7 Chapter 6 : Detective McCartney

From now on, Genius will be in third person POV, thank you for reading.

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"Your brother told you to be back before five, did he not?" The Duchess's voice resonated through the walls as she and Elizabeth walked towards the twin's room for a fitting. The date for the ceremony was close and Amelia had demanded to set the date even sooner so the twins could finally begin their studies.

"Yes, Aunt Amelia." Elizabeth whispered. She walked right behind Amelia with her chin high, as always keeping her posture the same as her aunt's.

"Then why do I have to come to the forest, find Sarcoline running for her life and then find you holding a rabid animal? Seriously, Elizabeth, you may be getting mixed with these low life's but you're to good to be one of them." As Amelia's steps came to a halt, so did Elizabeth's, making her look at her aunt straight in the eyes. The Duchess stepped closer to Elizabeth and tucked a blonde hair behind her ear before whispering. "This is your job. It isn't a vacation. You're going to be Valedictorian of this academy and your father is going to make you Queen of Eredhen. You're going to take back the throne for our kind."

"What if Jules ends up being king?" She asked. Her mind kept replaying the conversation Valentine had with their father over and over again.

"That won't happen sweetheart, your childish father is playing favorites. But if your father chooses him and the council accepts, I'll make sure he doesn't get a chance to see the Crown." Amelia turned around and Elizabeth followed the blonde locks of the widow.

When they entered the room, Valentine was already in a black suit with a maroon button doen shirt under. Johan Dell, the royal family's personal designer was walking around Valentine's tall figure, nodding in approval for the way the suit fit perfectly. He fixed his round glasses before Amelia cleared her throat, making him look at both of the ladies that had just stepped in the room.

"Oh, Duchess Amelia, it is delightful to see you again." He walked up to her with a smile and raised his eyebrows after seeing her navy blue dress coat. "You look stunning, as always."

"Thank you Johan, I see you have picked up some of Jules' fashion statements?" She responded, seeing Johan wear a pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt with a green bomber jacket. Not to forget a pair of earrings and a few rings on his fingers. Julian was always adorning his outfits with pieces of jewelry and all the ladies from all around the kingdom seemed to love it. Johan just chuckled and ran his hand through his curly brown hair.

"Well, what can I say, the man has good taste. But, sit down, my lady. Elizabeth sweetie, please stand next to your brother, I will be with you in a moment." Spoke Johan. Elizabeth walked over to where Valentine was and waited , meanwhile Johan spoke to Amelia. "Would you like some water or a glass of whine?" He said with a smirk on his face.

"What kind of question is that Johan Dell?" The woman smiled as she sat on the plush chair at the desk close to one of the windows. Johan looked at his assistant who instantly went for a glass of wine for the lady. He excused himself to walk towards a white box where Elizabeth's dress was in and took it out.

As the fitting went on, Heather and Vernon were in the grand library, flipping throhgh the pages of numerous books.

"Vernon, what are we looking for again? I don't see why we're looking for information on the royal family hisfory and the history of Eredhen when we could just go and ask your crush." Heather said, feeling tired of looking through the books. She sat on one of the chairs of the round table while looking at Vernon who raised his gaze towards her.

"Heather, I'm telling you, there was something off about the Duchess. I've seen pictures of her but I just now I noticed when I saw her in person. I just can't put my finger on it." He said making Heather shake her head. For as long as she had known him, Vernon had sometimes been skeptical about certain distant members of the royal family but Heather hadn't payed it any mind.

"You don't even know what you're looking for, just drop it, I'm sure it's nothing." She got up to walk towards the large doors before turning her head to look at him. "I'll be joining the choir in the auditorium Mr. Detective. " Her voice echoed lightly in the vast library but Vernon still had his eyes stuck on the book in front of him. With a wave of his hand, she sighed, walking out leaving him and his thoughts.

He was sure there was something mysterious and possibly dangerous lurking in the family's walls, but then, his thoughts could be wrong. Still, he was persistent. Being the son of a pair of famous detectives, he was curious in nature and with his piercing blue eyes that he had gotten from his mother, a single detail was never missed by him.

Moving his eyes away from the book, he looked at his buzzing phone that rested on the table. Seeing the caller i.d he picked up and smiled hearing the woman's voice.

"Hello, is this Vernon McCartney, top student at Woodlock Academy?" A lively voice spoke from the other line.

"Hey mom." He said, the smile growing bigger by the second.

"Hey birthday boy. Your father and I have been worried, you haven't been calling or texting us." She said. His mother, Audrey Athens-McCartney, and his father, Michael McCartney, always expected calls from him at the end of the day but recently, because of the tours around the academy with the prince and princess, rehearsals for the welcoming ceremony, and studies, he barely had any time for himself. He had stayed up late studying and when he had finished, he was sure his parents weren't going to answer the phone.

"Sorry, I've just been really busy... You know Princess Elizabeth and Prince Valentine are here so Heather and I are responsible for tours and making sure they feel at ease before they begin their studies." He spoke, closing the book and looking at the librarian with an apologetic look as she shook her head at the number of books on the table. "We're also having rehearsals for a welcoming ceremony Headmaster Woodlock wants to do for them."

"Oh, it's the talk of the entire country. They're on the front of every magazine and newspaper, everyone is talking about it. They've probably gotten even more attention since the time they entered Equestrian Sports a few years ago." She said. From the other side of the line, Mr. McCartney sat reading some notes on a new case that had come up. He looked at his wife as he remembered how his son tried to get away from his studies at home just to go to one of the competitions the princess took part in. He was aware of his liking towards her, but there was nothing he could do about it. He wanted Vernon to remain focused but with Elizabeth around there would be no doubt he would swift away from his studies.

Walking up to were his wife was sitting, he placed his hand on her shoulder as he stared out of the window. She shared a few more words with Vernon before passing the phone to her husband. She giggled occasionally as she heard them talk about his liking towards the future queen.

"Michael, he's been a good young man. He always listents to his teachers, I'm sure it won't be a problem with the princess in the room." She said as he finished the call.

"I have no problem with him liking the girl, the problem is that he is our son and he never misses a detail. Words are spoken around the city that Amelia will be present at the academy for as long as the Royal Twins are there and it'll only be a matter of time until he begins to notice that she isn't human."

"We should tell him, then. His actions are sometimes unexpected, you never know if he tries to expose her if he finds out."

"But he will tell us once he finds out. Then we will tell him everything." He spoke to her softly. Seeing her nod, he smiled and sighed. It seemed like it was going to be a long year