Searching Soul - a Mikhaiah au

CHAPTER 11: A Kingdom Lost

As soon as her parents and friends left the penthouse, Gibrael rushed to her bedside table, where her laptop lay closed and waiting. Her mind was spinning with ideas, questions, and the faint glimmer of hope that maybe there was one avenue she hadn't explored yet. The thought had sparked while they were discussing the manhunt, and now it was the only thing she could think about.

She flipped open the laptop, fingers shaking slightly, and went straight to the Google search engine.

"Countess Soul," Gibrael muttered under her breath as she typed the words. She hit enter, her heart pounding with a mix of anxiety and anticipation.

But the results were disappointing: pages of countesses from English and Scottish peerage, none remotely connected to Soul. Gibrael frowned, her frustration mounting.

"Soul is such a vogue term to search for," she mumbled to herself. She typed in just the word "Soul," knowing it was a long shot, and hit enter again. As expected, the search yielded countless irrelevant results.

She sighed, her patience wearing thin. "Soul Giralda," she said aloud, typing the name into the search bar. This time, the results were mostly about La Giralda, the famous bell tower in Seville, Spain. Gibrael clicked through the pages, scrolling quickly, her eyes scanning for anything that might stand out.

She opened several websites about La Giralda, reading through each carefully. The pages were filled with historical facts and tourist information, but none of it seemed to connect to Soul or the mysterious kingdom she had spoken of.

"Maybe Dad was right. It's all just a coincidence," she said softly, trying to convince herself. But deep down, she wasn't ready to give up. Not yet.

The questions in her mind were relentless, circling like vultures. Where could she be? Who was she, really? Why did she leave without a word? Why did we meet in the first place? Of all people, why did she choose to help me? The more Gibrael thought about it, the more confused she became. Every answer led to more questions, each one more baffling than the last.

Exhaustion was beginning to weigh heavily on her. She had been up late the past few nights preparing for her gallery opening, and she knew she needed to sleep. But the thought of Soul kept her awake.

"Seville, Spain," Gibrael murmured, typing the location into the search bar. She scanned through pages of tourist attractions and historical sites. One website caught her eye, detailing the Alcázar Palace, but again, there was nothing that connected to Countess Soul or the Kingdom of the Western Isle of Erythea.

She sighed deeply, feeling a mix of defeat and determination. She was about to close her laptop and give in to sleep when a thought crossed her mind.

"Okay. This is the last one," she whispered to herself. She typed "Western Isle of Erythea" into the search bar, her fingers hovering over the enter key. She pressed it and waited, her breath catching in her throat.

The results were sparse. Most were unrelated, but one caught her eye—a reference to a library book titled Lost Kingdoms. The listing mentioned a nearby library.

"Lost Kingdoms?" Gibrael muttered, clicking on the link. It took her to the online interface of the library. The book seemed to be a historical reference, possibly detailing forgotten realms and their tales.

"This must be what my uncle was talking about," she said, a spark of hope igniting in her chest. She jotted down the book's reference number on a piece of paper.

She would go to the library first thing in the morning. It was her last hope, and right now, hope was all she had.

As she closed her laptop, a sense of calm washed over her, mixed with anticipation. She knew she was far from answers, but at least she had a new direction to pursue. She would find out who Soul was, no matter what it took.