Bonding Ties Between Reality and Non-reality
Chapter 20: Revelations
Step, by step. Step, by step.
His feet led him on. He had no idea where he was going. He moved almost mechanically. Odd, the way it felt as though his mind was not quite in the picture.
Yet, he could still see her.
There, she was there. Yes . . . standing just right there, on the edge of the cliff . . . gazing off into the horizon. It was a beautiful sunset.
He was contented to just watch her until the end of time. Limitless. Even if it meant from a distance, gazing onto her back. As long as he could see her . . .
She looked . . . ethereal, a small yet captivating figure in the midst of a breathtaking vista. It was the perfect picture. And he was like the artist, admiring the picture from outside. Wait . . . was he not in the picture itself?
Slowly, she turned back unhurriedly. It was as though he had called out her name. He enjoyed the way she moved, so graceful and nimble. Even her hair seemed . . . refined, as it swayed with the wind. He could not wait to see her face.
But when she faced him fully, he had the shock of his life.
It was not her face!
It was totally different. A cruel, malicious face, with slanted, pitiless eyes. Her mouth quirked into a wicked grin. Her hair was now red . . . the colour of blood . . .
Why . . . ?
He saw himself stumbling a step or two back. What was happening? She was now laughing at him. Her laugh rose to a shrill, ugly cackle. Her fingernails, long and red, pointed accusingly at him. Was his expression that funny . . .?
Daringly, she stepped back nearer and nearer to the edge of the cliff. Bits of rocks crumbled down. He saw his eyes widen. He cried out something. Still she wore that insolent grin on her face.
Suddenly, her face transformed. It was now the real her, how he had always remembered her. No longer like a witch, but lovely and serene.
Only that she was crying out in pure anguish. Her face was contorted by fear.
She was losing her balance. She was too near the edge. It was crumbling down. Her hand, fair and slender, reached out to him as her eyes widened and she cried out. She was afraid of death.
He sprinted forward, but it was so slow. Everything was in slow motion then. He knew it was too late. He was too far. Too far to save her.
He saw his own hand valiantly reaching out for hers. It missed by a few inches.
He would never forget the look on her face when she plummeted into that black abyss.
----o----
It was a clear, bright day. Not surprisingly, it did not match Garet's mood at all. He scowled at the sun searing its beams and ran a nervous hand through his hair as he leaned against the gates of the castle, entertaining his thoughts. Today had to be the worst of the worst days, he felt.
Soon enough, the person he was waiting for, dressed in a simple light yellow frock, came. He smiled faintly as she hurried along.
"I'm sorry I'm a bit late," Jenna apologised sheepishly. "I hope you didn't wait too long?"
He shook his head, grinning. "Nah, don't worry about it." Then his expression darkened. "We've got bigger things to worry about as it is. Let's walk inside the castle to visit Isaac as we talk. I've got big, bad news, Jen."
Her eyes widened, her red orbs full of apprehension. Walking up to him, Jenna also perceived a pronounced line of distress in her childhood friend. She rarely saw that sort of expression in him, but when it did, it was a big cause for concern. Almost at the same time she remembered something.
"Garet, is it about . . . Flash? Right before I fell asleep I suddenly realised that Flash didn't get back to me at all the whole night . . . I was worried . . . but I seriously couldn't budge an inch once I was in bed," she confessed guiltily. "How about Granite, Ground and Bane?"
Garet shook his head again, this time grimly. He quickened his steps. "Gone. Just like that. I thought they were maybe playing tricks on us, so I checked the inn last night before going to the castle." He sighed, rubbing his forehead. It was clear as crystal that he did not have a good night's sleep.
Jenna instinctively felt that developments would be ghastly. She almost had to jog to keep up with his strides. "And . . .?"
"I couldn't find them . . . I inspected Mia's and her stepfamily's rooms, and they're not there. Gone. They're not even responding to my call!"
"That's very odd . . . I'm sure they wouldn't joke until that far," pondered Jenna aloud.
"Exactly. Worse, Mia's stepfamily is gone too. With all their belongings," Garet finished gloomily. "All of Mia's things are in a destroyed heap."
"But she's fine, right? I left her at the castle. You found her when you got there, right?" asked Jenna quickly, her eyes full of apprehension. Her anxiety only increased by the second. Don't tell me . . . !
The spiky redhead turned away. It was so difficult for him to speak the truth. Cold, fearful but stark truth.
"I couldn't find her . . ." he almost whispered. "I checked with people around and even the maids earlier in the morning, but aside from Picard and Alex, no one has seen a blue-haired person since last night's events . . ."
Jenna stopped in her steps altogether. Her head reeling, she stumbled back a step or two. Garet immediately caught her hand in alarm.
"B—" Immediately her mind clouded. "Don't tell me her stepfamily got her . . .? But—that's impossible! I left her at the castle with everyone else, safe and sound! And we were chasing all four of them the whole time! They couldn't have gotten to her . . ." she trailed off dismally.
He looked away again. "That's what I thought too . . . but what with all that's been happening, I don't really know what to think right now . . ."
"What happened to her . . .?" she whispered.
He sighed. "I don't know . . . for all we know, maybe the stepfamily somehow snuck back into the castle after they threw us off their track . . . got her and maybe ran off in the wee hours of the morning. I'll ask Ivan to look up the time schedule for ships leaving the docks, but I doubt there were any yesterday. Besides, being Adepts, they could have teleported themselves off," he reasoned dolefully. "Could be anywhere now . . ."
"B—but Mia would be facing hell if she got captured by them!" Jenna cried out. "They'd kill her!"
He wheeled around to face her. "That's exactly what I'm scared of now . . ." he muttered. "I just hope we're jumping to conclusions . . . after all, not finding Mia doesn't mean they got hold of her, right?" He was trying his best to think positively, refusing to believe that his worst fears were confirmed.
"But she wouldn't have disappeared without leaving some kind of note for us somehow . . . she's not like that! Mia is gone, our Djinn are gone, and they're gone too! They probably got back to the inn and found our Djinn there, and . . ." she said helplessly.
Garet slammed his fist on the wall encircling the castle compound. No matter how they tried to twist the facts around, the chances of Mia being in danger were very high. Murderously high. He sighed.
"There's nothing we can do . . . no use formulating our own conclusions, Jen. We should tell Isaac, Uncle Kyle and Aunt Dora everything, and find her as soon as we can initiate a search. Until then . . . I'm sure Mia will be okay. She's brave, and I'm sure she'll hold up until we find her . . ." He tried to shrug with a weak smile, but it did not deceive Jenna.
She turned her eyes away. "Mia . . . please be okay . . ."
Garet strode up to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure she'll be fine, Jen . . . you know Mia won't go down easily without a fight. What's more important now is that we comb through everywhere we can think of and find her, and catch that stepfamily of hers for good. That's how we can help her . . . come on, let's visit Isaac and tell him the whole story." He managed a small grin. "Okay?"
Raising fearful eyes at him, she nodded.
----o----
"Isaac! Kyle, he's awake! Thank Venus he's awake!"
"Shh, you'll scare him out of his wits, Dora." There were some shuffling sounds. "You all right, son?"
Prince Isaac slowly opened his eyes and stared at two hazy faces blankly. He gazed at the dazzling sun from a window and frowned slightly. Daylight . . ? He closed and focused his eyes before looking at his parents again. He faintly smiled.
"How long have I been sleeping, Father, Mother?"
"The whole night only, don't worry," his mother replied. "Thank Venus you are finally awake! You took us by shock last night when you suddenly passed out just like that, Isaac. Are you feeling all right?"
"Yes, I think so . . ." he answered vaguely. He got up with slight difficulty and frowned again. Last night . . . what happ—
It all suddenly came back in a flash. The ball event. His event.
Wait! He suddenly clutched his mother's hand, startling her. "What happened last night, Mother?" he asked quickly, casting a worried look to his father as well. To his apprehension, his parents' expressions darkened.
King Kyle sighed and turned away, speaking slowly. "Truth be told, we cannot say for sure we know exactly what happened . . . you just fainted out of the blue while all this confrontation was going on. It was . . . rather chaotic. We called for the physicians to take care of you, somewhat regained order in the room, and—" he sighed again, "there the night ended."
"When the physicians examined you, they found nothing wrong with you," Queen Dora added. "They told us you probably passed out due to extreme fatigue," she explained with a smile. "The most important thing is that you're awake and you're feeling all right, Isaac. You've no idea how worried your father and I were, even though the physicians gave you a clean bill of health."
He lowered his head. "I'm very sorry for causing so much worry to everyone . . ." he said regretfully. Then he looked up at his father curiously. "What do you mean by 'confrontation' Father? I—I remember Lady Lushielle. . ." he trailed off.
Thoughts of her flooded his mind now, unlike the previous night when he had his temporary memory loss. Thank Venus it was all right now. Those memories . . . somehow, he wanted to keep them . . . it made that night . . . special. It meant a lot to him.
"What did she say? I—I did not really hear her speak," he admitted slowly.
What was really going on last night . . . ? If he remembered correctly, she was objecting to his choice. Yes, he chose Lady Hynas, the kind, caring young lady, and Lady Lushielle had demurred. It had totally taken him aback. He had never thought her as the type to create a humiliating scene in front of the public. He felt surprised, yet sorry for her.
Queen Dora looked at him, startled. "You did not? Well . . ." said she hesitantly. Isaac saw his parents exchanging glances and felt even more mystified.
"Isaac, I'm afraid we have to break very, very serious news to you."
The gravity of her tone struck a strange note in him. "What is wrong, Mother? What exactly happened?"
"Let me tell him, Dora," said King Kyle, taking in charge of the situation. "Son, do you remember when you gave your decision to the crowd, this . . . Lady Lushielle opposed your decision?" When Isaac nodded, he went on:
"She was causing quite a ruckus . . . she claimed that Lady Hynas . . ." he paused, looking at his son full in the eye, "poisoned you."
Isaac could not believe his ears. "What?!" he exploded. "Lady Hynas?" His head was reeling. What on earth . . . what did that mean? Based on his judgment, Lady Lushielle was not one to accuse anyone simply without good reason, yet . . .
Poisoning . . . ?
"We were all just as mystified when she said that," his father continued. "We all thought she was insane, throwing severe accusations like that on a whim. She kept insisting she was right. It was quite a bad commotion. We were even more baffled when . . . Garet took her side."
". . . Garet?" Isaac echoed, his eyes widening. "But he would not have agreed with Lady Lushielle unless he knew something definite!"
What on Venus IS going on? I—I don't understand! Why would Lady Hynas want to poison me? And how would Lady Lushielle have known about it . . .?
His mother sighed. "Exactly. The whole matter would have just stopped there, if not for her suddenly claiming that some vial containing this poison should be within Lady Hynas' possession if she truly poisoned you. We decided to give her a chance, but Lady Hynas refused adamantly to be searched . . ."
The implication hit him then. "I can't believe this . . ." said Isaac. He was speechless for a moment. Finally he voiced out his thoughts. "Why would Lady Hynas ever poison me? What would she gain? I hardly know her! Is it really true . . .?"
"It must have some truth in it, at least . . ." his father answered gravely. "It was then that you had your fainting spell. She took the opportunity to escape, and even had a few accomplices to help secure her escape. I do not know what happened . . . a few of our guards tried to stop her but suddenly . . ." he stopped abruptly, struggling in his words. "There was this . . ."
"What? What is it, Father?" His worry was increasing abundantly by the second. Even his mother seemed unusually perturbed. What troubled his parents so . . .?
His mother took the tale up. "It was horrible, Isaac . . ." she whispered. "It was like a ball of fire, alive . . . one of her accomplices attacked our guards with it . . . three of them are now badly injured. Our physicians have no idea how it happened, but they have no idea how to heal the wounds inside their bodies . . .
Prince Isaac's eyes widened in disbelief. Fire, alive? How could a fire be alive? Venus, it sounded like a ghastly fairy tale coming true. Who had ever heard, least even seen, such a spectacle before?
King Kyle massaged his wife's shoulders gently. "Everyone was terrified after that. You should have seen the look on their faces, we almost didn't recognise them . . ." He sighed and looked away.
Judging based on his parents' demeanour, it truly must have been a horrifying sight, Isaac thought. This is worse than anything I've heard before . . . It all sounds so horrible . . .
Isaac gritted his teeth. He could only imagine how difficult it must have been for his parents to calm the crowd and apologise to them for all the sudden turn of events. The kings and queens would have been definitely hard to please. There would be hundreds of complaints filed in soon, no doubt.
But who would have thought such a glorious night would end so disastrous? No one was to blame . . . except for the perpetrators themselves.
Lady Hynas . . . she really poisoned me . . .?
Then it suddenly clicked in his mind.
If this was all true, then was this the reason why he had this memory loss . . .? It was the only explanation, ridiculous as it sounded. He remembered now. It was when his memories were dull that he first met Lady Hynas . . . and that frightening illusion he had . . . was it then that she poisoned him . . .? But why . . .?
"Of course, they got away," King Kyle added, his hand curling into an angry fist. "Their actions alone prove that they are, indeed, guilty of what Lady Lushielle proclaimed. I have already sent soldiers to hunt them down soonest possible, but they seemed to have vanished into thin air . . ." He suddenly banged the table nearby, frustrated.
Prince Isaac glanced at his father with concern. It was rare that his father showed rage openly. His mother was probably concealing anger somewhere inside, too . . . After all, his parents were always protective of him. A total stranger poisoning their only son was probably the last straw they could ever swallow. To even imagine such a situation was outrageous!
Venus, he wished all this was some ghastly nightmare. He was only out of action for some hours, and so many shattering events had happened. It was difficult digesting all the information even.
"Don't we have any information regarding them . . .?" he asked slowly.
His father shook his head. "Apart from them being Proxians, we don't know much about them. I've already sent a message to the Proxian government, requesting their help in clearing up this matter, but I doubt they will help much. These . . . these scoundrels must be caught and punished!"
"We will do all that is necessary to catch them, don't worry," his mother told him reassuringly. Her face was grim. "We won't let them go away with what they've caused us. Let them know we are not people to be trifled with!"
Isaac slowly nodded. His mind was in circles by now. "I still cannot believe Lady Hynas did this . . . she seemed so kind . . ." He sighed. "Do not judge a book by its cover . . . she had her ulterior motives to get close to me. But if it's true she poisoned me, why do I feel all right now . . .?" he wondered aloud.
"The physicians examined you closely. According to them, you are perfectly all right. No venom in your blood, no serious symptoms whatsoever. In view of the fact that we have no idea what type of poison she administered to you, we can't do much aside from checking up on your physical health," his father explained.
Perhaps it is some poison to create memory loss . . . was it in their plans for me to recover from it? Did it involve Lady Lushielle? And how did she know about all this in the first place? Hundreds of questions were swirling in his head, making him feel woozy.
"Isaac, what we don't know is when the culprits administered the poison to you, and how. Can you remember anything? Or did they make you forget about it by giving you drugs as well?" his mother asked anxiously.
He shook his head ruefully. "I don't remember anything like that . . . there were many things I could not remember at that time. I was at the castle grounds when I first met Lady Hynas . . . at that point, my memory was like a blurry image. I even momentarily forgot that it was the night of the ball. Only when she recalled me to all these that I remembered . . . she seemed caring, helpful then . . ." he trailed off uncertainly.
"Venus, we really must get hold of them," his mother exclaimed. His father assented vehemently. "Until then, try to remember what you can, all right Isaac? We will need every pointer as proof. At this instant, we are trying to locate Lady Lushielle as well, but she seems to have vanished as well . . . we will do all we can do unearth this whole matter out, I promise."
Prince Isaac held his mother's hand gently with a tiny smile. "Thank you, Father, Mother. I will try my best. And . . ." he paused hesitantly. "I'm sorry for causing all this trouble . . ."
"It's none of your fault, Son. We're the victims, and they will pay for it," his father told him.
----o----
"General Piers! General Alex!"
The two young men stopped in their tracks and spun around to meet a slightly ruffled Felix.
"Good morning, Sir Felix," bid Alex genially. "I hope you had a good night's sleep?"
The brown-haired man shrugged nonchalantly. "I hardly think anyone would."
There was a pause. "After last night's . . . events, I'm sure," said Piers hesitantly. "It left all of us very . . . disturbed."
Felix briefly nodded. "Speaking of that, there is something I would like to discuss with both of you."
"It's about Mia—I mean, Sarah Lushielle, isn't it?" said Alex slowly.
"Yes," came the immediate reply.
The two brothers exchanged glances for a brief moment. Piers nodded gravely and turned to Felix. "I believe we should discuss this together with His Highness Prince Isaac. There are certain matters which we are unsure of as well. Are you unoccupied right now?"
"Of course."
----o----
Prince Isaac sighed, his finger tracing the outline of the window sill slowly. Even the beautiful day that lay ahead of him could not ease his troubled mind. What could he do now?
His parents had advised him to rest more, ensuring that he regained full strength before concerning himself with current matters. But after moments of tossing and turning around in bed agitatedly, he gave up. Even if he was physically tired, his mind was running like clockwork. How could he rest knowing such turmoil was nesting in his own home?
A soft knock on the door startled him.
"Come in," said he. No more bad news, I hope . . .
Much to his surprise and relief, he saw Garet and Jenna entering in a subdued manner. Upon seeing Isaac up and well, Garet's demeanour changed and he immediately rushed over.
"Isaac! Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.
The prince smiled. "Yes, I'm fine now, thank you." Turning to Jenna, he bowed courteously. "It's a pleasure to meet you again, Jenna," said he with a smile, remembering the little deal they had regarding calling each other's names.
Jenna waved a hand with a small grin. "Bah, there's no need for all the extreme formalities. It's really great to see you recovering, Your—I mean, Isaac."
"It's the least I could do with all the . . . ruckus going on lately," Isaac replied somberly. He sat on his bed with a sigh, and gestured for them to sit beside him. "At least both of you are here. I could almost become crazy being all by myself, worrying over the whole matter but unable to do anything."
"I know what you mean," said Garet understandingly, lightly patting his shoulder. "Did Uncle Kyle and Aunt Dora tell you what happened last night?"
"Yes, but I'd like to hear your story about it too, if you don't mind," Isaac replied with a small smile.
Before Garet could open his mouth to speak, there was another knock on the door. Entering the room were Piers, Alex and Felix.
Looking around, Piers nodded his head in satisfaction. "I think it's about time we pool all the information we have."
All five other heads acquiesced. "That would be an excellent idea," said Isaac. "Then perhaps we can get a clear head regarding this mess. Anyone would like to start first?"
Jenna sighed. "I guess we should start with who M—I mean, Sarah Lushielle, really is. To begin with, that—I mean, Sarah Lushielle—is not her real name. Her real name is . . . Mia Lushiris."
She saw Isaac cock an eyebrow in genuine shock, and before he could say anything, she quickly continued, "I'm her godmother . . . sort of, like how Garet is Your Highness' godfather. Our families were pretty close many years ago until we parted ways. Back then, I was living in Vale, and she in Imil, so we hardly saw each other," said she.
"Hold on a second, you know Mia?" Alex inquired, wide-eyed. "But Piers and I are her cousins, and we don't know who you are, Lady . . ."
Jenna gasped, covering her mouth with a hand. "Both of you are Mia's cousins? Piers and Alex? My goodness, I had no idea her relatives were so close by all this while! I'm Jenna, Felix's sister."
Piers suddenly banged his fist onto his hand. "Oh, so you are Jenna! Mia did mention you a few times before . . . but I didn't know that it was actually Felix's sister she was referring to . . ."
"Wait!" implored Isaac. He turned to Garet with a vexed frown. "Garet, this Lady Lu—I mean, Mia that we're talking about . . . is she not the one we met in Vale earlier? The one that—"
"That we helped to carry her bags to the inn and stuff, yeah, you got it!" said the redhead with a grin. "I can't really blame you for not recognising her; back then, we were all wearing capes, and it was a masked ball that we had after all. I had a big surprise too when I learnt that Jenna knew her."
Prince Isaac groaned. So that was who Lady Lushielle—no, Mia Lushiris was! No wonder her voice, her eyes . . . were so familiar . . . those startling aqua eyes that attracted him twice, in the streets of Vale and in the pavilion of the castle . . . they belonged to the same person!
He fixed his eyes on Garet sternly. "And you knew? And you say that you three—" he gestured to Jenna, Alex and Piers, "are related to her?"
"Sounds like a bit too coincidental to me," said Felix sharply. "How come I don't know her?"
"You never even met her; you probably forgot that I ever mentioned that name to you," reasoned Jenna critically. She continued soberly, "I know this sounds rather fishy, but it turns out to be purely true . . . I never imagined I would ever meet Mia again, especially in such circumstances . . ."
A third knock on the door bowled everyone over. A curious Ivan peeped his head in and widened his eyes at such a large crowd in the Prince's bedroom.
"Er . . . am I interrupting something?"
"Or missing out on something?" quipped Sheba, standing next to Ivan.
"Don't worry, you haven't missed much," Alex answered with a chuckle.
----o----
"So let me make a recap to summarise things up. Mia Lushiris—alias Sarah Lushielle—is General Piers and General Alex's cousin, as well as Jenna's distant relative. One day, she learnt that her stepfamily plans to secure Vale's throne via poisoning His Highness and travelled with them to Vale. With Garet and Jenna's help, she managed to attend the ball last night to warn His Highness of her stepfamily's scheme to poison him, but her stepfamily did eventually succeed. Am I correct thus far?" asked Ivan.
The others nodded. "And because of that, Mia objected to His Highness's decision in choosing her stepsister as the future bride. Then, the stepfamily got scared and ran away. Garet and I chased them, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Mia was supposedly to go to the servants' quarters and change while waiting for me, but currently she has also vanished into thin air altogether," Jenna concluded.
"We can't overlook the possibility that while escaping, the stepfamily ran into Lady Mia and captured her as well," stated Felix grimly.
"The djinn that Jenna and I left at the inn have disappeared too," said Garet. "The Proxians must have discovered and captured them. Damn it!"
Prince Isaac sighed deeply. "I feel that I've been such a manipulated puppet in those Proxians' hands . . . it is almost unbelievable that there are such people plotting such cruel schemes! Everything makes sense now. The unusual meeting with that Lady Hynas, the memory loss I had, even Lady Lu—Mia's persistently objecting to my choice . . ."
"Indeed . . . each of us knew different bits and pieces of the whole story, but now we have pieced everything and all is clear," said Sheba solemnly. "No wonder Lady Hama had grave suspicions of that Lady Hynas . . . and to think that she and her stepfamily are Mars Adepts!"
"Still, knowing that it was very dangerous for Mia, why did you allow her to come to the ball?" Piers inquired, turning to Garet and Jenna. "After getting the whole picture, both of you could have just told His Highness immediately. In fact, the whole matter . . ." he stopped, pursing his lips.
Garet balled his fist and cast his head down. "Yeah, I know . . . it's partly our fault . . . Jenna and I could have prevented all of this from happening . . . but Mia insisted that she come and inform Isaac herself. She felt that it was her responsibility, especially since she was the only one who could recognise her stepfamily, so . . ." he left off hesitantly.
"We can't undo the past, so let's not blame anyone for what has happened," Alex chipped in. "In spite of everything, if Mia didn't come for the ball, Piers and I would still have no idea that she was so near, after so many years of separation . . . right, brother?" He smiled.
Piers acknowledged the words slowly. "I suppose you're right . . . things just had to turn out this way . . ."
"Now that we have the whole picture, we should start planning our next best move," said Prince Isaac determinedly. "If the Proxians are truly Adepts as you speak of, then they are not ordinary criminals to be trifled with easily. We must proceed with extreme caution."
"What would you suggest, Your Highness?" queried Felix.
Isaac rubbed his chin contemplatively. "Well . . . I will discuss all this with my parents presently. Until then, please do not act rashly on your own. Stay alert for any news regarding Lady Mia or her Proxian stepfamily, and report to me instantly if anything should occur."
Everyone nodded.
"Venus, this is becoming a big headache . . ." Isaac muttered, rubbing his forehead tiredly.
----o----
An old, rusty door opened with a loud groan.
"Heh, you're finally back. How did it go?"
"No go," replied a female voice.
"Eh? What went wrong?"
She hissed angrily. "Nothing! It was perfect. We had it all planned up to every detail. Someone messed it up."
Suddenly a smooth male voice laughed. "And guess what? We've brought this culprit back to introduce to you, Agatio."
"Really? Sounds like a silly reason, brother. I thought you'd burn her up or something."
"Not just yet. I thought we'd make good use of that trash first before we dispose of her, wouldn't you agree?"
"You mean . . . for that?"
"Precisely."
----o----
This must be the spot . . . where I was poisoned last night . . . That odd illusion I had must have been a trick done by those Proxians. Ivan was confident that it was a technique only mastered by skilled Adepts . . .
Prince Isaac took a deep breath, leaning on the trunk of a large tree at the castle grounds. This was the breather he needed, he thought. Away from the business and distractions of daily life, back to the essence of nature. He could then clear his muddled mind, start from scratch and think straight. Tranquility did wonders for him.
His azure eyes lingered at the magnificent castle. From where he was, everything looked perfectly normal. It was supposed to be a beautiful day. Who would ever imagine this day to be such a terrible wreck? By right, the whole household should be filled with joy, celebrating his future wedding.
Yet, now . . . it was just anxiety all around, chaos. He felt like laughing right now at the irony of it all.
If only he had not been poisoned . . .
His mind recalled a snippet of the conversation earlier.
"But if Mia insisted on informing His Highness herself, why didn't she do so? She had plenty of chances!" Sheba exclaimed.
Jenna shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure myself . . . but Mia was somehow reluctant to burden Isaac, she didn't want to make him worry . . . that was what she told me during dinner. I think she made the decision to just keep him safely away from her stepfamily then."
"Isaac, did anything happen after Jenna and I left both of you alone?" Garet asked, feeling puzzled.
He pondered for a moment. "Not . . . really . . . no, actually Lady Mia did want to tell me something that troubled her, but by then the dinner gong rang, and I guess I just . . . forgot about it. She didn't say anything either . . ."
She probably wanted to spare him the burden of knowing that his life was on the line . . . but truth be told, he would have wished to know than to be in the dark. Needless to say, if she had knew things would come to this, she would have come clean with what she knew. He was certain of that.
Where is she right now . . . ? Venus, I pray that she is safe . . . goodness knows what her stepfamily will do once they find her!
The golden-haired prince strolled along the path, leading further away from the castle but nearer towards the servants' quarters. It was only mid-morning, yet the sun was already up and shining intensely. Looking up into the sky momentarily, he shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun.
Something sparkling caught his eye.
"What . . ." he muttered aloud. It was from a tree branch close by. Filled with curiosity, he sauntered toward that particular tree and saw a small object entangled on a tree branch, level with his shoulders. He took it down gingerly and peered closely at it.
Suddenly, he gasped as the object struck a familiar chord.
"It's one of Lady Mia's earrings!" he exclaimed.
True enough, it was a long gold clip-on earring, shaped in small twirls and intricate designs. He recognised it; he was confident that it was hers. Jenna could reaffirm that.
But why was it there? Oh yes, he remembered that Jenna had asked Lady Mia to change in the servant quarters. Perhaps the earring had gotten entangled with the tree branch unnoticed as she walked—no, ran—around this corner? Or perhaps, this was where she had a struggle and was captured by her stepfamily . . .?
Mia Lushiris . . . Yes, it was all about her, he thought . . . he chuckled softly. Perhaps Garet was right when he teased him being attracted to her. It was true. He couldn't deny that. She made such a lasting impression when no one else could.
Their first meeting in Vale was purely coincidental. Yet he was already . . . interested in her story, in the least. The most amusing fact of all was that he was unconsciously spending time with that very same person during the ball. The moments they shared together in the pavilion, discussing his problems, and finally him asking her awkwardly to dine together, the relief and elation—yes, that was what he felt—when she agreed.
She was an excellent dancer too, he remembered. Graceful, beautiful, merry; she had the makings of a perfect dancer. Of course, it was not just looks. He sincerely enjoyed their conversations, her company. There was just . . . something going on between them, something he could not comprehend.
He regretted so badly that he eventually did succumb to her stepfamily's control under the poison. All the anxiety that he must caused her, Garet, his parents, everyone . . . Just one person could affect so many others, he thought.
Looking at the earring in his hand, he reflected wistfully. Did she feel anything, anything other than fear for the kingdom of Vale when he announced his decision . . .?
And why did she leave him all of a sudden during the dance? No one could shed any light on that. It was an impulsive, perplexing move on her part.
Isaac closed his hand over the earring, holding it in his grasp tightly. He had many questions to ask her.
Someday, soon enough, he would ask her . . . once he found her.
Author's Note: Chapter 20 marks history as I once again make a comeback into writing! I'm finally done with schooling for this year, so I'm free to write occasionally until the end of the year. I realize that they are still people reading the story or checking for updates now and then, so thank you so much for still remembering this story!
Finally Isaac and co. finally piece everything together, but no one knows where Mia and her stepfamily are yet. There's nothing about Mia in this chapter, but she'll get her share next chapter, don't worry! What is going to happen next? And how will the Cinderella touch come into this story? Stay tuned for the future chapters to come, and thank you for reading!