[ALEK’S POV]
The Silvers’ are still a mess. Mrs. Silvers took an entire week off work to stay with Yasuo, who’s been crying since he woke and discovered Nami wasn’t by his side.
Everyone at school want to know where she is, too. Nami’s never been out of school. Even Hallie Stone showed authentic concern. All I could tell them what that I didn’t know. Aterra and Aimee showed up two days after I left Nami in Inae’ach’iad. They said they had been on a mission from their father. He sent them to visit their stepmother in the hospital. Aterra seemed more sullen after the visit, and she argued that she wasn’t
Nine days I’ve been without Nami. I counted the days on my calendar.
I’ve also been in Inae’ach’iad every day after school lets out and staying until late at night, figuring out the best way to get into the castle undetected and the fastest way of doing so.
“Back again?” Isaac asked. I looked up from my layout of the castle, and nodded.
“How are we going to find out where she even is?” I asked, looking back down at the layout. “I mean, she could be anywhere. And there are so many cellars and room…” I trailed off, holding my head in my hands.
“Have you talked to Damian and Elijah?” Isaac asked. I nodded.
“Damian offered to sneak in. It’s a brilliant idea, but we have no idea where Nami is,” I mumbled. Isaac patted my shoulder sympathetically and walked off, leaving me to sulk and drown in my thoughts.
Sometime in my sulking, I fell asleep. I woke when Isaac shook my shoulder. He told me that it was well past eleven, and that I should go home. Before I left, I gave him my layout, with rooms and entire areas crossed off where Nami definitely was not.
.::~::.
When I got home, I promptly collapsed on the couch. At the same time, my mother walked into the room. I pretended to be asleep.
“Alek, I know you’re awake,” she said, seeing right through my bluff. I opened one eye to look at her. My mother stared at me with wide, brown eyes.
No wonder Father fell for her. I mean, what guy could resist such brown eyes? I know I can’t resist Nami’s gray-blue ones, but eyes like my mother’s are like chocolate to a girl…or something. No, I do not love my mother like that. God no. That’s just sick and wrong.
I sighed. “Mom. If you were a cynical man, most likely bent on deflowering a beautiful young maiden, and you kept her somewhere locked in your castle, where would it be?” I asked, staring at the ceiling.
“Somewhere I could humiliate her publicly,” Mom answered simply. I turned my head to her.
“Wouldn’t you want to keep her near you?”
“Why? I’ve just achieved a major goal. Why not show off?”
“Spoken like a true maniac.” She laughed and sat down on the arm of the chair, near my head.
“I…I just don’t know what to think,” I whispered.
Nami got what she wanted. Yasuo was safe, if a bit broken. But he was safe. Now it’s my turn to get what I want. Nami was coming home…I just didn’t know how to do it.
“You’ll figure it out,” Mom said quietly. “You’ll save your beautiful young maiden. You are her knight in shining armor, after all.”
[END POV]
Short chapter, I know. Chapter 18 is TONS longer, trust me. I think it's seven pages in my notebook. sweatdrop
It's amazing, anyway.
