Hey guys! It's freaking chapter 38. I can't believe it! Thanks so much for your support!
selectionprincess59- Will do. ;)
Kiren- yeah, it's not typical, but it's sweet!
enjoy! -ReadLikeYouMeanIt
Dad, Lance, Nat, Mom and I have been working on finding Matthew the past few days. We're trying to get in contact with the King and Queen of Swendway, since Chris isn't really going to tell us anything (that, and we can't really get in contact with him). Dad's hair is in a mess, like it always looks when he gets stressed. Lance inherited that trait too, so he looks about the same as dad. Nat was wearing a suit earlier, but he's now wearing suit pants and his button-up shirt which has the first button at the top unbuttoned. Mom looks picture-perfect, as usual. And I look horrible. I put on a touch of makeup, dark blue-jeans, a black tank-top, a teal sweater, and a pair of comfortable dark-brown boots on today. The boots used to be called UGGS, back when the U.S. was still a country. My hair is in a sloppy braid. I did not dress to impress, let's put it that way.
"Can I please speak to the King?" Dad is on the phone with the Palace of Swendway. "Well when he gets back from croquet can you tell him King Maxon of Illéa wishes to speak to him?" Dad clenches his fists. I'm kind of scared right now. I think he might punch the wall. "Thank you." Dad says before he hangs up. He puts the phone down and rubs his forehead.
"Dad, can I get you something?" Lance asks.
"Can you get me some coffee?" Dad asks, not looking up.
"I'll get it." I say.
"I think we could all use some coffee," Mom interjects. "April, I'll help you bring it up."
Mom and I go down to the kitchen to get a few trays of coffee.
While we're waiting for it to be ready, Mom asks, "How are you holding up?"
I sigh and look down. "Not too well." I let out a breath.
She puts her hand on my shoulder. "You don't have to stay strong all of the time."
"Trust me, I don't. Ask Lance about last night."
She laughs slightly. "I know you're really mad right now, and things seem stressful, but we're going to get all of this straightened out."
"Thanks, Mom." I say.
We bring the coffee up just as Dad gets ahold of the King of Swendway.
"Yes, King James." Dad says as we set the trays down. I quickly sit down to listen. "It's Maxon...Yes of Illéa...Things aren't going to well for us and...What?...No, Christopher never stopped by the palace...I'm positive, that's not something I'd forget...No, no guards stopped by, either...Well, we think we may have some idea of where he is...Let me put you on speaker phone so you can talk to my daughter." Dad presses a button and says, "April, would you care to explain what happened?"
This is Dad's little way of getting me ready to be Queen. "Yes," I finally say. "Your majesty, I was on my honeymoon recently and—"
"Oh, yes! And how is Matthew?" The King interrupts.
"Well that's the thing. He went missing when we had three days left of our honeymoon. I searched and searched for him for two days. It wasn't until the second day that I found a note addressed to me in the same place where he went missing. It said that Matthew had been kidnapped."
"How horrible! I'm so sorry. We'll do all we can to help you get him back."
"Your majesty, you don't understand. The letter was from Prince Christopher."
There' says long pause. "That can't be true. Maxon, I'm afraid your daughter is lying."
"Your majesty, April has the letter right in front if us." Mom says.
"Queen America, it must be fake. My son would never do a thing like that." The King says.
"I'm afraid he has, James." Dad says.
"If you're so sure, then prove it." The King says.
"James—" Dad tries to prove it, but the King interjects.
"Listen, my son said he was going to the palace of Illéa. Apparently you all have memory loss, because my son has proof that he was there. He sent me pictures. I'll send them to you on your computer right now."
A message pops up on Dad's computer with an attachment. It's pictures of Chris at the palace, but it's during the ball!
"Your majesty, that was during my nineteenth birthday ball." I say.
"Prove it." The King says.
"Alright." I say. I send him an identical picture from Dad's files of my birthday pictures.
"Oh..." The King falters. Well, I know he got the pictures. "These are the same pictures."
"And the only reason Christopher has this pictures in the first place is because I sent them to him in a digital file." I say.
"I see," the King says. "You do have valid proof. Well the only problem now is getting ahold of my son."
"Wait, you don't know where he is?" Dad asks.
"If he's not at the palace, then I have no clue." We're all silent for a moment. "Maxon, I'll do what I can to find him and call you as soon as I have new information. Thank you for informing me about the situation. Goodbye." The King hangs up and leaves the rest of us in stunned silence.
Great, I think. My husband is lost somewhere in the world with a psycho.