Atarah's Realm

Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

Micah grips my wrist tight as we make our way to where the magical gnarled tree is. Every corner that we pass through is secured with men in bodysuits. Like the one in the throne hall, a door made out of steel creaks open after verifying our identities. I take a couple of steps forward until I reach the porch. The cool crisp wind nudges my skin and the silver crescent moon boasts itself across the starry dark sky. I walk ahead then rotate to get a better glimpse of what everybody calls a palace. My eyes agape with my mouth as my fascination at the view eclipse everything else. The structures are enormous and are connected by glass bridges, they’re nothing like what I have anticipated. Their façade looks more of a futuristic corporate building than a palace. Instead of cement or brick, it seems like they are built out of steel coated with white paint. Their huge dark opaque glass windows are dramatically glistening when the moonlight hits them.

“Wow! This is incredible!”

“There’s something much more incredible than that,” Micah says then she leans closer to my ear and whispers. “The magical tree.”

My shoulders twitch after almost forgetting what we came here for. “You’re right. So where is it?”

“In the garden, follow me.”

We enter a glass arched hallway and once we set foot at the garden’s entrance, I smirk in amazement of going through another identity verification procedure.

‘Micah Bache enters the garden’.

‘Princess Atarah enters the garden.’

Though I’m wearing slippers, my feet could feel the transition of the ground from hard stone tiles to a soft lawn. Colorful flowers which I’m not familiar with welcome us however my vision is instantly drawn to the shimmering tree at the center, about a few meters away from me.

“The Tree of Destiny,” I murmur.

My legs continue to thrust until I’m close enough to knead my fingertips to its surface. Unlike from my dream, its shine doesn’t transfer to me this time and the blue butterflies that hover around it are nowhere to be seen.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Micah asks.

“It is,” I reply without deviating my sight from the tree. Its strangeness and existence pique my nosiness even more. “I can’t believe it’s real but why and how?”

Micah moves closer to the tree and rest her palm on it. “Me too. I thought it’s just a folklore but I’m surprised to see it here a month ago since I started working here.”

I narrow my eyes as I slant my view at her. “A folklore? Can you tell me about it?”

“According to the elders, this tree existed more than a hundred years ago. Then there came a war which brought bloodsheds and destructions to the world. But by any miraculous event, this tree was spared and there were war victims who were brought back to life.” She catches her breath first before proceeding. “Just like what you told me, they dreamt of this tree giving them another shot to live.”

The hairs on my skin raise as a tingling sensation causes my body to be immobilized. Words are blocked by the surging discomfort in my chest.

“Some of the world’s leaders showed interest on it which lead to another war. The one who prevailed were our ancestors.”

Micah stops speaking but her eyes are still fastened at the tree. I’m about to ask a question when a group of people in white coats appears from behind. The instance they look at me, the men bow down and the short woman curtsies. The three of them have the blue tattoo on the left side of their necks just like Mr. Ward’s

“Will you please excuse us?” a woman says.

Micah and I move aside and give way to her. On her hand, is a syringe as large as her arm. She attaches a host on its end before injecting it on the tree. My eyes refuse to blink as I await what will happen next. A second or two later, a silver and gold glittering liquid is extracted from the tree. It slowly flows in the syringe then to the host and finally to the container that’s mounted in a cart.

My desire to know what’s happening is so strong that it unconsciously bursts to my mouth. “What are you doing?”

All of them, including Micah, gawk at me which makes me feel that I’m the only one who’s in the dark. I purse my lips as I rub my palms on my skirt, patiently waiting for an answer.

The woman looks at her companions before reverting her eyes back to me. “This is for an experiment.”

'An experiment?'

As much as I would like to get some more clarification, I hold back coz a better idea emerges in my mind. “Can you show it to me?”

Without any hesitation, she responds with firmness. “Of course!”

We follow them until we reach the underground of the palace and as what I expect, we have to undergo another security verification. One by one we are scanned by this Face Recognition Access Control System.

‘Princess Atarah enters the laboratory.’

I sheepishly jogs as my eyes wander with thrill but then...

‘Unauthorized access denied.’

My hunch serves me right when Micah steps back from the scanner with lowered shoulders and gaze. Then a siren peals in the area which makes me hold my breath while moving in no particular direction with tottering steps. The ear-splitting sound is halted quickly when someone presses a button on one of the machines.

I rest my hand on my waist and the other on my chest while catching some air.

“I’m sorry, you can’t go any further,” says the short woman to Micah.

Micah tilts her head but before she could turn around, I gesture for her to wait. I walk in front of the woman in white coat and smile. “Maybe next time, what time am I allowed to come down here?”

For the second time, she stares at me with so much perplexity in her expression which I brush off.

'It’s better to appear stupid than to commit a mistake.'

It takes a while before she could speak. “Anytime. The best is during morning where more scientists are working. Dr. Gregory always works in the morning too.”

“Right. Thanks! I’ll be back.”

She reciprocates my smile then I turn to Micah and we both head back to my room.

It has been hours since we left the laboratory but my head is still struggling not to think about it. I roll on my bed back-and-forth while squeezing my eyelids close but the rustle of the silk against my skin adds to the nuisance that I’m feeling. A couple of more rolling here and there, and finally, my body concedes to my consciousness. I stand up and walk towards the window. When I try to push the glass, I realize that the window is fixed and can’t be opened however, it turns from opaque to transparent, revealing the night sky. After deliberately thinking of what should I do next, I grab my night coat and get out of my room.

'There must be something about that laboratory that makes me this anxious. I have to find out what it is.'

When I arrive at the underground and enter the laboratory, there are only four scientists in there which are a lot lesser compared to earlier. They don’t mind my presence, I guess because I’m the princess – someone special. After bowing or curtsying, they carry on with whatever they’re doing. The lab is well lit and there are blue lights which contrast the white walls, I’m not sure if those lights serve any purpose or they’re simply for the aesthetic appeal of the ambiance. Huge and long metallic tubes are strangled against one another on one side of the wall while arrays of monitors and apparatus occupy the other wall. My feet wander with my eyes, I only look but never touch anything. I don’t know how long have I been here but I haven’t seen any trace of the magical tree’s extract until one door with ‘authorized personnel only’ tag pulls my interest. I place my index finger on the biometric device that’s installed on the steel door. My heart clunks when I remember the loud siren noise from earlier. I bite my lip while saying a little prayer in my head then a click chimes in my ear.

“Yes!” I shout in elation but immediately cover my mouth as my sight roam to check if there’s someone near me, there’s none. The four of them are quite far from where I am and still hard press with their businesses so I proceed opening the door but my jaw drops the moment I step inside. I gasp, my heart beats fast while my breathing shortens. What my eyes are seeing is beyond what my imagination could fathom. The scene makes my muscles shiver in terror.

“This is unreal.”