Pay the Price

The preview

 The triplets, Connor, Myrah, and Christopher, had just turned five years old; they were very excited for their birthday cakes. They were triplets, which meant triple the cake, and of three different flavours. But where there was more food, there was more room for mess. Especially with three little children.

Not only that, they'd receive a small family gift, items that were passed down generations for each new member of the family, which they were also excited for.

One thing that they were a bit unsure with was being sung to by people. Connor hated the song because it was repetitive and boring, Myrah thought it was too short, and Christopher didn't like being sung to. He hated attention; he hated the spotlight. Unless it was paparazzi, and he could go up to hug them.

"Christopher! Are you excited for tonight?" Connor almost shrieked at his brother, clutching onto his arm like his life depended on it. Myrah clasped onto Christopher's other arm very tightly. "We get to have a red velvet and a chocolate cake tonight!"

The triplets looked nearly identical; same black, pin straight hair, little freckles over their noses, very light brown skin tone, and they even had the same birthmark under their right eyes that were somehow shaped like hearts. The only thing that allowed people to tell them apart was their height and their eye colours.

Christopher was the tallest by a few centimetres taller and had baby blue eyes that no one could recognise. He didn't get them from his mother's side nor his father's side, he just happened to have blue eyes. Connor, on the other hand, was slightly under average for a five-year-old and had green eyes that looked like sparkly emeralds. Myrah was in the middle, average height for a five-year-old girl, and had stunning brown eyes like a tiger's eye gem.

"Of course, I am. Are you?" Christopher held Connor's hand, trying to push both his siblings off with annoyance. He didn't like being touched by anyone, unless it was a brief hug. Not just that, because his siblings couldn't stop jumping off of the walls, they had very sweaty hands, which Christopher was far too aware of.

Another thing was their contrasting personalities. Connor and Myrah were very energetic, theatrical and excitable, whereas Christopher was more closed off, reserved, shy, and quiet. Around each other, though, they were impossibly loud and rowdy. Especially Connor.

"Yes! Yes!" The shorter two of the three were practically jumping, hugging their brother tightly despite the protests they received. Connor was the eldest triplet, born twenty minutes before Myrah and forty minutes before Christopher, so he felt like it was his duty to annoy Christopher as much as humanly possible.

"Are you three ready to get your gifts in just an hour?" Their mother knelt down, kissing their foreheads. Connor and Myrah nodded, smiles present on their faces. Christopher didn't answer at all. He didn't like acknowledging his parents as all they did was scream at him, hit him, or ignore him. "Fantastic."

"Let's get these three ready, love. We don't want to panic when they cover their nice shirts in chocolate icing and sprinkles." Hernando, their father, suggested, taking Christopher's hand to take him to their room. Melena agreed, and she picked Connor and Myrah up, leading her husband to the triplet's bedroom to get them ready.

~

The entire town decided to attend the triplet's fifth birthday as they were the first set of triplets seen since the 1890s, so they were also considered miracles as such. What was meant to be a family affair turned into an elaborate party. The press attended, and so did strangers.

Connor, Myrah, and Christopher were confused at the large crowd as they were lead to the table where the cakes stood. They clung to each other, scared by all the attention on them. More so Christopher as he hated attention of any kind from anyone; it was stress inducing to him. He was used to the press, but not the crowd. He had an anxiety disorder, as well as autism, which wasn't very recognised in their town. It affected his sociability and interactions.

They were set in their seats at the table, their parents kneeling by Connor and Myrah's side while Christopher was left on his own. He looked around, reaching out to his older sister, Delilah. She went to her youngest sibling, and he held her hand while she knelt by his side.

"Kids, are you ready for everyone to sing happy birthday to you?" The triplet's grandmother asked. Elizabeth Aetos, the Great Duchess of the High Court of Greece. A title she earned from great sacrifice. The three looked at each other, silently communicating to each other. Christopher stood up in his chair, getting Delilah to carry him instead. It made him feel safer from the crowd.

As the singing began, the triplets tried to recoil from the people practically screaming at them. Delilah hugged her little brother, singing much quieter. She knew very well that Christopher was prone to meltdowns in overwhelming situations, and she wanted to prevent that.

Once all the voices calmed down, the triplets had to blow out their candles in age order from youngest to eldest, so Delilah held Christopher closer to his candles. He quickly blew them out and was given a family heirloom. An amulet. It had a tree in the centre, a palace behind the tree, and a figure by the tree.

Myrah then blew out her candles, being given a pretty pair of earrings that had little ladybeetles on them. Finally, Connor blew out his candles and was then given the strangest gift of the three. A retractable spyglass.

Everyone was confused, but then frightened as Christopher, who was usually calm, started bawling his eyes out. At first, they thought he was throwing a tantrum, which he never did, but then they saw him holding his head. He was covering his ears and ended up screaming in pain.

Delilah panicked. She was only eleven, and didn't understand why her little brother was wailing in pain. He wouldn't say a thing about it, and all she could do was freeze.

"Put him down, darling. Let me check if he's okay." Larisa said, so Delilah listened, and Larisa checked on her nephew. "I don't see anything wrong. It may be a headache, and young Chris may not know how to react." She said with confusion, letting her nephew cling to her, rubbing his head.

"Is he okay?" Hernando asked, rolling his at his son. He fully believed it was a tantrum. Even if the crying was clearly one of pain.

"He will be after a bit of a rest." Larisa responded, picking Christopher up. "Do you want to get a picture quickly, angel?" She asked her nephew, and he nodded. But he didn't want a photo with his grandparents and great-grandmother by himself, he wanted Larisa to stay.

When the picture was taken, Christopher's ears appeared pointed, his canines slightly sharper than usual, but no one noticed the change. Then he was whisked off to bed to alleviate the sudden pain he felt as sleep did help.

However, as soon as Larisa left, the incident that took place would haunt the Aetos family for a long time. When Connor and Myrah were taken to bed, Christopher wasn't there. Everyone searched everywhere for him, but he was nowhere. And his amulet was gone. He had vanished without a trace.

The only other thing different about the triplet's bedroom was the window. The window was opened, the curtains flowing with the wind. His bed was perfectly made, but he was gone.

He had vanished. And no one would see him again. Not for ten, long and excruciating years.