Forgotten Royalty (Escaping The Throne)

by Tiffany Wood

  Forgotten Royalty

  Escaping the Throne Book 1

  By Tiffany Wood

  Copyright Ó 2012 Tiffany Wood

  All rights reserved.

  This novel and its content are copyrighted under the Copyright, Designs, and Patent act of 1988. All rights are reserved by the owner and creator of the work. Any unauthorized copying, broadcasting, manipulation, distribution, or selling of this work constitutes as an infringement of copyright that is punishable by law.

  Punishments for copyright infringement include but are not limited to:

  1. A fine of $150,000 can be imposed for each work infringement.

  2. Infringer pays for all attorney and court fees.

  3. The court can issue an injunction to stop the infringing act.

  4. Inpoundment of illegal works.

  5. And finally, the infringer can go to jail.

  Coming soon:

  Mixed Blood: Escaping the Throne Book 2

  I’ve worked long and hard to complete this story. Although I’ve felt like I couldn’t make it, there’s always been those few people who stood by me. I want to thank the following people for encouraging me to continue with my work:

  To John, my loving husband, thank you for believing that I can succeed no matter what.

  Ruth Motter, my mother who always told me that I can do anything I put my mind to. Although the work that I’ve wrote isn’t really her style, she is still really impressed and she can’t put it down.

  To my sister Jaime, you are my inspiration in many instances. You always know what to say to cheer me up.

  Special thanks to all of my friends who have been there for me through my writing process. I couldn’t have done any of this without them. And I’d also like to dedicate this book to all of my fans on Wattpad.com who truly read my work and encouraged me. You know who you are.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter One

  “Mom? Dad? This isn’t funny!” I shout into the darkness. They were just here.

  The sun’s rays are creeping over the hillside, sneaking in through the window like fingers. The living room isbare. I can smell the morning dew in the air as the fog lifts. There is another smell that I can’t quite describe. It’s making me hungry.

  “Mom! Dad!” I shout through the haze. “Where are you?”

  I run through the small house searching every nook and cranny. The floors are bare and covered with dust. There’s no furniture to be found. I burst out the front door and the light engulfs me. And then…

  “Sara.” I hear whispered from somewhere. “Sara. Sara did you hear me? You’re gonna be late.”

  When I open my eyes, I realize it was all a dream. The worst dream yet. I dreamt that my parents had left on a business trip and there was a horrible accident. They came to me in my dream but they weren’t themselves. They weren’t quite there. They were talking to me about something that seemed important, but I can’t seem to remember what it was. Then suddenly…they were gone.

  These dreams have been haunting me for weeks, never the same. There is always some unique difference that I know I didn’t see before. It’s like I’m reliving the dream over and over, but when I wake up, it’s gone.

  What’s worse is that it actually happened. Ten years ago today, my parents had left on that very same business trip. There was nothing anyone could do.

  Today is my birthday. I just want to go back to sleep. It’s the only place I can still see them. My Aunt Lynn, mom’s sister, took me in after the accident. She put the pictures of my parents in a safe deposit box at the bank after the funeral. She said that I would cope better without them right now. I was only seven when it happened but it seems like yesterday.

  We had a wake at the house after the funeral. I hid in my closet and talked to Mom and Dad while Aunt Lynn told everyone that I would be okay I just needed time to adjust. When I was still talking to Mom and Dad three years later, Aunt Lynn said it was time for me to accept that they were gone. I haven’t talked to them since.

  The only thing I have left of them is the gift Dad left sitting on the mantle before they went on their business trip. He told me that I could have it as soon as they got home that Saturday morning but they never came home. Aunt Lynn had me open it two weeks after the funeral thinking it would help get me out of my obsession of talking to them. It just encouraged it more.

  In the small box was a necklace just like Dad’s ring. It was made of Lapis Lazuli with the family crest engraved in the stone. The crest was then filled with silver. I wouldn’t let her take that. She only tried once.

  “Sara, get up!” Aunt Lynn yells. “You can’t be late for school again or they’re going to suspend you.” I have been late to school a lot this year. “And you need to eat breakfast.”

  I manage to groan, “Yes Aunt Lynn, I’m getting dressed now.” Aunt Lynn became my guardian when my parents died and I admit I haven’t made it easy for her. “I’ll eat something on the way.” I hoped that would make her happy.

  “When I said something, I was referring to something nutritious, not a cappuccino and a donut. You need to start eating better and start getting up earlier.”

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, “Don’t worry Aunt Lynn I’ll grab a granola bar on my way out the door.”

  Aunt Lynn is a nutrition freak. She thinks that we should eat tofu and other healthy foods instead of junk food. I throw on a jacket before running down the hall to hide my outfit. I grab two granola bars and wave them in the air as I head for the door.

  “WHOA!!! Hold it young lady. You are not wearing that to school. You need to march to your room and change right…” SLAM! Out the door I fly. “Get back here Sara,” she screams!

  “I don’t have time; I’m going to be late if I don’t get out of here now. Love you.” I shout behind me, running out of the apartment building.

  Another week of grounding when I get home I’m sure. If Aunt Lynn had her way, I would be grounded the rest of my life.

  As I exit the building, I see my usual cab waiting for me. “Morning Thai!”

  I take a cab to school every day so that Aunt Lynn can go to work. Thai is usually the driver that picks me up. We’re on a first name basis since we see each other almost every day.

  “Morning Sara! Don’t you look lively today?” Thai teases as I buckle in. The Drama Club is having a meeting in the auditorium today during lunch and I always dress the part. We are working on the fall play. If I am lucky, I’ll get the starring role. “So is today the day that you audition for the big part” he asks?

  “Yeah, wish me luck! I don’t know if I will be good enough though” I reply.

  “Now don’t you dwell on that Hun, I’ve seen you act and I know that you could do this with both eyes closed; You’ve practiced that script……….” I space out as Thai continues. He tends to ramble on when he starts singing my praises. He’s like the big brother I never had.

  As much as I know he’s just trying to help me feel better, I just can’t seem to focus on that today. All I can think about is that dream I keep having. Why can’t I remember what Mom and Dad are saying? What were they trying to tell me?


  As I’m thinking on this matter I notice a dark SUV behind us. They seem to have been there for a while. “Thai is that SUV back there following us,” I ask?

  “I’m sure it’s just another parent taking their child to school, or maybe a substitute teacher who’s running late.”

  He’s probably right; my imagination tends to get the better of me when I am concentrating too hard. Five more minutes and I’ll be in homeroom and I can finish my homework that I skipped last night.

  “Hey, watch it pal, “I fly forward as Thai shouts. Right at the turn to go to the school, that SUV zipped out around us and not only almost made us wreck, but also the people coming the other way. “You okay Sara?”

  ”Yeah. Don’t worry about it Thai, I’ll just get out and walk from here. I don’t want to get detention for being late again” I sigh.

  “Alright Hun, I’ll be back to get you after school, break a leg.” He shouts out the passenger window as I jog across the school yard.

  *****

  The first few hours of the day seemed like they were going to last forever. We had a pop quiz in Geometry class third period. I’m in study hall now. Fortunately, the teacher for this class is really cool and lets us converse quietly, although I only have a few friends in here.

  “Sara, move over here. We need to practice for the auditions.” My friend Lyla Derer whispers. She thinks she’s being sneaky, but I know she just wants to talk about boys. Neither of us have a boyfriend but we pass the time away by talking about it. I don’t want to talk boys though.

  “You’re not even in the drama club.” I whisper back.

  Anita Goldrick is over there too. She has a boyfriend and loves to humiliate us by asking us who we’re interested in and then spreading rumors about it all over the school. Ever since she started hanging out with us, we have to keep from talking about boys so that she doesn’t spread it around. Here comes Shaun Rusnack,the president of the Drama Club. That means the lunch bell is about to ring.

  “Hey Sara, are you coming to the auditions?” Shaun asks.

  “Yeah, just let me grab my lunch.”

  “Okay.” He gives me an award winning smile.

  I rush through the lunch line so that I’m not late. The school food isn’t the best, but I rushed out the door so fast, I forgot to make a sandwich. Shaun is waiting for me at the end of the line.

  “Come on, let’s go.”

  Shaun and Lyla have been my friends since kindergarten. She’s really not into the drama scene though, so she hangs out with Anita at lunch.

  Chapter Two

  As we enter the auditorium I notice someone sitting in the shadows. I wonder who that is. Shaun doesn’t pay attention to the audience much so he wouldn’t have noticed. We sit down beside our friends Todd Dargatz and Torrie Saladin.

  “Hey Torrie, did you notice that guy sitting…,” I look around as I am asking her about him, but he is nowhere to be found.

  “Sitting where Sara?”

  Where did he go? Was I just imagining him? “The new guy, he was sitting outside the school this morning?” I quickly cover my bases. I could have sworn he was there.

  “There’s a new guy?!? What’s he look like? Is he HOT? Tell me all about him,” Torrie loves to gossip about the hot guys in school almost as much as Lyla.

  “I don’t know. I just caught a glance of him outside; I think he’s a student. I didn’t get to meet him because I was running late to homeroom. I can’t get another detention!” That was all true, I had seen some new guy outside this morning, I didn’t meet him, and he was young enough to be a student.

  What I wasn’t telling her was that I heard someone talking about him in homeroom and that his name is Paul. “He was really tall with messy brown hair and soft eyes that could melt you in an instant.” Okay, I may have been exaggerating a little since I only glanced at him, but I did hear other girls talking about how gorgeous he was, I can’t be that far off.

  “You didn’t see him?”

  I didn’t really care if I had seen him this morning; I was still focusing on that guy I thought I saw in the shadows.

  “If I can have everyone’s attention, I will be posting the audition results during lunch tomorrow. We’ll start today’s auditions where we left off Friday. Sara, you’re up. Have you decided on the scene you would like to show?”

  Mr. Hitero has always let us view the scripts a couple months in advance.

  “I’d like to practice scene 8 where the crow swoops down and Steve jumps in the way to save her. Shaun said he would act out Steve’s part for me.” Shaun and I are always partners for auditions.

  “That’s fine Sara; go ahead when you’re ready.”

  As we walk onstage, I get this feeling like we’re being watched. I look over the auditorium and check the shadows again, but there is no one there. It must just be because I am so excited.

  “Steve, I just want to be alone. I have to process all of this. Why didn’t you just tell me?” I’m sitting on a wooden swing acting as if I have been crying.

  “Isabella, please! I didn’t think you’d understand. I tried so many times to tell you.”

  Shaun takes my hands and I pull them away as I get up and start to run away from him.

  “Izzy, come back, please! Let me explain.”

  Shaun starts after me. I hear the pounding of his feet as he crosses the stage when all of a sudden I hear something else from above. It almost sounds like a real bird’s wings.

  “Sara, watch out…”

  Shaun tackles me like a quarterback but the crow grabs some of my hair.

  “Alright, who let the real bird in the building? You know it’s not allowed.”Mr. Hitero yells as he heads to get the janitor.

  The crow swoops down again, but this time it just lands in front of me staring at me with its deep black eyes. I could see a universe buried in those eyes.

  “Get out of here!” Shaun yells as he swings something at it. It’s gone before his swing can connect. “Are you okay Sara?”

  Am I okay? I didn’t even notice but I am still lying on the ground where Shaun tackled me. I must have been there for a few minutes because everyone was trying to help me up.

  ”I’m fine; I just wanted to make sure it was gone before I got up. It took a nice chunk of my hair.” I try to act like it’s no big deal but why did that crow attack me?

  “I want to know who let that crow in the building!” Mr. Hitero was back with the janitor in tow.

  “It flew out toward the bathrooms I think.” Shaun began to tell the janitor.

  No one seemed to know who let it in. We all just stared at each other for the next few minutes.

  “Sara, if I didn’t know that you were a good actress and that Shaun wouldn’t put you in danger, I would say that you had planned it for your part.” Did Mr. Hitero think it was us?

  “No, Mr. Hitero. I would never do anything….”

  “I know that Sara, I said if I didn’t know better. Why would anyone let a live bird like that in the building? I’m going to have to do the rest of the auditions tomorrow. Sara, you can have another go if you’d like, but I think I saw enough before the crow.” Mr. Hitero seemed to be hinting he had already chosen me for the part.

  “That’s alright; I think I did my best there. Thank you for the offer though.” I don’t think I could get on that stage again for another practice run. If someone really did let that crow in, I wasn’t going to give them the satisfactions of seeing me squirm, waiting for it to come at me again tomorrow.

  “Why don’t you kids study for the rest of the period while I help Mr. Smith find and catch that bird?”

  That wasn’t a question. He was relying on us to actually not draw to much attention to ourselves the rest of the period and to act like we were studying. He knew we wouldn’t.

  “Wow, Sara. Are you sure you’re alright? I would be jumping out of my skin for a shower right now if that bird had touched me.”Torrie always knew just how to make me feel better, not.

  �
��Yea, I’ll be alright. I wonder why it only came after me though.”

  “I think Shaun scared it off before it could go after anyone else. I’m sure it wasn’t even trying to attack you. It was probably just trying to find a way out and accidently flew into you as you were running across the stage.” That sounded logical. Torrie is right; I’m probably just over thinking things.

  “You’re right; I think I was just so in to the scene that it seemed like it must have been meant to happen. I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night.” Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.

  “You’re still having those dreams aren’t you?” Shaun shoots me a worried look. Yep, I should have kept my mouth shut.

  “No, I was just too hot to sleep. This heat wave is killing me.” Nice save.

  Shaun would question me later. He always did over think my dreams.

  “What dreams? Did I miss something?” Torrie asks.

  “You usually do. But don’t worry; I’m sure one of us can explain it later.” Shaun must have caught on that I hadn’t told anyone else about them.

  “Hey man, just because she’s blonde doesn’t mean you can treat her like that!” Todd almost shouts in anger.

  Wait, Todd is defending Torrie? I think I’m the one who missed something. The bell rings.

  “Well there’s the bell, gotta get across the school before the late bell. You know I can’t,” everyone chimes in at once, “get another detention.”

  We all laughed. At least I have a good excuse for running off in the middle of an argument.

  “Call me later,” Shaun shouts as I run down the hall. I just wave back and keep running.

  Chapter Three

  The rest of the day seemed like a whisper. I barely remember anything that happened in class and if I hadn’t wrote down my homework, I wouldn’t have been able to finish it in last period study hall.