Olivia Sparks

The lotus jade garden wallpaper behind Queen Isla seemed as if it came to life as she narrated her story without pause and without blinking. 

The wings of the egret bird printed on the wallpaper popped out against the moss green background and it felt as if its wings fluttered, adding a whimsical effect on Queen Isla's storytelling as if her wide eyes and hypnotic smile weren't enough to lure Olivia into listening with all ears as her mother-in-law spoke.

"The Suis web of links differ from the Pyxis, of course. While both aimed to gather information, the Suis leaned more on history, geographical mapping and sometimes artifacts. There are more secrets hidden in those than you can think of. And well, the organization focused more on gaining profits for corporations and... special individuals." Queen Isla swallowed. "You know how they do their operations."

"I don't," Olivia admitted. She cleared her throat, shifted in her seat, and darted eyes from the walnut table up to Queen Isla's face painted with shock. "I was always by the headmistress's side, shadowing her. She told me I'm not cut out for the 'menial' stuff." Olivia air quoted.

"Makes sense. A boss will always see the potential on the get-go or maybe she just wanted you closer to her as much as possible. Just like what Sun Tzu said, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Or... she just wanted a way to get in your father's pants."

The two women shared a burst of bell-like laughter with Queen Isla being the louder one. She slapped her belly when a memory came to light. "She's obsessed with Henry back in the day and followed him around as if she was his personal secretary but your dad was so dead-set on Beshy, he never laid eyes on other women. Well, that was before. With the amount of bastards he has right now under his belt, we could safely assume that money and power got into his head and his d.i.c.k too."

Olivia snorted at how blunt her mother-in-law could be sometimes. No wonder she was best friends with Auntie Martha. The two women had a talent for roasting people and wouldn't even bat an eyelash as they say one tirade after another. 

"The Pyxis… they pick the cream of the crop of the top one percent in the food chain. It makes sense because who would need those pieces of information the most but the moguls, tycoons, CEOs, whatever you call them. And networking would be easier too, given that the members were already a part of the high society. It's like the CIA or the FBI, but it operates privately. 

"They would then give members access to a highly encrypted database for a minute. For a minute, once a day, a member can gain access to a plethora of information that you wanted. If you have an amazing photographic memory akin to a supercomputer, good for you. Amelia used to be one of the few known for her exceptional memory. She can pull up a thousand of info in under a minute and memorize them all. She absorbs information like a sponge, it's so scary to say random things to her sometimes." 

Queen Isla shivered, remembering how Amelia, post her coma, reminded her of something Queen Isla said in passing years ago. That was why Queen Isla had high hopes that her Beshy would recuperate with the proper medical attention and emotional support from her family too.

Rolling her shoulders, Olivia asked, "I have a question though. Why is the Suis network not known to most? I never heard about it until I came home."

"Besides Rona keeping you in the dark?"

"Yes, Mom, besides that. Stop adding insult to injury." Olivia bit her bottom lip. Why did Queen Isla love to remind her how Rona Co fooled Olivia for years?

Queen Isla scoffed, her chin tipping up as she rolled her eyes and shook her head, annoyed and disappointed at how low her twin could go. Surely, Rona's actions would reflect on her too, ah! 

She trailed off, "Well, after the Suis severed their ties with Pyxis, Alistair thought it would be best for us to lie low. As you see, there's only a handful of us, and keeping our shop open was akin to inviting trouble in our backyard; it's a bad variable to the Sui Family's population. He thought it was of our best interest if we stopped accommodating people. Since there's Pyxis, they can monopolize the flow of information around the world without risking the Suis' lives." 

A soft rap of knuckles on the wooden door told them that their morning routine was finally ending. Queen Isla playfully tapped her fingers on her l.a.p as she s.u.c.k.e.d in air through her nose. "That's probably my school bus," she said, giggling when the door opened even without their permission. Just who had the audacity to do such a thing, except for the king himself.

The door to Maxen's private study creaked open, revealing King Alistair. He was wearing a crisp white dress shirt tucked in dark jeans. The sleeves of his shirt rolled up just below his elbows. That's the most casual Olivia had seen the king who always looked the part even inside his home.

"Yes, Alistair?"

"I need to have a word with Olivia."

"Sure." Queen Isla smiled and patted the empty seat in front of her. "You can sit here."

King Alistair grunted. He knew Queen Isla would protest on what he would say next. "Well, I need to speak to her in private."

Queen Isla flailed in her seat. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of the water. "But I want to hear what you wanted to say."

"Isla."

"Alistair."

"I believe you should address me as King Alistair at this moment."

"And I believe you should address me as 'Darling, My Queen Isla', Alistair. Have you forgotten my wedding vows?"

King Alistair's lips quivered and curled into a lopsided grin. "I allowed you to omit 'obey' in our wedding vows because that's how much I adored you, but please, don't use it every time you wanted to throw a tantrum."

"Heol," Queen Isla sneered. Her hands flew to her c.h.e.s.t, and she shook her head in disagreement. She tutted, "I'm not throwing a tantrum. Am I throwing a tantrum, Livi darling?" 

She snapped her head to where Olivia was sitting and smiled when the latter wrinkled her nose. Queen Isla thought Olivia's agreeing with her, right? So she traced her gaze back to the door where the king was standing. "See? Olivia agrees with me. And for your information, I am not throwing a tantrum. I am merely exercising my right. So, if you don't want to waste your time, then please come in and join us."

Queen Isla then gestured to the seat in front of her, beaming her megawatt smile to King Alistair who grumpily pushed the door open, swinging it with enough force to swish wind inside the room. 

To the ladies' surprise, Maxen was standing behind King Alistair with a boyish grin painted on his face. Queen Isla's brows met as she regarded the two men in her life. Just why would King Alistair want a word in private with the couple?

Olivia stood up and gestured with her hand "Let's move to the sofa, Mom, Dad," she suggested and found her way to the wingback sofa set in the middle of the room. 

She stifled the smile that threatened to curve her lips when Maxen pressed his index finger on his lips, signaling her to keep quiet during the discussion.

"I hope it's not about what you said last night, Alistair. I would literally flip the table if you even mention a word about that."

King Alistair huffed. His shoulder rose as exhaled smoke through his nose. "Then you left me no choice but to exclude you in this discussion. The door is open."

"So it is what you're really intending to talk about," Queen Isla grumbled and her eyes narrowed into slits. "More reason for me to stay then." She shrugged and plopped on the sofa in a slow-motion fashion for added dramatic flare. She tipped her chin in defiance as King Alistair sat beside her.

Finding refuge on the love seat next to the sofa, Olivia sat on the far end while Maxen sat on the armrest of the love seat.

"We're in the 21st century, Alistair. Rules applied to us because we married at a time of turmoil. There's no need to force the children into following the same rules that hindered us…" Queen Isla took a sharp breath and ground her teeth as King Alistair interrupted her speech.