Hello! You get a long chapter today. Enjoy!

ANIK

It seemed Emma and Edison had some sort of fight, because they refused to glance at each other, let alone talk to each other. The walk back to civilisation was silent and the air was filled with unspoken words. Edison walked stubbornly a few metres in front of us, as Emma and I followed his white figure in the darkness. I had no idea what they had quarrelled about, but there was no complaints coming from me. I would say that I was quite thrilled with the situation, however Emma was visibly upset about it. She tilted her chin obstinately and defiantly upwards, but I could evidently see her chewing furiously on her bottom lip. A sign I knew from many years of friendship meant she was distressed - distressed and hurt. I hated to see her like this.

Mom and dad met us as we finally reached the border of the tree line. Edison immediately leapt into the back seat of the Jeep, and Emma frowned after him.

'Hi Ren, Kelsey,' she said in a dejected tone, but was clearly trying to keep it light. 'It's so good to see you.'

'You too, honey,' Mom replied, hugging Emma and taking her backpack from her. 'We will ask questions later. I'm sure your very tired.' Emma gave her a grateful smile and clambered into the back seat with Edison, but kept as far away from him as possible before closing her eyes with exhaustion.

I wandered over to dad, who was folding up the tent and placing it in the boot of the Jeep. He smiled at me and rubbed my ears, looking deep in thought. I waited for him to say something serious, but all he said was, 'All good?' I nodded and leapt into the open boot area, placing my head on Emma's lap and quickly falling asleep.

EMMA

I jolted awake as the Jeep hit a pothole and my head cracked against the window I was leaning on. I sat up and groggily rubbed my eyes. Edison and Anik were both asleep on the floor of the large vehicle that drove along the barely visible road through the never-ending darkness. Kelsey was sleeping in the front seat; a pillow nestled into the crook of her headrest and the car window. Ren was driving, and he stared at the road, his jaw gritted and his hands clenched around the steering wheel.

'Ren?' I whispered.

'Mmm?'

'We saw Phet.'

'Good.'

I frowned.

'So… he said we had to go to the Kanheri cave.'

Silence.

'…And to use the Mujulaain empire seal as a key. Do you know what that means?' To my frustration, Ren didn't answer. Instead he just gritted his teeth and gripped the steering wheel tighter. I sat back against my seat with irritation. Fine, don't answer me. After a while he finally answered

'It seems,' Ren replied slowly. 'That the curse is replaying the exact same course as it did with me. Just with you three.'

'Well, that's a good thing, right?' I asked, confused and his evident anxiety. 'We will know what to predict. We can prepare.' Ren just shook his head.

'No, that's not what I meant. You will go to the Kanheri cave just like Kelsey and I did, but you will have to complete different tasks. We won't be able to prepare you for anything. But that's not what I'm worried about,' he tacked on as an afterthought, as if I wasn't scared enough. 'If the curse has passed on to my son, what's to say it won't continue to survive through the whole Rajaram lineage? What will happen to Anik's kids? It's not fair, that everyone in my family is cursed to live with this ordeal.' Ren was obviously getting really upset now. 'There… there must be a way to stop it once and for all. I thought the curse was gone. The beast was mortal, blah blah. Now… now I have cursed not only my own son, but future innocent children.'

I was silent, deliberating the confronting suggestion I had never considered, never dared to think. All I had bothered to think about was Anik - Anik and Edison. Their lives, their futures. I hadn't even thought about what might happen to their children, if the curse had been passed down to them. And then I thought about how Ren must feel. He must feel responsible, I realised. He must think that he has cursed the innocent lives of his descendants.

'It's not your fault,' I whispered to him.

'Then whose is it?' He replied sadly.

After a couple hours Ren and Kelsey swapped positions so Ren could sleep, though I doubt he actually did. The sun leaked over the horizon and golden light filtered through the trees, fighting the darkness of the forest. Anik and Edison continued to sleep in their tiger form, oblivious to the tension Ren continued to radiate throughout the car.

It wasn't until late morning we arrived at our destination. After hours of restless sleep I felt jittery and needed to stretch my legs. I quickly leapt out of the car and walked up the gravelly driveway, halting only when I saw the house.

'Oh my god,' I murmured and my jaw dropped with incredulousness.

There was a fountain that stood in the middle of the driveway that stood sparkling with water and crystals. A magnificent stone mermaid was in its centre, holding a lotus flower to her nose. But beyond the fountain was what astounded me.

The house wasn't a house – it was a multimillion-dollar mansion. The three-story estate was painted white and cream. The second floor had a covered, wraparound veranda with wrought iron balustrades, supported by cream-colored pillars. The upper floor featured tall, arched balconies while sparkling panoramic windows were the feature of the main floor. A curved pool and hot tub was visible around the side of the mansion with glowing lights and a miniature waterfall.

Anik and Edison approached me from behind, and they both seemed just as shocked as I did. The former stared with disbelief at the estate his parents owned, but had never shared or talked about.

'You did not tell me you were this rich,' I muttered, scratching Anik's ear as I started to approach the house.

I hesitantly twisted the doorknob, glancing awkwardly back at Kelsey and Ren who were unpacking the car. Anik nudged me forward, so I opened the unlocked door and stepped inside. The inside of the manor was opulent and lovely, decorated in pastel shades of blue. Open-mouthed, I walked into the wide, dramatic foyer. The entryway had vaulted ceilings, exquisite marble flooring, and a curved sweeping staircase with ornate ironwork balustrades. A dazzling crystal chandelier lighted the room. Huge windows showcased the panoramic view of the surrounding jungle.

'Alright, so Emma, you will take one of the guest rooms,' panted Kelsey as she let the heavy bags fall to her feet on the marble floors. Dust billowed out from under it, and she coughed, waving her hand in front of her face. 'Yes, this house has been abandoned for eighteen years, so there will be lots of… dust. Anik, can you help your father with the rest of the bags?' I felt guilty about leaving the unpacking to everyone else, but I was desperate to explore.

The first room I came across was the living room. Tapestries and old, dusty furniture equipped the room. It was quite bare, except for the black, leather couch, table and unused fireplace. The next room was a music room, and I observed the incredible display of guitars, a grand piano and intricate sound system, along with massive cabinets full of old Indian CD's.

The next room was the kitchen, and it was completely bare for there was absolutely no food anywhere. That might be a problem, I thought. We are so far from civilisation it might take a while to order pizza.

The next room was the library, and at once I felt at home. Hundreds of books filed along the shelves of the massive wooden cabinets. I wandered through the aisles, running my fingertips over the spines of what seemed to be very old, first editions of priceless books. I found authors such as the Bronte sisters, Jules Verne, Dickens and Mark Twain. I found myself at the 'A' section and found Jane Austen. I gently tugged at a copy of Pride and Prejudice, marvelling at the old, leathery cover. Promising to come and read it later, I left the library and found myself in a guest room I assumed would be mine.

The walls were a peachy colour and a dresser was the only furniture apart from the double bed. The linen was white, and I immediately noticed there was a plush, white tiger lying on it, its glassy blue eyes remarkably like Ren's.

This must have been Kelsey's room, I realised.

I opened the closet that was located in the walk-in-wardrobe. It was completely empty except for a beautiful, blue dress. It sparkled and was long, the material seeming to shimmer in the light. A noise startled me and I jumped, seeing Kelsey standing in the doorway.

'Oh, I'm sorry,' I stammered. 'I was just exploring, and I thought-'

'That's okay,' Kelsey interrupted, coming over to me. She gazed at the blue dress and smiled wistfully, running her hands over the lovely fabric. 'This used to be my room, and I just came to see what it looked like. Lot's of memories were made in this house. No one has lived in it for years. It had always felt awful leaving it like this, but I preferred to live in Oregon, not India. We always told ourselves we would visit, but it was just too difficult with Anik. Mr Kadam and Nilima used managed the estate, but with him gone, I regretfully didn't bother about it's upkeep.'

'Who are Mr Kadam and Nilima?' I asked. Kelsey smiled sadly.

'Mr Kadam was our friend, father, confidante, leader… everything, really. And Anik's namesake. Nilima… well, you will meet her very soon.'

I thought I would bring Nilima and Sunil into the story. They were important in the Tigers Curse series and I thought it would be good to have her back!

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- Thoughts of a fangirl