Air Kingdom

Chapter 68-The Finale Part 4

The first thing I noticed was the small ache in my neck. It throbbed a little but it was easy to ignore. I almost started to move when I heard the voices.

Memories of what happened flooded my brain and I had the common sense to stay still. I remembered one of the transfers that tried to gag me.

They really were serious about kidnapping me.

I pretended to stay unconscious and tried to stay calm when I felt more duct tape around my arms and legs.

"-is he coming? We've been stuck in this hellhole long enough." grumbled a voice. I recognized that person. I think her name was Ellia.

"I just got a text from Sam," another person explained. It was that transfer I bumped into in the hallway. "He and Serena are on Earth. They're coming now with Dylan. It might take a while with the mess you created."

"That wasn't my fault! How should I know that receptionist knew Emma?"

"It doesn't matter. She didn't look old enough to drink anyway. We should have thought of another plan." She said, sighing.

"Hey, even Rodas approved of the plan."

"That's why he's downstairs fixing this whole mess. If we didn't have his compulsion here, we would be stuck in the dungeons."

There was a slight pause. This conversation confirmed it. These people were either not from this planet or they were a bunch of wackos. I gave my hands a small tug, trying not to attract any attention. My hands didn't even budge at all. I stopped moving when I heard them speak again.

"Does this place even have a dungeon? I heard Emma talk about some sort of jail and police," asked Ellia.

"I don't know but it sounds like the same thing as the royal guards."

Someone burst into the room and my eyes flashed open, alarmed. I made eye contact with the man who just walked in. He was the same guy from the bookstore. He had dark circles under his eyes and he was very pale. He matched my gaze with his own surprised and weary one.

My cover's blown... I thought.

"Emma! You're awake! I didn't know that the tranquilizer was so strong." exclaimed Ellia, looking ecstatic.

My eyes widened and I realized that I was in a room with a bunch of strangers that tried to kidnap me. We were in a hotel room and I was bound to one of the chairs from the room. This hotel was run by a close friend of Daniel. His workers were also very close to us and they often frequented the bookstore. The door was still open and I caught sight of a couple walking out of the room. I yelled as best as I could with the tape on my mouth.

The others realized my plan when it was too late. The couple took a glance into the room and stared at me and everyone else. I struggled and screamed, even more, to show that this wasn't your average high school prank.

"Hrmfmu!" was the only thing that came out but the meaning was clear. Looking rather alarmed, the man took out his phone and began dialing. As he put the phone against his ear, three people appeared behind him.

I only recognized one of them. It was that third girl from the bookstore but the other two were guys. One was way taller than the girl. He had emerald green eyes and wavy brown hair. The other boy wasn't as tall as the other but seem the youngest out of the three of them. He held himself with a sense authority that I didn't know someone that young had. I didn't even know if I had that.

Watch out was what I wanted to say but it came out as, "Thoat tmut!"

The tallest one walked towards them and closed his eyes. He placed each of his hands on the couple who for some reason, didn't resist.

"Forget what happened in the last five minutes," he whispered and then stepped back.

The couple looked confused and blinked a couple of times. "My, my, how did we end up here? Weren't we just in our rooms?" asked the women to no one in particular.

"We were about to leave to explore the nearest park. How did we end up here?"

"Did you forget already? We were just discussing the park and its fine scenery," the man responded, his serious expression gone. He replaced it with a relaxed and light one. "You better get going, it's a big park."

Still slightly confused, the couple bid the group goodbye and left, still talking about how they got outside. I stayed silent during the whole thing, too scared and shocked to stay anything. Everyone gathered in the room, closing the door to make sure nothing like that happened again.

The man who wiped the couple's memory or did something like that beamed at me. "Emma! It's been a month! How are you?"

I stayed quiet, not talking because I didn't want to and that there was a piece of tape on my mouth.

"You idiot!" The girl from the bookstore responded. She stood on the tip of her toes to smack the guy on the back of his head. "She lost her memories and we put duct tape of her. Do you really think she can answer you?"

He winced. "It was worth a shot...."

"Calm down now," the man named Rodas said. It sounded like he did this a lot. "The sooner you give her memories back, the sooner we can go back home. I don't know how much my compulsion will last until the receptionist finds out we're staying here for free."

My jaw would've fallen open if it wasn't for the tape. Ellia noticed my lack of speech. "Hey, let's get this stupid piece of tape off of her. She looks like this helpless victim."

"Um, Ellia, rip the tape-" the girl with orange hair warned but she didn't listen. With great strength, she ripped it off at once. I cried out as she yanked the tape off, no doubt leaving a red mark on my mouth and more pain than I expected.

"-off carefully," she finished, looking very exasperated.

"Oops," Ellia said, trying to look sorry but failing.

"Doesn't matter," Rodas cut in. "Let's just restore her memories and go back home."

Everyone nodded in agreement and the man stepped forward again. My heartbeat grew faster and I screamed, surprising myself as well.

"Stop, please! Just let me go, I'll do anything!"

The man suddenly stopped and withdrew his hands. "What?"

I could feel tears gathering in my eyes. "I don't want to be here. I don't want you to do some weird voodoo magic thing on me. Just let me live my life, please." I begged.

"But Emma, if I do this, you'll get to go home."

"No! I don't even know where home is anymore. All I know is that I have a new start here and I'm taking that chance. Just. Let. Me. Go. I'll do anything."

Everyone in the room looked at me curiously and sadly. I flinched at their stares. The man in front of me spoke again.

"Then let's strike a deal. I'll give you back your memories. After I do, we'll give you the choice if you want to go home or come back with us. How does that sound?"

I hesitated in answering. I want to say no but I saw the honesty in his eyes. It doesn't look like he'll hurt me. "Will it be painful?" I questioned, still unsure.

He shook his head. "It won't, I promise."

I looked at every single person in this room. They had the same expression as the man. I could maybe trust him. The guy named Rodas held my gaze for a little longer. He gave me a slight nod as if to tell me that it'll be alright. Somewhere in my heart, I knew I could believe him.

I took a deep breath in. "Fine, I'll do it. But I get to decide what I want to do after."

"Of course, Your Highness." He answered, the title giving me weird chills.

He lightly placed his hands on my temples and the world faded away.

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Hi guys! Thanks for reading this chapter! I recently had this major exam and I spent this stressful week studying for it! I think next chapter will be the last one but don't hold my word against it. Bye!