"What information does Wrinkles need?" As much as Talon hated relying on her, Osprey's advice rang throughout his head; if only he could be useful to Phoenix and earn her attention. 

"She needs to talk to Old Man Roman but I'm not sure why." 

So, Phoenix didn't run all her thoughts through Greyson. Why not, was she too used to doing things on her own? Did she not trust Greyson? 

"What do you know so far?" Talon continued.

"Well, um, we know that…"

"Yes?" Talon impatiently pushed.

"I don't think I can say."

Talon removed the constant smile on his face and formed his features into one of pure command. 

"It's my family's mission; I'm not asking, I'm ordering. Tell me what you know," Talon's low voice boomed.

Greyson looked to the ground again and gave a defeated nod. Just as Talon thought Greyson would start to talk, he heard a voice behind him.

"Time's up."

#

Phoenix wouldn't wait for the boys to come out. It had been five minutes, so she went in to fetch them. It only took her seconds to locate the two. Greyson was backed against the wall and Phoenix couldn't see Talon's face, but his fists were clenched tight behind his back. Why was the Prince upset?

"Time's up," she said from behind. The Prince whipped his head to look at her in surprise. 

When Phoenix saw the Prince's face, her eyes widened. There wasn't the usual manipulative smile, but rather the look of the King. His deep set eyes were narrowed, lips pursed, and eyebrows furrowed. What was he doing to Greyson?

The Prince's face shifted again when he saw her. This time, it turned into a softer face. A face of simple joy, of relaxed features and warm intentions. Why? Phoenix didn't really like the Prince, but she wanted to know all the faces he could make. What each one meant. He always wore that fake smile, but what was he really thinking? 

Greyson stepped out and walked over to her side. 

"Are you okay?" Phoenix asked Greyson, reaching out her hand to pat his shoulder.

"Yeah. The Prince was just asking about updates on the mission," Greyson said.

"I understand. Could you put me in touch with Roman, now?" Phoenix turned to the Prince.

"Yes. He'll be here tonight after dinner," the Prince answered with a straight face, no sarcasm or pointless taunts. "Wrinkles, Old Man Roman doesn't really like new people. I suggest you go alone."

"I know."

The Prince chewed his lip. Then, he seemed to finally say what was on his mind, "Are you going to the ball?"

"The what?" Phoenix asked.

"In a couple of days Highlanders will gather and be granted an audience with the my family. Most go for dancing and food, but it is important nonetheless," the Prince exclaimed. 

"It's the same one I mentioned when we visited the Highlands," Greyson whispered to her. Then, taking a step in front of Phoenix, he said, "If she goes, I'll be with her." 

"Of course," the Prince gritted, his eyes narrowing at Greyson. 

Before the room became a battleground that Greyson would lose, Phoenix pulled Greyson's sleeve and turned to leave. She whipped her head back and muttered a "thanks" in the Prince's direction. 

"You're welcome," the Prince mouthed, the words never leaving his throat, but Phoenix read it off his lips.

He didn't smile, but for some reason seeing this blank, more serious face was refreshing. Phoenix had never seen it before; it was as if the Prince hadn't sculpted a face for her to see and merely wore what he felt. It was interesting, to say the least. No, not the Prince, the Prince could never be interesting. Just his facial expressions was all. As she turned and continued her prompt exit, Phoenix took Greyson's hand.

The potential fight had been avoided.

"Bird?" Greyson asked as they left the library.

"Yes?" She continued walking down the hall, pulling him behind her. 

"How would you describe me?" 

Phoenix stopped and looked at him. 

"What?" 

"How would you describe me?" he repeated, his eyes meeting hers in concern. 

Phoenix knew that he valued other's opinions, and what she said would matter to him. Perhaps this question was prompted by whatever the boys talked about. 

"Well," she started, "you're over-protective, can be really dense, and you value people's opinions too much." 

"I see," he shrank while looking at the floor.

"So when I'm with you, I feel safe. I get to laugh when you try to figure out why I kissed you, and I know that you are truly listening to what I have to say. I would describe you as a great guy who strives towards being better but lets his emotions overwhelm him sometimes." 

He glanced down and she offered a smile. She couldn't help herself, seeing him look at her with that expression of relief, so she leaned in and kissed him. 

"Did that answer your question?" she asked, pulling away.

"Yes. Thank you," his eyes averted to the ground. 

"Should we train until dinner?"

"I wanted to hang out with your family."

"Okay, how about we train and then you can play with the family after dinner?"

Greyson smiled freely. "Deal."

After dinner. Phoenix could continue her research after dinner when she saw Roman again. And that was going to be a very interesting discussion, she knew it. 

Interesting indeed.