Trigger Warning: Decapitation
Scroll down to see a summary of the chapter if unable to read.
"I swear, Julia, I don't know what you're talking about!"
Eva and Julia stood, facing each other, their volume making Julia's ears throb.
"How would they know about the poison, then?!"
"Wha-" Eva looked shocked for a moment, then shook her head. "How do you-"
"I was there!" Julia yelled. Eva flinched. "I know what happened, and I know that you know!"
Eva's face grew tomato red. "I swear, I didn't tell anyone! We made sure the Servant's Quarters were empty!"
"Well, you didn't see me listening in through the door! How do we know if no one else heard?!"
"Who else would sneak away from the ball?! Everyone was there!"
Julia clenched her teeth. "No, Eva. I've been living in the palace my entire life and I know that sneaking out of stuffy balls is more common than you think." She caught her breath. "Now, tell me, did you tell anyone? Because if you didn't, it's not your fault. Someone must have overheard and told the King."
Eva went quiet for a moment and Julia could feel her heart rattle nervously in her chest. What if…
"I did."
Her blood froze. "What?"
"I told my parents."
Eva looked at the floor, presumably in shame. Julia felt her mouth hang open in deep, rooted shock.
"You stupid, stupid girl." Julia's voice was so calm and quiet, yet dangerous. There was no doubt that she was very, very angry. "Do you know what you've done?"
Eva didn't respond. She merely hung her head.
"How are we going to fix this?" Julia raised her voice just a bit higher. "Why? Why would you do that?"
"You don't understand!" Eva protested, finally looking up at her. "My parents, they-"
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR STUPID PARENTS!"
"W-well," Eva stammered, glaring at her. "How do I know you didn't say anything?"
"Me? Seriously?"
"Yeah! Maybe you really are trying to overthrow the Royal Family and trying to take the crown!" Eva pointed a finger at her. "In fact, I might as well go to Lady Domanshee and-"
"Oh, don't you dare-"
"What's going on?"
Both girls stopped at Mary's voice.
Julia turned around to see her standing in the doorway, her face stricken with worry. "I heard yelling."
"Nothing," Julia said quickly. "Eva and I-"
"Julia's trying to overthrow the Royal Family!" Eva said. Mary's eyebrows furrowed even more. "She needs to be thrown out of the Selection!"
"Don't listen to her-"
"Guys!" Mary rushed forward, holding up both of her hands, trying to calm the girls down. "We don't have to throw baseless accusations in anger… let's calm down…"
"It's because of the 'accusation' that I'm angry!" Eva cried. She grabbed Mary's hand. Mary's eyes widened. "Please, Mary. I'm your friend, aren't I? I want us to be safe."
"Yeah…?"
"Julia's planning to take the throne for herself," Eva said. "Do you think that we will be safe with her here?"
Mary glanced at her. Julia scoffed.
"Eva, I didn't think you'd have the guts to accuse me of such a thing."
Eva ignored her. She got on her knees, begging. "Mary. Deep inside you know you have to do the right thing. You know that Julia is going to win unless we do something about it."
Mary looked very confused and concerned, which was quite reasonable due to the situation at hand.
Julia sighed. "I'm not wasting my breath with you two. I have work to do."
Mary reached out a hand. "Wait, Julia, maybe we can talk this-"
But Julia was already beelining for the door, and she slammed it. She felt a little pang in her heart for treating Mary like that… but no matter. This was serious.
"Winter?" she said as soon as she walked into her room.
Winter was waiting for her at the door. "Yes, Miss Ares?"
"Go to Princess Annalisa. Tell her that I need permission to leave the Selected Quarters without getting my head chopped off." Julia sighed. "She's the only one that will listen."
"Yes, Miss Ares."
"Annalisa! I'm glad you're here. I heard you had a visit from your friend Luke?"
Julia and Annalisa met in Julia's room (in the Selected Quarters, not her usual one.) Annalisa blushed.
"Oh. Horace told you?"
"Mhm. I'm glad to see that you made such a friend. I'm going to have to secure the passageways, though. If he could sneak in like that, who knows who else can?"
Annalisa looked a bit disappointed. "Oh."
"Anyway, I assume you've granted me permission to leave?"
"Julia, what-"
"Please," Julia said, grabbing her friend's hand. "We have to."
Annalisa's bright round eyes seemed to dart from side to side. "Oh. Okay. Yeah, I give you my permission."
"Good. Thank you, Your Highness."
"Please be careful, though." Annalisa let go of her hand. "I don't want you to get hurt."
Julia felt a bit warm in her chest. She smiled, looking into the Princess' eyes.
"And I don't want you to get hurt, either."
Julia opened the door to the main area, ignoring the envious glances of the other Selected as she passed them and entered into the hall, where she was now allowed to set foot.
"Did you hear anything about what happened to Alexandra?" Julia asked her as they walked down the halls.
"Oh." Annalisa's face fell. "Someone told dad that Xandra tried to assassinate Alex. They have her locked up… Dad gave Alex permission to determine Xandra's fate."
Julia bit her lip. "Does the public know about this?"
Annalisa nodded. Julia cursed.
"He should have covered it up, that stupid-" Julia paused, then grimaced. "Sorry."
"You've been really stressed lately, Julia," Annalisa said. "It's alright. You don't have to worry about this."
"You don't understand! I have to worry because no one else is worried!" Julia punched the wall, creating a round dent. Oops.
Annalisa stared at the dent in the wall. "You'll have to repair that."
"Yep. I know."
They continued walking.
"It's just…" Julia groaned in frustration. "It's so frustrating! No one else cares, and I can't even do anything about it, and I just feel so helpless and-"
Annalisa elbowed her.
"Hey! What was that-"
"Shh!"
Julia shut up, looking down at the winding stairs that she knew led down to the dungeons.
She looked up, bewildered that Annalisa was the one who had shushed her. Usually, Julia was the one keeping her quiet.
"We're here."
The girls trod carefully, stepping downwith caution, entering the depths of the royal dungeons. It was cold, freezing even. Julia shivered.
"Your Highness." A guard bowed. "Miss Ares. I assume you have her permission to be here?"
"Uh… obviously?" Annalisa looked at the guard as if he were the stupidest person on earth, which was not far from the truth if he couldn't figure that out.
"We're here to see Princess Alexandra," Julia said.
"You mean Miss Alexandra," the guard corrected. "She has been permanently stripped of all of her noble titles."
Julia and Annalisa shared a glance.
"Well, don't keep us waiting!" Annalisa cried, motioning for the guard to move. He nodded, moving aside for them to pass.
The air was stagnant. Too stagnant. Julia coughed, the smell of mildew filling her nostrils. Annalisa was similarly afflicted, covering her button nose with a handkerchief.
"T-they should- COUGH- really clean- COUGH- out this area," Julia said.
Annalisa shrugged. "It's for criminals."
They walked by each cell, where scores of people sat. Some eyed them as they passed.
"Tat's Pinceess Annahlisa, eesn't eet?" an old lady croaked.
"What a bright young lady… would be a shame if her eyes were carved off of her body…" another prisoner sneered.
Annalisa gulped, walking a bit closer to Julia.
"Oh, Ronald! You're always so obsessed with eyes. I'd rather take off the entire head…"
"Ignore them," Julia whispered in Annalisa's trembling ear. "They can't hurt you. They're just trying to get inside your head."
"I know," Annalisa replied, shivering. "But they're so… scary!"
Finally, at the very end of the dungeon, sat a woman.
Julia gasped when she saw her. This was not the Alexandra she knew. Her hair was in tangles, scattered all across her head, not in the organized bun that seemed to be her signature. Her skin was bruised and dirtied, her dress only a simple prisoner's robe.
She looked up.
"Annalisa."
"'Xandra!" Annalisa's eyes were filled with tears, her hand over her mouth. "I- what-"
"Don't worry." Despite the circumstances, Alexandra displayed a small smile. "I deserve this."
"What?!" Annalisa backed up. "'Xandra, it's okay! Elaina and I will go to Alex and-"
"Don't." Alexandra struggled to stand, an iron chain binding her arms and legs to the floor. "Please."
Annalisa froze. "What?"
"Alexander has no choice, Anna." Alexandra shook her head. "He has to kill me."
"W-what? No! That's not-"
"I committed treason."
"No!" Annalisa protested. "Please-"
"I committed treason." Alexandra raised her voice. "The punishment for treason is death."
"What about Fallon?" Julia asked.
"Oh. Your father has scheduled her execution in three days."
"What?!" Julia exclaimed, her eyes wide. "No…"
"It's alright. Anna, you shouldn't be here. This is no place for a Princess."
Annalisa gasped. The air seemed to sear through Annalisa's lungs and stab her in the gut. The youngest Ethican Princess collapsed to the floor, her entire body shaking with sobs.
Julia's eyes began to water, too, though she pushed the emotions back. "I know what happened. Eva told her parents."
Alexandra nodded. "I know."
"Wait, what?"
"Her parents came to me the other day," Alexandra said. "They demanded half of the Royal Treasury, or else they would tell everyone about the poison. I refused."
Julia glared at her. "I'll avenge you. Eva's going to wish she never-"
"No." Alexandra tugged at her chains absentmindedly. "Don't. It's not Eva's fault."
"But-"
"She's been under her family's thumb her entire life," Alexandra said. Julia opened her mouth and closed it. "None of this is her fault."
Julia nodded, staring down at the floor, listening to the silent sobs next to her. Water dripped from the ceilings, dropping down to her nose. She shook it off.
"Annalisa," Alexandra finally said. Annalisa looked up, wiping her eyes. "Promise me you won't try to go to dad or Alex and sway their decision?"
Annalisa shook her head. "No!"
"Anna…"
"I won't! I don't want you to… I don't want to lose you…"
Alexandra let out a tired sigh.
Annalisa eyed her. "... Fine," she said in a small, defeated voice. "B-but… promise me something too?"
"Of course."
"Promise me you'll try. Try to live. Okay?"
Time stood still as all three girls waited.
"Okay."
Annalisa nodded and wobbled as she attempted to stand. Julia rushed over to her, helping her regain her balance, and they both waved goodbye to the former Princess.
Julia stood in the middle of a crowd, in the blazing heat, watching as a young woman approached the podium, her hands tied behind her back.
"Fallon Ares failed to keep her principal safe." Julia gulped at her father's voice, which projected onto the crowd of her relatives. "May this execution serve as a warning to all those who go against the Royal Family."
Fallon looked around wildly before meeting Julia's eyes. She glared.
"YOU!" she yelled. Everyone turned to Julia just as Joseph Ares forced Fallon down to the floor. "YOU GYSTERF-LOVING PRINCESS! YOU PLANNED THIS ALL ALONG, DIDN'T YOU?!"
Julia averted her gaze. Fallon continued yelling like her life depended on it… and, well, it kinda did.
"I KNOW YOU WOULD BETRAY US LIKE THIS!" Fallon screamed as Julia's father pulled out an iron ax. The blade glinted in the sunlight. "YOU TOLD THEM, DIDN'T YOU?! YOU DID THIS!"
Julia could see her father glancing at her as he raised the ax over Fallon's head.
"YOU ARE AN EVIL WITCH!" Fallon continued. "YOU WILL BE THE END OF THE AETUX! JUSTIN ARES WOULD BE ASHAMED! ALL OF OUR ANCESTORS, WHO WORKED SO HARD TO KEEP THEM SAFE, WOULD BE ASHAMED!"
Julia hated that everyone's eyes were on her, watching her every movement. She only blinked.
"YOU KNOW WHAT?! CURSE YOU! YOU SOLD ALEXANDRA OUT ON PURPOSE, YOU-"
At that moment, the ax fell, creating a swish noise as it collided with Fallon's head. She watched as Fallon's arteries were severed in one swift, final slice. Her head rolled down the podium like a bowling ball, dropping down to the floor, creating a trail of dark red blood behind it.
Julia looked at the floor.
She stood, frozen, as the rest of her extended family piled out of the courtyard, murmurs of what Fallon had said worming into her ears and infecting her mind. She could feel their cynical stares, and she tried her best not to react, to stifle the urge to cry out.
A minute. Two minutes. Everyone had already left. Servants scrambled up to the podium to clean off the blood, taking Fallon's head and throwing it into a basket where it would surely be placed on display somewhere in front of the palace as a reminder of Ethica's power.
But that power was dwindling with every moment, and Julia seemed to be the only one who knew it.
She felt footsteps approach her and she looked up into her father's eyes.
"Is what she said true?"
"No."
Her father merely nodded. He pursed his lips.
"Did I kill the wrong person?"
"No."
"Do not lie to me, Julia."
"I'm not."
"Good."
He walked past her, stopping just a few feet behind her.
"You are my daughter, Julia," he said. Julia felt a chill, though the sun was shining brightly above them. "But you are an Ares first."
"I know."
"Do not make me regret killing my niece," he said.
"I think you'd regret killing your daughter more," she muttered under her breath.
Her father raised an eyebrow. "What did you say?"
"Nothing, sir."
"Good."
With that, he left, the sound of his footsteps growing fainter and fainter until Julia could barely hear them at all.
She looked at that podium, the place where Fallon had died, and looked away.
May the execution serve as a warning to all those who go against the Royal Family.
And Julia was not one of them.
SUMMARY:
Eva and Julia argue about her telling her parents about the poison. Mary walks in on them and tries to calm them down to no avail. Julia and Annalisa go to the Royal Dungeons to see Alexandra stripped of her titles. Alexander is given the power to decide her fate, but Alexandra knows he'll have to kill her. Annalisa is devastated and makes her promise she'll try to live for her. Three days later, at Fallon's execution, she accuses Julia of telling everyone about the poison before she dies.