As soon as I stepped inside my house, a sense of urgency gripped me. I knew that I had to find 'the Drawer' - a secret compartment where my father kept his most prized possessions. I was convinced that whatever was inside would help me get revenge on the Royals who had wronged my father.
With a single-minded determination, I rushed to my father's room. The door creaked open as I barged in, and I immediately started rummaging through every nook and cranny. I pulled open drawers, yanked out shelves, and overturned furniture in my quest to find the hidden compartment.
The room was soon in a state of chaos, with papers strewn all over the floor, desks and tables upturned, and ink stains on the bedsheets. But I didn't care - my only goal was to find 'the Drawer' and uncover its secrets.
"Where is it?!" I screamed through sobs,
"Where's the Ring?!" I cried
The Ring.
The ring has been passed down through my mother's side of the family for generations. Mother promised when I turned eighteen she'd give it to me. Like her mom gave it to her, and her mom gave it to her, and so on. Unfortunately, Mother couldn't keep her promise, for she passed away when I was 15 years old. Three years ago.
Father thought giving me the Ring was a bad idea, (for some inexplicable reason,) so when Mom died, he hid it from me. For years I was convinced he threw it away, or sold it, for he didn't find it to have any other worth. But after today, after he said 'The Ring' and 'The drawer,' I knew he didn't throw it out. Maybe he was planning to, but he never succeeded.
I heard three familiar things consecutive knocks on the front door,
"Kate!" Theo said, "Kate it's Theo, please open the door."
"Leave, Theo! Just leave me alone!" I screamed.
Considering the amount of tears I shed in the last hour, it seemed implausible that my tear ducts could produce any more tears for me to release.
Oh, how wrong I was.
The second I screamed at Theo, I fell to the ground, crying and holding my face, telling myself to suck it up.
I can't, I think, I can't find the Ring.
I felt muscular arms envelop me in a tight and warm embrace, Theo's arms.
I wanted to hug him back, or at least say something but I was too busy crying my eyeballs out.
We sat there on the floor for about an hour or so, soaking in the others' warmth. I occasionally let out a noise somewhere between a choking sound and a sob, trying to hold myself from breaking down again.
There was no need for words to be exchanged. Theo knew everything. My mother died three years ago. My dad died three hours ago. Both so unexpected. Both so unreasonable.
While I knew all of this, I still couldn't stop the feeling of resentment I had toward Theo.
His dad, his own blood, killed my dad. After all my father has done for them. After all, we did for the kingdom.
I hiccuped "Theo, please-"
"I'm not leaving, Kate."
"I want you to leave," I said calmly, though it wasn't true, I still pulled away from Theo, tears still on my cheeks.
"Fine," he answered with a hint of impatience in his voice, "But I'm coming back tomorrow. I don't care what you say."
He then left, not looking back.
My eyes were puffy from crying and I felt as if I was going to pass out from my skull-cracking migraine. So I decided that I would go to sleep, and then start looking for the ring.
I fell asleep on the cold hard floor, but shortly after, was woken up by a petrifying nightmare.
I found myself standing in a vast grass field, which brought back nostalgic memories of my childhood. This was the very field where my mother would take me to play when I was younger. As far as my eyes could see, the lush green grass stretched out endlessly, covering the rolling hills in a soft blanket. I couldn't help but marvel at the grandeur of it all. The tall blades of grass towered above me, reaching up to five feet in height, and swayed gently in the breeze. It was almost like they were dancing to the rhythm of the wind. Despite my best efforts, I struggled to see beyond the dense foliage, which seemed to go on forever.
I heard Mom screech, pleading for mercy,
"Please, don't! Please!" she screamed, "She's just a child. Don't kill her!"
I started running towards the sound of my mother's voice, I almost didn't recognize it after three years.
"I'll do anything, please!" Mom cried, "Kill me just don't touch her!"
"NO!" I screamed, running faster than before. I can't let my mom die.
I heard Mom's voice resonate in my head, "Kate, don't mourn me, just find the ring. She'll explain everything"
"I'm coming, Mom! I won't let you die." I yelled, not prepared to lose her again.
Tears were uncontrollably streaming down my face, now. I was running like my life depended on it. But my life didn't depend on it, my moms' did.
All of a sudden, I fell through a hole in the ground.
"Mom!" I wailed as I went plunging downward, into an endless oblivion.
I shot upwards, opening my eyes from the horrifying nightmare. I was home, lying on the floor. Mom has been dead for years, there's nothing I could do to change that.
I began to sense a magnitude, pulling me into the kitchen. I had no control over my body, but I felt drawn to this force. As if it were calling my name…
Wait, it was calling my name.
"Kate, Kate," it began in a low calming voice,
"Come," it said, and I obediently did.
I followed the voice to a drawer in the kitchen,
"Open the drawer, Kate," it said, "don't hesitate."
I looked down and saw a drawer with a lock on it. Without thinking, I grabbed the metal lock and snapped it into two pieces.
"What the-" I whispered to myself, surprised by my sudden burst of strength. I immediately opened the drawer and saw a small ring with a dark purple oval pendant in the center of it.
"Grab it, Kate. Grab it!" the voice screamed at me. As I reached for the ring, the lights in the room flickered and a sudden feeling of unease washed over me. I couldn't shake the sensation that something ominous was drawing closer, but I was determined to take hold of the ring. When I finally snatched it, a flood of memories flooded my mind all at once. However, what was most unsettling was that these memories weren't my own - they belonged to someone else entirely. The voice's memories seemed to take hold of me, pulling me further and further into a surreal and eerie experience.
As soon as I saw her in the memories, her name came to me instantly, as if it was buried deep in my subconscious, waiting to be unearthed. Petrova Larible, the other kids her age called her. They deemed her a witch, a purveyor of dark magic, and shunned her like an outcast.
In one memory, I witnessed her sitting alone at a table in the school cafeteria wearing the same purple-jeweled ring I was holding right now. A group of kids, who thought they were being clever, approached her and began to hurl their food at her. They laughed and jeered, enjoying the spectacle of their cruel behavior.
The next day, the same group of kids was struck with a strange illness that left them bedridden and feverish. The rumors spread quickly, and many believed that Petrova had something to do with it. While no one could prove her involvement, no one ever dared to mess with her again.
In the memory that followed, the woman appeared to be older, likely in her mid-twenties. The scene was chaotic and unsettling; it was set in my hometown, Arkendale, where pandemonium reigned supreme. People were frantically running around, some were screaming in terror, while others were crying uncontrollably. It was a scene of utter devastation and despair. Amidst this chaos, Petrova Larible, the woman in question, stood there with a smile on her face, seemingly unaffected by the turmoil around her.
There were millions of other memories. Petrova was murdered the same way my father was killed, by a guillotine. After that memory, countless others followed. Hundreds of Larible girls were killed with the same ring in my hands on their middle fingers. One by one I watched them die brutally, the executioner varying each time, from young to old, tall to short, and rude to cruel. The last girl who died seemed oddly familiar, a lot like my mom, really. But it couldn't be her; she died in a carriage accident. Or did she?
"Alexandria Larible," the executioner called out my mother's name, "You have been charged with unspeakable crimes," He started.
"Lies, all lies!" My mother screamed at him, her black-haired head inserted in the guillotine.
"You mustn't speak!" The executioner yelled back.
"I didn't do anything illegal and you all know it," Mom explained angrily, "You just want to destroy the Larible bloodline!"
"Maybe. But you were charged with crimes that I'm illegible to say to the public." the executioner replied.
"Then tell me! Because I don't know why I'm being brutally murdered!"
The crowd gasped. Secrets were being exchanged. Rumors were being spread.
"What if Alexandria didn't do anything?" One person said.
"Yeah, I mean, I remember when I was a lad the Laribles were being killed with no mercy, left and right," another man replied
The whispers transferred to shouts. The mumbles transformed into yells. The whole crowd was suddenly in a riot.
"Settle down, settle down," King Richard ordered over the sickening outcries from the crowd. I looked up and saw it was only him on the Royal bench, not even Queen Lia sat next to him. He gave a small signal to the executioner with his fingers, and the executioner then killed my mom right there. Mercilessly.
I woke up from my trance, keeping in mind all the tragic memories of past Laribles.
"You see, child," Petrova Larible called out to me in her cunning voice, "Larible's have been Arkendale's targets for centuries. They don't care about us. They didn't even tell you the truth about how your mother died."
It was true. My dad and I were told that Mother died in a carriage accident. We weren't told anything else. Not where she died, not when. My father didn't even know the truth.
"Child, put the ring on your finger, just like your mother did and her mother and her mother."
I brought the ring up to my eyes so I could get a better look at the jewel. I've never seen a gem as glorious as this one before. It was completely unique, unlike any gemstone I've ever seen before. I took the ring and put it on my left middle finger. I felt a rush of adrenaline seep through my veins. I heard an ominous cackle in the distance. And then, I blacked out.