Lilac
"Are you sure about this?" Kira asked, eyes wide with panic. I was throwing a few valuables I could touch into a bag but stopped to stare at her.
"This is the only choice. If we don't run away, you'll both be forced to marry one of uncle's disgusting friends!" I whisper shouted.
That instantly made tears well up Kira's eyes and I internally curse. I hated it when my sisters cry.
"I know, but… what If running ends up being worst? His- his friends might not be that bad." She muttered and it was clear that she was just scared of what we might face after fleeing. Kira hated going into anything she's unsure of and this is an example.
"Kira, his men are as old as father, and I'm sure they won't care about your consent in the bedroom. That's what you want?" I asked and she shrugged, staring at her fingers as she responded.
"That might be better than running for the rest of our lives. If we run away, we'd be fugitives and would have to run our entire life. And how would be survive? By eating scraps?"
I let out a sigh as I went to sit beside her. She wasn't wrong about the last part, but we didn't have any choice in this situation.
"We'll be together and will definitely figure something out when we get to that point, okay?" I offered and she shrugged again before getting up.
"I- I don't think I wanna run, Lilac. Uncle's friends coming are influential, one might be a king and I'm certain the most powerful of the bunch would pick me, and I'll become a queen. He might not be handsome or my choice, but I think that's better than running. You shouldn't run too. It can't be bad than what youve experienced in father's hands, can it?"
I gaped at my sister, unable to believe my ears.
"I won't be picked by any of his friends. He said I'll probably be warming his bed. You know he'll have me killed should he discover my secret." I whispered, mind darting to Malachi for a moment.
Kira glanced away for a moment before responding.
"I understand your plight, lilac. You should run away alone then."
I blinked at my sister in surprise and she shrugged before shifting to take my hands.
"We have different goals, brother."
My grip tightened around her.
"We're supposed to be together forever." I whispered.
"That's- that's just a fairy tail, lilac. You know that's realistically impossible. We have different paths to walk. Don't ruin my future with your problems if you love me." At the last part, I dropped her hand, feeling scalded.
"Wait, lilac- that wasn't what I meant-" she began but I got to my feet and turned away.
"It's fine, Kira. You can leave now."
I went back to packing some stuff into a bag, and after some minutes, she began to head for the door.
"Don't take Hailey with you. You'll ruin her life with your selfishness." She called from the doorway but I didn't respond.
Selfishness?
I was only looking out for my siblings.
~~~
A few hours after my conversation with Kira, our uncle was crowned king, and as feared, his friends arrived and picked a princess each that they'd like to wed. Like Kira predicted, the most powerful of the bunch selected Kira, and he was way younger than we all expected. That made Kira beam happily and when our eyes met, she gave me a 'I'm-always-right' look.
Although Hailey wasn't as lucky. The man who picked her was at least sixty years, and Hailey sobbed in my arms when we went back to our wing. Because of what Kira said about me using my problems to ruin their life, I asked Hailey if she wanted to stay behind or accompany me in fleeing. As expected, she instantly agreed, and we began to plan together to make a move tonight.
Hailey was hurt Kira wouldn't be coming with us but I already made peace with that. I made sure to tell Hailey my secret that night, of me being a boy. She accepted the news exceptionally well and said she loved me regardless.
~~~
Hailey and I were currently sneaking out of my window. We're running away tonight. We were being as careful and quiet as possible. Hailey had the gift of manipulating water and she was putting that to good use by using that to carry our load, making it float behind us, leaving us free enough to run fast.
The palace was very big so we had to run so much, while making sure to avoid every single guard.
"Only a little more while to get to the fence, then we'll scale it and be free from this bondage." I said to Hailey who already looked tired from manipulating water this whole time.
She nodded eagerly before visibly lighting up.
"Then you won't have to keep this pretense up anymore, right? You'll be able to dress like a boy!" She nudged my shoulder as she spoke and my heart fluttered with longing. I never even thought about that yet but she was actually right.
We resumed running quietly, and as we approached the fence, it hit me that we were yet to accompany any guard so far. I began to unconsciously slow down, mind already traveling miles when Hailey nudged me to focus.
"Hailey, isn't this too easy?" I began to say, heartbeat starting to pick up a little. Hailey didn't respond and when I glanced at her, she had a horrified expression on. I followed her line of sight, all the way to our suspended bags which was in a floating circle of water… and water was dripping from it… I let my eyes fall to the ground and that's when I saw it. The dripping water has been leaving a trail this whole time.
Fuck.
I wanted to quickly calm Hailey down before she loses it and starts to panic, but before I could say a word, guards were pouring out from all directions to surround us, pointing spares our way.
Fuck!
We've been caught!
Fuck!!!
Hailey let out a panicked scream and clung to me tightly, but I was scared shitless and frozen in place.
"Do. Not. Move." One of the guards growled and I almost passed out from fear. In the next moment, he was stepping forward to grip my arm, and another guard stepped forward to grab a screaming Hailey.
"P-" I began but the words died in my throat when the words parted and the gathering of guards parted into two and Kira walked out, a grim expression on.
I gasped in shock as I realized what was happening.
Kira.
Kira fucking sold us out!