I wake up the next morning and take a shower after my breakfast of pancakes and sausage. Today I need to talk to the man I saw on the street. He'll know a lot more than I do now. I get dressed as quickly as possible so I'll have as much time as I need. I jog downstairs, mentally preparing all the questions I needed to ask.
Uncle T was texting on his phone when I entered. He looked up at me and smiled. "Good mornin" he says politely. "Good morning," I reply. I shoot him a smile back. He smiles bigger. "Oh-ho ho! A competition, eh?" I return the favor, flashing an even bigger smile. His lips stretch wider and I end the competition by giving the biggest smile of which I'm capable. He laughs and gives in to defeat. "Ok, you win," he says panting, pretending he actually DID something. I laugh with him. It's hard not to love that guy.
"Do you think I can run out for a second?" I ask. He nods, looking back at his phone. I skip out of the house.
I walk back next to the Tech Shop, and wait for him to appear. After standing around for a few seconds, I turn around. He's not here yet, so I wait a little more. I try again, and he's still not behind me. "Hm." I say to myself. I shrug, and decide to go to him instead. I find the cat door that sat next to the cupcake store, putting my feet first down the slide. I disappear into the dark tunnel.
UNCLE THOMAS POV
I hear a knock at the door, so I leave my lounge chair to get it. Layla doesn't knock, nobody visits, and I only know one person that knocks to the "Mary had a Little Lamb" song. I open the door, looking my visitor in his pink eyes. I ask politely, "What are you in need of, Your Highness?" He chuckles to himself, "I'm looking for a place to stay while your niece investigates my home."
I look at him, and let him in. "Your Majesty, I don't think it is appropriate for you to stay in such unworthy lodgings," I request. Knowing what he's capable of, I don't feel safe with him in my home, "May I suggest a Marriott?" He pokes and prods at random things, observing them carefully. Upon finding one particular vase, he picks it up and raises it to the light. Then caresses it, holding it like a child. He raises his eyes to mine, and realizes how insane he looks. He laughs out loud, and he puts the vase back.
He walks up to me slowly. I clench my fists, preparing for the worst. "You really think I'm going to hurt you?" he asks. "Yes." I look him dead in the face. "Well, I'm not here to hurt you, and you should know that. That was the old me." "Then who are you?" I immediately respond. He stares at me, then he giggles. "Why must you ruin my fun?" he says crossing his arms.
I remember what horrible things he used to do. Killing people for enjoyment, and the occasional torture. I wouldn't trust this man for my life.
"Humph, well... I can tell you that I've changed, but I can't tell you who I am," he says, thinking carefully for some reason. I realize who I'm talking to, and fix myself immediately. "I apologize, Your Majesty. I've gotten out of place. To revive your spirits, I'll make tea." I bow and leave the room. I feel his eyes follow me to the kitchen.
I put the water on the stove, thinking carefully about my next move. I need him to leave, but I don't know how. If Laylana walks in to see him, she will start suspecting things about me, as well as the Prince. I groan and check the water. It's boiling. I remove the pot, gathering the tea cups that I save for special occasion. I pour the water slowly into the cups and stir in the ingredients. While I was concentrating on plotting, I hear the door open. Layla. I gasp, charge into the living room, and screech to a halt.
Laylana stares at me like I'm crazy. My eyes scan the room. Relief rushes over me as I realize that he's gone. I look at Laylana. She looks at me. "Whew!" I wipe my forehead. "That scared me for a second, I thought you were a lawyer. I saw his car parked by the street, and I realized I hadn't payed my house bill," I chuckled softly. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
LAYLANA
I slide down quickly and easily. Next thing I know, I'm laying comfortably on the velvet pillow. I know what to expect this time, so it doesn't shock me. I scan the room. He's not down here either. At this point, I start to worry if something happened to him.
"Well, I guess I could investigate," I remind myself. I walk around the room, looking through the jars marked cow feet, lizard tongue, and catfish whiskers. I feel sick to my stomach knowing he hordes all these things in his own house. I continue to search anyway. Many things are completely disorganized and thrown on the shelf when he finished with them, judging by the knocked over bottles on the counter. Only a few were standing on their own. I watch the shrunken heads closely. I know it was suspicion, but I had a feeling like they were watching me. After I check the main room, I walk into the room he went to to fix my camera.
A wall of beads I never noticed before stood out among other things. Walking through, I saw a gift shop set up with dream catchers hanging on the walls, and dreams in a bottle(whatever that is), and many other voodoo doodies. This place is a store? I look around, and see more jars and bottles of unique minerals. Nothing too disturbing though. I guess he cares about what people think about him. Either that, or he liked having business. One thing in particular caught my eye. It was a portrait of the man and an older woman, holding hands and smiling gently. It was sweet. The lady resembled him, too. Was it his mother?
I stare at it for a little while longer. She was really pretty, and had the same eye color as he did. Her lips were tainted just the slightest red, and two deep dimples revealed themselves from her cheeks. She looked so kind at heart, and so did he.
He looked much more calm, and his eyes were gentle, just like hers. They both wore crowns as well, and rich clothing. "So he really was a Prince?" I ask out loud. I honestly wanted to meet the old him that sat in this picture. He seemed so nice. I was almost positive that he wasn't the same as he was then. What happened?
I felt as though I was eavesdropping too much, so I decide to leave.
On my way back, I think about who he might have been, and who he is now. I think about what I need to do when I go back to the Spirit World. How will I find mom? I think about the camera, and if it was really going to harm me, according to the Prince. Should I really be doing this? Yes. My mother is my world, and nothing will stop me from reaching her. I finally reach my house.
I open the door, and Uncle Thomas comes running into the room. He looked panicked, and I just stared at him. "What in the world?..." I question mentally. He stands there, seeming like he was relieved, and says that he thought I was a lawyer. He chuckles to himself. He pushes his shades off the tip of his nose, and back onto his face. Sometimes I worry about this man.
I sniff the air, "Is that tea?"
