The king's Mark

The crystal

Emily woke up on the couch with a terrible headache, and her neck ached as if she had been strangled in her sleep. She yawned and stretched her arms, then tried stretching her neck, before looking around the living room. She looked down and saw Sienna sleeping, curled up in a funny position, with her hair covering half of her face.

Emily laughed softly then pulled out her phone and took some pictures,

“I’m definitely posting this,” she whispered.

She then checked the time.

Her eyes widened.

“s**t!” Emily immediately stood up.

“Sienna!”

She shook her shoulder.

“Sienna, wake up. You have to get dressed, you're going to be late for work.”

Sienna groaned and pulled the pillow over her head.

“Just give me two minutes.”

Emily rolled her eyes.

She picked up her bag and headed toward the door.

“I have to go,Sienna. I promised to have breakfast with my parents this morning.” Without waiting for a response she left.

***********

Emily arrived at her parents’ mansion and honked at the gate, but there was no response,

she honked again. Still nothing.

“What is wrong with this man?”

She stepped out of her car and walked toward the gate.

“Hey! Open this gate!”

No response.

Emily became irritated.

“Do you want to lose your job?”

She reached the gate, ready to give the gatekeeper a piece of her mind, but she stopped, when she noticed the gate was already open.

Her eyebrows drew together.

“That idiot.”she opened the gates wider and drove in.

Everywhere was quiet. Even the maids, who always came running when they heard her voice, were nowhere to be found.

She decided to go in but the sight in front of her made her scream.

Her parents were lying on the floor with their blood all over the place. Her hands shook as she ran towards them.

“Mom?”

“Dad? Wake up.” She shook their shoulders but couldn't get a response.

Emily grabbed her phone and called for help. Her hands trembled as she waited for someone to answer.

“Please…”

Her breathing became uneven as panic set in.

“Please come quickly. I need help.”

The ambulance arrived within minutes

Emily stood nearby, trembling as the paramedics rushed into the mansion.

She watched helplessly as they examined her parents.

Then one of them slowly stood.

His expression told her everything before he even spoke.

“I'm sorry, miss.” Emily stared at him.

“We've checked them. There's nothing we can do.” Emily stood still trying to process what she just heard.

“What?”

“Your parents are gone.”

For a moment, Emily couldn't breathe. A loud screame escaped from her mouth.

“No!!!”

She shook her head.

“No, you're wrong.”

“I'm sorry,” the paramedic said

“No!”

“Do something!”

She rushed back toward her parents.

“Wake them up!”

The paramedics tried to restrain her gently.

“Mom, please!”

She broke down completely.

“Dad!”

Sienna came running, She was crying. After seeing the news, she’d rushed straight to the mansion. Before entering, she quickly wipped away her tears. She had to be strong for her friend.

The moment Emily saw Sienna she quickly grabbed her hands.

“Sienna, tell them! I've been telling them my parents aren't dead, but they refused to believe me.” Emily's voice was broken

“I'm sorry, Emily. It's true.” Immediately Sienna said that, Emily's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed.

“I need help, Emily!” Sienna yelled while trying to wake her up.

The paramedics immediately rushed over.

Within minutes, Emily was taken to the hospital.

Sienna climbed into the ambulance beside her and held her hand tightly.

“Please wake up,” she whispered.

A few minutes later they got to the hospital and Emily was quickly rushed inside. Sienna waited at the waiting hall praying for her friend to wake up.

*********

Five hours later…

Emily slowly opened her eyes and looked around.

”Mom? dad?”

“Oh you are awake. How are you feeling?” The nurse there asked her

“Where am I?”

“In the hospital dear you fainted, let me get the doctor.” She answered softly

“Where are my parents?” Emily asked.

“Your friend is outside, I will go get her immediately” The nurse quickly went to get Sienna who was sitting patiently outside.

“Emily!” She hugged her tightly

“I'm so glad you are awake, I was starting to get worried.”

“How long have I been out?” Emily sat up properly

“For almost five hours”

“Where are my parents? You know, I had the weirdest dream. My parents were dead.”

“Can you believe that?”Emily said smiling and Sienna sighed.

“It wasn't a dream, Emily. I’m sorry, but they're dead. You have to accept it.”

“What are you saying? I saw them last night!” Emily yelled.

“You have to get it together Emily, they are dead.”

“No, I need to get out of here, I need to see them” Emily pulled the cannula in her hands and tried leaving but Sienna held her back.

She struggled away from Sienna but couldn't. She finally burst into tears

“So it's really true,they are gone.”

“Shhhh.. Don't talk. Just cry it all out. i’m here for you.” As if she'd been given permission to finally let go, Emily began crying uncontrollably until exhaustion finally took over.

Emily eventually became quiet.

Emily just stared blankly at the wall. Sienna stayed quiet, watching her every move.

Just then a knock came on the door

“Come in.” Sienna said, and two detectives walked in to the room.

“Good day, Miss Wilson, we came to ask a few questions about the incident.”

Sienna immediately frowned.

”She's not in the condition to answer questions right now.”

“No, Sienna. I want to hear it.”

Emily finally looked away from the wall.

Then motioned for them to continue.

“We’ve been investigating the case for hours, but we haven't found any clues yet.”

“Is there anyone who threatened them in any way?”

“No, not that I know of,” Emily answered plainly.

The detective leaned forward.

“Think carefully, ma'am. Perhaps a business partner? A rival? A family member?”

“I said I don't know.”

Sienna stepped forward.

“She said she doesn't know officers, can you come back later? I'm tired of these questions.” Sienna snapped at them

“It’s okay, Sienna, they are just doing their jobs.” Emily faced the officers.

“Like I said before I don't know, but if I think of anything, I will let you know.”

“We're sorry for your loss, and we’re also sorry for questioning you at the hospital. We just wanted to know if anything you remember could help with the investigation.”

“We'll come back another time.” They turned to leave but one of them paused.

“Miss Wilson, do you by any chance recognize this?” He pulled a small evidence bag from his pocket.

Inside was a red crystal.

He showed her the D-shaped crystal—the

exact one Sienna had shown her the night before.

Sienna slowly stood.

“Where did you get that?”

“We found it at the crime scene.” Sienna stared at the crystal. Then she looked at Emily.

“Emily…”

“That's exactly the same one I showed you last night.” Sienna looked at Emily.

“It's exactly the same!”

“The King's Mark!”