by Zara Zenia
We are working hard to find you. Don’t give up hope. I have an advisory team out there looking for you. I promise that we will be together soon.
I looked up at the three fairies and gave them an elated smile. “He’s out there looking for me.”
“Of course he is.” Aine smiled.
“Queen Nora was lying all along,” I said. I knew it had already been an established fact, but it felt good to be able to say it out loud again.
“She is conniving. You can’t trust a single word she says.” Rose’s expression was somber.
“I won’t.” I diligently shook my head.
“If you don’t mind, we would like to go to sleep for a little while now.” Sage’s voice was groggy and each of them had droopy looking eyes. Their wings fluttered but looked a little wilted.
“Yes,” I nodded. “Absolutely. “Get some rest. I don’t mind at all.”
“You can keep the EMR with you,” Aine said. “You know…just in case Jinurak sends you another message.”
“Thank you so much.” I clutched the device to my chest. “I know how risky it was for you to get this in the first place, let alone send him a message for me. I truly do appreciate all the wonderful things you have done for me.” I was comforted by their presence.
“You’re welcome.” They seemed to bask for several moments in the showering of compliments. Then, they floated out of the room promising to catch up with me later.
I still wasn’t tired. I wanted to roam around the castle, even if it was against my better judgement. I was curious. I needed to get a better grip on my surroundings and get my bearings in order.
Once my fairy friends had disappeared, I began to roam down the hallway back in the same direction they had brought me to this room in. I was cautious, lightly padding down the corridor and trying to make as little noise as possible.
A few minutes later, I stumbled into a kitchen area. I found a refrigerator and let out a tiny gasp. I was parched. I couldn’t remember the last time I even ate anything. Hunger pains rumbled in my belly and I clutched my stomach, suddenly longing for anything to eat.
I found some bread in a cupboard after opening up several of them. I twisted the plastic packaging off and groaned with pleasure as I chomped on the delicious loaf. I swallowed it down hard and realized I needed a refreshing liquid to wash it down with.
I plucked open the fridge and a sea of yellow light spilled into the otherwise dim kitchen. I saw a bottle of water sitting on the shelf of the fridge and took it out and twisted off the cap. It only took me about thirty seconds to guzzle down the entire thing. It was cold and crisp and hit the spot.
I let out a soft burp and wiped my mouth, carefully placing the bread back into the cupboard where I had found it. I sealed the fridge shut again and turned around. When I did, I screamed and stumbled backward, clutching my hand to my chest. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. My heart pounded anxiously.
I stared into the steely cool eyes of Queen Nora. She was wearing a pearl colored silky nightgown that flowed elegantly around her and accentuated her perfect curves and slender waist.
“What are you doing here?” she hissed through clenched teeth.
She swiped the light on. I blinked under the harsh light and felt vulnerable and exposed. I protectively wrapped my arms around my body.
I broke out in a nervous sweat and tried to calm my rapid breathing.
“I’m—sorry. I was just—thirsty and hungry…”
“You need to ask next time you go into my kitchen and start helping yourself to my food,” Nora reprimanded with a stern flicker in her eyes.
“Right.” Something told me not to cross her or meet her lecturing gaze, so I stared at the floor and wished that I could melt into a puddle and sink into the floor.
I wanted to disappear. I hoped she wouldn’t punish me by sending her precious dragon after me.
“Anyway,” Nora said and began to sashay closer to me with a devilish grin. “I’m not the enemy. He is.”
“He?” I shook my head, confused.
“Jinurak of course!” Nora’s voice echoed through the quiet house.
I gulped and looked away, afraid of what Nora’s malicious intent might reveal.
“He is the one keeping you locked up on these castle grounds. I’m just the gate keeper. Well, me and my beloved Marigon, that is.” Nora let out a wicked laugh. She looked like a witch as her face became partially hidden in the shadows crawling through the room.
I knew now that Marigon was the dragon, Nora’s pet and my enemy. I didn’t say anything. I kept a face of stone, unrevealing to Nora of any emotions. She didn’t deserve a reaction from me.
I knew that I couldn’t trust Nora. The fairies had told me that she had destructive intentions for me and wanted to disrupt my relationship with Jinurak. I didn’t know Nora, nor did I understand why she had singled me out as a target, but I knew that I needed to play along with her little game for a just a bit more.
I tried to remind myself of the kind words that Jinurak had sent to me over the EMR device. I had made sure to hide it under the mattress before slipping out of the room to go exploring.
I didn’t want to risk Nora ever finding it, but at least I could rest assured that she hadn’t known I had been at that part of the castle anyway. She had only just found me here in the kitchen.
I had to find a way to stay one step ahead of her, even if she was trying to alter the success of my future with Jinurak. I pictured the words on the screen and refused to give up hope. Jinurak had told me to persevere and I knew that he was out there somewhere looking for me.
Even if it was in another dimension, at least I had the consoling support of him and his team as they diligently attempted to bring me to safety.
I needed to figure out a way to respond and give him more clues about my location, but I needed the help of the fairies and they weren’t here right now. I certainly didn’t want to alert Nora of their presence in helping me, so I just continued to take the stings and whips of her words against Jinurak without uttering a single word in response.
I knew that’s what she wanted anyway. I knew that she was merely waiting for me to take her bait, but she would have to wait forever.
I had to resist her harsh words and slaying of his character. It wasn’t true. Nothing she was saying about defaming his personality was going to stick in my mind. I resisted everything she said and convinced myself that he was part of the good side, along with the fairies.
After Nora realized that I was not going to play a part in her cunning little game, she grew increasingly bored and began to back away in the direction of a spiral staircase.
“Watch your back,” she warned. “There are things lurking out there in the shadows just waiting for an opportunity to get at a girl like you…”
She disappeared behind the corner. I shivered with disgust and began to slink back to the room down the corridor where the EMR device was. I hoped that I had another message from Jinurak.
I would have to wait until the fairies returned in order to get their help in getting another message out to him.
Halfway down the hallway, I saw something moving out there in the darkness. I thought it was the fairies because it was little buzzing flickers of light. I opened the window and peered out, then climbed through against my better judgement.
Ignoring Nora’s warning, curiosity got the better of me. I began to follow the lights as if I was suddenly hypnotized by them. I wandered out into the middle of the castle lawns, completely captivated. I had also forgotten all about the dragon. What was coming over me? Something unexplainable was happening.
I heard a grunt behind me. I gasped and spun around on a heel, bracing myself for some sort of impending impact. Why did I have to go and be so foolish as to climb out the window and follow the peculiar light? I had been clearly entranced.
I saw a couple of stout, chubby little troll looking things waddling around. They were grunting and had scowls on their
faces. They had green eyes and an overbite exposing rotting, yellowish teeth.
A stream of thick drool came out of the sides of their lips and they smelled atrocious like wet dogs or stale garbage from a dumpster. I plugged my nose and retched. Yuck! These things were sure foul smelling.
There was already a green fire breathing dragon and three firefly fairies in this weird world, why should I be any bit shocked to encounter two brutish looking trolls?
I didn’t know where they had come from or why they were here, but they had lured me outside with the lights from their lanterns.
“Who are you?” I managed to squeak as I blinked and stared at them as if they were characters in a cartoon. They certainly had the wide protruding eyes and the snarly mouths of a cartoon character.
They clapped their hands. They were short and squat, a little on the burly side with thick necks and chubby bellies. Their fingers were swollen and resembled meaty sausages. They continued to glare at me and make grunting noises but refused to talk to me directly.
I grew increasingly frustrated with them after several minutes of them circling around me like a pair of hungry vultures. If they weren’t going to get out of my way, I would just have to charge through them.
They were short and stumpy. There was no feasible way they would be able to outrun me in a contest which gave me a little boost of self-assurance.
“I’m just…going back to the castle now.” I gestured with my thumb pointed over my shoulder in the direction of the stone mansion behind me.
Much to my surprise, the little troll looking men with the warts on their chins appeared to nod in approval and nudged their chins toward the castle. They made a movement toward the castle. In turn, I instinctively took a few steps back to widen the gap between us and hoped that their intensely sour smell would float down wind of where I was standing.
When I got back to the open window where I had climbed out of a few minutes ago, the trolls tried to reach for me and push me through the opening, but I shrieked, and they jumped backward.
I maneuvered through the window and slammed it shut, panting hard as I watched the pair of trolls scurried away back into the cloak of night like waddling dwarfs. I leaned up against the wall, propping my back there for several seconds while I caught my breath and stopped reeling from that ominous exchange.
“Well that was odd…”
I turned around and clamped my hand over my mouth, startled to see my three fairy communicators hovering over me.
“You can’t go out there at night,” Sage said with a reprimanding frown of her eyebrows.
“Not by yourself at least,” Rose offered.
“I’m sorry I just saw some lights—”
“Well at least you are back in the castle now,” Aine said with a deep sigh of relief.
“Are you finished resting?” I asked, thinking of how it didn’t seem like much time had passed since they had initially left me.
“We just wanted to check on you and make sure you were…staying out of trouble,” Sage said and bounced up and down as she floated through the air.
“I’m really okay.” I hid my shaking hands behind my back. “But thanks. I appreciate the effort. You all have been so cooperative regarding my situation.”
They seemed to visibly relax after that.
I walked them down the hallway toward my bedroom. When I made sure that no one was listening, I gestured for them to follow me inside.
“I need to get another message to Jinurak,” I said and plucked the EMR device from underneath the mattress.
My heart sank when I noticed that he hadn’t reached out to me any more times other than the first one. But his silence only helped motivate me to press on. I gave the three fluttering fairies an encouraging smile.
“So, will you help me again? I know it’s dangerous, but he is my only means of communication to the outside world. I can’t severe this connection. I have to keep it alive before it fizzles and fades like a sunset.”
I must have sounded helpless enough to aid because they each gave me a pitiful glance.
“Sure.” Rose was the first to cave and gave me a genuine smile. “Of course, we would be happy to oblige.”
“We have to be very sneaky about it,” Aine said. “We can’t slip up and make any mistakes.”
Sage clicked her tongue. “If we do, we will have to answer to Queen Nora for our crimes.”
I shuddered. An unannounced encounter with Queen Nora was the last thing any of us wanted. But at the same time, against the odds I had to stay positive and keep the faith alive that Jinurak was not going to call in the troops. Not until we were safely wrapped in each other’s arms.
Chapter 11
Jinurak
I was in my brother Lortnam’s office quarters when my cell phone communication device began to blink and buzz, alerting me of a new message receipt.
Lortnam and I exchanged a guarded glance with one another, and my heart pounded. A tingly sensation rippled up and down my spine. I was quickly having to learn how to expect the unexpected.
“Do you think that’s her again?” he asked, referring to Ariana.
“I hope so,” I said and switched on the screen, barely able to draw in a breath from the anxious suspense swirling through my brain.
I immediately stood up like a rocket booster. “It’s from Ariana. The message is from Ariana.”
I was practically jumping up and down with excitement. Every time I received a message from her, it gave me the hope that she was still out there somewhere, clinging to the hope that I would soon find her. As long as I was still obtaining her clues, I knew she was still alive and unharmed.
Lortnam leaned in closer, his face etched in curiosity. He raised his eyebrows. “What does it say?”
I narrowed my eyes in concentration as I peered down at the screen, burying my nose in the encrypted whimsical fairy type of script. The font was difficult to read, but I managed. I would need to decode this message too.
“It’s written in that same poetic style as before,” I said and glanced at Lortnam who looked intrigued.
His eyebrow furrowed and he had a hungry expression on his face as if he couldn’t wait to hear what Ariana had to say this time. I had been updating him as I found things out about the case and now, we were having an in-person meeting to discuss and brainstorm tactics.
The witch is conniving.
I’m not thriving.
I’m trapped in a vivid painting,
Just trying my best to keep waiting.
The wicked tell me not to trust you.
If I want release I must strike out at you.
Please tell me there is another way.
Until then I will keep my trust in the witch at bay.
I read the poem out loud once, then twice, then a third time at the request of Lortnam as we both attempted to dissect the message.
“The witch?” Lortnam frowned. “Am I to assume that the witch she speaks of is Nora Morse?”
“I think that would be an accurate assumption,” I said.
Lortnam rubbed his temples and sighed, wandering over to the floor to ceiling windows in his office that offered panoramic views of the city. Unlike me who prefers peace, quiet and privacy in my office lair, Lortnam wanted to be able to see the world going on around him and be immersed in the thick of the action.
I was livid with Nora’s ploy. I cracked my knuckles and balled my fists. My temper was flaring but I had no reasonable outlet for which to vent my frustrations. I wanted to pound my fist through the wall, but this palace didn’t belong to me.
I began to pace around the room hastily, huffing as I made bountiful strides, yet going nowhere.
“Just try to calm down,” Lortnam said.
I spun on a heel and glared at him. “Calm down? You really want me to calm down?” I couldn’t rationalize his comment.
“Take it easy.” He chuckled nervously and raised his hands by his sides as if to imply that he didn’t want to cause me a
ny trouble or send me off on a tangent.
Unfortunately for him, I was already halfway there.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “But I can’t calm down. Nora Morse is a dangerous sociopath who has stolen Ariana away from me, whisked her away from right under my nose. And now she’s trying to turn Ariana against me and attempting to use her brainwashing programs to sink her claws into Ariana’s brain and dig roots there.”
“It sounds to me like Ariana isn’t taking the bait,” Lortnam attempted to rationalize.
“Yeah but how long will Ariana be able to resist her?” I asked in a panicked voice. “When will she reach the limit before the brainwashing power overcomes her?”
Lortnam exhaled slowly and had a pondering expression on his face. “Let us hope that we find her before it gets carried that far.”
I didn’t want to admit to my twin brother that I was feeling humiliated too. How could I let this happen? I failed Ariana. I severely let her down. I should have had my security team on the plane with her, watching her and making sure that there was no interception. But how could I have known?
I had no way of predicting the future, much to my chagrin. I hated the fact that I was helpless to come to her quick rescue when in hindsight, I probably should have been more vigilant in ensuring Ariana’s safety.
After everything that had happened, Nora Morse had managed to slip under all of our radars a second time. We had no one to blame but ourselves for the problematic situation we were facing.
The only innocent party here was Ariana and she was trapped in a virtual world where nothing made sense and she was probably confused and frightened. She had everything to lose, but yet at the same time, everything to gain.
Every time I pictured her in that chilling world where danger lurked around every corner, I winced internally. I would have to pamper her for the rest of her life just to make up for her current pain and suffering.
That was the thing about Ariana though. She didn’t need to be pampered. She didn’t want to be spoiled. She didn’t even know I was a prince. Not until Nora undoubtedly told her. There wasn’t a superficial bone in Ariana’s body. She was so pure and genuine and didn’t deserve to be treated like a prisoner, held captive in a pretend cage.
