Wherever it takes us.

In Secrets We Trust

"As lovely as this all sounds..." I said, before sighing, "I'll think I'll pass on that kind of offer."

Of all the things I could have calculated for, this wasn't one of them. What type of detailed kidnapping is this meant to be? I thought as I glanced at my surroundings once more, my mind begging to make sense of what was happening. Everybody else eyed me weirdly as if I was the crazy one.

"If you say so, Jason..." She told me before throwing a smile in my direction. She then beckoned to the girl(Leader) to come closer, as she leaned towards her and gave her some hushed information. "Understood." She responded, her voice sharp and clear. The woman smiled at her before turning towards me; I could have sworn the smile dropped so slightly; was it my imagination?

"I'll be inside preparing some Lunch...." She halted as she turned to count the chairs and the occupants with her fingers; it seemed like someone was missing. 'Odd, I could have sworn I counted five people seated when I entered.' I mused.

"Seven chairs and six occupied...where's June?" She asked with furrowed eyebrows as she looked around. "She'll be back," Oliver replied as he twiddled his thumbs, "Give her a minute." He replied before giving the caretaker a look of confirmation. She nods back in response before proceeding down the hallway near her.

I sighed before turning my attention toward the people in front of me.

"Hey," The boy Oliver called out, his body almost falling off his chair, "What's your story?" His voice was jumpy and ecstatic as he awaited my response.

"Story?" I asked as I threw a confused look in response. "What he means is what got you here?" Ralph explained, his red pupils looking right through me. "Why should I?" I asked once more. There was a pause as no one knew how to answer.

"WHY NOT!?!?!" A loud voice came from the hallway as a blur of hair and clothes came speeding, narrowly evading the wooden chair as she crashed into the wall with a thump. The more shocking part was the lack of a reaction from anyone else; only Oliver seemed bothered by this, "June, be careful next time." He told her as he helped pick her up from the floor.

'As first impressions go, she made a mark.' a voice rumbled in my head, sadly only one person comes to mind. 'You have the worst timing I have ever seen.' I grumbled back while keeping my eyes on the group.

'I suddenly slept off; it's not my fault.' He replied; I sighed in response.

"No, but seriously, you've got nothing else to lose," Jane deadpanned as she glanced around, looking for something; her eyes lit up as she took the seat next to ralph. "So, I hope Maya didn't give it to you too tough." She said, giggling at the girl on her right. "So your name is Maya," I calmly commented to the leader before glancing at the rest, "Ralph, Andrea, June..." I said, glancing at each person respectively. Ralph nodded in my direction, eyes laser-focused. Andrea glanced in my direction before looking elsewhere, while June threw on a big smile. Maya, from earlier, just observed quietly, pensive eyes curious about my next move. "...and Oliver." The boy smiled back in response.

'Thanks for the roll call; nice to know your captors nice and personal.' CX said, the tone in his voice indicating how much he enjoyed my predicament. 'I was just giving myself a little refresher course, don't flatter yourself.' I replied, a noticeable smirk forming on my face.

"I didn't think getting kidnaped would be this fun." I joked out loud, temporarily forgetting my predicament. To my surprise, Oliver laughed out loud at my joke while the rest seemed somewhat amused; even Ralph snorted a bit. " Eh, debatable," June replied.

"If it makes you feel any better, we're all in the same boat," Ralph said, his eyes softened for a moment before he spared a glance at Andrea, "For you to know the pain, you must feel pain," Andrea smirked coyly at him before nodding her head in agreement.

There was a pause for a moment as I reflected on everything I heard.

'I think we should play along and gather some info.' CX told me. 'My thoughts exactly.' I replied.

"Listen up," I called out, gathering everyone's attention. "Could anyone tell me what in God's name is going on, please?"

My eyes scoured around, looking for answers, and to my surprise, Maya stood up, her eyes holding mine once again. "For now, we eat. Next, we talk." She beckoned, her voice holding a formality and strength behind it.

A second later, the woman called us for Lunch.

There's no meal better after getting kidnapping than spaghetti; quote me anywhere.

"Could you pass the salt?" Ralph asked Oliver."Sure." He reached out to get the item before giving it to Ralph. A classic average dining table made of wood, blanketed with a blue covering to prevent mishaps on the bare wood. The table was circular, with eight chairs placed equally on every side. Almost all the bad vibes I thought I felt evaporated as everyone happily wolfed down their meals, no questions asked; even the woman from earlier had a somewhat look of contempt. As suspicious as this all was, I had already finished my meal. Due to being knocked out for an unknown period (And the arousing aroma's strength was something I couldn't handle. It's also my favorite meal.), my plate had been wiped clean already as I drank some water out of a glass to appease my stomach.

"It was good, right?" Oliver asked me, his eyes almost glowing at this point. I smiled before answering, "Yeah, it was nice."

I felt a chill to turn and see the woman smiling in my direction discretely for a second before turning her attention toward the others. 'For some reason, this meal tasted like aunt Lucy's.'

"Alright then. I hope you all had a good meal." She announced, "I have some things to attend to at the back." She said, excusing herself before turning her attention outside; the clickety-clack of her footwear rang through the house as she left the house through the front door.

I loudly exhaled as I stared at the group of people expectantly, "So...what now?" I asked. There was a pause before Maya stood up, her chair scraping the floor obnoxiously. "Now, we discuss." She responded, staring me down, her lips forming a thin line. "You want answers, and so do we."

"Glad to know where on the same page, so how do we go about this?" I request, ecstatic to be gaining some new information. Oliver jumps up with an arm raised high above his head, similar to a student in a classroom. "I've got a suggestion." He announced while throwing a side-eyed glance at Maya, who nodded simply in response. "How about that thing we did when I first arrived?" He suggested. 'Hold on, was he kidnapped as well?' I thought to myself. "Thanks for the reminder, Oliver." She responded, her voice holding a sincere form of kindness. Her face wavered momentarily from confident to hesitant as she wavered for a while. "In secrets we trust." She muttered out loud while throwing a look on her face to show a front that nothing had occurred. 'I'm all too familiar with that face.'

"Meaning?" I pressed on, keeping my voice low and gentle. "You answer our questions and vice versa."

"I'm asking the first one!" Oliver yelled, throwing me off my game for a minute. "Jason Hart, who are you really?" I glanced at everyone, eyes beaming expectantly. 'My advice is just to relax and be yourself; what's the worst that can happen?' CX told me.

I inhaled before announcing out loud, "My name's Jason Hart, an inhabitant of the kingdom of Kelflore-" I paused for a second before

being rudely interrupted, "No wonder!!!" June shouted, her voice boomed. "Are you...you know?" Her eyes stared expectantly, pupils wide as saucers.

"Yes..." I sighed, glancing at the floor. "The prince of the fallen kingdom."