-

“Mmm,” I mumbled, as I snuggled closer to the warmth coming from something beside me. A pair of arms around me tightened itself as if felt me shift. Frowning, I opened an eye.

To be met by bare skin.

“Morning,” Aidan mumbled as he kissed me on my forehead.

“WHAT?!” I exclaimed flying out of his arms and toppling onto the floor.

Ouch...

Raising an eyebrow, Aidan leaned towards the side of the bed and stared intently at me. “Good morning, Aidan,” he mimicked, smirking.

Looking down, I was only in my undergarments. My eyes shifted to Aidan.

Only boxers.

Did we...do anything?

“We didn’t,” he confirmed, shaking his head. Blushing, I began to get up. A sudden spur of remembrance happened when I remembered what had happened last night.

There were people outside. We had kissed. I had a vague idea of who the people were. We kissed. The people wanted to come and get me...

And Aidan and I had gotten intimate.

Shivering, I pushed the thoughts at the back of my head. I was a still little woozy from sleep so I yawned and stretched. Aidan quickly slammed his eyes shut and turned, focusing on the bed covers. Which were really soft...

Uh—

I spotted the letter poking out of my bag. Pulling it out, I climbed back into bed as Aidan shifted over, eyeing me curiously.

“What’s that?” He asked, pulling me onto his lap and placing his chin on my shoulder blade.

It felt nice.

“Aunt Jen’s letter,” I said, leaning against him. The covers were pulled up around us, so we were warm. And it was beyond comfortable.

Mmm...

“Open it,” Aidan said, excited. Slowly, I began to tug at the flap and decided to just rip it all. Inside the envelope were photos and a letter. Deciding it would be best that I read the letter first, I unfolded it and began to read aloud.

“Dear Jayde,

I guess we haven’t always been honest with you—about your parents and your family. I always thought that you know, it would have been best if we kept it from you. So we wouldn’t have to put you through this because you don’t have to go through it. You could just leave it behind and move on with your life.

But things don’t always go as they seem, fortunately and unfortunately. We hoped that maybe Aidan or any one of the Havertys would never go looking for you again, especially hearing about the happenings of your parents’ death. Maybe I should start from the beginning...

Aidan’s parents and yours were the best of friends. Your parents were from very high in class family’s on the Dark side. They were normal, average people like you and I, with abilities and other such things. It all kind of fell into place when the four of them fell in love with each other (Madison and Richard; your parents). It was going to be great, since they were all friends and it was just right for them. It was also what was expected, you see.

It was when they had you, that things began to go a little insane. That time when you were born, wasn’t the best time as the Dark was in its power-hungry stage and it was dangerous. They had you, but chose to move over to the Light—marking them as traitors. It was frowned upon, but at that time, there wasn’t much being done because it was in such a busy state that no one had the time to notice. You probably had an idea of this, but I’m not your real aunt. I was merely just a friend who had taken your parents in because I knew they needed help. We became pretty good friends, too. But that’s beside the point.

You have dark blood in you, and somehow you were given the gift of Dark Royalty—as was Aidan. Every century or so, a new pair is dubbed that title. Even so, you still are given the choice of sticking with it or not. You can choose to live a normal life if you want to. It’s dangerous, but you still can.

Your parents died not necessarily of you, Jayde. Even if you had listened and had left, the Cloaks would have found you. They are powerful and the leader was the head of Dark Council. Who is powerful beyond belief. Your parents had been marked as ‘traitors’ for switching sides as I had mentioned earlier and therefore had to be killed. It’s sad...but there was no stopping it. He had spared your life because you were young. But now that you’re older, please be careful. Listen to Aidan, he will keep you safe.

Don’t think I know you don’t visit that park every now and then. Your parents had always used to take you there to meet the Havertys. I guess that was Lara’s way of keeping the peace—the park. And you carried it on. Madison always kept me informed on Aidan’s disappearances and lighter mood. You’re something special, Jayde.”

There, Aidan pecked a kiss on my cheek whilst I turned bright red. “You always felt better after seeing me?” I asked quietly.

He nodded. “Of course.”

I smiled a little until I turned it upside down. “You always left me confused.”

“How so?”

“I don’t know. It’s just...I never remembered you and you were always...nice? I was always confused every time I saw you.”

Aidan laughed. “Sorry.”

Shrugging, I smiled. “I guess it wasn’t really your fault.”

“Read on,” he urged, gesturing at the letter.

“Fine.

As I mentioned before about Dark Royalty—it basically means you’re of a special descent. I think it was far down your father’s blood line, but I’m not entirely sure as Lara was always telling me bits and bits. Either way, you and Aidan had been gifted with this. I guess I shouldn’t say ‘gifted’, because it could serve as something unpleasant as well. But, remember, you can avoid it and leave it behind. I do suggest you speak to Madison and Richard about this, as I’m betting my everything that they certainly to know more.

But from what I do know, both of you serve as a threat to both sides which counts you as dangerous. Life is hard, and not everyone will accept you for who you are. There will be people trying to get in your way, trying to be you, and trying to hurt you and your loved ones. You’re a strong girl, and you have to know that. And be responsible.

Love, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t have prevented this from happening. I really hope we still stay in contact, whether or not I am your real aunt or not. You’ve been like a second daughter to me, I thank you for that. Be careful, Jayde. Caution is the key and you have to keep your trust wall on guard at all times until everything is settled—which won’t be tomorrow, I assure you that. I don’t want you to get hurt.

Let the flames begin, was what your mother had always said. And soon, you will find the meaning to this. Your mother always had a way with words...

Take care, stay strong, and know that we’ll love you no matter what,

Aunt Jen.

(Uncle Sam, Emily, and Jake wish you the best of luck.)”

Information overload.

The first thing that came to mind was I was dreaming.

So I pinched myself.

“Jayde!?” Aidan asked as he watched in amusement. I blinked. Okay, not a dream...

“This is real?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes, it’s real,” he said, rolling his eyes.

Well. Now that I think about it...it did make a lot of sense.

Kind of.

Not really.

But still. It made some sense.

Like why people would stare at me all funny—wait. That meant people KNEW?! BUT ME?!

That’s not very fair.

A little part of me felt a little fuzzy. Aunt Jen had talked about my parents in a positive way. Which was great, but I’ve always felt a little empty without my parents and I really wished I knew them more. I remember every time I went out I’d see these families walking together in the malls and I always felt a little depressed. I guess your parents do mean a real lot. But so much people take them for granted.

I’ve always had a feeling Aunt Jen wasn’t my real aunt. First thing was that she looked nothing like Mother. Though my visions of Mom and Dad aren’t the clearest, they didn’t resemble anything and that would be odd, seeing as they would be sisters (Aunt Jen made it clear she was closer to Lara and they treated each other like sisters) but they never were. Just good friends. She still treated me like a niece, though. Which was something I was surprised about.

So much to take in.

I wanted to crawl into a whole and never come back out.

Aidan nuzzled into my neck as I leaned back, staring into space. “You don’t have to take it in all at once, Jayde.”

“I guess but—”

“You can take all the time you want. And she also said you can avoid it.”

Then a thought came to me. “Can you avoid it too?”

He was silent.

Nudging him with my shoulder, he laid his head back down on it and looked at me. I had a feeling what the answer was...

“No, I can’t,” he sighed.

“Why can I, then?” I asked. “That’s not fair.”

“Because I’m stuck here.”

I still didn’t get it.

“Because I’m not like you—free to go both sides. I’m stuck here. This is where I belong. Until the councils figure it out, you’re free to walk both sides. You only have to worry about how people will treat you. If I walked over, people would kill me once they see me. They can’t do that to you.” He cleared up, looking down and held my hands.

“Why am I free to go both sides?” A smile played on Aidan’s lips.

“You ask a lot of questions.” I simply smiled and waited for him to continue. “Because your parents. They didn’t care. They earned a lot of respect for doing what they did...” He looked thoughtful. “Even if it did cost them their lives in the end.”

I twitched. “Sorry.” He apologized. I shook my head and told him it was okay.

“What are you thinking now?” He asked.

“Why do you even have to ask?” I snorted and poked him. Because why did he? He could just barge into my mind like him and his room.

Or whatever.

“Like I said before, that would defeat the whole purpose of talking—”

“What?” I asked as he stopped and looked at my bag. Following his vision, I noticed my stuffed lions were poking out. Blushing, I laughed dryly. “Oh, hey, look...my toys...”

He grinned. “Aww.”

“Aww?” I asked, laughing.

“What?” He defended, waving his hand in the air. So fast that you thought you had vision problems, the two lions landed on my lap.

“W-w-w-what...?” He smirked. “Oh.” My God, how much could he do?

“You can do that, too.”

“No I can’t.”

“Try it.”

“Don’t be stupid.”

“I’m hurt.” He pouted. “Try it.”

“Don’t know how,” I retorted as I began to play with the lions. “Rawr,” I said, moving one lion so it looked like they were talking to each other.

Aidan began laughing so hard I thought he was half crying. “That—is—too...funny!”

I stuck my nose in the air. “Meanie.”

“You’re seventeen.”

“Gee, really? Never knew that. Thanks for telling me,” I said sarcastically as I began to ignore him.

“C’mon,” he said, pulling me closer to him. “I was just kidding.”

Lifting one of my lions I turned slightly and moved the lion in his face. “Grr.”

“Rawr,” he said, grinning. “I’m sorry,” he added, leaning in and rubbed his nose against mine.

He always had a way to get to me.

Rawrhmph.

“Don’t you have one, too?” I asked, remembering the first time I had went into his room and saw something poking out of his dresser.

He averted his eyes. “No...”

“Oh really?” I asked, raising an eyebrow as he leaned back and eyed me.

“Yes, really.”

“Come on...” I said, smirking and turned around to lean against him. He laid back down and I propped myself above him.

“Fine. Don’t tell me about your secret stash of fun stuffed animals.” He looked at me amused. “What?”

“You look adorable when you talk about kids stuff.” I blushed.

“I’m still a kid...”

“Teenager,” he corrected.

“Whatever.”

He smiled and kissed me. I quickly obliged, placing my stuffed lions on his night table and wrapping my arms around him.

About ten minutes later I pulled away. “I’m hungry.”

Aidan frowned. “So I don’t satisfy you?”

“Do you want me to eat you?”

Then I stopped and stared at him. That didn’t come out right...

We bursted out laughing. “Not like that!” I smiling. Pulling him down I kissed his nose playfully. “No really, I’m hungry.”

“Then let’s get breakfast.” He murmured as he buried his face above my shoulder.

I shimmied my way under him trying to get up. He laid heavily on me and locked me down. “Aidan,” I whined, shaking him. “Fooooodddd!!”

Laughing, he sat up and I dove off the bed before he changed his mind.

-

-

Everyone at the table was extremely quiet. I was surprised to see Richard and Madison (still trying to say their names...) at the table eating along with the rest of us. I slowly nibbled away on my toast and I listened to the clanking of utensils.

I thought my head was going to explode due to no one talking. Usually, at breakfast—or any meal—Emily and Jake would be alive with chatter and Aunt Jen would always ask them about their (and my) day. Uncle Sam would pipe in once in a while to make comments, too.

But this? I think it would take some time getting use it, really.

“Jayde, if you ever want to talk to us...” Richard began, placing his fork down.

“...we’re here,” Madison finished, dabbing her mouth with a napkin.

I blinked. “Uh...sure...thanks.”

“Jen told us she gave you the letter.” Richard said. “A nice young lady, she is.”

Madison smiled and folded her hands. “On another note, it’s our turn to host the masquerade again.”

Wesley, Robyn, Aidan and Richard all stopped what they were doing to look at Madison, while I looked at them instead.

Clearly, the way Madison had said it meant they’ve done it before. Why was it such a shock?

Wait.

A masquerade?

“What?!” Spluttered Robyn, as she narrowed her eyes. “It’s not our turn! It’s the Ryerson’s!”

“I hate the masquerade!” Wesley and Aidan exclaimed at the same time.

“Sweetie, are you sure it’s our turn? Robbie’s right, I think it’s Bert Ryerson’s family’s turn...”

Madison rolled her eyes. “They couldn’t do it. They needed a vacation and they couldn’t do it. We were talking about it the other day and I thought maybe we could host it...”

“WHY?!” The four of them exclaimed. I watched silently as I took a sip from my orange juice, afraid to say anything. It was pretty funny watching in third person.

“What do you think?” Madison asked, turning to me. Now it wasn’t so much fun, anymore. “Doesn’t a masquerade sound like fun?”

I looked around, seeing everyone staring right back at me. “Uh...sure?”

“Your mum always loved masquerades—” I shifted around in my seat, “—she’s always have the most attracting dresses. I still don’t know how she did it.” She finished, staring into space.

And you’ll probably never know, I thought sadly.

“Does that mean we have to go...shopping?” Wesley asked meekly, shrinking into his seat. Madison smiled and nodded.

Everyone grunted at that.

I didn’t mind really...

...because this time there would be no Janet to buy me another version of the Ugly Magenta Dress.

Yay.

-

-

“My eyes.” I said as I stared at the rackets and rackets of clothes before us.

“Save me.” Aidan muttered, staring blankly.

Wesley grunted. “I wanna die.”

We all looked at him. “Okay, fine. I want to crawl under a rock and come back out when the masquerade’s over with.”

We all went back to staring at the clothes. Madison and Richard had left us in search of their own clothes on another level in this giant store that sold very Victorian-styled clothes—which were “perfect for the masquerade” Madison had said.

“Hmm.” Robyn noted, as her eyes scanned the choices, “I’m gonna try some of these stuff on now...bye!” And she disappeared into the racks.

One down, three to go.

“Maybe I’ll get lucky,” Wesley said to no one in particular and sauntered off. Aidan took my hand and tugged on it. Looking over at him, I shook my head.

“Come on, we’ll find something.”

“Yeah, let’s find something in that,” I said skeptically. He just smiled and continued to tug on my hand. I reluctantly gave him and began to follow his steps. He walked around like he knew the place, which I assume he did. My eyes narrowed as I saw some familiar styled dresses.

“Did you get my dress from here?” I asked, referring to the dress Aidan had switched in replacement of my UMD.

Smirking, he nodded. “Yeah, I did.”

Smiling slightly, I continued to let Aidan pull me corner after corner, aisle after aisle. It was probably around the millionth corner I began to get a little frustrated. I never knew this place that big!

“Aidaaann,” I whined, stopping. “I’m about to pass out.”

He smirked. “We’re almost there.”

“Are you trying to hide me away?” I asked jokingly as he began to lead me again.

With all the clothes around me (trust me, I have never seen so much dresses and suits before, like !!) I was starting to feel a little claustrophobic.

“We’re here,” Aidan said, stopping.

“FINALLY!” I exclaimed before anything else. “Wow.”

Before us were a few racks of clothes—all looking brand new and ready for something to wear them. Most of them were dresses, but I spotted a few casual-formal clothes for men. The selection had so much variety, in styles and colors. They were so pretty...

I continued to ogle some more, walking around and flipping through the racks looking at dress after dress. Aidan took a seat on the couches.

“Like what you see?” He asked as he leaned back tiredly.

“Why aren’t these dresses out at the front? They’re much nicer.” I commented, pulling out a few to look at in the large mirror.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’d rather have them back here, though.”

I looked at him. “Why? Do you like walking that much?”

Laughing, he shook his head. “Not really. It’s just they’re much nicer, like you said. I like having things to myself. Not a lot of people come back here.”

Nodding, I turned back to the dresses. “Why don’t you guys like the masquerade? Sounds like fun.”

“Because Mum use to always make me dance with these girls,” he said, yawning.

“Oh.”

“But I don’t have to anymore,” he added, and I could just feel him smirking as I continued to flip through the vast amount of dresses.

“Oh?”

“Because I’m only going to dance with you.” I secretly smiled as I pulled out a couple of dresses to get a better look.

“Really?”

“Really.” He confirmed, getting up from his spot and took his long strides over to me. With his eyes locked on mine, he went up to me and gently pried the dresses out of my hands and placed them back absentmindedly. He smiled and pulled me close to him, placing his chin on my head.

“But won’t there be pretty girls at the masquerade?” I blurted, pulling back and looking at him.

He frowned. “No.” How blunt, I thought as he leaned in and kissed my forehead.

Obviously, he was lying. I bet there would be millions of attractive girls there. All trying to get Aidan’s attention.

Mr. Green Eyed Monster poked at me.

Huh. Okay there.

“No...?” I repeated slowly, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, because I’m sure this place is populated with ugly people.” Rolling my eyes, I laid my head on his chest, noting that I could hear the faint sound of his heart beating.

It was calming.

Mmm...

“None will be as pretty as you,” he whispered lowly. Smiling into his chest, I punched him in the arm.

“What will you be wearing?” I asked, mumbling. I felt him shrug.

“Clothes.”

“Oh really?” I said sarcastically. “I was hoping you’d go naked.”

“I could if you’d like...” His tone sounded so serious I thought he actually meant it—until he burst out laughing. “I don’t know, whatever Mum or Dad picks out for me, I guess.”

“Aww,” I cooed, “Does Mummy and Daddy still read you bed time stories too?” I asked in my baby voice.

Aidan blushed and turned away. “They didn’t stop until I was twelve.” He mumbled.

Laughing I shimmied my way out of his arms to look at the dresses some more. Following me, he locked his arms around my waist. I stepped to the right. He followed. I moved back to the left. He followed.

“So now you’re attached to me?” I asked, amused.

He shrugged and watched me flipped through the dresses, bored. So I’ll be honest and say I was really looking for a dress. Really, I was hoping that I’d just blindly flip through them all and the one I was going to buy would be one that really stood out or caught my eye.

That plan wasn’t working too well, though.

“That one!” Aidan exclaimed as I jumped. A little warning would have been mucho appreciated, thanks.

Laughing, Aidan pulled a dress off the racket and held it out in front of me. “I like this one.” Raising an eyebrow, I took a look at the dress.

Hmm.

“I don’t think so...” I said as I looked at it skeptically. He only shook his head smiling.

“Try it on,” he urged. Looking at my face, he stuck his lower lip out. “Pleaseee?”

Huffing, I grabbed the dress out of his hands and purposely stomped my way to the little curtain they call the ‘fitting corner’. Huh, what a nice name. It was located in a corner. And it was also rather...air-tight.

I barely had any room to take my shirt off let alone get the dress on.

But I managed.

“Ta-da,” I said, sarcastically. Aidan was sitting on the couches again and had his arms crossed, looking impatient. When he saw me, his eyes lit up and he smirked.

“Do a twirl,” he insisted, that stupid smirk still on his face.

I twirled half-heartedly.

“Again.”

I twirled again.

“Hmm, I think I missed—”

“Okay enough!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air for extra exaggeration. Then I turned to look at the mirror and sucked in a breath. “It’s kinda tight.”

“It’s only tight if you suck in your breath,” Aidan said as a matter-of-factly. “Because then it molds in and stuff.”

Narrowing my eyes, I placed my hands on my hips. “Aren’t you the expert?”

He shrugged. I noted that he did that a lot. “Mum use to drag me shopping when I was younger. Robyn was always busy and Wesley was well, Wesley, so she took me.”

I laughed. “It’s not funny!” He said, though he was smiling, too.

Turning, I looked in the mirror again. Aidan walked up behind me and playfully placed his chin on my shoulder, looking in at our reflection.

So okay, maybe he was right. The dress was beautiful and I guess “perfect” for the masquerade. It was a wine red color with black. The top hugged my torso perfectly and pushed up my breasts—but just a little. The corset had little designs that looked like sequins from far away but it wasn’t. There was a cute little black bow in the middle of my breast area. The bottom fanned out and brushed my knees. The fabric was a soft silk with a black cut out tulle.

Toying with the ribbon, I gave Aidan a hesitant glance. “I don’t know...”

“You look beautiful,” he said, kissing me on the cheek. “Let’s get it.”

I scrunched my face up in thought. “Fineee...”

After I changed, we went around some more and picked some masks out for ourselves. I got a pair of open-toe pumps and earrings whilst Aidan brought a black pinstriped dress shirt and plain black trousers.

That outfit gave him a dark air and he looked...sexy.

Right...

Now you realize. Eh.

-

-

“What are you looking for?” I asked Aidan as I hopped down the last step. He was looking around the hallway vanity for something, digging hastily around the drawers. He stopped when he saw me and gave me a sheepish look.

“Mum wants this book on how to make a successful party. She’s freaking out—even though we’ve hosted this about a million times already.” He explained, moving around stuff in the drawers again.

“Ah.” I looked around. “Maybe you threw it in the closet?” I suggested, walking over and throwing their coat-closet open. Looking inside, I saw nothing but jackets.

Oh wait and this parcel...

“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the box. Aidan walked over and raised an eyebrow.

“Dunno.” He reached up and picked the package out of its place on the top shelf. “It’s addressed to us.”

“What?” I asked, surprised. “Us? You and me?”

“Nooo, ‘Robyn and Wesley’ us,” he said sarcastically, laughing. He pulled the string and ripped the brown paper up. Inside was a medium-sized jewelry box, royal blue in color with a velvet texture. The lock was a deep gold color.

“Open it,” I urged. Hearing footsteps behind us, we turned to see Madison standing at the doorframe, staring oddly at us.

Today she was wearing an elegant (it was honestly the only word to describe her dresses—and beautiful) silver white dress that hugged her features. She was wearing that pearl necklace again with matching earrings. Her hair was down in waves. I wondered if she ever got a bad hair day—and how she reacted.

Hmm.

“What are you two doing?” She asked, curious. Walking over she gasped when she saw the box. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to open that—”

Too late. Aidan had already opened the latch and opened it. A deep gold light shone around the box and soon I felt myself hit a hard, stone floor.

It was cold, too.

“What the hell?” I heard Aidan exclaim as he thudded onto the floor beside me.

“Ow...” I mumbled as I rubbed my back. We’re probably really never going to land properly, I thought bitterly.

“Where are we—Mum? Dad?” Aidan said as he stood up and helped me up.

“Uh...” Looking around, my eyes widened as I took a step closer to Aidan.

The walls were all made of gray stone and it was chilly. The walls were lined with fire torches, the flames dancing happily. So much people stood in their respected lines as they made a pathway up to the front. They were all clothed in dark clothes and their faces were hidden. Shadows were everywhere and I was starting to get a little creeped out.

No, scratch that, I was creeped out.

I saw Madison and Richard up at the front dressed in what you would call “Upper Class” clothing. To my surprise, Uncle Sam and Aunt Jen were there too, also dressed highly. I had a hunch why they were there—in replacement of my parents.

But I don’t know why.

Looking around, a sudden bell began to ring as everyone stood so still I thought they had become statues. Aidan just looked alarmed as he grabbed my hand and averted his eyes, taking in his surroundings. Two figures from the back of the entire place walked out.

I guess they were a married couple, as they gave off the impression of wife and husband. She was wearing a deep green dress that hugged her torso like a corset. The bottom fanned out like mad and trailed at least five feet behind her. The deep green was lined with gold and she was wearing so much gold jewelry, it was a surprise she wasn’t weighed down and could still walk to elegantly. Her fire-red hair was done up with tendrils falling about. And to top her appearance, she had a large silver tiara on her head.

Royalty.

She could pass as my grandmother, I thought.

Even so, she still looked beautiful.

The man was wearing a simple black dress shirt and trousers. Though he wasn’t all fancied up like his wife, he had numerous rings on his fingers and a gold crown. He could pass as my grandfather, really. They were both at least sixty—maybe even seventy.

I was never good at telling ages, honestly.

Aidan gasped from beside me.

“What?” I mumbled, as the two looked around and their eyes landed on us.

Dark Royalty.

What?!

They’re the current ones...

Uhm...???

I think...

“Please do come forward,” the woman said, as she smiled warmly at us. We both tensed and looked at each other.

Aidan was the brave one as he tugged on my hand and I followed, now completely aware that everyone was staring at us. I went all warm and my knees went all weak.

You could say I was embarrassed, but I was more scared than anything. Nervous, too.

Wait, add confused to the list.

My God I was so confused I wanted to run out of that place ASAP and...and...

...well, I don’t know.

Years later, we finally arrived (note: sarcasm). The walking seemed to drone on and on until finally, we were talking distance from Aunt Jen, Uncle Sam, Madison and Richard.

They all sent us reassuring smiles while I shot them a puzzled look back. Where the hell were we? Why wasn’t anyone talking? I sensed that Aidan was irritated as well.

“Jayde? Aidan?” The man asked. As if he really needed clarification who we were... We nodded anyways.

“I’m so pleased to meet both of you!” The woman gushed, as she smiled her hundred-watt smile.

I shifted. “Hello.” I said, as Aidan cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable.

“I assume you’re wondering why you’re here...” The man started.

“Obviously,” Aidan snorted, quietly. But not quiet enough, the man heard and laughed.

“Ah, the oldest of the Havertys.” The man looked thoughtful. “The fire.”

I raised an eyebrow. What...

“Aidan,” the woman said to me. “Aidan means ‘fire’. Or ‘little fire’.”

Oh.

Right...

“And Jayde,” the man said, turning to me now. “The precious stone.”

Aidan and I stared blankly at them.

“You’re here because it’s your time,” the woman finally said, her face going serious. “Our time is over, and it’s now yours. You’re both the next line in Dark Royalty.”

I froze.

No.

No way.

Too early.

What I had read this morning with Aidan? All that information? Well, they haven’t been completely processed yet. They were still in...moderation. They needed approval. A stamp of approval. That’s right.

You’re going into that state of denial again. Shut up!

You know you are. Stop it!

It’s all true. Why do you need to wait for it to be approved? You know it’s true. THAT’S WHY I DON’T BELIEVE IT!

Insane. I was going insane. I was arguing with my mind, damn it.

Aidan tugged on my hand and gave me a look saying it was going to be okay.

No, no it wasn’t.

I didn’t need this. Not now! I had only figured it out this morning...it was too early...

“This won’t stick with you forever,” the man said, giving me a worried glance. “You may choose to leave this behind if need be...”

With consequences. Sometimes, I think it’s not me who is insane, but that naggy voice that came with my birth certificate. The one that follows me everywhere but I can never know where it is.

Aidan’s grip on my hand tightened. Glancing over, he held an uneasy expression. Like he was thinking—really, really hard—but he was also somewhere far, far away. And that he was probably thinking a lot of thoughts at once, too.

“I’m Leila, and this is my husband Cameron,” she smiled sweetly, the seriousness faded a bit. I wondered why they didn’t use royalty names. Like the whole ‘queen blah’ or ‘king blah’. I don’t think you would consider them Princess and Prince anymore. Because seriously...

Smiling, I nodded. Aidan followed suit.

Then, a girl and boy (both perhaps a little younger than me) came out, a few small boxes in their hands. They went on over to Aunt Jen and Uncle Sam and handed them each one. They did the same to Richard and Madison.

Huh...

The bell rang again as I winced. It was so screechy...

I watched cautiously as (King? Prince? Lord?) Cameron getting up and standing tall. He had an air of superiority as he looked down on us from his high throne. He smoothened the crease on his shirt and descended down the steps towards Aidan and I. I got pulled back and away from Aidan by the girl (I’m guessing now that they were servants...or helpers...) and I watched from the side.

Cameron whispered something in Aidan’s ears and he bent down and got on one knee. It reminded me of what a person would do before they got honored and knighted by the King for doing some good deed. Cameron began to mutter a series of phrases in another language (or un-comprehendible English) and a soft, silver glow appeared around Aidan. It didn’t seem to have any effect physically, but I assumed it did something. After that was done, the boy walked him over to his parents, in which Madison placed an orange-red stoned ring onto Aidan’s middle finger and Richard clasped together a necklace/chain onto his neck. Madison added a peck to Aidan’s cheek and got all teary eyed.

Aidan was getting all dressed up, I thought, and laughed inwardly.

Very funny...

I smiled as Aidan shot me a wink from his place beside his parents. Before I could think of anything else, I was forcefully pushed (by the girl) from behind and I staggered my way to the spot I was before, right in front of the throne. Nervous, I began to fidget and get all warm as I watched (Queen? Princess? Lady?) Leila descended the steps, eyes widening at the trail of her dress (seriously, it was THAT long). She stopped before me and offered me a sweet smile.

“You’re something special,” she whispered to me, her smile widening. That phrase immediately reminded me of what Aunt Jen had said in the letter.

“You’re really special to Aidan, don’t forget that,” she continued, gently lifting my head up by my chin so she could look at me better. “I’m glad you were chosen for the Dark Princess. No one else would suit it as much as you.” She looked thoughtful, and finally added: “Be careful.”

The girl walked up beside Leila with a small cushion and on that was a tiara. It looked a little like hers, but it was smaller. The tiara had wine red and red jewels and looked so expensive I was scared I might trip and fall and let it shatter to pieces.

I silently prayed that wouldn’t happen—for everyone’s sake.

She continued to smile (I don’t think she had ever frowned before) as she placed her bony fingers onto the tiara and placed it on my head while I bent down. Once it was placed on, a soft white glow shown around me and I felt lighter.

It was a high feeling, you could say.

Interesting.

I was then slightly (understatement) pushed towards Aunt Jen and Uncle Sam as they smiled brightly at me, and I could tell Aunt Jen had been crying before because her eyes were puffy. She opened her box and pulled out a silver necklace. The charm was a small flame (it looked like the necklace I had worn to the wedding—but it was different) and inside that small flame was a jade stone.

I had a vague idea why it was like that, but...

Denial.

Ugh...

Uncle Sam took a small ring out of his box and placed it on my middle finger, like how Madison had done for Aidan. My ring was studded with small diamonds and a black diamond was placed as the centre jewel.

It was stunning.

Aunt Jen bursted with sobs and hugged me so tight I couldn’t breathe. Uncle Sam patted her slightly and pulled her back as that annoying girl tugged on me to go join Aidan.

“You look lovely,” he said under his breathe. I smiled.

“You look feminine.” He rolled his eyes. “You look good.”

“Sexy?”

“Sure.”

“Say it.”

“You look sexy.” I kept myself from laughing.

He grinned. Oh look, I think I just boosted his ego!

Hah.

Cameron stood up from his seat. “Years. Years and years, we’ve been waiting for this. Both yourself, I assume, and Leila and I. Our age cannot hold the responsibilities and activeness that these two can bring. Our time is up, their time is here. They hold a grand future—disastrous, but rewarding.” I froze. Disastrous? An uneasy feeling found its way into my stomach. What did he mean...

“We’ve enjoyed our years in charge, but our time is up. Jayde and Aidan will make the new and fix the old.” Leila said, standing up beside her husband. “Equality may finally show their faces.”

“My—our pleasure,” Cameron started again, taking a hold of his wife’s hands and smiling sweetly, “to show to you the new members of our Dark Royal Bloodline.”

“Princess Jayde Madison—” What?! “—Lara Breton, and Aidan Nicholas Richard Haverty—the new Dark Princess and Prince of our time!”

The first thing I thought of after that was: cheesy.

Then I thought: WHAT THE FREAKING HELL?

But nevertheless, the hall erupted into applause as the girl and boy forcefully spun us around to see everyone. I got that uneasy feeling in my stomach again as I watched everyone watch us. It was terrifying, actually. Aidan’s hand found its way into mine as he gripped it tightly to assure me everything was alright.

I hoped he was right.

But then again, what ever went right?

Everything had to go horribly, horribly wrong before it went right.

Yeah.

Pessimistic...

ARGH!