Make Your Move Katherine

What A Mess

“My what? No,” she denied although she knew it was the truth.

Katherine Sky Julian stared at the words in front of her- Dianne Wei was stated here as the murderer of Jake Wei. Husband and wife. Her parents. She was even mentioned once in the article- leaving behind a four-year-old child- no name, just that. No mention of relatives either that she might have.

Is this really what her mother meant when she said she had ‘lost her family to a tragedy’? A full-out homicide? A murder spree- where were her grandparents when this transpired?

“Was anyone else er- there?”

“Your Majesty? Anthony’s voice went up a bit as he gave her a slightly confused furrow.

How should she put this when she herself did not know what to ask? Why didn’t her grandparents try to find them? Or even her? Did she now have grandparents? Her chest fluttered with hope against all this odd happening, she dared to form words. “Her parents. His parents? My grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins?”

He stared blankly at her.

“Anybody?” she squeaked.

“My Queen, I apologize. It was not part of the investigation and so no, no other relatives were ever mentioned.

She nodded; her knees weak at the loss of what she thought she might have gained. She understood Michael, just like him she only wanted a family. The comfort of home, surrounded by people you loved. But Kat is …alone.

She stared, mouth agape at the small passport-sized photo between her thumb and index fingers. This is not her mother. This is not the woman who had vanished from her and her father- stepfather’s lives some years back, without so much as a trace.

Kat remembered the day she came home from school and found the house empty. The housekeeper Danielle had abruptly quit just days before and Kat was still pouty about it. In a way, she had loved Danielle. Her mother’s cell phone was still on the kitchen counter- just her documents had disappeared along with her. All her pictures too. Her clothing, vehicle…everything else remained.

Two days later she realized something was wrong and notified her friend Lexie, who in turn informed her parents who then called the authorities.

Her father who had been on another business trip had flown in and cleared from the suspects' list. Then just days later was told by the police that they did not find it strange, for according to them, “She was frustrated with probably motherhood or marriage, maybe even a boyfriend she perhaps met?” they had said to her father- stepdad.

Kat did not believe it of course but her father eventually did. Stepfather. And why would her mother run away and leave her with a man who was not her biological parent?

“This is not my mother.”

“What? What do you mean?” his voice was strangely quiet and Kat stood up, shoving the picture towards him. “This is not the woman who raised me.”

“Well yes. She’s had some work done of course.”

“What?” Kat stared at the man, whose words made no sense to her.

“Plastic surgery?”

Her mother’s name is indeed Dianne, she could remember that much as she stared at the familiar-looking face. Yes, she could see it- it was indeed the woman from her memory.

“Your mother betrayed our country and took you and ran to Armedia.”

That night, Kat stared up at her ceiling from her huge one-seater, black leatherette recliner as Anthony’s words swam inside her head. Her mother, he stated had killed her father in order to escape her from an engagement of some sort. She had been promised to a man named Xu Kai and her mother wanted to escape the marriage.

Thus, the murderous escape he had stated. What sort of man was her father that her mother felt she needed to kill? And why were they engaging her with someone when she had been a child still? That was something Kat considered happening in third world countries mostly to save families from starvation. Granted some were placed in order to keep purity or charity intact but Kat did not know much about it. Just that she disagreed with everything it represented. So why were her parents dwelling in it? Well, was- for one is dead. Her father she supposed was the one that initiated it and her mother killed him- yay mom but still murder? She could have broken it off herself when she was old enough.

Poor Kat did not know that one could not just ‘break off’ an engagement to a king. She had sent for Ju, while she waited for the sleeping aid to take effect. Just why? How could she not know or even remember anything? Ju’s words about her being charmed or something similar played on her foggy mind.

“Because you are under a spell,” Ju had stated while her mind was barely alert and pounding.

“A pishogue is what we call it here- like someone wanted your memories washed and so they placed a protection pishogue- erm spell, on you. No harm comes to you. I think the memory wipe was done before because nobody can break a protection spell that strong.”

'Her memory had been wiped. Huh.'

“But I don’t know him…at all. Just my father- my stepfather, I mean.”

“I think, My Queen that the memories you have of your stepfather, are actually of your real one. Maybe it was made to make you think it was him. Maybe you were too little and your mind did it yourself? Maybe your mother had really been with your stepfather all along.”

“You think I entwined the memories myself?”

“Honestly, I think it’s the layer you have on you. IT’s made you forget who you are…I think it was done willfully, so maybe your mother had it placed on you,” she heard the mage saying but the words were like echoes to her. “I think your mother was protecting you…”

As in the murder happened when her mother already knew her stepfather. Maybe they were all friends before- maybe he was her father’s best friend, a love triangle perhaps? Like how her mother had left him too. But why leave her when she had taken her before? Wasn’t Kat the reason behind the first murder, according to the manila folder?

So, is she to believe that her savior mother had enough and wanted to live a free life after all that? No, it did not make sense. No woman would go through that and just leave it off …like bam- full stop. No. Something else was going on. Wait- hadn’t Anthony said that her mother was caught? Did he really say that or was it the clouds in her head making her think he had?

What a mess her quiet life had become.

Another thing- Anthony was so certain that her mother had plastic surgery done to herself but was it actually her? What if it wasn’t? Did they run a blood test on her too…hmm, perhaps they made an error? The woman she knew was not capable of murder- sure she was a hard case at times but not- definitely not a murderer Her mother had adored her father- Michael.

'Murderess.’

Katherine’s fogged up brain still fought against the clouds that engulfed it- why did women murder? To protect. To defend. Women did not just go around murdering people- there was always a logical reason behind it- or delusion.

Then again, what did Kat know anyway? As a reporter, she had come across stories that were so unbelievable. Children killing parents for money- kids that had kissed their mother goodbye as she drove them to school each day. Husbands and cheating wives. Heck, even people that hide their real s*xual identities killed or were killed. Besides, hadn’t Anthony said they left no place for error? Or something like that anyway…

Ju had become almost silent but Katherine knew she was still there for still held her hand. Katherine likes the mage and she could tell the feeling was mutual for the woman was still here long after the maids were gone. No menace was felt in the presence of the woman alone- she had a light aura about her that Kat could feel and something told Kat that this was the person she can turn to in times of catastrophe.

And no, she did not think she was under the influence of some magic the mage had used on her to let her guard down for she was already under a protection spell. According to Ju- no magic could be used on her now that is why this unknown person had resorted to using other means to get to her- substances into her. Another weird fact is that Ju claimed to have checked the entire contents of the royal kitchen and had come up void, in anything lethal.

Which means that the substance had to be in another room at the castle. Problem is that there were a few hundred rooms at Castle When.

Her head pounded and pounded until she felt the grogginess kicking in and once again Anthony was in her liquid thoughts. Soon Oscar joined in.