by Imogen Rose
“The Sigma-W-Pi, the pi stands for Potomal,” Rupert confirmed.
“And he’s got Arizona?” Kellan asked. “You know that for sure?”
Amadea nodded.
“Mommy, can you come up to bed with me?” Ella asked, coming back in to the room. “I’m tired.”
Olivia nodded and took her upstairs.
“Look, enough wasting time!” David groaned. “Please let me go and try to find her. Mom?”
“Constance, I think we should. We have no other options at the moment, at least until we hear from Potomal,” Inez responded.
“David, please let me come,” Kellan pleaded.
David nodded. “Mom?”
“Yes, go ahead, David. And you have our permission to take Kellan, though I feel it would be better to take him once you have established exactly where Arizona is. No point exhausting your energy reserves. Can you understand that, Kellan?”
“Yes, of course. Will you come back and get me once you know?”
David nodded and prepared to transport.
“David, remember the system we worked out. Follow it to the letter and report back to me after every four transports,” Inez reminded him, as he closed his eyes, curved his back and disappeared.
“He’ll be fine, Inez,” Constance reassured her as she hugged her friend.
“Now what?” Harry asked.
Amadea announced, “I’m going to wander back to Spencer, your grandfather, to find out if there is any further news and we’ll take it from there. Constance will take care of things here until I get back. I’ll go upstairs and bid Olivia goodbye before I go.”
“Can I come, Gramadea? I would love to meet Granddad,” Harry asked.
Amadea looked over at Rupert and then nodded. “Come with me.”
~
“You’re what?” Olivia whispered, shocked.
“Mom, it’ll be fine. I’ll be right back with Gramadea. I want to meet Granddad. Don’t worry, I’m not going to join the Sigma-Ws or anything,” Harry assured her.
“I guess you’ll be safest with them,” Olivia admitted. “You must return back with Amadea, understand?”
“Olivia, you have my word. I’ll be back with him as soon as I’ve found out from Spencer what’s going on. They’re bound to have some news by now.”
“Mom,” Ella whispered sleepily, disturbed by the voices. Olivia felt Harry kissing the top of her head, but he had disappeared along with Amadea before she had fully turned around. Another child had wandered off. Olivia felt completely vulnerable; she seemed to have lost all control. How could she have let this happen?
As the bright rays shone through the skylight, waking me up to a new Paris morning, I felt both excited and apprehensive. I breathed in the Paris air. The fresh smell of baguettes made my stomach grumble.
Last night had been weird, to say the least. Parading about like royalty, being introduced to a bunch of strangers, all while wearing a tiara. Bizarre. My evening with Luna had obviously been slightly different from the one that Simla and Justin had spent with Madison and Olivier. That was evident from the gear they were both wearing when they arrived at the reception. Justin had been less than forthcoming about what they’d been through. All he’d said was that he’d gone and worked out! That explained the gear. Anyway, it was time to find out exactly what they’d been up to.
I got up and wrapped myself in the oversized white terry bathrobe hanging on the hook in the bathroom and walked over and banged on Justin’s door. There was no reply, so I opened it and peered inside. He was clearly gone, his bed neatly made. I found the situation to be the same in Simla’s room. She was gone as well. I walked into her room and checked her wardrobe. It was full of clothes; I hoped that they were coming back. I had to know what was going on with them. So, for now, I was alone in this big apartment. I went over to the kitchen and gulped down some cereal–even though a basket of fresh, warm baguette slices had been left out–before I went back to my room to get dressed. Since I had no idea what the day would bring, I’d no idea what to wear. Was I expected to do the royal thing again?
I walked into a tidied bedroom. The bed had been made up, the heavy auburn velvet coverlet neatly covered the mattress again. The pillows had been plumped and placed neatly against the headboard. My conundrum about what to wear was instantly dissipated when I saw the selected outfit carefully placed on the bed for me. I jumped into the space-age shower and lingered there for a while, enjoying the warm spray of water against my skin. When I finally decided to end my water relaxation time, I wrapped myself in a thick, warmed towel and went back into the bedroom to get dressed. The clothes were simple–a pair of black yoga pants, a plain red t-shirt and a black zip-top hoodie. I put them on and stepped into the black MTBs waiting for me by the door. A workout day? That would suit me just fine. Hopefully I’d run into Simla and Justin at some point.
The door to my bedroom opened and Luna peeked in. “May I come in, Your Highness?”
“Luna, you promised to call me Arizona in private. Remember? And yeah, come on in,” I said, plunking myself on the bed. “So, what are we doing today? Any chance I can go home now?”
“I have an exciting day planned for you. First, I thought we could take a walk down to the Eiffel Tower and get you those crepes you were telling me about. I have a fondness for them myself. Then, I thought we could walk down to Swan Ally Island where one of the replicas of the Statue of Liberty stands. It’s a bit of a walk, hence the sneakers,” she added with a smile.
“That sounds very pleasant, but I’d like to see Simla and Justin,” I insisted.
“That’s on our schedule as well,” Luna replied happily. “After our visit to the Statue, we’ll head over to our training facility at Versailles, where Simla and Justin have been based for the day. They have their meditation segment scheduled for this afternoon. You may join them for that. I know that you are keen to spend some time alone with them, so I’ve arranged for you to have some time before dinner tonight.”
That sounded like a plan. “And when do I get some real answers, like when do I get to go back home?”
“You’ll be taken to London tomorrow and will have an audience with Potomal at his convenience. He’ll deal with your questions. In the meantime, today, continue to enjoy our hospitality.”
The walk to the Eiffel Tower took forever, I was happy to be wearing sneakers. We didn’t stop at any of the many street vendors who lined the Seine banks. We walked passed the Louvre and the Jardins des Tuileries. We didn’t stop to sit and soak up the atmosphere like I usually did when we visited here. Instead we walked briskly by. I thought Luna might have taken an opportunity to show off her knowledge and educate me, but she didn’t. She seemed to be engrossed in her own thoughts and didn’t say much as we walked. We stopped at the crepe stand by the Eiffel Tower and munched down on sugar-filled, warm crepes and washed them down with water.
“What’s up, Luna? You seem distracted.”
She shook her head. “It’s nothing. Not something that concerns you anyway. It’ll get sorted.”
“That sounds a bit mysterious,” I persisted.
“Are you ready to walk on? If you’re tired, we can take a taxi.”
“Luna, what’s the point in all this? This sightseeing? I’ve been here before, so it’s all been-there-done-that for me. Why not just cut to the chase and head to London?” I asked, getting more and more frustrated as I voiced my thoughts. This was beyond ridiculous– being on vacation with my captor.
“If this is not to your liking, I can transport you to London now. My father won’t be available until tomorrow, though. I can arrange for Stan to entertain you until then. We thought you’d be happier here, in Paris, with your friends until they were ready to travel as well.”
Hmm, I did want to talk to Simla and Justin. “Why can’t they come to London now?”
“They have a meditation segment to master before they go tomorrow. We thought you might like to join them for that. We can head over now,
if you want to. That’s if you don’t want to head to the Statue of Liberty first.”
I got over the Statue of Liberty when I was about six! Pretty amazing as it is, living in New Jersey, I have experienced the Liberty sights from all angles possible, even a bird’s-eye view from a helicopter. And Mom had made sure that I had experienced the Liberty Statues in Paris, as well, during my previous visits. The one on Swan Ally was actually my favorite; the view of the Eiffel Tower behind it was breathtaking. However, like I said before, been there, done that. I certainly didn’t feel like doing it again with Luna.
“So?” Luna asked.
“So, let’s head over to Simla and Justin. Where are they?”
“They are at Versailles. Have you been before?”
I nodded. Ella developed a strange fascination for Marie Antoinette after Mom took us to see the Color of Flesh in New York. The story itself went over Ella’s head but she was mesmerized by the costumes and so the last time we visited, Mom made sure that a trip to the palace and gardens of Versailles was included.
“We can take a taxi or I can transport you…,” Luna said, looking at me intently.
“I guess your way is faster?” I queried.
She nodded, looking for a quiet place. “Come with me,” she said, pointing to the bushes.
“Okay, take me over,” I said, closing my eyes. I felt her take hold of my shoulders and then I felt weightless, just as I had during my last experience. When I suddenly felt pressure on my feet, I opened my eyes. We were standing opposite one of the most beautiful fountains I have ever seen. I remembered it from my last visit, but couldn’t remember the name. I looked to Luna for information.
“It’s the Latona Fountain,” she reminded me, as we emerged from behind a tree.
“No awards for having a great memory for fountain names here,” I said, slightly embarrassed. “I do remember that her children’s names are Apollo and Diana, though.”
“That’s right,” Luna confirmed. “And there’s the back of the Chateau,” she said, pointing to the magnificent building behind the fountain. “Let’s walk. We are meeting Justin and Simla at the Queen’s Grove for the meditation segment. It’s nice and quiet there today, it will just be us.”
“Oh, I thought that was much later? Didn’t we plan to be here later?”
“I accounted for that in the transport, Your Highness.”
Very handy! I followed Luna through the paths to a grassy isolated spot where I spotted Justin, Simla, Olivier and Madison. They were sitting down on the grass looking up at me as we approached them. Olivier and Madison jumped to their feet and bowed. There were no other people around.
“Your Highness, please allow me to introduce Madison and Olivier to you,” Luna said, nodding to them.
“Pleased to meet you,” I said, and shook their hands–sweaty hands, they must have been working out. Simla looked exhausted, she barely acknowledged me, where as Justin grinned and seemed pleased to see me.
“Shall we get started?” Madison asked, beckoning Luna and me to sit down.
I sat down and followed along–pretended mostly–to Madison’s instructions. We started off doing a bunch of breathing exercises; I’ve always hated those. I find that whenever I focus on my breathing, I tend to hyperventilate. So I ignored her. The breathing exercises were built upon by the addition of muscle relaxation exercises. Seriously, why not just head to a spa for a massage? I watched Justin and Simla out of the corner of my eye as they were following along. Justin appeared totally into it. His chest was heaving just at the right intervals and his muscles were tightening and relaxing when commanded. Simla, on the other hand, was totally faking it–and very badly, worse than me, if that’s possible. I could see Luna watching her. Boy, she was going to be in trouble. Maybe that’s what Luna had been preoccupied with before. Maybe she received reports back that Simla was not participating fully. It’s not that surprising, though. Simla wasn’t into any sports. Any kind of physical activity must be super- challenging for her.
After about an hour of messing around with these exercises, Madison stood up, bowed and walked off, with Olivier following at her heels.
“I promised you some alone time,” Luna said, getting up. “So, I’ll be back in about an hour.” She handed Justin a couple of canvas bags. “Here are some refreshments, enjoy.” She then disappeared into a mist.
“Come on! Let’s run!” Simla whispered, getting up and pulling at Justin’s arm.
I was going to suggest the same, but hadn’t for a moment thought that Simla would go along. I had pictured making a run for it along with Justin, leaving Simla behind. So, I was a little shocked. I instinctively grabbed Justin’s other arm and got ready to run. I wasn’t prepared for the force with which he propelled both Simla and me back onto the grass. I landed with an almighty thump, hoping that I hadn’t cracked anything. “Geez, you idiot! Whatcha do that for?” I yelled.
“Did you both leave your brains behind? What’s the matter with you?” Justin shot back. “Do you really think that they’re going to just let us take off? They’re probably watching us right now!”
“Well, I think we should take a chance!” I grumbled. “What have we got to lose? Besides, they didn’t say we had to stay here for the hour.”
“Arizona’s right,” Simla said, rubbing her legs. “Push me again and I’ll kill you. I’m going. Stay if you want to, but I’m taking off.”
“Where to, Simla?” Justin sighed.
“To that big Chateau for starters. There are bound to be people in there, in fact if I come across anyone before I get there I’m asking for help.”
“Simla, they’ll stop you and you’ll be in trouble. Go on and try,” Justin dared her.
She did, much to my surprise. She walked off on her own toward the building. I was just about to follow her, when Justin took my arm.
“Arizona, hold on. I need to talk to you. You can follow her if you want to after. Please?”
“But I might not be able to catch up! I’d better go with her.”
Justin took my arm and briskly led me to where we could see Simla. She was walking toward the chateau, slowly. Her feet must hurt; she was limping slightly. As I was watching her, she suddenly disappeared into a mist.
“See?” Justin mumbled. “That was just plain stupid. You want to go next?”
“Sheesh! What should we do?” I despaired.
“Nothing. There’s nothing we can do. Not at this very moment. Come and sit down.”
I shook my head and we walked back to the canvas bags and sat down. Justin laid out the food in front of us. I was hungry; it had been a long day. I watched Justin as he wolfed down his brie-laden baguette. I had known Justin since the start of middle school. We had gelled instantly. We not only played hockey together, but also suffered through Kumon. He’d been a dweeby nerd when I first met him, however, he had since filled out into a five-foot-eleven, muscle-bound jock. He seemed to spend his life in the weight room at school. Justin had been part of both my Stevens and Darley lives and I was dying to find out how he had managed to do that. I did, however, have to find out what was happening now first and figure out how to find Simla. “Justin, you wanted to talk. So talk.”
“Okay, if I update you, will you do the same?”
“Sure, you go first.”
“I’ve been hanging out with Olivier. Strange guy, doesn’t say a lot, chuckles to himself from time to time. He’s definitely a Sigma-W-Pi. He’s got one of those pendants they wear. I tried engaging him in chitchat to try to figure out what we’re doing here. He just shrugged his shoulders. All I’ve been doing is training–which has been okay–apart from that meditation stuff, which seems like a waste of time. Olivier has me lifting weights and doing cardio. He’s been like a really good personal trainer. I don’t know what I’m training for, though. My understanding is that I’m being taken to London tomorrow and that’s when I’ll find out.”
“What about Simla?”
“From what little she
told me, I gather it’s been the same for her. She hates exercising, though, so it’s been hell for her. She’s thoroughly pissed and wants to go home. She’s not willing to wait until tomorrow to find out what we’re doing here.”
“Strange,” I remarked. “She was all gung-ho to start with. It’s fairly certain that you guys are being prepared to join Potomal’s group. He probably just needs to know that you guys are fit enough. What are you going to do if he asks you?”
“I’m keeping all my options open. I’m going to wait and hear what he has to say. I’m worried about Simla, though. She is now adamant that she’s not joining. Apparently her dad has the blueprints for the portal, so she said that she’d be able to travel anyway, she doesn’t really need to be able to wander, especially if it means busting her guts training everyday. She stupidly told Madison that, so I bet they’re now on alert as far as she’s concerned. And who knows what they’ll do now that she tried to escape!”
I shrugged. What a mess.
“What about you, Your Highness?” Justin snickered.
I thumped him. “Stop! I’ve basically been treated like a tourist with a personal tour guide. Luna and I have been doing the Paris sights until I got fed up this afternoon.”
“Why does she call you that anyway?”
“I have no idea, but, like you, I’m keeping all my options open for the moment. I’m being taken to London tomorrow, as well, and was told that I’ll find out more then.”
“Luna is Potomal’s daughter and you met the son as well?”
“Yeah, one of them. The youngest–I believe–Stan. He seemed okay. We’ll probably see him in London, that’s where he’s based. Justin, we need to figure out how to get Simla back. What are we gonna do?”
“We’re on the same team, right?” Justin asked.
“You tell me!” I retorted. “Our recent history has been confusing. I’m still not sure if we are friends or enemies.”
“Arizona, we’ve been friends for a long time. I think that overrides any drama we’ve had recently. We need to stick together for now. We need to help Simla out as well, if we can. We’re dealing with forces much more dangerous than we’ve ever been to each other. So, can we call a truce and work together?”