The Book of Arenden

❀ Fifteen ❀

❀ Fifteen ❀

"What do you mean he's not here?" Asked Nea sternly as she narrowed her eyes at Lereena.

After the ride in the private jet, they had been told to stay at their hotel rooms while the stage was being set up. April said that it will take for a day to set up the entire stage. And so, they took the entire day to lock themselves in Ella's hotel room to go to Arenden.

They meet up with Lereena instantly after they enter Arenden. While Lereena greeted them with a polite 'hello', Nea greeted her with a question on Nathan's presence.

"His Highness... he was summoned by the King of Derman to have a feast. He is in Derman right now," said Lereena.

"And... where is that?" Asked Frana impatiently. They were very eager to meet with Nathan to ask him a question that had been running in their heads recently.

"In the other dimension..." said Lereena quietly. She shifted one leg to another; uncomfortable under Nea's stern stare.

Ella sighed in frustration. "Where's the King and the Queen?" She asked.

"The same reason as to why Prince Nathan is not here," responded Lereena.

Raylene felt bad for the little elf. She hadn't done anything wrong and yet she was thrown with questions that she had to answer. Answers that the girls might don't like to hear.

"Why are you all so eager to meet with his Highness?" Asked Lereena. Sometimes, Raylene had forgotten that Nathan was the prince in Arenden. She always saw him with his training gears these days. That reminds her, she never saw Nathan with formal clothes before. It was weird to hear someone addressed him formally.

"We have... questions that needed to be answer," said Nea.

"Questions?" Asked Lereena. The girls nodded. "What is it? I will do the best I can to answer those questions. I might know a bit about it."

The girls were quiet for a few seconds, thinking whether they wanted to ask her or not while Lereena waited. They turned their heads towards to Raylene. She just shrugged.

Ella sighed and turned back to Lereena.

**

"Raylene," the voice whispered. She snapped her head towards the sound of the voice but there was no one. "Raylene," it whispers again. She took a step forward towards where the voice is but then she stopped.

She closed her eyes tightly and inhale slowly before exhale. There was no one, she said to herself. It's just an illusion.

"Raylene," it whispers again. She closed her eyes more tightly, telling herself that it's not real and she didn't want to bother to even listened to it. The voice was unfamiliar. And so, she shouldn't worry to much. "Raylene... come here."

She snapped her eyes open. "Come here, please," the voice was begging. It reminds her of her brother. The way he begs her to run. But instead of telling her to run, whoever that said it, told her to go wherever that person is.

Her foot took another step but then stopped. It was like she was fighting with her mind to whether go or not. She didn't want to go but her mind was against that decision.

She took another step. And this time, after her foot landed on the floor, the tile shifted and changed. Instead of beautiful polished tiles she stepped on before, she was stepping on grasses.

She turned around in circles as she scanned her whole surroundings. She was no longer in the palace. She was no longer with her other friends. Even Lereena was nowhere in sight.