Hugo grunted, then released Lenilla. “We’ll finish this conversation later,” he said, as he turned around to walk away.
“No, you won’t,” Caleb yelled after him. Hugo stopped walking but kept his back towards the princes. “You will not come within ten feet of her, and if you see her walking down the hall, you will walk the other way. Do not speak to her or look at her or I will make sure to tell uncle about what you have done here. I’m sure he’d gladly break the rest of your ribs to equal it out,” Caleb said spitefully.
“As you wish, your highness,” Hugo said mockingly. He had no plans on obeying any of their demands, but at that moment, he was too bruised to fight them, so he just walked away.
“Thank you, boys,” Lenilla replied softly.
“No problem,” Joshua said, proud of himself and satisfied with getting his daily dose of torturing Hugo.
“What was that about anyway?” Caleb asked, although he had an idea why Hugo would openly attack her.
“The Grand Duke has always had a thing for me,” Lenilla reminded them, “and I guess he was angry because I didn’t tell him what he wanted to hear.”
“Which was?” Joshua asked, hoping she’d tell them. After all they did just save her life.
Lenilla only smiled then walked up to them both, pulled down her veil and kissed them both on the cheeks. She then pulled her veil back up and walked away. “See you boys,” she called back to them.
Joshua and Caleb stood there frozen with stupid smiles on their faces, both stuck at that moment and longing for another kiss. Finally, Joshua broke the silence, “so, training?” he asked.
Caleb shook his head yes, and they forcefully made their way down the hall and into the training room.
9
Renee sat on a log staring at a small fire. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her leg as she tried to understand how a day that had started off so good, would lead to her entire family and her best friend Jasmine’s family ending up deep in the forest with two young men who looked like rebels. What had her family gotten themselves into, she thought to herself. She turned her head slightly towards the young men. They were standing at least ten feet away from her, whispering about something. The expressions on their faces and the way they stood there told Renee that it was serious—only she wasn’t sure how serious the situation was.
Her parents were the same way. They hovered in the corner with Jasmine’s parents, talking about something that none of the children were allowed to hear. They were hiding something from them, something very important and whatever it was, the two rebels were the reason. Why else would they bring them out into the middle of nowhere, then wait for a whole day for someone to show up, and on her birthday too? She should have known something was wrong the night before, after talking to Elizabeth.
In a weird way, Elizabeth’s dreams had a way of coming true, either exactly as she saw them, or as a warning of something else to come. Then there was the way her parents had acted when she walked in the house the other night. They had been whispering about how time was almost up and they needed to know. However, the moment they had seen her, they’d stopped talking and smiled at her as if nothing had happened.
“What are you still doing up?” her mother Cara had asked. She was about medium height and very pretty. Her skin was the color of a pecan and her curly brown hair stopped in the middle of her back. Her eyes were green and she was very skinny. She was a no-nonsense type person and very outspoken.
“Couldn’t sleep so I took a walk,” Renee had informed them. Her mother’s arms were folded firmly across her breast, so she could tell something was wrong then and whatever it was changed her father’s normal laid-back demeanor to a more panicked one.
Her father was a tall man with olive skin and a short black beard. His eyes were a hazel brown like Renee’s and he was the type who preferred working in the fields on his own land, as opposed to working for the King. He was athletically built with long hair and very handsome, and his name was Mark. “Well, you should get to bed. Tomorrow is a very important day for you,” Mark had said. She could tell they were trying to get away from her and she could also tell that the reason was a serious one, something that she probably wouldn’t be able to understand. The temptation to know what it was ate at her like a flea on a dog.
“What were you two talking about?” She had asked in a way that sounded more like a child excited about her birthday.
Her father laughed, “can’t tell you, it’s a secret.”
“Can I get a hint?” she asked.
Her mother walked over towards her and kissed Renee on the forehead. “Go to bed,” she said afterwards.
Renee sighed. “Fine. You two are no fun.” With that she walked out of the room and went to bed, hoping that her suspicions were nothing more than her getting excited about her birthday. She couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever their secret was, it had something to do with her, but her parents were too afraid to tell her out of fear that she might hate them for keeping such a big secret.
She had spent that entire night tossing and turning, unable to get any sleep. Everything that was happening was too weird. First, Elizabeth’s dream, then her parents secret conversation. She needed answers and she figured that maybe she would be able to figure it out with her friends when she saw them in the morning. But she never got the chance.
The moment she had woke up the next day, she knew something was wrong. She could feel it. There was something about the atmosphere which was tense, and for some strange reason, she could feel a lust for blood in the air. Her first thought was to tell her parents about it. But she figured they had their own problems at the moment and besides, it was her birthday, so she needed to focus all her efforts into dolling herself up and getting ready for her trip out of the village with her two best friends.
Rising up out of her queen-sized bed, Renee noticed a beautiful purple dress lying on a chair in her room, with purple shoes to match. The dress was fitted around the waist but lose at the bottom so she could move around. Her mother had bought it for her the day before, so Renee decided that this would be the perfect day to wear it. Placing her feet in the slippers she had set by her bed, Renee stood up and made her way down the long hall towards the bathing room. Like Elizabeth’s house, Renee’s house was huge with a grand total of twenty rooms. Five of them were bedrooms for the family, with one kitchen, a dining room, a bathing room, a toilet room, a library, a sewing room for her mother, an office for her father and three rooms for the servants.
Once she had finished getting dressed, Renee finally decided to join her family for breakfast. Her plan had been to eat fast so she could join her friends at the entrance to the village and with the way the morning was going, she believed that it could be done. Her mother and the cook had been slaving over the open fire all morning. The smell of sweet bread, eggs and bacon filled the entire house, bringing Renee down the steps by the nose. She walked into the kitchen and stood in front of the fire staring at the food, her mouthwatering from the smell, sending shockwaves throughout her entire body.
“Good morning, birthday girl,” her mother had said, interrupting her from her food fantasy.
“Morning, mom,” Renee had replied, as she stared hungrily at the food in front of her.
“Go sit down, the food is almost done,” her mother had said.
Renee sighed, then walked out of the room with her shoulders hunched over, disappointed that she had to wait for at least another five minutes before she could devour the food.
“Good morning, birthday girl,” she had heard her father say as she made her way into the dining room. She looked up and smiled at him. He was sitting at a long rectangular table with Renee’s two sisters TaKayla and Kaylin. TaKayla was short with long blonde hair and golden skin, fourteen and the spitting image of their mother. She had also inherited many of their mother’s traits including her short temper. Her favorite person was Renee. Ever since she was little, she had always followed behind her big s
ister, hoping to be included in anything that she did.
Next to her was Kaylin who was seven and the only one of them who actually wanted to become a Lady of the Court. Her complexion was closer to Renee’s and she had long brown hair. She was the perfect blend of her parents with her father’s laid-back attitude. Renee on the other hand, looked nothing like her family and had even been asked if she was really related to them. In the beginning it bothered her to the point where she would ask her mother if it was true, to which Cara would insist it wasn’t. But the more she thought about it, the more it began to make sense. Maybe she wasn’t really their daughter. Maybe they took her from her real family for some unknown reason, who now wanted her back. At least that would explain what had happened the night before. Renee shook her head at the thought. “Impossible,” she said out loud.
“What’s impossible?” her father asked, cocking his head to the side and looking at her curiously.
“Nothing?” Renee said as she took her seat.
“Oh happy birthday, sis,” TaKayla said, through a huge smile.
“Happy birthday,” Kaylin said, with the same smile as her sister.
“Thank you,” Renee said as she hugged and kissed them all. She then took her sit next to TaKayla and unfolded her napkin.
“So what do you want to do today?” her father had asked.
“Oh, I’m hanging out with the girls,” Renee had replied with a smile.
“Of course,” Renee heard her mother say. She and the cook had just walked in the room, each carrying a tray of food. Her mother had the eggs, bacon, and sausages, while the cook carried the potatoes, French toast and sweet bread—all of which were Renee’s favorite. And to drink, they had freshly squeezed orange juice that her mother and sisters had spent hours making.
The scene was perfect, almost too perfect. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. At first everyone thought it was either Jasmine or Elizabeth coming to join them for breakfast, like they did every day. However, Renee knew different. She didn’t know how, but she could tell even before they opened that door, that something was wrong and more than anything, she wanted them to keep the door closed, for whoever it was at that door to go away so they could continue living their boring but safe lives. But that didn’t happen. The butler had already opened the door, letting whoever it was enter her house and destroy everything that she believed in.
“What’s wrong with you?” Kaylin had asked Renee, who was staring at the dining room door, waiting on whoever it was to come in.
Renee shook her head. “Nothing, just thinking,” she said, finally taking a bite of her eggs.
A few minutes later the butler walked into the room, with a young man right behind him. He wasn’t a really big guy, but the way he stood there staring at her parents with those cold blue eyes, made it seem as if he were a god passing judgement on his people. He looked like a soldier—only not part of the King’s army. If anything he screamed rebel, with his ripped clothes and long sword on his back instead of his hip. His hair was short, spiked and a strawberry blonde. His face was covered in freckles and though he was young, Renee could tell he had seen many battlefields, only she had no idea why he was in her house. Then Elizabeth’s dream popped in her head. “Soldiers are after us,” Elizabeth had said. Was this what she meant? And why us? What have we done to these people to earn their wrath? Her attention then turned back to her parents, who were looking at the stranger as if he were their executioner. The room was silent for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity to Renee.
Finally, her father spoke. “Sam, could you follow me into my office please?” he asked getting to his feet. His voice was uneven, fearful, as if the question itself was an insult to the young guest, as if it would have led to the slaughter of the entire family.
“We don’t have that much time,” Sam had said. His voice had the same nervousness in it as her father’s. It was then that Renee noticed that the coldness she sensed from him wasn’t irritation, but fear. Fear of something or someone and if they didn’t do what he said at that moment, something inhumane would happen to her entire family.
“How much time do we have?” her mother had asked, while joining her husband. Her voice was different from the others. She was calm, as if she were the general and everyone else were her subordinates.
“Not much,” Sam said, trying hard to keep his gaze locked on Cara, but finding it hard to look her in the eye.
“Okay, girls, get packed. Grab only what you need. We have ten minutes,” her father ordered. His voice was still shaky. In fact, he had to fold his hands together in order to stop himself from shaking.
“But dad!!” TaKayla said, stomping her foot down and throwing her hands down for emphasis. Her lip was tooted up and her eyes were wide open.
“No buts. Let’s just do what they said,” Renee had ordered. Though she was just as upset about leaving as her sisters, the fear she saw in her parents and this stranger’s eyes was enough to make her forget about asking and just do what she was told. Her sisters followed her to their rooms, and a few minutes later everyone was packed and out the door.
The first person Renee saw when she stepped outside was Jasmine wearing a royal blue dress that looked identical to hers, getting into a carriage with her parents. “Jas,” Renee had called out to her.
Jasmine turned around and looked at Renee, who was carrying a bag in one hand and a plate of food in the other. Jasmine shook her head and approached her.
“Where are you guys going? Renee had asked.
Jasmine shrugged. “Don’t know. All I know is that that soldier boy named Will over there, came to the house, my parents freaked, and now we have to leave.” She pointed to a man with jet black hair and a small beard and mustache talking to Sam and their fathers. He was a little bit shorter than Sam, but just as buff. His eyes were slanted like Jasmine’s and his skin was as brown as the Sahara Desert. He wore the same worn-down clothes as Sam and looked even more frightened than the other men.
“What is with these weird men showing up?” Renee had asked, even though she knew Jasmine knew just about as much as her.
“I don’t know. I just hate that they ruined our day,” Jasmine pouted.
“What are you two doing?” They heard a voice call out from behind them. When they turned around and saw Jasmine’s older brother Ethan staring back at them with his dark brown eyes. He was twenty years old, tall and very muscular. In fact, if it wasn’t for the swords the two young soldiers were carrying, he could have taken them both out—or so Renee believed, given the way he was standing. His skin was a smooth almond color and his hair was short, almost completely gone. He had cut it months earlier, hoping that his father would give him permission to join the army, which, to his dismay, his father refused, claiming that he needed him to help with the family business which had caused a rift between the two ever since. He was standing by the carriage with one of his strong hands placed firmly on his smooth skin, while the other was folded neatly over his elbow, as he glared at them as if they were his children. It was always like that with him. He just had that aura about him—a born leader, one that they would fearfully follow into battle just to avoid his wrath.
“We were just talking,” Jasmine said, with an eye roll. They had been going back and forward all day about something, which Renee would later come to find out had to do with her not listening to him when he had told her she had to wait until later before she could go anywhere with her friends.
“You can talk when we get to where we are going. Get in the carriage,” Ethan ordered. His voice was firm, like a dictator whose servant had dared to disobey him.
“Good morning to you too Ethan. I don’t get a happy birthday?” Renee teased.
“Happy birthday. Now get in the carriage,” he ordered.
“Has anyone ever told you? You’re no fun,” Renee sarcastically asked as she made her way towards the carriage to join her mother.
“Only you,” Ethan replied in the same manner.
“They’ll be fine; Rico will be here soon,” Sam assured them.
“Right now we have to get your family out of here. We can’t risk them getting all three,” Will said, finishing Sam’s sentence.
“Come on Nee,” Kaylin ordered, breaking Renee’s concentration and leaving her wondering how she was able to do that.
“Right, sorry. I must have spaced out,” Renee said, finally getting into the carriage and sitting down next to TaKayla. A few minutes later they were joined by their father and the carriage began to pull off, leaving behind their home and friends for a reason that only the parents knew and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to know.
“What are you thinking about?” Jasmine asked, snapping Renee back to the campsite. The sun had almost set and the stars were shining brightly above them. The moon had just about taken its rightful place next to the stars.
Purple again, Renee thought as she turned her attention towards Jasmine, who was looking at her like a child begging for candy. “I was just thinking about today.”
“Oh,” Jasmine said, disappointed. This was supposed to have been the best birthday ever, but now it was falling apart and no one would tell them why.
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