Chapter Thirteen- That of Poison and Roses

Laughing.

Laughing.

Laughing.

Casimir Aldridge is laughing in my face.

I can feel my cheeks flush slightly, but I refuse to let him get the best of me. I wait until he finishes laughing, and he speaks once more. "My family? Sure. You're the ones who showed up at our palace, and you're not even here for two hours before my father ends up dead!"

"Are you serious?" I ask, my jaw slightly agape. He raises an eyebrow, and I continue,"This pathetic attempt to try and prove that I killed my own father is absurd!"

"And what?" He crosses his arms. "You think I did the same thing?"

I know he has me there, but I refuse to admit it. There's no way in Veridia that I'd ever be proven wrong by an Aldridge. "I mean, I wouldn't exactly be shocked," I say. My eyes dart from the windowless gray walls and concrete floor only to end up staring at his face again. "Your family doesn't exactly have a clean record."

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"It means that you Aldridges have no issue backstabbing others and murdering innocent people to get what you want."

A flash of pain flickers across Casimir's blue eyes, so quick I'm certain I'm imagining it. In a second, it's replaced by a slow understanding alongside something I struggle to decipher.

"You... that's what they teach you? They don't tell you about all the things that your people have done?"

"Ah, classic Aldridge," I mutter, "Always blaming others for their problems."

The corner of his lips tugs upward just barely, his eyes bright with challenge. "Tell you what, Princess. You know as well as I do that we were both here for the same reason. You want answers? Well, so do I. So go on, by all means. You can go off and solve this by yourself. Or, you can put aside your stubborn pride and come with me." He strolls to the small wooden table behind us, adorned in a white tablecloth. Carefully slipping on a singular black glove, he takes the golden chalice, waving it playfully ahead of me before walking out the door.

"You really think I'm going to fall for that?" I call down the hallway.

He turns around slowly, almost seeming too careless with a piece of evidence as crucial as the chalice. A smile plays at his lips as he says, "Well, I think you're smart enough to know that I'm walking away with your only lead. And you seem to have heard plenty of rumors about me, which can assure you that chances like this don't come up often. But again: the choice is yours."

I stand still in the doorway for a moment, hating Casimir for making murder into a game, and hating myself more for knowing I have to play along. I roll my eyes up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath for my own sanity.

"Alright," I yell, and he stops at the very end of the hall, "I'll play your game."

He doesn't look at me, doesn't even turn around. I start walking towards him, hyper aware of every step, so as not to seem too eager. He still doesn't turn even when I'm right next to him, just the two of us in this forgotten servants hallway. "Smart girl, Rose." he whispers.

I lean towards his ear just barely, my grief and my annoyance all coming out as a bite in my words. "I'm not your girl, Aldridge. And my name is Thorne."

He finally turns to face me, his black hair falling messily over his eyes. "You said it yourself, Rose," he draws out the word, and the flash of annoyance in my eyes only seems to bring him more satisfaction. "This is my game. If you want to find who killed our fathers, I'm your only option."