Street Signs

Chapter 19

BRIELLE

He awakened my soul.

I was sleeping peacefully when Prince Valor carried me out of the bed and brought me into the bathroom. I asked him what the hell he was doing to me, but he just told me to shut up because someone outside the room might hear me. When I heard the multiple loud knocks on the door, I just realized that someone was outside already and looking for him.

"Listen," the prince mouthed after putting me down, "you have to stay in here until I gave you the signal to come out. Change your clothes now and when I come back, I will help you get out of my room safely."

"Do I really have to change my clothes now?" I asked him, puckering my brow.

The prince nodded. "Use the one which I gave to you last night."

"As in now?"

"What's wrong?"

"I think I can't do that while you're still in here. Isn't it awkward?"

Prince Valor patted his forehead. "Of course, I'll leave. I'm not saying you're going to change your clothes now that I am here. But if you'd like... al-"

"Nah, I'm fine," I pushed him away. "Go now. The door might be ruined in seconds if you don't proceed." Before I could lock the door, I heard him whisper about the dress, so I opened it again and waited for him to give me the apparel. When done, I pushed him away again and locked the door so I could finally change my clothes.

As I was wearing the dress that the prince gave me, the voices outside the room reached my ears. I listened thoroughly to it and when I heard someone mentioning a girl that he seemed to have heard, my heart had beat swiftly. I was obviously the girl that man was talking about. My bad!

"What are you saying?" the prince's voice rang in my ears.

"We think we've heard someone in your room, Prince. It may be a girl if we are not mistaken?"

"You are really mistaken because I don't have someone staying in the room with me. It's just me, my body, my soul, and my shadow. What you've heard maybe just a product of your imagination. Did the king and queen give you a delicious breakfast?"

"Yes, Prince. The food is actually good... as ever!"

"Well, that's good. I thought you didn't eat because you are all hallucinating," the prince said. "Alright, proceed now and I'll follow. I'll just take a bath and change my clothes. Please, tell the king and queen."

"Zaraswati, Prince Valor."

I hurried to dress up when a knock on the bathroom door sounded. However, I could not do it well since the prince's voice was giving more intensity to me for he couldn't wait. "I'm coming. Just wait a bit!" I said, trying to lower my voice, but still in an irritated manner.

"Why are you so slow?" he asked.

"I can't lock the zipper, you know! Just wait, okay, until I fixed it? Give me a minute more."

"Let me do it for you."

"No, I can do it myself."

"Alright, as you said. But please, make it faster. We have to leave before the men could come back."

"Okay, just a minute..." I groaned as I was trying to reach the zipper to the very end, at the highest part of my back; however, I could not still lock it.

"Hey, are you still alive there?" the prince asked, which brought out the red blood inside me.

"Of course, I am!" I said. "I can't lock it. Just a minute more, please."

"I told you to let me help you. Don't worry, okay? I will close my eyes, so you can't say anything. Just guide me where the zipper is. If you're thinking something inappropriate, clear that. I respect your body and won't do anything to it. Just let me help you with the zipper so we can go now. They are waiting for me already."

I didn't talk for some time, but when I thought I could trust him, I told him to close his eyes and I would be opening the door. "Give me your hand and I'll lead it to the zipper," I told him.

The prince did hold his hand to me, and when he touched the zipper already, he gently locked it. And when done, he opened his eyes again and told me to wait for him because he would just be changing his attire as well. The moment he come out of the bathroom, he gave me a pucker in the brow.

"Why is your hair dry?" I asked him.

"Should it be wet?" he giggled.

"I mean, you're going to meet the king and queen, right?"

"Yeah, but we are running out of time already. When you heard a knock there, we're de-" The prince wasn't able to continue to what he was saying when there was a knock on the door again. Instead, he went to me in haste and carried me again going through the bathroom. "And now we're dead," he said before he left me there without even explaining.

I sat knee-deep in silence, already feeling the fear in my chest waiting to take over. While hearing the murmurs outside, I was starting to overthink again. I thought those were the same men and now, they came back to convince the prince to come with them since the king and queen were waiting for him for an important appointment, I guessed.

After the sound of locking the door, there was complete silence. I attempted to slightly open the door to peek over. I had seen none; the prince was no longer there. I thought I was left all alone inside, so I planned to exit the bathroom to check if the door was indeed locked. My eyes became watery when I knew it was locked and I could not do anything to open it. Another day might pass again. Now I could say that the prince was right, we were already dead.

I rubbed my face in my palm and groaned silently. What would I do now? I could be miserable if I didn't do anything to escape. But, how? Eyes were everywhere and with just one wrong move, I would be in trouble.

There was a deep silence.

For some time, I was just stupidly looking straight at the wall, thinking that I was left all alone in here, and worst, I was locked. How could I even escape with this?

I wandered my eyes everywhere inside the room and looked for somewhere and something that I could use for exiting the room safely. Minutes had passed, until frustration ruled over my face, I could not find any way. It seemed that I was indeed locked in here and there was no open spot for me to go in order for me to be free in this room.

Clenching my fist, a sound from the room aroused; it seemed to be a phone ringtone. I roamed around the square to find it because it did not stop ringing, for almost two minutes the sound would just repeat. Until then, my eyes caught a light coming from my pocket. I abruptly took it and got amazed, knowing that I had my phone with me and it was the one that was ringing! However, looking at the caller's ID, I hesitated if I would be going to answer it or not.

What should I say to Dad?

Eventually, I threw my phone on the bed and just let it ring until it ended. I had no plans of talking to my dad as of this moment because I didn't know what to say to him. I wouldn't just tell him I was in a different place because I was lost, nor I would tell him the camp was just fine if, in the first place, I wasn't actually there. What if I was asked about the happenings, what would I say as an excuse? Knowing my dad, he would always ask for the specific.

When the phone stopped ringing, I immediately proceeded to the messages to check if Dad left one, and I was surprised to see a hundred. I tried reading all of them since my battery was running low and I didn't have my charger with me, unfortunately. I was still about to open the sixth unread messages when my phone became completely dead. Nevertheless, even though I didn't read them, I knew what the messages were all about.

Since yesterday, Dad bad been calling and texting me. He was asking how I was doing in the camp and why was not I even answering.

Thinking of how my dad was worried about me, I was being guilty. For all the time, what I did was to make him overthink about me. I was trying to change, but every time I'd do, something unexpected would happen that was becoming a hindrance for me to attain the development I was aiming for.

It had been tough, always.

Yet, being motivated by the calls and text messages coming from my dad, I breathed in and out to strengthen my spirit. At stake or not, I must leave this place.