Darkness! that's all I could see. Then suddenly a white light approached me. It got closer and closer. In the blink of an eye, I found myself outside my house, at least what remained of it. My house was in flames!
I screamed but couldn't hear my voice. I saw my sister staggering out of our home, clutching her chest. She fell onto the ground. I ran towards her but I couldn't see clearly. I was surrounded by heavy black soot.
"Help!" I could hear my sister call out weakly. I tried to run, but for some reason, I couldn't get to her.
Jolting up in fear, I woke up to see that it was morning. My heart was pounding hard, my breathing was harsh. "It was just a nightmare." Aurora mumbled. I fell back down in my bed. I rarely had nightmares, and when I do, it was a sign. And this nightmare in particular was very frightening.
Getting up, I got ready for the day. I later realized that my sister, Gwen, had left for somewhere. My parents weren't around so I was the only one at home.
My mother Is a tailor while my father is a sculptor. We aren't rich, we live a very humble life like every other villager. I was sweeping when I heard a knock on the door. I opened up to see a messenger.
"This is for your father, Mr Harson." The man handed me a letter and took his leave. I stared at the letter curiously. I opened up the letter and began to read the contents. The letter read;
"This is to remind you of the money you owe us Mr Harson. If the money is not paid in the next one week, there will be consequences."
I was astonished! What is this? 'How does father owe people money?' I wondered. I sat down and re-read the letter. There was no name nor any seal to know where it came from. I became very worried. 'How much is he owing? Could those people really do something bad if the money isn't paid?'
So many thoughts ran through my head but I couldn't find an answer to any of them. I sealed the letter back and dropped it on the table. 'I will have to talk to Gwen when she returns.' I thought and went back to completing my house chores.
****
Twenty minutes later, Gwen arrived. "Good morning sister.""Hi, where were you?"
"Well mother gave me some things to give to people and to get some materials for her."
Ok, do you know anything about father owing some people money?"
"No, why do you ask?" Gwen asked, slightly confused.
"Because of this." I said and gave her the letter. She read the letter and I could clearly see the shocked expression on her face. "Father borrowed money and now he can't pay back? But when did this happen?"
"I don't know. Do you think we should ask him?"
"No, not now." Gwen said.
"But why?" I asked confused.
"We will give him the letter and see his reaction and maybe later we could ask him." Gwen said.
I sighed. "Alright." I said and left for the kitchen.
****Later that day****
Mother was back and we helped her to prepare lunch.
"So when are you girls going to see the crown prince?" Mrs Harson asked her daughters.
"We are required to see the future king by 4pm." Gwen told her.
"Can you girls go on your own?"
"We will be fine." Gwen answered. She just nodded;
"Ok, just be extremely careful. The palace will be very crowded so don't leave each other's side, and come home straight away when you are finished ok?"
"Ok, we will mom, don't worry." I said while trying to assure our mother. The door opened up, It was their father.
"Hello father." Gwen and I greeted. I went to the kitchen to get him a glass of water.
"Father, this came for you." Gwen said and handed the letter to her father. Mr Harson stared at the letter, wondering what it was about. He opened the letter and read through it.
Meanwhile, I came back with the glass of water in my hands. I found father reading the letter, taking a quick look at Gwen, I saw a normal expression on her face. Mr Harson's face turned sour when he finished reading the letter. Immediately, Mrs Harson came into the living room and noticed that something was wrong with her husband.
"What is the matter?" Asked Mrs Harson.
"Nothing important." He replied.
'If he doesn't tell mom, why would he tell us?' I wondered. "Father have this." I said to him. He collected the glass, sat on our overused couch and he drank every drop of the water. Gwen collected the glass and dropped it on a nearby stool.
Gwen and I, stood two feet away from our father. I knew the letter had worried him. I could only wonder what will happen next
Mrs Harson knowing that something was wrong with her husband decided to find out what happened.
"Girls, I need you to go get some items for dinner" She gave them 5 silver coins and a list of items she quickly wrote down on a small piece of paper.
"Ok, we will be back soon." Gwen said and dragged me out of the house. She led us to the back of the house where there was a small window that enabled us to see the living room.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Spying on them. I think mom knows about everything." Gwen said. I gave her a look, before looking through the window.
"So what happened?" Mrs Harson asked her husband. He didn't answer, he didn't answer, he only handed the letter to her and she read it. She couldn't believe what she read. These people were threatening them!
"What are we going to do now?"
"I don't know, I don't have fifty gold coins to pay within a week."
Gwen and I were extremely shocked. Fifty gold coins! But why did father borrow such amount of money? I wondered. I stared at Gwen and she had a pale expression on her face, so did I.
"Well what are we going to do? How will we pay up? We used all the money for Aurora's medication when she was sick." Mrs Harson said.
'So that's how they were able to pay for my drugs.' I thought. I felt really bad. They didn't have to borrow money just for my sake. Now they are in a huge debt and they don't know how they will get out of it. I felt Gwen wrap her arm around me. "It's not your fault." Gwen said.
"Of course it is. They shouldn't have done that."
"They had no other choice Aurora."
"Yes but now they are in trouble with some people who will not take it easy if the money isn't paid." I said. I was starting to feel anxious. 'What are we going to do now?' I wondered.
"But I really don't understand something. They gave us five months to pay the money, but it has only been a month." Mrs Harson said.
"Wait they can't do that." Gwen whispered.
"They tricked mother and father." I said bitterly.
"Yes, they did give five months but I guess it was all a lie. " Mr Harson said. "Don't worry, we will figure it out." He said.
"Let's go." Gwen whispered. We left and headed to the market. I still couldn't stop thinking about everything.
"Do not bother yourself Aurora. Everything will be ok." She said while patting my arm.
I simply nodded and we walked into the market square in total silence.
****At the palace**** A woman dressed in royal regalia was talking to some maids. The coronation will begin in two hours and she wanted everything to go well for her son's coronation. Queen Miranda has been the one running the matters of the kingdom since her husband, the previous king died. But now it was her son's responsibility. She was really thrilled. The next thing she has to do is to find a suitable queen for him. The ballroom was filled with decorations. Every maid in the palace did one thing or the other. Queen Miranda, ordered one of the maids to go get her son. The maid got to his quarters and knocked. "Come in." The deep voice sounded. "Your highness, Queen Miranda requests your presence in the ballroom." The maid said with her head bowed. The man was seated at the dressing table. He was surrounded by three maids who were getting him ready. He had inky black hair that was combed back. His face was nothing less to that of a Greek god. He waved his hand and the maids m
At the Harson's; They got back home a few minutes later. Gwen was really excited. She couldn't believe that she actually saw the King. He was so handsome! For some reason she felt giddy inside. She immediately scolded herself. She couldn't be a acting like other girls in the village."How was it?" Mrs Harson asked. "It was very interesting." Gwen replied happily. "Didn't you like it Aurora?" Mrs Harson asked her youngest daughter."It was okay." I replied casually. Gwen stared at her mother. She couldn't believe that her parents had a debt to pay and they acted as if everything was alright. She just hopes everything goes back to normal. "Girls! Come help me make dinner." Mrs Harson called which made Gwen come back to reality. Aurora and Gwen then went to the kitchen to help their mother but with different thoughts running through their minds. At the Royal palace;King Alexander was sitted on his throne in the meeting room. On his right was his trusted assistant George. A man th
At the palace;A man rode on a horse, towards the gates of the palace. He wore a green uniorm and a green cap. He pulled the horse's reins and it neighed and immediately stopped. One of the guards asked; "Who do you seek?" The manreplied; "I am here to deliver a letter meant for the royal family."The second guard collected the letter from the man. "It will be delivered." The second guard said. The messenger nodded and rode away. ****At the village market****Martha and Princess Ella walked through the bustling market. Ella, who was dressed in simple clothings, had a big gleam in her eyes. She was really excited! This was the first time she was walking in a market. She rarely goes out especially ever since the war started. Her mother preferred she stayed in the place where she can be protected at all times. "Martha where are we going next?" She asked."Let's go get some vegetables." They got to a vegetable stand, where a woman with blonde hair stood. She had an apron tied around
Three days later;The kingdom of Devon was currently mourning the death of their prince. The news was announced two days ago. The people were shocked by the news, they all wondered how it happened, until they found out that he died on the battlefield. The head of the army declared a week of mourning for the late prince. None of the royal family members came out to address the kingdom. It was quite understandable. The people lit lanterns in the sky for the deceased. It was a very sad day for them. The person who took the news very badly was princess Ella. She had locked herself in her room since she heard the news and only came out for his funeral. She found it hard to believe. Martha got to the princess's chambers and knocked. "Princess Ella, can I come in?" She asked. Princess Ella hadn't eaten since yesterday morning and even her last meal was very little. She was getting really worried. She couldn't tell Queen mother Miranda because she was in the exact same state. King Alexand
Gwen and Aurora finally got home. Gwen barged through the door and headed straight to our room, while I headed to the kitchen. When I got there, I saw mother."Hello mother. Do you need help?""Yes Aurora, where is Gwen?" Mrs Harson asked. "She's in the room. Mother, the entire village is so quiet. It's almost as if there's nobody living here.""It's because of the prince's death. It was the same during the previous king's death." She explained."It must be really tough for the royal family. I never thought that the prince was in the army. He died while protecting his kingdom." I said. "He is an honourable man. Aurora, we are going on a trip tomorrow.""Where are we going?" I asked with a confused look on my face."To your aunt's place. Do you remember her? The one who lives in Lari town.""Oh, It's been long we've visited her." I said while trying to read my mother. "Exactly that's why I want us to go visit.""Where are we visiting mother?" Gwen asked when she entered the kitchen
Evening time came and Aunt Christiana's husband had arrived. He and my father chatted about many things after dinner. Aunt Christiana sons, Sam and Scott weren't back yet. Sam was the youngest while Scott was two years older than he was and Scott was a year younger than Gwen. It's been long I've seen them and I wondered where they were. The door opened and two men came in. The younger one had blonde long hair and striking blue eyes. He was quite good looking and had a well built body. The other which was the oldest had brown hair and a charming face. He also had a nice body frame like his brother. "Mom, we're home." Scott said. "There you two are. You got me very worried." Aunt Christiana said in relief when she saw her sons. "We're sorry mom, you know how our job is like." Sam said with a smile. "And who are you two." Mr Harson said with a look of suprise. He couldn't believe he was staring at his nephews. They were even taller than he was now."Uncle Chris, You're here! It's bee
The next day; It's been two days that we arrived at aunt Christiana's house. She's been treating us well and we really enjoy spending time with her and our cousins. Today, my parents went to visit another aunt of ours who lived not to far from aunt Christina's. Aurora and Gwen decided to stay back and help out. Sam and Scott didn't go to work today. I didn't know what work they did and I didn't bother asking them."Gwen, Aurora. I need you two to head to the market quickly for me. I have to head to the shop, Scott and Sam will accompany you.""They don't need to aunt, We can go on our own." Said Gwen. "You two are new here, They won't mind. The list is on the table. Thanks ladies." She said hurriedly and left. I took the list and looked at what was written on it. "Where are the two special ladies that we're accompanying this fine afternoon " Scott said while barging in. He came in with Sam. They always did things together and even go to the same work place. They acted like an anno
The next day; It was late in the afternoon the next day and Mr and Mrs Harson hadn't returned. Gwen was pacing around the room while Aurora just sat down without saying anything."I wonder when aunt Christina will return, I hope she returns with mom and dad." Gwen said. "She should arrive soon." Aurora said simply. "Do you think something happened?""I don't know Gwen." Aurora said exasperatedly. Yesterday, she had a very bad feeling that something must have happened and now it seems so. The door opened and Aurora shook out of her thoughts. Gwen ran outside of the room and so did Aurora. "Aunt! Where are they?" Gwen asked. "Your aunt said they had left since yesterday afternoon and they should have returned yesterday. So right now, your parents are missing." She said with a sigh. "But they can't be missing! Do you think someone abducted them, or there was clash somewhere and they got caught up in it?" Aurora asked hurriedly. Her parents were missing! She would have never imagi