Freddie's POV
"Freddie!" there was a knock on the castle door. "Freddie, open up!"
It was early in the morning, since I only managed to sleep for a few hours, I was very tired as I struggled to climb down the stairs of the castle to reach the front door. There stood Melanie, being held up by the royal guards.
"Freddie," she called for help. "Ugh... Let me go!" she yelled at the guards.
"It's okay," I signalled to the guards. "She's a friend."
As soon as the guards released her from their grasp, Melanie ran towards me as if something bad happened.
"Freddie!" she yelled, even though we were only just one metre away from each other. "Sam's in danger, you've got to help her!"
"What happened?" I was puzzled and worried.
"Freddie," she was panting from running all the way here and fighting with the guards. "Sam... Pete... kidnapped..."
I got the shock of my life as my jaw dropped and my face looked entirely pale. "What?"
"You've got to go save her!" she exclaimed. "She's in the hideout. You have to hurry!"
Without a second thought, I ran towards the place where I dreaded most, leaving Melanie behind me, struggling to keep up. The thought of what might happen to Sam frightened me so much that I ran faster than the speed of light. As soon as I reached the dreaded hideout, I remembered that I had horses and carriages. Why didn't I ask the royal guards to accompany me or bring me here? Ugh, I must be such a doof.
No matter. I have to go save Sam, before it's too late. If Pete finds out about our secret, there will be a never ending list of what he can do to everyone.
"Sam?" I called out into the hideout. "Are you in here?"
I heard a mumbling which sounded pretty much like an apology and the next thing I knew, I was back on the chair where I sat during the abduction.
"Oh, come on!" I lamented. "This is getting old!"
The couple standing in front of me came closer to the light to show their faces. "No need," I commented. "I already know who you guys are. You don't think I would lose my memory that easy, did you?"
Pete, who stood out into the lighted foreground, came closer to me and whispered in my ear, "I know what's happening. I know all about the book..."
I froze at the mention of the book. How did he know about it? Oh yeah, I gave the book to Sam for safe-keeping. She must have given it to Pete after we broke up.
"It doesn't matter," I put up a strong front. "You wouldn't get away with it anyway. You don't even know how to activate it."
"Oh really?" he proved me wrong. The book, held by Melanie, was placed in his hands as he flipped its pages to page number 239. "Oopsie! What does this say? Oh! It's the activation code! And what's this? The 'secret recipe' for my concoction?" he mocked.
"What do you want?" I asked him. "Surely you would have wanted something from me. Isn't that why you brought me here?"
He snapped his fingers. "Oh yes, I almost forgot. I want you to suffer..." he hissed. "Just like I did when your father killed my parents!"
I raised an eyebrow. When has my father killed anyone? He was too kind and magnamious to do such a thing. Sensing my confusion, Pete decided to explain.
"When I was still three years old, my parents were killed by your dear father, the king," he started. "They were humiliated in front of the entire kingdom and none of our relatives wanted anything to do with us anymore. I was left an orphan! Kept in an orphanage where I was fed only once a day! When I was suffering the pain of losing my family and my friends, your royal family was having a great time! I swore that the moment I got out of the sickening orphanage, I would have my revenge!"
"You're the child of Lord Kade and Lady Eula?" I asked, recalling the case of the stolen artifacts. Pete laughed, so I took it as a 'yes'. "But they were executed only because they stole the ancient artifacts of the kingdom!"
"And the book of 'Prehistoric Prophecies'," he corrected me as he grinned proudly at what his parents had done. "But what they did cannot be compared to what your father did to them!"
"Pete, you don't understand. My father merely..." I was interrupted.
"I understand alot!"
Noticing Pete's anger, Melanie decided to ask him to continue with his explanation of how he arrived to who he is right now. "Why not we talk about you, Pete? How did you escape from the orphanage?"
"I barely did it," he continued. "I was kicked out for misconduct. I had to survive on my own. I barely had enough food for one day! Then, I met you..."
"The time when you saved me, it was a set up?" I didn't mean it to be a question. It was more of an exclamation. "You did it so you could get into the castle and have your revenge, didn't you?"
"I did save you," he replied. "I didn't know you were the prince at that time! It was until I was brought into the castle that I learnt everything. It was until then... that I... I planned for my revenge... I wanted your family to suffer the same fate as I did. But my main target was you."
"Why me?" I asked. "Why did you want to harm me?"
He snickered. "Because... Because I wanted you to be the one who understood what it felt like to lose everything you ever had! Aiming 'attacks' at your father is less painful than aiming attacks at you. If you realized, no father in this world would want his own child to suffer... he would rather it be himself..."
I laughed. "You're just a pathetic boy who would get upset and depressed by such little things in your life! I'm sure your parents wanted you to live independently, not taking every chance you can to have your revenge! You don't even have a life right now, it's all circling the thought of revenge!"
"Me?" he questioned. "The almighty Pete is pathetic? Ha! I laugh at your ignorance! I shall show you how powerful I am!"
He motioned to Melanie, who scurried over to his side immediately at his signals, "Melanie, I want you to get your sister here. She shall witness her little ex-boyfriend's suffering!"
No. I can't let her see me suffering. She would do anything he wants her to do. But wait, maybe she wouldn't considering the fact that I rudely dumped her for her sister...
But what happens next, only time will tell...