Forlot - Books 7-9

Chapter Thirty

"He what?!" I was on the verge of tears and did not even try holding them back. I sank to my knees and covered my eyes with my hands. "No, no, no..."

"Maria, I am terribly sorry about him and your wolf family," I heard Grand Mar say. "I do wish that there was a way that we could help them."

I uncovered my eyes and wiped snot from my nose. I slowly lifted up my head to get a good view of him and could feel the bottom of my jaw shaking. I tried to find the right words to say. The words that I wanted to say.

"T-there is a way to save them from my mom and dad," I stammered. "We need to go to the kingdom and free them from the cages."

Grand Mar seemed shocked by what I said. Not taking his eyes off me, he grabbed the doorknob. "All three of us? You, your bird friend, and I?"

"Yeah. And not just us. With your permission, sir, your people can assist. Even your granddaughters can come along for the ride."

I heard a low growl escape from deep within his throat, and he slowly twisted the knob to the left. "I am sure that I am not supposed to call a sweet princess this, but...are you crazy?"

"Huh? Crazy?"

"Grand Wolf never told me that you are mentally ill, so I am positive that is not it."

"What is your problem?" Tabceo questioned him. "What is wrong with her suggestion?"

"The problem is that you two are never leaving here."

Before either Tabceo or I could react, Grand Mar pushed open the door, grabbed ahold of us, and shoved us into the house. He scurried inside and slammed the door behind him.

"Maria? Are you alright?" Tabceo said.

I grunted and rubbed the back of my neck. I was lying on my back and in some pain.

"I think that...I think that one of my bones is broken..."

She flew up to Grand Mar and got right in front of his face. "What the heck, man?! You trying to have us as hostages? What are you going to do? Teach us complex math that we will probably never use in real life?"

"I am not taking you as my hostages," Grand Mar explained himself. "I am protecting you and the princess."

"Protecting us? From what? From returning to our home?"

"Trust me. Your 'home' is not like what it used to be. It is worse."

I got up. "How can that be?" I said. "Tabceo and I were there earlier today, and it was the same as always."

"Certain things can change in a matter of seconds, my princess. It is now considered suicide to even go there."

"Look, mister. I know more about my parents than you do. They are bad. But they are not...bad."

"Need I remind you that they imprisoned your wolf family. There is probably not a shed of good in them."

"Now that is what I can believe."

"Grandpa?"

"Grandpa?"

Grand Mar smiled. "Maria. Tabceo. These are my granddaughters, Ally and Mally."

Ally and Mally were like twins. The only difference between them was the color of their hair. Ally had blonde hair, and Mally had black hair.

They had on the same clothes. Red, sparkling dresses that were sleeveless and black boots. Both of their furs were brown.

"Ooh! We have guests," Ally remarked.

"Shall Ally and I prepare some scrumptious food for the newcomers?" Mally suggested to her grandpa.

"That would be great," Grand Mar replied. "I am thinking some warm soup and bread to dip."

"Yes, Grandpa," the girls said at the same time before disappearing into the room across from us.

"By the way, girls. Where is the boy with glasses? His name is Caleb."

"In the guest room!" Mally called from the other room. "He wanted to lie down and rest!"

"Thank you, sweetheart." He turned back to us. "I will lead you to the guest room. That is where you will sleep for the night. It is a pretty nice suite."

The house had a second floor, and we ascended the wooden stairs. When we reached the top, Grand Mar led us to a red door with no doorknob and pushed it open.

"Ladies first," he said.

Tabceo and I went in, and the first thing that our eyes laid on was the person lying in the tall and wide bed.

It was Caleb. He was fast asleep, tucked in, and still wearing his glasses. He was also snoring.

"Caleb!" I exclaimed. "I mean, Caleb."

"I will leave you three be," Grand Mar said. "Dinner will be ready very soon." He closed the door, and we could hear him walking away.

"I am so relieved that Caleb is okay," I whispered to Tabceo.

"Me too," she whispered back. "He deserves only the very best after his stupid parents gave up on him."

I sat on the edge of the bed. "I wish that I knew where his folks were so I could give each of them a swift punch in the gut."

"Maria, I would say that is a bit of an extreme, however, his mom and dad are wicked adults that should be abandoned and abused like their son was."

"Yeah. What happened to Caleb ought to happen to them."

"Amen, Maria."

I had my legs dangling over the bed and could feel something cold touching my ankles. I shivered and tilted my head down to my feet. I gasped.

Something definitely was touching me. More precisely, sniffing me.

It was a black, shiny nose that was sniffing my shoes.

"Hello...?" I said. "Who goes there?"

The nose stopped sniffing and hid under the bed. Seconds later, a furry animal crawled out from underneath and wagged his tail. I recognized him.

"Triste! You are here! And you are not dead!"

Triste halted - and then burst out crying.