Jackson Maybank was the light of Talia Routledge's life. Every day that the Maybank boy was in the Routledge girl's life was a day guaranteed to start with the sunrise and end with the sunset, no matter how awfully terrible the weather got, that sun...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
04 the diary
Talia was lying down on the bed in the dress she was asked to wear, waiting to see what would come of this. A knock sounded at the door, Talia flying upward and turning her head to find the maid at the now open door. "He's ready." The blonde was informed as she was led out of the room and downstairs back through the foyer she was in yesterday and led into one of the front rooms where she saw a tall man clad in a suit pouring some kind of liquor. "Uh, excuse me?" Talia called out to the unknown man. He turned to face her, her breath getting caught in her throat. "No." She whispered as she was faced with Rafe Cameron. "Rafe?" His name fell easily from her lips, the betrayal in her tone making him flinch in pain.
"Talia." He whispered back, looking the girl up and down. She looked good. He took a step forward, only for her to take a step back, hurt etched across his features as he realised he may have done irreparable damage to their relationship. "Please, Tal. Just give me a second to explain." He pleaded, the girl scoffing in response. "Explain what Rafe? How I betrayed my brother and best friend to be with you? How I tried to help you? How I cared about you? Only for you to then throw it all back in my face when you chose Ward and a gold cross - which is Pope's family heirloom by the way, which you stole. You chose that over me. And now you want to explain?" She questioned him, getting more emotional as she went on. "There's nothing to explain Rafe, I know my place." The last line broke what was unbroken of his heart from this conversation, his chest burnt with pain, hearing how badly he had hurt one of the best people he had come to known. Someone who chose him, that he made feel disposable and chose his father, someone who makes him feel the same way that he had now made Talia feel. She didn't deserve that.
"Talia, please. I'm so sorry." Rafe pleaded with the blonde who rolled her eyes. "There is no sorry, Rafe! You don't mean it because you can't control yourself! You will always go running back to Ward and doing whatever he says like his little puppet!" This time it was Talia taking a step forward and Rafe retreating, the girl raising her voice as she spoke to make him understand. "I wondered if your little reunion would cause sparks, you know." A man's voice reached them from the conjoining room, both Talia and Rafe turning their heads to see a man clad in a suit. He chuckled under his breath, turning to face them. "Who are you?" Rafe questioned the man as he began walking slowly towards the pair. "Me?" He questioned pointing at himself. "My name is Carlos Singh." He informed the pair who were staring at him. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Cameron." He pointed at Rafe, his hand falling to his side. "And Miss Routledge. I do apologise for the rough tactics in bringing you here. But please, come. Sit down." He invited the pair into the conjoining room, both looking at him uneasily. "Come now, I don't bite."
The pair shared a look with each other before Talia followed the man, Rafe taking a second to compose himself after hearing Talia may have been treated unkindly. "Rough tactics. What about me?" He quizzed the man. "Yes, Mr. Cameron, false pretences." Singh responded to the boy with a now buzzed head. "But the ends justify the means I'm afraid." Rafe nodded once in acknowledgement of the fact that he'd screwed up. "Sit down." Rafe sighs, moving to sit next to Talia, the blonde rolling her eyes. "We have a lot to talk about." Singh stood in front of the pair. "Why are we here?" Talia spoke up, unimpressed with the fact this was happening. "Well, Ms. Routledge, Mr. Cameron, we share certain interests, you know. Objectives." Singh informed. "Is this not about the cross?" Rafe questioned Singh, a smile etching on the man's face. "It is. Tangentially, it is about the cross, but it's also about something much, much bigger than the cross. By orders of magnitude." He sighed walking towards and stopping at a painting on the wall. "The completion of a grand quest. You see the story goes that four hundred and fifty years ago, a Spanish soldier came out of the Orinoco basin with a few gold beads. And when they asked the Spanish soldier, 'where the beads came from', the Spanish soldier replied he got them from a peaceful Indigenous tribe who lived in a city of gold." Singh informed the pair of the story.
"El Dorado." Talia finished for him, his eyes snapping to the blonde girl, Rafe's eyes also lingering on the girl for a moment. "Yes, you know the story." Singh smiled at the girl. "And for the next four hundred and fifty years people tried to find that gold, you know. They tried. Conquistadors, knights, captains of ships, tribes, entire nations. All fighting each other in a race for the end of the rainbow. Thousands of lives laid on the pyre of gold fever. And it falls to me, you know. It falls to me to complete the task. To bring full circle a quest that has gone on five hundred years. Perhaps. . . perhaps the greatest quest in the history of the western hemisphere, you know. And you two. . . you two are going to play a part in that." He pointed between the pair, Rafe shaking his head in frustration. "Ms. Routledge, are you interested in history?" Singh sat down on the chair on the other side of Talia, making her feel boxed in. "I'm more of a future person." Talia answered looking down at her hands.
"I didn't listen to a word you said, okay? How much you gonna keep philosophising?" Rafe questioned Singh, who chuckled in response. "You are direct, aren't you, Mr. Cameron?" Singh challenged him, Rafe silent. "What do you need from me?" Talia asked. "I've come to believe you and your friends are in possession of something that can help me get what I want." Singh informed the blonde. "Which is?" She asked for clarification. "An old manuscript. A diary, actually." He answered, Rafe's head snapping to Talia's direction.
-
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Rafe looked from Talia to Singh. "This is ridiculous. I don't know anything about a diary." Talia shook her head in a disbelieving tone, trying to throw from the fact she knew exactly what he was talking about and exactly where it is. "But how else could you have learned that the cross was on the Royal Merchant?" He asked the blonde, who shook her head. "Look, I want to help you, but I can't." Talia responded to the man, his facial features changing. "I was hoping you wouldn't say that, you know. Because unfortunately I don't believe you. You and your friend here couldn't have found the cross without it." Singh's tone of voice became more pointed. "He's not my friend." Talia argued, not sparing a glance Rafe's way. The boy with buzzed hair's facial expression immediately became pained upon hearing this.
"We can't all be friends, you know." Singh responded, Rafe sighing and standing from the chair. "Look, this is ridiculous. Okay? I'm out. I don't know anything about a diary okay? So -" Rafe began making his way out of the room only to be met by an armed guard. "Do I look like a fool to you Mr. Cameron? Do I look like a fool to you?" Singh raised from his seat. "Do you really want him to answer that?" Talia remarked under her breathe, a dry chuckle escaping the girl. "What did you just say?" Singh flung around the face the blonde. "What did you just say to me!" Singh yelled in her face. "Hey!" Rafe grabbed the man's attention. "Do not speak to her like that." He growled, Singh chuckling. "Ah, love makes you weak, boy. Always remember that." A smile graced the man's face as he tapped the side of his head. Talia's eyes raised to meet Rafe's.
"Now, you have the cross. She and she friends had the cross at one point. So one of you has the diary. And if you really don't know, then I suggest you convince your friend to tell me." Talia looked up to find Rafe staring at her. "Once I have the diary. . . you'll be free to leave." Singh informed, turning to look at the blonde girl.
-
"Enjoy the grounds during your stay. I must warn ya though, I'm not a man of infinite patience. You have one day. Go to the window for a little demonstration. I think you'll enjoy it, you know." Singh walked in between the pair, tapping Rafe on the arm. The door to the room they'd been led into was closed and locked behind Singh. "Hey, hey! You're just done talking?" Rafe questioned, rattling the door. "Hey!" Talia sighed walking towards the window. "It's locked." She parted the curtains to look out, Rafe joining by her side. "Who the hell is that guy?" He questioned the blonde. "I know him." Talia sighed. "It's Jimmy Portis." Rafe looked at Talia waiting for her to continue. "He was trying to help me." She whispered, Rafe's eyes looking back out the window, the pair saw Singh, pull a gun from his trousers and walk towards where they were taking Jimmy. "Whoa, whoa, whoa." Rafe let out. A moment later a shot rang out, Rafe and Talia gasping.
"This diary. Hey, no bullshit. Tal, look at me." Rafe turned to her, grabbing her waist and making her look at him. "Don't bullshit me. Okay? Do you have it? Talia, do you have it?" She looked up at him and shook her head. "No." She lied to him.
