BIRTHRIGHT Book One: The First Key

Chapter 14

Tia sits cross legged and smiling in the middle of the frilly pink room, surrounded by all the princess fantasies of her childhood. The vibrant posters that adorn the muted grey walls and the brightly coloured bedspread covered in smiling teacups and candelabras add warmth to a room that would be cold and sterile without it. Cardboard banker's boxes labeled 'Summer 1997' and 'New Year's 2001' lie open around her, filled with drawings, photos and barbie dolls.

With a hydraulic woosh, the door to her quarters opens and the General walks in with a smile on his face that looks to be relaxing the muscles that have spent the last few hours locked in one unhappy expression or another.

He opens his mouth to speak to his daughter.

"Still not knocking, huh?" Without looking behind her, Tia knows who it is and cuts him off. She stands up and turns around to face her father, the smiles fading fast from both of their faces as she crosses her arms.

The General takes a breath to subdue his anger as he sits on the end of the frilly pink bed. Looking up at his daughter, he sees the same stern expression on her face that he's been wearing all evening.

"This is a completely insane situation, Tia-bear." he confesses in all honesty. "I really have no idea what to do next."

"Oh, the how-to's and wherefore's of fiancé kidnapping weren't in the father's handbook?" her cynical attitude is already sending the mood in the room downhill fast. "Let me help you out, dad: for one, you could tell me what's going on with Alex."

Shifting uncomfortably, the General winces at his daughter's request. "That's classified, Tia, I can't--"

"Classified?" Tia screams taking three angry steps toward her father and looking down at him with outrage. This is a woman who has learned how to use the power relationship to her benefit. Everything about her posture, her demeanor, her tone of voice exudes her father's command. "You don't even feel slightly obligated to tell your own daughter why you've abducted the man she loves?"

Feeling the control slipping away to one of the only two women who have ever been able to do that, the General springs to his feet. A full head taller than her, he is now looking down at his daughter and wrestling desperately for the high ground. "Tia! Stop talking about this creature like it's human!"

"I've known Alex a while now, dad," Tia steps defiantly closer to her father, unafraid and not backing down "and he's a hell of a lot more human than you!"

Tia jams her finger into her father's chest, emphasizing her point.

With rage in his eyes, the General finally raises his voice to a military barking. "I will not be spoken to in this manner by a child!"

"Oh, and now I'm treated like a soldier again, am I?" rolling her eyes, she steps away from her father, turning her back to him as she does. "That's always your solution... just pull rank and hope for the best..."

The General storms out of his daughter's room, his only response is kicking a box across the room in the process. As the box tumbles through the air, dolls and stuffed animals are scattered everywhere. With a smash, a porcelain doll shatters against the compound wall, shredding a poster of blue and green monsters as the sharp edges slice through to the painted brick like shrapnel to bone.

Outside in the corridor, the Professor is slowly wandering the halls with his head down. His tablet computer displays the biometric data he gathered from his interaction with Alex, and the Professor is pouring over the readings, oblivious to the world around him.

The sound of shattering porcelain doesn't even register.

"I love him, dad! You can't do this!" the sound of a shouting girl finally manages to startle him out of his concentration. And it sounded like the girl from the video.