Rosetta

17

"CARLOS!" Mama shouted from downstairs. He groaned and turned onto his side, pulling his blanket up to cover his face.

This is how most mornings had been since Rosetta's disappearance. Rosetta. Even her name caused him to remember the ongoing suffer it was without knowing where she was. Without knowing whether she was alive.

He always ignored his mother's first shout, only coming downstairs on her third.

But today was different.

He heard stomps up the steps and immediately jumped out of bed. His mother came in, panting from the rush.

"You-" she breathed. "You need to see the newsfeed."

He changed into jeans and a clean shirt and followed his mother to the sitting room.

The netscreen was showing New Beijing Palace, and even though it was muted, the headline alone scared him.

"Netscreen, volume up," his mother said.

"-citizens startled by the kidnapping of Empress Cinder of the Eastern Commonwealth. The Emperor has refused to be interviewed, but his advisor Konn Torin has agreed to give us the young Emperor's reaction.
"The Emperor knew that the Empress was prone to go out at night to visit the Royal Temple, but he was quite alarmed when she did not return. I am to respect his privacy by not giving anymore details, but he has urged me to share a vital piece of evidence"
A note has been given from the kidnapper, stating that she was blackmailed into doing it and once she had escaped will come to aid our search. The Emperor had asked that any who recognise the handwriting or are the kidnapper are to come to New Beijing Palace immediately, where they will not be punished for their crimes if they assist us. The photograph of the note will be shown now."

Carlos knew before he looked up what he was to see. Sure enough, Rosetta's chicken scratch handwriting was displayed on the screen. He would never forget the signature way she doted her 'I's and crossed her 't's, the way she curled the ends of her words and made it almost impossible to read. But after growing up and reading that scratch every day of his childhood, he knew it was Rosetta. What if her kidnapper knew she was helping the Emperor? Would he let her go? Or would he give her the same fate as the Empress?

Carlos couldn't hear his mother mute the netscreen, or ask whether he was alright. He couldn't feel his portscreen when he picked it off the table. He couldn't remember him waking out of the door and to the podship at the back of the house. His head felt heavy with sadness amd grief and rage. He wouldn't let anyone hurt Rosetta. He wouldn't listen to his mother's protest. He wouldn't look back when he opened the doors to the podship and sat in the pilot's seat. He would go to New Beijing Palace.

*

"Why do you request an audience with the Emperor?" The guard asked at the gate.

"Because I know who the kidnapper is!" He shouted. The guards lifted his eyebrows. He gestured for him to follow him towards the palace, where he was taken to a room with a large white sofa.

"Sit here. The Emperor will arrive shortly. You are the only one to come, you know," the guard said.

Carlos sat sheepishly, playing around with his fingers and moving on the spot. Then he remembered why he was doing this. For Rosetta.

The door opened again, but instead of one person, a whole party came in. The Emperor was recognisable from the newsfeeds, but his cheeks were tear stained and his eyes were swollen. So he knew how he felt too. There was former Princess Winter and her new husband, Sir Clay, standing with clasped hands and dark expressions. There was a woman with ruthless curly red hair holding a small girl who had fallen asleep on her shoulder. Next to her was a man that instantly resembled a Lunar mutant solider, causing him to cower in fear. But he had kind eyes instead of bloodthirsty ones, though they were both worried. There was the Empress's android friend, Iko, with her blue braids left to fall from her synthetic head. The last people where those that Carlos had already shared his troubles with; Miss Darnel and Mr Thorne.

They all stood around him, but Mr Thorne spoke first. "You were the guy from Madrid, weren't you? Carlos, right?"

He gulped and said, "Yes. And I don't mean any harm. I just know who took the Empress. But she didn't mean any harm. Let me explain, if you will."

They all shared glances except the Emperor, who had taken to a corner in the room and stood lost in thought. Miss Darnel nodded to him to start.

He told them how his mother was Lunar, and that they were both lured into a podship that took her away. He said how he had met Mr Thorne and Miss Darnel and explained his situation. More confidently, he spoke of how he had seen the handwriting and known it was her. He then shared his theory.

"I think she had been told to do this so that her mother and her can escape. But I still don't know why her."

He blinked back tears. He would not cry in front of all of them. And yet they still came. The red haired woman put the small girl down to lie next to him on the sofa, and passed him a tissue.

"I'm Scarlet," she said with a clear French accent. "This is my husband, Wolf. That is my daughter, Juliette."

"She's very cute," he said anxiously. "I hope I have proved helpful."
He looked at the Emperor again and let his words fall out.

"She was my childhood best friend. She saved our little town from the Lunar attack and I admired her for it. I still do. Stars, she's amazing. She loves her mother and her savage father and tried to help you even when it may cost her life. I hate this. I hate not knowing whether she's alive or-" he gulped again. "Or dead. She means everything to me and if you think that I'm lying, I'll swear I'll get her myself if I have to." He paused and received silence from the room.

Everyone looked to the Emperor, who had not spoken for the whole time he had been present.

"We trust you," Miss Darnel said.

"What shall I do now?" He asked.

"Give him a guest room and let home stay in the castle. If the girl is true to her word, she'll come back and we'll wait for her to lead us. We will get Cinder and Rosetta back," the Emperor whispered hoarsely, his throat raw from tears.

"We will get them back," he repeated.