7. Sosta
1984 Words
Someone knocks loudly on the door. I jump over the back of the couch.
Alden laughs. "ENTER."
I hear Mr. Aver, "The painting of her parents is done. I wanted to drop it off personally. Do you know if she wanted another 1 redone?"
I jump clear over the couch and run for the painting.
Alden holds it up in the air. "Slow down."
I fall to my knees and cry.
"Here." He props it up against the wall on the floor. I crawl over. I miss them so much.
"Mayra, do you remember anything about the attack?"
"They hurt me."
"They?"
"They."
"Do you know what kinds of weapons they used?"
"Everything." I run my fingers along where I felt the whip hit my face. That hurt so much. I felt my skin split apart.
"Do you remember anything specific, sweetheart?"
"Swords, daggers, whips, fists, a rock, something in my throat, chains. Everything."
"Why are you rubbing your face, Mayra?"
"Someone hit me in the face with a whip. It sliced me to my bones."
"What do you think of the painting?"
"That's my momma and daddy. They were so fancy that day. We had a ball, and they got the painting done."
"Do you have any others you want redone?"
I jump up and run.
Alden yells, "THEY ARE IN THE OFFICE HERE. I had your whole office moved."
I run over, and my stuff is in this office now. They set it up exactly like it was, right down to the jewelry on the shelves. I pick up another painting of my parents and go back towards the sitting room. I hear them talking as I get outside the door.
"You do realize there will be other hidden offices here. We need to find them before the students do."
I bounce in with my painting. "Here you go."
"Thank you Mayra. I'll let them know we found another painting. I'll bring it back in a few days."
"Thank you, sir."
"Of course." Aver leaves with my painting.
Alden puts his arm around me and leads me to the couch. "Do you know where any other hidden offices are?"
I look at the painting of my parents and shake my head.
He tilts my chin up and looks into my eyes. Then he puts an eyebrow up. "Let's not lie to each other."
"I don't want to tell."
"Ok. That's an honest answer. Thank you for that. But you need to know that we are going to search now."
"Why?"
"When you came through the bookshelf during my class, the students saw that. They are going to explore, and we don't want them finding a hidden office by accident. They could steal or destroy so much."
"Oh."
"We have to be careful."
"You should send out the search. I don't know where they all are."
"Do you know how many are here?"
"No. The advisors would have been offered 1. As well as royalty. But they were built with the castle, not for the people. So there are probably like 30 or so. It doesn't mean they're all used though. Let's go see if the blueprints for the castle survived."
"Where are they?"
"Daddy's secret office."
"Do you care if Victor, Clark, and Aver come too? That way they can see what they are looking for. I'm not sure if we could find a hidden office if it was right in front of us."
"I don't know Clark."
"Victor and Aver ok?"
"Ok. But I need a different outfit. I don't want to ruin this."
"Go change and I'll get them here. You are pretty in this dress. I don't want it to get ruined either."
I smile and throw my arms around his neck. I give him a big hug then run to my room. I get changed out of the fancy stuff quickly. I put on my servant-looking dress, tennis shoes, and pull my hair back in a ponytail.
Alden is standing by the door with Aver and Victor. I smile and jump up and down.
"WELL LETS GO THEN." Victor jumps at me.
I crack up laughing and run for it.
I hear Aver say, "This is going to be the fastest search ever."
I run over to the old office wing. The builders haven't touched it and everything is dirty. I'm so glad I changed clothes. I get into the first office, and they run in the tunnels with me. I know where daddy's office is. I found it by accident once. I run to it. Then I jump up and down outside it.
"Why do we stop?" Victor looks around.
"Look at the ceiling. See that spot right there?" I point at what looks like a little burn mark in the wood. "That's the symbol for a door."
"Wow, that's not very visible."
"Suppose to be hidden. Then this hole in the wood here... Put your finger in and you'll feel a button switch thing. Push it." I do it and the wall pops in a little. "Then you push the door about 6 inches and guide it to the side."
There's a big desk facing the door. Behind it on the wall are 3 paintings. 1 each of my momma, Fane, and me. We were younger but he never moved those. They were his favorite. I check the shelves. "That was my first tiara."
"This is like walking back in time." Victor barely touches something on a shelf.
Aver nods and stares at daddy's armor.
I walk behind the desk. "You remember how you did that with your phone when I was on the bird?"
"Yes."
"You should do that again. When we open the plans they may disintegrate. If you have images, it will be more useful."
All of them get their phones out.
I take momma's painting off the wall and expose the hole behind it. Aver has his phone pointed at me already. I go to pull the scrolls out.
"Stop baby. We need somewhere clean to do this."
"The more we move them, the worse they'll get. I'll grab some plastic. Don't do anything yet."
I turn back around and Victor speeds out of the room. Then I pull the safety latch on the desk. The side pops out a little and I open it. I pull out a big sword.
"How did that open Mayra?" Aver points his phone at me.
"A little switch right here."
He moves his phone over and records it. Then he feels it. "Ok, thank you. Is it always a weapons area?"
"No. I've seen people keep emergency money in them too. But yea, mainly a sword or dagger will be put in them."
"Are there any other hidden spots on the desk?"
"Sometimes. If they ordered it that way. They're not all the same."
Victor comes back in with a big thing and his arms full. "I got a light for over the desk and plastic."
They get it set up, and I lay the scroll on the desk. They are recording from different angles. I pull the ties off easily. Then unroll it. It holds together fairly well. They record it for a long time. Then they put more plastic on it and carry the whole desk out.
Aver comes back and gets the paintings. Then Alden summons Kina and she gets some servants. They get everything moved up to Alden's office.
I go home and take a shower. Then I open my new stuff. I'm better today about not throwing it everywhere. I use a big box as the trash collector and fold up boxes as I open them. I get everything put away, and I am so happy. I might have everything now.
I walk up to Aldens office before dinner. I want to see how they are doing with the sorting of daddy's office. I get outside the door and hear them talking.
"Yea, the house in the werewolf village is done. It's ready if anyone needs a vacation."
Jenny says, "I need a vacation from the dust and dirt."
They hate it here. Why are they even here?
Alden says, "Yea, I want to go over too."
My heart shatters. I don't think we had a bond connected between us, but that doesn't stop my heart from breaking.
They keep talking and laughing, but I'm already halfway down the hallway. I can't stop the tears, and I am running as fast as I can. I run all the way to the royal wing and into my moved hidden office. I grab the box off the desk. I want to know where home is more than anything.
Alden comes 3 seconds later. He picks me up and sits me on my desk. "I didn't know they built it. They built it as an escape plan. If you woke up mad that we were spending money and changing everything, we had to have somewhere to run to. Nobody would search for us in the middle of a werewolf packland. I swear, I didn't even know they decided to build it there. And I want to go back and see it with you." I start sobbing. He pulls me against his chest and holds me. "I'm so sorry I did this to you. You deserve so much more than me. But I will never go to someone else, baby. I am yours. I'm sorry I've given you reason to doubt us." He kisses my head and rubs my hair. Then he looks into my eyes. "When I saw your eyes for the first time, I knew you were mine. I felt our bond connect. I have never wanted anyone else since that day. I never will. I am all yours, baby. I promise."
I throw my arms around him and hug him tight.
He picks me up and rubs my back. "I'm right here. I'm never leaving you."
I snuggle him and calm down.
"What have you got here?"
"When I finished school, a messenger delivered it. He said it would always point me home. I want to go home."
"Where is home, baby?"
"I don't know."
"Do you know who sent it?"
"No idea. And no way of finding out now."
"We'll take a break 1 of these days and go see what it points to. Maybe we need to get away. This has been so stressful."
"That would be fun."
"Yes it would." He kisses my head.
Someone knocks on the door. He hugs me then puts me on my feet and dries his eyes. I didn't know he was crying. I run out, and I open the door to my favorite person ever.
"Must have missed a box earlier. Only 1."
"Thank you, sir."
"Of course. You have a good day." He hands it to the guard and walks away.
I take the letter off the top of the box. "That's weird. Nothing else came with letters."
The guard puts an eyebrow up. "Let me open it." He opens it then hands it to me. "Paper."
-I took care of the problem, my dearest sosta. You're welcome.-
I drop it and scream so loud. The guard triggers the alarm not even knowing why I don't think. But I can not get away from that box fast enough. I fall over my own feet and try crawling backwards down the hallway.
Alden picks me up, and I wrap around him.
Alkawn runs down the hall towards us. "What is going on?"
"She got a box. Read the letter and started screaming."
Alkawn picks it up. "I took care of the problem, my dearest sosta. You're welcome. Sosta?"
I sob and bury my eyes in Alden's neck. "Sister."
"Both of you go. Guards get this box outside. We'll open it there. But do not open it until I'm out there."
"Yes sir."
- Writer
