Birth of the Queen

Chapter Six: Missing

Prita P.O.V.

I walked into the living room and was about to sneak inside my room when I heard Ma clear her throat. I faced her slowly and let out a nervous chuckle but when I noticed her serious expression I looked down. I didn’t understand what I was so ashamed of but I continued having a pang of guilt in my mind. “Where were you?” She finally asked. I couldn’t just tell her everything right away. It would create unnecessary tension in the family. So, I heard myself lying again – “I was late after work.” “How?” she asked, suspecting something. I felt terrible lying to her. So I just made something up. “The bus came too late and there was a strike about some slum rights or something. I was late.” She seemed to relax a little and asked, “Why weren’t you picking up, sweetie?” “Oh! I didn’t have time to look at my cell. Sorry, Ma. It won’t happen again.” I apologized and it was genuine. She believed me and said, “Don’t misunderstand me, hon. I was just worried and your father too. We thought that something happened to you. That’s why I called Rome but he said that he left you at the bus stop at around 6. Look at the time now. It’s almost midnight. So, naturally, we were scared.” I listened to her silently. “Please, next time, at least give us a call beforehand so that I know where you are and you’re okay. You’re our only child.” She finished with a drop of tear. I didn’t realize when I myself had started crying. She came near me and embraced me in a tight hug and patted my head saying, “Shhh..Don’t cry, dear. You know we love you.” I was crying but I wasn’t crying because she had rebuked me or something. My tears couldn’t stop from falling as I kept lying to their faces. My parents were the best in the world and I was lying to them. And the worst part was that they trusted me blindly. Now, Ma was hugging me and one warm hug from her could calm me down easily. When I finally stopped, she told with a smile, “Now. Go. Freshen up. I’ll set the table.” I didn’t waste any more time. I rushed back to my room but I couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt but decided to put it aside for a while. When I entered the dining hall, I saw my parents sitting at the table and the food was there. I asked them, with surprise, “How? Did you guys not have dinner?” Ba said, “No. How could we even eat while our daughter was out and hungry?” I felt a knot in my throat and I gulped it down with a glass of water. I sat myself down. We talked very less during the rest of the dinner. After dinner, I wished my parents good night and went back to my room. I lied down on my bed and started thinking today’s incidents which left me with more questions than answers. What is that mark on my wrist? It wasn’t there before. How did it get there? And what did I do to the man’s hands when I touched him? Did I burn him or something? How did he get the exact same mark on his wrist? From his expressions, I could say that he didn’t see it before. What was happening to me? and What exactly was I doing to people? First, Tristan’s man and now, Erion. Erion. Nice name, I thought. It suited his looks and attitude. God! Those eyes. They were darker than the night sky. And they sparkled. Wait! What was I even thinking? God! I needed a psychological checkup. I closed my eyes and all I could think of was my encounter with Erion today. I drifted off to sleep slowly. I had a dream about Erion, Tristan, Rome and many others whom I didn’t even recognize. I knew I was dreaming but I couldn’t stop myself. I saw a ball room and I was dancing with someone. I looked up but couldn’t see the man’s face as it was blurred somehow. Then, we suddenly stopped and I looked at the back and saw Rome smiling and waving at me. I walked toward him. When I was almost near him, I saw change in his expressions. His soft smile was replaced by a wide grin. His nose was also Grecian instead of hooked. What was happening? When I got even closer I saw Rome completely change into Tristan. I started taking steps backwards. Tristan kept grinning and extended both of his hands in front of me. I tried to run away from him but lost my balance and was about to fall on the ground when someone caught him. I thought it was Tristan, so I closed my eyes. When I dared to open them I saw a pair of perfect stygian black eyes and then I saw him. Erion. He had one of his arms around him and he had that smirk on his face. And he was watching me. I felt a bit flustered. We were both staring at each other until someone called him from behind and we broke out from our position. We showed each other our marks. The Sun suddenly was ablaze and everything started to be bathed by the light and then it got to the point where it hurt my eyes. I squeezed my eyes shut and when I opened them again, I saw myself lying on my bed and the sunlight at my bedside. It was morning already.

I woke up with a dizzy head, last night’s strange dream still on my mind. I didn’t have the heart to get out of the bed but I had to. I had a job to maintain. So, I got up and did my morning ritual and went to have breakfast. When I stepped into the dining hall, I felt a strange shiver run down my spine. I couldn’t quite comprehend it at that moment. i saw no one in the dining room. I dragged my feet to the kitchen, still sleepy. “Ma, I need muesli with ba..” I was saying while entering the kitchen but had to stop abruptly as I found that no one was there in the kitchen. Strange. It was 7 and Ma hadn’t yet woken up. She was never the one to sleep in. I exited the kitchen and went to my parents’ room and saw the door was unlocked as usual. My parents never slept in a locked room and they never let me. So, I had the same habit of just closing my bedroom door loosely, not locking them. I knocked on the door and shouted, “Ma. Ba. Are you still sleeping? It’s already 7.” I was replied by silence. I had a feeling of discomfort rise up my stomach. I could wait no more. I pushed the door saying, “I’m coming in. What’re you guys…” The words were caught mid-sentence as I saw neither of my parents in the room. I rushed in and checked the attached toilet. But they weren’t there. I ran out and thought of checking our personal library downstairs but it was locked from outside. I came to the second storey and checked all the bathrooms and then it hit me. While I went down to the library door, my eyes slipped to the main gate of our house and it was locked. From inside! It was locked by me last night. If they had gotten out of the house, then they would not be able to lock the gate from inside which meant that they never left the house, though I couldn’t find them anywhere in the rooms. I was scared. I couldn’t think of anything. This was beyond strange and I had a really bad feeling about this. So, I did what I judged to be right at that moment. I called Rome. “Hello. Rome.” He sounded energetic and said, “Hey. Good morning. What’s the..” “I can’t find my parents.” I blurted out before he could finish his sentence. “What?” He was shocked. “I woke up this morning and I can’t find them. I looked everywhere. I dunno what to do.” I said blatantly. “Ok. Pri, stay where you are. Don’t go anywhere looking for them. I’m on my way.” He hung up and I was lost again. I couldn’t even cry. I didn’t know how to feel. Where did they go? I thought of something and rushed to the shoe rack and saw that all of their shoes and slippers were intact. It could only mean that they could have never gone out of the house. But I couldn’t just give up and wait for Rome to arrive. I went to the front gate and unlocked it. I walked out of the house and went to the left side and stopped where a lane attached our street to the Mainesview Avenue. I wasn’t going to give any notice to that lane, if I had not seen any movement with the corner of my eyes. I slowly turned towards the source and froze at my place. Everything became clear to me. That was it. There he was standing. Tristan. He was actually facing the other side. But he might have heard me and turned around then. For a few minutes, we both stayed where we were and then he started, “Pri, what’re you..”. I rushed to him and punched him in the face before he could complete. The punch hit his nose and I could see blood trickle down from it. Whoa! I must have punched real hard. But my blood was boiling. While cleaning the blood, he said, “Whoa! Pri, relax. What are you doing?” When he saw I wasn’t answering, he continued, “I had some business here. What’re you doing here at this early?” He spoke to me like nothing was wrong. I was fuming with anger. “What the f**k is wrong with you?’ I spat. He looked confused and then grinned and said, “But whatever did I do this time, huh?” he crossed his arms onto his chest and continued while grinning, “Or, is it your way of showing that you missed me?” I was so angry that all I could think of was punching him. I raised my fist but it was caught midair by a strong hand. Tristan looked as surprised as me. I looked at the owner of the hand and Erion! How did he come here? Seeing him made me retract a little but my anger towards Tristan was overwhelming. I shouted, “What the f**k do you think you’re doing? What did you do to them, huh?” Tristan and Erion both looked surprised. Tristan spoke first. “Okay. Calm down, first. What happened? Tell me.” “As if you don’t know already.” I spat but was cut off by Erion. He made me turn towards him and asked firmly, “Hey. Listen. Listen. Calm down. And tell me what happened. Because I can feel that You may have lost something important.” I looked into his eyes and it was impossible for me to deny him the answer right now. So, I managed to form a single sentence. “My parents are missing since this morning.” At this, both the guys straightened up. And both asked in unison. “Are you alright?” “Are you okay?” I shook my head looking at Erion. And then my eyes fell on Tristan and my blood started to boil again. “He did something to them,” I shouted. Tristan looked like he couldn’t follow what I just said. “No. I didn’t. Why would I ? Anyway, how could they be missing?” Now, I heard Erion saying, “How do you think, princess? Someone kidnapped them.” He told the last part while pointing his finger at Tristan. “No. I didn’t do it. Moreover, nobody could have kidnapped them.” “How do you know this if you aren’t the one who has done it?” I asked. He waited before answering and said in a somewhat low voice, “Because I’ve been standing here for a while and I saw no one go in or out of your house.” “How’s that possible?” Erion started but I cut him off as I said, “What? How long have you been standing here in front of my house? Are you stalking me?” “Well. I ain’t exactly standing in front of your house. I’m standing beside it. And no, I’m not a stalker. Stalking is the special ability of this old granny.” He pointed his index finger toward Erion. Erion shook his head and stated, “Speak for yourself, princess.” “Oh Really! Then how did you know where Pri and I were?” Tristan asked. I was observing them till now. I could hold it in no more. I yelled, “Shut up, you two! My parents are missing, for God’s sake.” This worked. Erion grabbed my wrist and said, “Let’s get into your house first. I need to check something.” Tristan looked like he saw something uncanny and then he said, “Wait, Pri. You don’t know this guy. How can you trust him? And, don’t let just anybody enter your house.” “Listen, princess, we don’t have time for your fairy tales. Now, go mind your own ass.” Erion said, chewing the words. Tristan sighed in defeat and declared, “Okay. I’ll come too. I also need to check something.” At this, I expressed my lack of faith in him. I said, “No. You may be the one who’s done it. I can’t let you in whether you’re the culprit or not.” Tristan looked hurt and then he regained his composure and spoke through a grin, “Trust me, bestie. I’m the best bait you have at finding your parents.” There we go again. Typical Tristan. Without further ado, the three of us went in front of my house and I saw Rome standing there, looking puzzled. When he saw me, he let out a genuine sigh of relief and said, “Oh! Thank God. I was worried sick. Why weren’t you picking up?” “I probably left my cell in the dining hall.” I said, trying to remember. Rome was about to say something, but then his eyes fell on the two guys behind me and his eyes widened. His eyes were locked on Tristan for a while and then they travelled to Erion and he asked, “What is this? What’re you doing with Tristan? And who is this guy?” Before I could even reply, I heard Erion say, “We could easily leave the introduction part for later.” Then he looked at me and said, “We have to find your parents, Prita.” After this, nobody could say anything. We faced the front gate and stood there for a second. I had a hunch that if we went through this gate today, there would be something that would make a huge change in all of our lives. And surprisingly, it didn’t scare me. Instead  I heard myself saying, “Let’s go, guys.”