Hidden Heirs and Fallen Crowns (Complete)

Chapter 10

TA-DA!!!

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Chapter 10

The first thing I noticed was the smell. It was a sweet, drowsy smell, making me want to curl up and go back to sleep. I noticed the softness of where I was. It was so comfortable, so soft! My bed wasn’t that soft. In fact, nowhere in my house was. I opened my eyes slowly, taking in everything one by one. Where was I? The ceiling was so far away that it made me dizzy. What was that hanging from the ceiling? A chandelier? I didn’t have chandeliers in my house!

I sat up suddenly. Everything came rushing back to me. The hospital. The man with the gun. The broken glass. The screaming. Zed. Where was I? I looked around again, taking it in. I was at Jasmine’s house, wasn’t I? Yes, definitively. I could recognise the style of the rooms anywhere, so similar and yet so different to each other. It was a massive room, with a massive bed. I think my bedroom at home was the size of just the bed, maybe smaller. My bedroom. I remembered all the times I had been punished there for hours on end for being rude to my mum or hitting Will. I remembered my mum, so fierce before the accident and then so cuddly when I was in hospital. It was funny how events could change somebody.

What was it that Zed and Jasmine had said? That they were ‘honestly sorry it had come this’?

I burrowed my head under one of the many cushions. What was happening? Who was that man? Why was this happening to me ? What was so special about me that someone actually wanted to kill me? I wasn’t rich, I wasn’t hiding a dangerous secret, I wasn’t of noble birth … I didn’t possess anything expensive. Or maybe he was just a madman? Burrowing my head under the cushions didn’t help one bit. The thought followed me there. They followed me everywhere. There were so many questions that I was asking myself. If there was one person – no, two – that would know, it would be Jasmine and Zed. I’d go downstairs now. I’d ask them – and I’d get the answers.

I slid out of bed my bed and padded along the expensive carpet, towards the door. If there was someone worth killing for the money, it would be Jasmine, not me, I thought. I opened the door and looked ahead of me. There was the beautiful corridor, so inviting. Soft carpet, beautiful landscape paintings, vases on small tables. Then there were the stairs, curving down towards the ground. On the ground floor were six arches, each leading to a large living room. I listened out for the sound of voices. I thought I heard the sound of talking, towards the fifth arch. I walked down the marble stairs and headed towards the voices. Another corridor, more rooms. All these rooms were making me dizzy. I don’t think I would like being rich. It seemed like a waste of money, really. Who would need so many rooms?

The noise was getting louder now. A bend to the right, straight ahead, a turn to the left … they came into view all at once. I reeled back, not wanting to be seen. Zed and Jasmine were chatting together, but it was obvious that they weren’t comfortable. Jasmine’s voice was a big too cheerful, a bit too loud. Zed, on the other hand, sounded very nervous.

“Look on the bright side!” Jasmine said cheerfully. “At least she’ll have lots of fun here!”

“What if she tries to run away?” Zed muttered, fiddling with his fingers. “She’s gonna want to warn her mum and Bumba and Will, isn’t she?” He sighed. “I wish there was something we could do to help them. This seems hopeless.”

“Rubbish! She’ll love it here – I’ll make sure of that.”

A few moments passed in awkward silence. “Do you think she’s awake?” he asked.