Soul Mates

Chapter 6

When Piper woke up with sleepy eyes and a rat's nest of hair, she found a breakfast had been laid out for her. Warm chocolate chip pancakes with thick cream and syrup awaited her, while a glass of orange juice stood elegantly beside a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Bacon and eggs complimented the dish of buttered toast, while peanut butter, Nutella, jam and other spreads had been placed along the side of the plate.

It was a good thing she was hungry.

After reducing her morning meal to a pile of crumbs, she looked around for something she could wear. Her eyes zoomed in on a handsome wooden wardrobe standing tall on the other side of the room.

Piper opened the door. The spectacular closet revealed an impressive assortment of designer clothes, from ballgowns to brand-name sweats. Now she could have Gucci embroidered down the side of her pants while she watched TV all day and ate. Yay.

She selected tight black pants with ruffles down the side and a bluey-green tank top that looked like the sea, swirling around calmly. She threw a green jacket on top and brushed her thick brown hair into a high ponytail.

Lacing up brown combat boots, she put her hand nervously on the crystal door handle. The door was just about to click open when someone knocked from the other side.

Holding her ears from the sudden rap on the door, Piper swung it open. Andrew stood in a black t-shirt and jeans, complimented with his dirty old tennis shoes. He stepped inside.

"Did you eat your breakfast? Good. We have a lot to talk about. After I fill you in, we have to go meet Mom, Dad and that Brenda woman for inauguration or whatever."

"Initiation?"

"Yeah. It'll make sense when I explain it. Okay, so you already know dear old Great Grandma was really famous here. Apparently she died putting her life at risk to save someone she loved.

According to Mom and Dad, her dying wish was for the Klondike line to help saving people and continue to work for the better. She wanted the world to be a better place than the world that she had lived in."

Piper nodded. So far, nothing had made her feel anything but the chocolate pancakes dancing happily in her stomach.

"Great Grandma believed that the Klondike line should be trained to be spies, as they all had natural talent, no matter who joined the bloodline. They're recruiting us, Pipes."

Now she was sitting up, the chocolate pancakes no longer dancing. They now swirled angrily, causing her to feel sick. Or maybe it was the news that she would have to leave her old life behind.

And then she found herself at the same conflict she'd had before. What was she going to lose, really? Her homework? To be honest with herself, she wouldn't mind learning something new.

She turned to Andrew. "Is that all?"

Andrew looked grim. "Not quite. The whole reason we've been pulled into this is because Tajni has a serious problem and they need every competent spy they can get on the case."

Piper was nervous. She wiped her sweaty palms on her leggings, which were not very absorbing. This did not help. "And what's that?"

"It's the mayor. He's corrupt. When he first ran for office the people loved him and they had good reason to, but his time as leader turned him cruel and power-hungry. He's trying to get with the right people to become a dictator, a ruler of the world.

As juvenile as it sounds, Tajni believes it's possible depending on how far he's willing to go. We need to stop him, and we can only do that if we are trained." Andrew concluded, looking at the time.

Piper shook her head, trying add some clarity to her muddled thoughts. Suddenly all the fires, floods, tornados... All the natural disasters that happened in a place that it was not natural made sense.

Anger building now, Piper stood up abruptly. "Let's go."

"Now? But we haven't even talked about Tajni's plans yet and-"

"I don't need to know that. They'll tell me what I need to do before I do it, right?"

Andrew looked at her. "Geez, Pipes. Last night you took in that this place was called Tajni, today you wanna go storming down to a punching bag to take out your anger on something that you've known for three minutes."

She smirked. "People change."

He smiled and laughed, ruffling her hair. But then he frowned, and said, "Yes, Piper. They sure do."

Piper's smirk was gone, now serious. They shut the door behind them and Andrew led her down many hallways.

Piper was insistent. She would not give up this inauguration class, no matter what it entailed.