The Interim Queen

Chapter 2

When I woke up, my body was tingling. I could feel a dull ache at the back of my head as I looked around slowly. I tried to lift my arm to rub that spot but realized I couldn't. I couldn't move my hands. My imagination immediately ran wild. Held captive in my room? No one would ever notice me gone. This was how I was going to die-

I looked down to see my hands completely unrestrained. What? I blinked in confusion before trying to move my hands again and then my feet. Still couldn't move them. I was ready to hyperventilate at the absurdity of the situation when a voice interrupted me.

"You really can't see the shackles, huh?", the guy murmured in observation, scrutinizing me with almost clinical eyes. Cake guy, I recognized. I was hoping to chuck all that up to be just a weird dream.

"What shackles? Why are you still here?", I questioned before widening my eyes after a thought crossed my mind. "Oh god, you want me to be conscious while you murder me, don't you? It has to be that or..."

I looked down at myself. I was still clothed but I won't be able to save myself because my limbs were restrained by invisible 'shackles', apparently.

He rolled his eyes at me when he realized my train of thought. "Oh, don't flatter yourself. As for the question of why we are still here, you'd have been eaten alive by the creatures of the night if we weren't."

I blinked. "The what?"

He stepped forward and my body stiffened instinctively, my eyes following him warily. He paused at my reaction and looked at me incredulously, as if it was ridiculous to be cautious in front of a person who broke into my house and was holding me captive. "Look, we are all searching for a special box that has to be in your possession. It'll prove who you are and then we can leave. We haven't found it anywhere else, so it must be on your body. I just need to check, okay?"

"Uh, no?", I replied with equal incredulity. Who was this guy, pretending like just asking a stranger to show their body was completely okay?

His eyes flashed with irritation before continuing moving forward with purpose and I let out a shriek, clenching my eyes shut. Thankfully, we were interrupted right in time.

"We need to go. Now.", the blonde spoke up as she arrived in the doorway, her eyes conveying the urgency of the action. She turned to look at the third of the group. "Honey, you need to take her and leave. Gray and I will create a distraction."

Cake guy, probably named Gray, gave me one glance and I felt the tension leave my taut arms and legs just as he turned and walked away. I scrambled to my feet and stuck my back to the wall, frantically looking back and forth at the people in my room.

"What- no! You go and we will distract them", he objected before turning to me, "Of course, I'm not saying that because I think you are bad company or anything like that. I guess, I should've phrased that right. Let me try-"

"Okay, light-bringer, that is exactly why you can't be seen here. They'll know something is up because you all rarely like to fight. And you know how much mongrels love to gossip in the second world."

A loud crash sounded from the other side of my house, startling me. I could hear a growl that sounded unlike any animal I've ever heard. Taking advantage of my diverted attention, the big guy grabbed my wrist and pulled me along as he ran into the wall before I could protest. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the impact, but all I felt was squeezing sensation so momentary that I didn't even have time to yell in pain.

"I'm so sorry for the sudden trip. It will get better with practice, don't worry."

I reluctantly opened my eyes to see that we were just outside my house, on the other side of the wall. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding and let out a shaky laugh. "And here I was actually starting to believe this nonsense", I said with a scoff as I stalked towards him. "What, you all replaced my real wall with a fake one to create an 'illusion'? I don't know who you are and what kind of sick games you all are playing but-"