The Queen || ✔

Chapter 17: Queen's Family

Charles

My anxiety was out of control. The night that Claudia passed out, I took it as an opportunity to go through her things, anything to help me find my family, but I soon realised that it was a stupid idea when I couldn't find anything. How could I have been so stupid as to think that she would leave a clue? She wasn't a fool.

For weeks I searched, going from March to mid April, looking desperately for them while Claudia healed and regrouped herself. I could've taken the chance and killed her, but knowing Claudia, she wouldn't have told anyone else about their whereabouts. I needed her, no matter how bitter it made me to admit that.

"Who is it?!" I barked as someone knocked on my door, disturbing my moment of pain.

The door opened and all I could hear was rolling. She came closer to me and stopped across from me as I sat on my bed, probably looking like a wreck.

She looked beautiful, even with sad eyes and a confused mind. Her lips were slightly cracked, her eyes wide, exposing her lovely light brown eyes, the moon glistened against her smooth skin, she looked like an angel. It made me break down and cry.

"Why are you doing this?" Hera asked me, sounding disappointed. I had faith that she of all people would understand my situation, because she had such a pure heart and faultless soul, when did she change? "Daddy, I understand how you feel. You feel for Hilary and TsiTsi the same way I feel for Ma..."

"... don't mention that woman's name near me!" I barked at her, making her shake. But she blinked multiple times, and inhaled deeply, before going on.

I felt guilty now, I almost made her cry. She didn't deserve to cry.

"l-I'm so sorry." I stuttered. She nodded her head and smiled assuringly at me.

"What I was trying to say is, I'm sorry."

I raised my head to look at her in confusion. Why was she sorry for what Claudia did? She didn't have to be sorry about anything.

"No Hera, none of this is your fault. You don't have to be sorry for anything."

She shook her head in denial.

"I'm not sorry about that, daddy. I'm sorry because I did something terrible. I did something that I thought was the right thing to do, but after last night, I'm not so sure."

I leaned closer to her, sitting right on the edge of my bed, listening to her attentively.

"What did you do?" I asked in a whisper, scared of what my angel could've done that ate her up inside.

"Daddy..." She sobbed, finding it hard to go on. What was happening?

"Hera, what did you do?" I asked sternly, my eagerness getting the better of me.

"I know where they are." She said.

The words tore me up. She knew but kept this from me? From her father? I loved and cared for her and this was what she gave in return, the ungrateful little brat.

"Where are they?!" I screamed at her, making her scream. How dare she, I almost died from despair and all along, she knew where they were.