Silver: The Lost Royal

6| First Ride

HER mind was a jumble of clothes, questions, and conversations as she rushed around her room looking for a decent top and pair of jeans. The clock read 12:25 p.m., a glaring reminder of her tardiness.

They had agreed, the previous day, to meet at Travellers by 1 p.m., and it was a forty-minute bike ride from her house. She should have left by noon to avoid cycling hard but got delayed by a weird conversation with her aunt earlier. That was the second in less than a day.

The first happened last night when her aunt insisted they had dinner together. Something they rarely did, especially since it was just the two of them. Her cousins, Mia and Brian, were at boarding school and college while her uncle had gone on a business trip. She had noticed he went for these every two months. She remained unaware of his occupation, for she would always leave him at home when heading to school and find him waiting when she got back.

Her mind drifted to the previous evening's conversation when her aunt had displayed an unusual level of curiosity.

To begin with, Aunt Helen had asked why she came home late, which came as a shock because her aunt had always made it clear that all she ever cared about was Karyn making it back home early enough to prepare dinner.

Then, she'd asked about Jamie. Despite Karyn's abrupt answer, her aunt didn't press further. However, it left her wondering why her aunt wanted to know her opinion of Jamie.

Then this morning, when she was about to head out.

~
She hurried round the house in a frenzy to do all that needed her attention. Despite using Elowen as her cover-up because her aunt almost never followed up when Elowen was involved, her aunt had made it clear that she couldn't leave until she finished all the chores.

The clinking of dishes and the sound of the vacuum echoed through the house, drowning out her sister's constant chatter. The ever-present ticking of the wall clock pressed heavily on her ears as she worked without rest. Only by noon did she finish.

"I am done," she said as she stood at the threshold to her aunt's room. Not once had she ever stepped in, even with the door open.

Karyn couldn't pick up on the light conversation from the characters on the TV as she stood with a restless energy bubbling within her, waiting for her aunt to give the go-ahead before she would dash out of the house.

"Karyn, you should be... careful," her aunt said, and the tone shocked her the most, before the message and then the look her aunt gave her.

There was that pleasant tone again, like a gentle melody echoing in her ears, with an underlying current of something close to concern. It was so unlike her aunt that with her eyes closed, she would have thought it to be someone else.

Then came the words. When did her aunt ever care what she did outside the house, and if it was safe? All these coupled with the look in her eyes replaced the anxious energy in her with an unsettling feeling.

She almost asked why, but her aunt continued, leaving the question on the tip of her tongue.

"Pay attention to where you go and who you're with. This town isn't so safe, especially for you."
~

The chime of her phone pulled her out of her reverie. She frowned when her eyes met with a text from an unknown number.

?_Where can we meet?

To which she replied.

K_Who is this?