Bonding Ties Between Reality and Non-reality
Chapter 19: Restless Night
Whoa, Mia, that was hectic.
Yeah, what with you trying to get the prince to his proper senses, then him fainting, then your stepfamily finally showing their fangs, then finally we all realise that it's midnight.
Mia sighed. The whole thing did not go quite as she had hoped. In the end, nothing had been achieved where only chaos reigned. She could only hope that the royal family would ultimately be convinced of her stepfamily's guilt, and somehow cancel the prince's decision. At least she had done something. With a tiny bit of luck, all would be well. Yet, at that moment, she hardly felt optimistic at all.
She thought she faintly heard another chime echoing from the grandfather clock in the ballroom. It was probably the sixth or seventh ring already.
She felt exceedingly odd, what with all those phosphorescent circles swirling around her while she ran as fast as she could on her glass heels. If she had all the time in her hands, she would have sat down and stared at those ethereal things with awe until they gradually vanished. But no, she had to run. Her feet felt cramped already, and started to ache badly. Oh, what would she do for a pair of nice, flat sandals instead! Evidently Sister Jenna's mystifying wand preferred classy, glass high-heels, she mused dryly.
The aqua-haired young woman bent around a sharp corner of the castle grounds and inevitably felt something entangled as a low tree branch hanging down got into the way. She hissed tersely in annoyance. Time was not something she had. Wrenching away quickly without much thought, she felt a mild throb and flinched. Dismiss it, and move on, her mind instructed.
To her surprise, she found her lovely dress slowly disappearing, only to be replaced by her old clothes before Jenna's magic wand had changed it. The change started right from her shoes, and crept up slowly to her voluminous skirts. She sighed in relief. Having her old, flat but comfortable shoes made it easier to run. Much, much easier.
She finally saw a building far off. Finally!
When she stepped past the door and closed it noiselessly, only then was the transformation complete. She was now in her own light, blue cotton dress she always wore. She sighed again. At least it did not leave her bare, she thought. The thought made her shudder involuntarily. Imagine if such a catastrophe happened!
Mia, actually you don't really need to change now, right? I mean, as long as you're back in your old clothes and not in those that people recognise you in, it should be okay, right? Spritz asked.
She pondered over it for a while. Spritz's word did have truth in them, after all. Then her gaze went down to her dress. The colour had faded, and parts of it had been patched up with bits and pieces of cloth. The cloth itself was starting to wear out. It was the perfect picture of a worn-out dress worn by girls in extreme poverty, she realised. She suddenly felt ashamed of herself. Goodness, no wonder her impression did not last long among those well-bred, rich Proxians in her stepfamily's society. She looked around.
After all, she was here already, so why not just change? Not only would her present dress embarrass her were she to go back to the ballroom while waiting for Sister Jenna's return; wearing a normal maid's dress would aid disguise if necessary, she reasoned out.
True, Serac agreed. Hurry!
She quickly changed into an inconspicuous gray and white dress taken from a spare wardrobe in the nearest room, and exited the building. Feeling the wind pick up, her lustrous hair flew to her face as she closed the door of the servants' quarters. Her hand immediately went up and tucked her hair neatly behind her ear. She felt her hand touching the earring dangling lightly from her ear, and her eyes widened as something struck her.
Why did not the earring disappear?
Her other hand instinctively flew up to the other ear, and she felt twice as mystified when she found the other earring gone. In a flash, she suddenly recalled the throb of pain she felt earlier while bending around a corner.
It must have been my earring entangled with the tree branch!
She realised it was probably lying unnoticeably somewhere on the ground now. No wonder it hurt. Luckily, they were loosely attached clip-on earrings.
She had no time to find it, she thought. Perhaps unless the two earrings were together, they would not disappear. That was the only solution she could think of, impossible as it was. Nevertheless, she took off the earring on her ear and kept it in one of the dress' pockets. She would look dreadfully silly wearing only one earring.
She breathed in the fresh, cool air of the night as she thought of her next action. Maybe I'll go back to the ballroom and check up what's going on now. Perhaps she could do something and maybe even slip around the castle now that she was unobtrusively dressed. She wanted to do something.
Mia got the shock of her life when an arm slipped through her left arm.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" said a silky voice. Mia curled her lip in distaste. She had always hated Menardi's sleek, cunning voice.
"Let go of me!" She tried to free herself, but Menardi's iron grip refused to relent. She was tougher than what her impression gave, Mia realised. To her amazement, she found another arm slipping through her right arm as well. Looking up in trepidation, she found Menardi's close friend, Saturos, grinning amusedly at her.
"Better not attempt to run, hmm?" he threatened lightly, his manner so terribly genial. "Otherwise, we might have to resort to more . . . drastic measures, shall we say?" His grip on her arm tightened visibly, and she grimaced.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small ball of deep, scorching fire forming in Saturos' other free hand. Mia smelt her own fear then. Images of the castle guards' faces haunted her memory. She remembered it all too clearly, and involuntarily quivered. She could feel her Djinn inside her trying to pacify her, but she felt afraid . . . even terrified when she knew all too well that her stepfamily and their kind joked rarely.
What was worse was that she knew they could taste her fear as well. She struggled to wrestle away from their hold, even when she knew it was futile. But perhaps if she had learned how to control her Djinn and Psynergy properly, the chances would not have been so bleak.
"You should be glad that we bother to keep you alive," said Menardi, her eyes glinting. "We're still rather . . . interested in you, or to be more accurate, what's inside you." She smiled cruelly.
Mia's heart leapt. Don't tell me she means the Djinn . . .? No! They want them . . .?
"Don't bother faking your innocent face. I suppose you won't release them on your own accord, so we'll have to extract it from you with force, I'm afraid," Menardi went on smoothly. "Besides, it wouldn't be exactly fair to Mother and Karst if we were to kill you off right now without letting them see your petty, miserable face one last time." She grinned at Saturos. "Let's go back, Saturos."
"As you say. Teleport!"
Mia gasped. They can cast Teleport too, just like Garet? No! I haven't finished here! And Sister Jenna told me to wait! I can't leave!
She tried to wrench away one last time with all the guts and strength she had left, but Menardi shoved her back. Before she knew it, Saturos' Psynergy was already in action. For another time she felt her body slowly dissipating as the three of them, she practically sandwiched between the two of them, became hundreds and thousands of vibrant circles, blending into the atmosphere. Once high up in the air, she felt herself breaking apart as they travelled faster than light. She shut her eyes tight as her blurred surroundings made her head spin dizzily. Tears threatened to spring up there and then. She forced it down.
She still felt light, but that wondrous feeling of excitement she once felt together with Garet and Sister Jenna was no longer there. It was substituted with a feeling of dread pressing down in the depths of her heart.
She had come, and she had gone back. With nothing accomplished. With matters only made worse. She did nothing helpful.
Mia felt utterly defeated.
----o----
Garet began to smell a rat. Something was wrong.
He paused in his step, Jenna right behind him. They were trailing the Proxians, who had no idea (or so he hoped) yet that they were being followed. One man, three women, he noted. They had shadowed those four figures closely from the moment they exited the castle grounds, and now they were somewhere in the neighbourhood of Vale. It was easy to keep track of them; it looked as if all the villagers had retired to bed, the roads were so deserted. He saw buildings and lonely roads that he was unfamiliar with. This part of Vale he knew not; he could only follow the Proxians blindly and see what they were up to.
But the longer they pursued quietly, the less convincing the Djinn's arguments stood.
-Flashback-
He cracked his knuckles. He could see the Proxians standing in the distance, huddled together. He wondered if they were discussing something. No matter.
"Stay behind and support me, Jen. This could get rough." He had some real good beating to do out of those four people. They mistreated Mia badly, gave Isaac a hell lot of trouble, and were running away like a bunch of cowards. No way could he, Garet, let them go scot-free just like that.
"O—okay," Jenna agreed hesitantly, pausing to look at her state of clothing before shrugging. "So much for dressing up," she muttered.
Wait! Don't get too hotheaded, Jenna! One of her Jupiter Djinn, Zephyr, spoke quickly. It mightn't be such a good choice to try beat them up now . . . right guys?
Hmm . . . as much as it sounds more fun to mess 'em up, you do have a point, Zephyr, Cannon supported. For all we know, those four could be very skilled Adepts, Jenna. It might turn bad.
Jenna stopped to ponder on her Djinn's words. All her Djinn—Zephyr, Whorl, Corona, Cannon, Spark, Reflux, Shine and Flower—seemed to agree on one accord. "But we have to get them! Otherwise they'll escape and maybe we won't get to track them down again!" she objected with a scowl. "I'm sure we can handle them. Right, Garet?"
"Yeah, now's really not the time to talk about it," he agreed.
One of Garet's Venus Djinn, Quartz, suddenly spoke, surprising the redhead. It's four to two, Garet. We have the disadvantage actually. Maybe we shouldn't be so brash. Truthfully, you both are still inexperienced. They mightn't be, you know. They look tough, especially that guy.
I'd like to agree, Flower seconded. It might be dangerous. After all, we can just follow them to see where they go right? They might even lead us to their hide out if they have one here in Vale. Maybe that's where they're going.
Garet could hear his Djinni, Forge, sighing. As much as I'd love a battle, we have to think of our masters too. It will be risky. I think Flower's plan is sensible.
"They might be leading us on a merry-go-round in Vale for all we know!" Jenna hissed, folding her arms.
Well, as long as we keep track of them, they won't be able to shake us off. They'll get tired sometime if they do, her favourite Mars Djinni, Spark, reasoned.
The most sensible Djinn of the lot, Geode, spoke. It won't hurt to follow 'em for a while. If it gets drastic, then we give 'em a good shaking. That's what I think. Right, Garet?
As aggressive as he was, Garet was rational enough to see sense. In any case, he did not want Jenna hurt. He saw her looking at him, waiting for his say in the matter, and sighed.
"Fine," he muttered grudgingly.
-End flashback-
The more he thought about it, the more fool he thought he was. Here he was, hiding behind some sort of building, spying on four figures a block away. He suddenly turned back and faced Jenna. They were both perspiring. "It's not working, Jen. I think they know we're behind them. It's been so long and it looks like they're just wandering aimlessly!"
She frowned at him and impatiently put a finger on her lips. "Shhhh!" she shushed.
"Well, I don't think they can hear us," he whispered back as he turned around again to scrutinise the Proxians, "they're so far—" he stopped.
They were gone!
Garet cursed under his breath. Together, they raced to the spot they saw the Proxians last. Far off, they thought they saw four dim outlines disappearing around the corner of a dark building. The area was poorly lit, the streetlights illuminating only a mild glow.
By the time he and Jenna did the same, they were nowhere to be seen! They had vanished!
He stated the obvious. Jenna shot him a glare. "Whose fault is that, I wonder?"
"Hey, not all mine!" he protested. "You didn't pay attention too!"
"I was listening AND looking at you, Garet!"
"All right, all right, I'm sorry," he apologised hastily, "let's not argue, and look for the Proxians instead, okay?"
Jenna inhaled deeply. "Right."
Ten minutes later, they gave up their search. Nothing led them to show the Proxians were anywhere near. Not even a thorough inspection of every nook and cranny around revealed anything of interest. It really seemed as though they had totally vanished into thin air!
"How can this be?" Jenna complained. "We explored every inch of the area, and we don't find even a footprint or something at all? Impossible!"
Garet raked a hand through his hair irritably. "They must have disappeared somehow. Maybe they teleported away just before we reached here."
"Sounds possible," Jenna admitted with a sour look. "They must have been leading us on a wild goose chase, damn them. They'll get away now." She looked at Garet half-accusingly.
"Jenna—" He started to defend himself again when Jenna's hand cut him short.
"Don't start. It's okay . . . we're both at fault, really," she confessed with a sigh. "Let's not start quarrelling here okay? It's not been exactly the best expedition to make in my dress, and I just lost my newly bought shoes. All for a stupid, unreasonable wild goose chase. I swear, when I get them I'll . . ." she stopped her sentence as she grimaced. She had stepped out of her high-heels since it restricted her movement, but the sole of her feet were very sore because of that. She even stepped unknowingly on some sharp object once, cutting into her skin.
Garet's eyes softened. He realised that the chase must have been more exhausting and unpleasant for her than it had been for him. She was probably very exasperated, defeated and most of all, tired. Heck, he himself was tired. Additionally, he had no idea what was the time. Well over half past midnight, at least.
He knew the stinking feeling of coming back with nothing.
". . . Are you okay?" he asked hesitatingly. With Jenna, sometimes he found it hard to express himself. They bickered a lot, but it never lasted for long. Ever since Isaac accused him of having a special penchant for her, he had been unconsciously cross-examining himself. Did he really care for her in that way . . .?
Jenna winced again. "Yeah, I think so," said she, offering him a weak grin. "I'd drop dead on any bed now, if not for that fact that I have to nurse my poor feet first." She made a face. "So . . . what do we do now? I mean . . . they've given us the slip somehow, and I've no idea where we are exactly, and . . ." she trailed off. She bit her lip.
Garet knew she was extremely frustrated at herself. So was he. They had done Isaac and everyone involved in this injustice by letting the Proxians escape. He would hate breaking the news to Uncle Kyle and Aunt Dora later. He gingerly patted her on the shoulder. "Let's go back home, I guess . . . I mean, we can't do anything now . . . besides, we're both tired, and your feet look rather bad . . ."
"Home?" she asked, surprised. "But don't we have to go back to the castle and check on Mia? I told her to wait for me to come back. I hope she's not worried . . ."
"You did?" He frowned. "Well . . . but you're in no condition to go back to the castle like that, Jen," he pointed out bluntly. "Besides, the ball probably ended already. Frankly, I doubt people will want to stay for long, after seeing that pale guy and his Psynergy. I'll teleport both of us back to your home directly, and I'll go to the castle and see how Mia's doing. How about that?"
She cocked an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're up for all that?"
He managed a laugh. "Think so. Besides, I'd like to check up on Isaac and let Uncle and Aunt know that . . . well, what happened," he explained sullenly.
The red-haired young woman caught the change in his voice. She lightly squeezed his arm, something she did not do often. "I'm sure His Highness will be okay," she reassured with a faint smile.
He looked at her gratefully and affectionately. Even with her tousled hairdo and her light makeup ruined, he thought she still looked rather . . . pretty. Yeah . . . really pretty.
"Thanks. Once home you better cast Aura on your poor feet," he suggested kindly.
She looked at him for a moment before looking away hastily. "I know that," she said gruffly.
Garet regarded her awhile before stepping closer to teleport both of them away from that place. The next thing he knew was that they were standing in front of the doorstep of Jenna's house. He heard her sighing in relief.
"Well, I guess I'll be going," he said.
"Yeah . . . thanks for the ride."
"Nothing doing," he replied awkwardly, scratching his head absent-mindedly. "Uh . . . see you tomorrow. You'll be coming over to the castle, right?"
She nodded. "Of course. Help to accommodate Mia for the night in the castle, okay? I'm sure Their Majesties will approve of that. She saved His Highness, after all." She smiled.
He laughed. "Yeah. If it stays like that, they'll be practically together in no time," he joked. "But seriously, the castle's the best place for Mia to be in now. The Proxians will want to come after her, I'm sure. We'll keep her safe."
"Let me know if there's anything at once."
"Will do."
----o----
"Safe now?"
There was silence. Occasionally a snore or two rose,
"Yup. Man, it took him so long to sleep!"
"I hate being here! No freedom, no nothing!"
A raised eyebrow. "Yeah? Like we don't? We're all dying to escape!"
"Haven't we come up with a plan yet?'
"Nope . . . for one, I'm still trying to figure out why we're held captive like this. And it doesn't help when they're so secretive . . ."
"Nooo . . . we're guinea pigs for that ugly guy's experiments! We're all going to be cut open!"
"Don't be paranoid. Most likely they want to—"
Suddenly a rough voice made all of them jump out of their skin. "I said, SHUT UP!" There was silence, then a low grunt.
". . . He's talking in his sleep."
Everyone sighed in relief.
----o----
Slap! It made a shrill sound in the enclosed room.
"So, you still refuse to release your Djinn?" Karst taunted with a smirk.
Mia winced, her cheek stinging from the hard slap. She could neither reply nor even budge from her position. Her mouth was gagged, and her wrists were bonded with ropes tied to a chair so tightly that it bit into her flesh. She had involuntarily screamed at that juncture. That made them shut her mouth then too. She knew their stepfamily had the utmost pleasure of holding her captive. She knew Menardi's hand had been itching to do the talking for the longest time when she was slapped for struggling in attempt to free herself. And now Karst was having her share.
Even her Djinn could not do anything to help her now, Mia thought. She was weak and exhausted. She counted the possibilities of escaping. She was gagged and tied to the chair; no screaming, no moving, and to crown it all, four people she had no chance against were blocking her escape. Besides, attracting attention from any occupants of the inn would prove hazardous. She hated to admit it, but chances were almost nil.
Despite that, she would take care of her own Djinn. Yes, that was the least she could do as an Adept. No matter what it took, she would never give up Fizz, Spritz or Serac to people such as them. Only Mercury knew what would happen to them.
"I suppose being silent and daydreaming your head off means you decline?" Karst sneered, roughly pushing Mia's chin up to see her face.
Mia's eyes, drained but challenging, regarded them steadily without mumbling a word through her gagged mouth. Now was not the time to give up!
Another sharp slap rewarded her. "Then so be it," said Karst. "I've no time to make reason with an imbecile like you, CinderMia. You should have been burnt into cinders and thrown into the garbage pile a long time ago!"
"Let's not rush too fast, my dear Karst," Merlina intervened pleasantly. She was hurriedly packing their things with Menardi efficiently; they were almost ready to leave for Prox. "I'm sure Saturos has bigger plans for her before we dispose of her."
Saturos smiled, a row of white teeth showing. Mia found it most insincere. "That's right. Since she so adamantly refuses to release her Djinn, I shall have the pleasure of testing my newest experiment. She shall have the honour of being my first . . . patient." Hearing him saying it so cheerily gave the aqua-haired young woman the chills. She looked away dismally. What had she done . . .?
She realised she was literally in very hot soup. They had seen past her disguise as Sarah Lushielle (her stepmother was in a rage over that), and now they were too eager to exact revenge for tricking them. Spoiling such an important plan must have ignited their anger up to the point of no return. She had foiled their plans to control the prince, destroyed their plans in taking Vale's throne, and even showed them up openly until they had to reveal their true character to all in the ballroom.
She was sure that they would have killed her with supreme relish at the first chance . . . if not for the Djinn still in her. That was the only thing keeping her alive for the moment. On the other hand, she did not think her chances to stay alive were very long either. One way or another, they would forcefully extract the Djinn from her, and then what . . .? They were ruthless where their safety was concerned; she knew of the saying, 'dead men tell no tales'. She was only a greater liability to them the longer she lived.
Mia felt very afraid. Whatever ounce of bravery she possessed faded away when she realised the severity of her current situation. She cast her eyes down to the ground, hoping that a solution would magically present itself to her and all would be well.
What am I going to do . . .?
"Are we ready to go?" Menardi asked, looking around. All five of them were in Merlina's room, situated at the furthest end of the floor.
Suddenly Saturos got up from the bed he was sitting on. "Wait. I forgot something. Karst, could you be so kind as to take the . . . little present I acquired earlier in the evening? And also the other . . . little things that I obtained earlier as well," he asked courteously, smiling crookedly with a hidden meaning behind it.
"Make haste then, Karst," her mother instructed. "The sooner we go, the better it is for us."
Apparently Karst caught his hint, for she mirrored his smile and departed, her footsteps treading so softly like a cat's. From her seat on the hard chair, Mia felt utterly hopeless. Here she was, caught red-handed into the lions' den, with the odds so terribly against her that the only thing she could do now was to go along with flow. Mercury, intuitively she even came to the point of understanding that she had to be ready to face death anytime, if matters grew as bad as that.
She snapped out of her reverie when Saturos suddenly stepped in front of her. Mia had always found him most mysterious, repulsive and odious from the very moment she met him with Menardi. But now, as she looked up at the tall, pale figure wearing that malicious smile, she felt fear.
"You know," he began genially in a slow drawl, "I really don't think this is the best time for you to be so . . . attentive, shall we say," said he, pausing to reflect on his own words. "After all, I look forward in entertaining you with a surprise when we return to Prox. Wouldn't we, Menardi?"
Mia glanced at Menardi with a frown. What on Mercury was Saturos talking about?
"Oh, you mean . . . bringing her there?" Menardi asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I suppose I'd be glad to be rid of her from home. Are you sure you won't mind having her there instead? Would Agatio mind as well?"
He laughed. "Mind or not, it would be more strategic for her to be there." Turning to Mia, he smiled amiably. "I'm sure you will agree with me once you are there, Lady Lushielle."
Mia had not the foggiest idea what they were conferring. Her heart felt with dread when she heard them discussing her as if she was an inanimate object, not unlike trash. She felt very . . . vulnerable not knowing what was going on. It was her life at stake, after all . . . and the worst thing was that she knew she still had a long way to go before everything ended.
"Now, I'm afraid I shall not behave very gentlemanly, but I would really not prefer to have anymore display of Psynergy tonight. You must be tired, milady," Saturos continued, his smile still plastered on his face. For a moment Mia felt such a strong feeling of abhorrence against him. It created an irresistible urge to wipe that annoying smile off that disgusting pale face.
Swiftly, Saturos bended down closer to her. His action took her taken aback. The last thing Mia knew was a sudden, acute pain at the back of her neck before she fell unconscious.
----o----
Queen Dora sighed. "Thank you, Ivan, Sheba. I'm sure it's been a very long night for both of you. You needn't stay up any longer. Go to bed and have a good sleep." She smiled gratefully.
"Are you sure, Aunt Dora?" Sheba asked worriedly. Looking at the motherly queen sitting by Prince Isaac's bed, she felt a deep pang of sympathy for her and for King Kyle. Things had finally settled down somewhat, but she had misgivings that it would rest. In her mind she pictured once more all the havoc caused by merely a few people, affecting the whole crowd gathered in the ballroom.
It was only after Prince Isaac had been swiftly placed into Vale's most skilled physicians and put to proper rest that the King and Queen concentrated on regaining order in the room. It had been a tough job. Not only was it hard to mollify the crowd, it proved even a greater task to appease the highly-indignant lords and nobles that travelled afar to attend the ball. Their lives had been on the line (or so they claimed), and they were deeply reproachful about it. The King and Queen did all their best to apologise, soothe and to make up for all the troubles or inconveniences caused.
Even so, the damage was already done. Even though it was not the King and Queen's fault for such a tragedy to occur, it could blemish Vale's reputation as a safe country, Sheba thought. People did not forget events such as this within a day. The King and Queen had apologised ardently to everyone, explained that Prince Isaac was somehow ill, and for that reason the ball would have to regretfully end. They had reassured that they would uncover matters soonest possible and reveal What Was Going On, et cetera. With the King and Queen's diplomatic, soothing tongues, matters were less chaotic.
The guests had dispersed as soon as they could, fearing for their own safety. All the castle inhabitants, especially those close to King Kyle and Queen Dora, saw their disappointed, frustrated eyes and kept silent. Ivan and Sheba did all they could to help, but there was a limit to what they could do. King Kyle and Queen Dora had handled the situation most efficiently, but tonight was not the end of it, that Sheba was sure.
She could only imagine all the protests and complaints put forth by the other nobles and guests due to the events caused in the days to come.
"Dora's right. You two should rest well. Thank you for helping us out earlier," said King Kyle, nodding his head. "We'll watch over Isaac. He should be awake tomorrow if all goes well, according to the physicians." He looked at his unconscious son fondly.
"Well, in that case, we'll retire for the night," said Ivan. He bowed. "Goodnight, Uncle Kyle, Aunt Dora. And . . . I'm sorry . . ."
"Me too," Sheba added.
The King and Queen smiled faintly. "Nothing to be sorry about, Ivan. You did not do anything wrong," King Kyle corrected. "I wish I could say sorry to Isaac though . . . but that will have to wait. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Uncle, Aunt," said Sheba, curtsying before she and Ivan left the prince's room quietly.
Left together with her husband and son, Queen Dora looked at Isaac tenderly. Shifting his blonde bangs, her gentle, benevolent expression hardened. "We'll get to the bottom of things for Isaac, won't we, dear?"
He replied reassuringly, his mouth set in a grim line. "Of course."
----o----
"You're finally home!"
Garet turned to face his frowning sister, Kay. Being the eldest sibling of the family, the elegant young woman was well known for her infamous temper. Even Garet was afraid of unleashing her temper, though he often was the igniter due to his clumsy manner. He remembered well how she had gone into fumes when she found out that he had kicked her pot of flowers to Wonderland once. Whoa.
"Kay, you scared me for a second there," he huffed, grinning. Truth was, he hardly felt like smiling. He had only stopped by his home to leave a message to his parents that he would be staying in the castle for the night. After all, he could help Mia with lodgings for the night (he was Isaac's 'godfather', he reasoned) if he were there. He just hoped he could find Mia easily so that he could sleep quickly. He swore his yawns were making his jaw stretch up to the hilt.
"You look like you're getting ready to leave home when you leave a note on the mantelpiece like that," said Kay, chuckling. "You're not seriously eloping with Jenna and leaving us for a long time?"
He felt his cheeks turning red. Jenna would have boxed him if she heard of that. "Of—of course not! Don't say silly stuff, Kay." He had more important matters than joking with Kay right now. "I just thought you guys might be sleeping by now, so I figured to leave a note to let you guys know that I'll be staying the night at the castle. I've still a few things to do. You're still awake?"
She tossed her loose, long red hair aside and frowned. "Yeah. Mum was starting to get a bit worried. You're staying—" she stopped as she suddenly noticed his disheveled clothing—"What happened? Did you get into some kind of fight during the ball?" she asked, her voice incredulous.
He raised a hand. "It's a long, long story, Kay. I'll tell you about it tomorrow okay? Now I'm really dead tired, and I have to go when all I want is just my bed. I'm serious."
Kay Jerra raised an eyebrow. As playful as Garet was, she knew when he was truly serious. Now was such a time. She decided to do as he suggested. "All right. You better come clean tomorrow morning though," she said threateningly in a teasing tone. "Sounds interesting."
"You bet." He grinned wearily. He was starting to sound like his Djinn now, he felt. It was at that moment that the thought suddenly came to him.
His Djinn! He clearly remembered he had assigned Granite, Ground and Bane to help Mia clean up her room before they teleported to the castle. Yet, they had never gotten back to him. They probably assumed that Garet would teleport back to fetch them once cleaning up was over, but they had never communicated with him in the first place. Were they all right?
"Damn," he muttered. What on Mars was going on?! His mind froze when he realised that Jenna was probably missing Flash too. He wondered whether she was thinking the same thing right now. He and Jenna had been too busy dealing with Mia's stepfamily and other things until they overlooked those four Djinn. He kicked himself mentally. Calling himself an Adept even!
"What's wrong?" Kay asked concernedly. "Is there something really bad going on, Garet?"
"I really have to go now," he replied suddenly. "It's really, really important, Kay." He would rush to the inn before going to the castle; it was nearer to his house. No use alarming Kay. Being an Adept (though untrained), Kay was too protective of Garet's Djinn as she found them 'cute'. She would most likely choke him to death if she figured his thoughts now.
"Garet? But you just got back home!"
He was already out of the door by then, his thoughts a blur. Damn. Don't I have already too many things to do? Those Djinn better be just acting naughty and playing the fool by not reporting to me, otherwise . . .
Nevertheless, he knew he would have a sleepless night, whether he got to bed or otherwise.
----o----
"It was Mia, no doubt about it! She and Lady Lushielle must have been the same person!"
Picard tried his best to soothe Alex's agitation. "I know, Alex, I know. It's been years, but I'd recognise Mia's voice any day. I wonder why she had to attend the ball secretly . . ." Then he sighed. "It has been a bad day."
Alex strode over and sat down next to his brother on the bed. "Actually it was a good day at the outset, really. I mean, I finally got the chance to meet Mia again, even though the circumstances were strange. But later . . ." he trailed off.
The damage was done. He wondered how it would affect diplomatic relationships between Vale and other countries. It might even adversely affect the military side too, he reflected. It was, indeed, a tragedy.
"Alex? Alex!"
"Huh?" he blinked his eyes and looked at Picard sheepishly. "Sorry. I was thinking things over."
Picard nodded. "It's understandable. It was a disaster. Come to think of it, Ivan's words has come true in the end . . . remember how he told us there might be danger trying to harm His Highness? It must have foreshadowed that Lady Hynas poisoning His Highness. After all, Mia's accusations must be true, otherwise they would not have escaped. I'm sure the King and Queen realise that also."
Alex sighed. "And yet, everything was too upside-down to find Mia . . . she's gone now . . ." After all the 'mess' had been cleared up temporarily, he and Picard had set off to search for Mia, but nothing availed their efforts. Both of them were worried, but it was a thought they feared voicing out. It hung silently in the air.
"I think we should see Garet tomorrow," Picard suggested. "He seems to know a lot about Mia, from the way how he supported her all the way earlier. Let's visit His Highness at the same time, too."
"Good idea. I think His Highness should be able to tell us a lot about Mia. I somehow just feel it." Alex stifled a big yawn and rose from the bed. "But for now, I think I'll just get as much sleep as I can before waking up at half-past five later. It's no wonder His Majesty ordered us to patrol around the castle and tighten securities immediately as soon as dawn breaks."
"Me too. Goodnight then, Alex," said Picard, smiling. "Sleep tight."
"Goodnight, brother," he bid, and closed the door as he stepped out.
Left alone, Picard sighed deeply before tucking himself under the comfortable covers. He relaxed. Switching off the lights in his private quarters, he looked out of the nearby window and set his gaze on the moon. He closed his eyes and tried to rid all disturbing, worrying thoughts from his mind. Why did he felt as though this was just the beginning . . . ?
There's always tomorrow. A tomorrow to find answers. To make things right. To find Mia too . . .
He contented himself with those thoughts before letting sleep overcome his consciousness finally.
Author's Note: Chapter 19 finished! This officially ends the night, and a whole lot of complications to solve starting the next day! Stay tuned to the next chapter to come; things will be getting interesting, I promise:) Comments, suggestions and advice are greatly appreciated!