Spy School King's Cage (Completed)

Arrival

Ben's POV

"Ben," Erica spoke softly, shaking me awake. "We're landing in twenty minutes. Get up."

"Have I really been asleep that long?" I groaned, half-awake.

Erica smiled softly. "Yes." Then she sat by my bedside. She checked once to make sure that no one was in the room or within earshot, and then she leaned in to whisper. "Every plane we've been on, we have definitely shared some sweet memories."

I knew what she was going to say, but I remained quiet.

"So, I was thinking-" Erica began, but I cut her off immediately by closing the gap between our lips for three seconds.

She pulled back, blushing deep red. I felt my own cheeks grow warm, and she quickly moved away and started walking away. I followed her and we sat in the seats, buckling in. Mike moved in and sat next to me.

"Sleep well?" I asked. He smiled cheerfully.

"Can you believe we're going to go to Alaska?" he asked. "This is going to be amazing."

Zoe, who was in front of us, swiveled around and grinned. "We're meeting a royal family. That's going to be so cool!"

In my opinion, they were perfectly normal. They looked somewhat like what I imagined a medieval royal family would look like, but with a few minor changes. Erica seemed to read my mind and from her seat next to Zoe, she smiled and nodded subtly.

The jet tipped downward, signaling the descent of our flight. I held on to the armrests tightly as the jet came to a smooth stop.

Catherine calmly walked out of the cockpit and smiled warmly at everyone. "Hello, everyone! I hope you all slept well. Gather your luggage and follow me!"

We obeyed as we walked along with Catherine out of the jet. I let everyone pass and walked out last, right behind Erica. She smiled warmly and inconspicuously slipped her hand into mine.

We caught up with the rest of the group. Catherine pulled out her phone, dialed a number and spoke for a while. While everyone else engaged in conversations, Erica turned to me.

"You ready for this?" she asked. "We're going on vacation."

I nodded. "Vacation. Right."

"Come on!" came Catherine's voice. I looked up to see a limousine waiting for us. The driver opened the door for us and we all got in. The cool air conditioning was relaxing, and the whole limo smelled like oranges.

"We're on our way to meet the royal family," Catherine informed. "They don't exactly live in a palace, but it is quite bigger than Wickham palace."

"How many kids do the King and Queen have?" Jamie asked.

Catherine smiles, like she knew this question would come up. "They have one daughter. She is fourteen and her name is Piper."

I already knew this, and I had gotten a glimpse of her. Erica had informed me that the picture was back when she was nine, so she would look slightly different.

The limo came to a stop, and Catherine clasped her hands together. "We're here!"
The driver opened the door for us, and took a deep bow as we got out. Cynthia and Jamie were used to being treated so, unlike everyone else. They smiled pleasantly and we walked over to the huge iron gates.

A bodyguard in a sleek black jumpsuit and a shotgun nodded as we passed by. Another one silently guided us to the steps that led to the entrance of the large palace-like structure about two times the size of Orion's.

The royal family stood in the entryway, and behind them stood about ten bodyguards, heavily armed. They smiled warmly upon our arrival, and I felt sweat trickle down the back of my neck.

"Welcome," the king spoke in a voice I hadn't expected. It was soft, bright and much like Alexander's cheerful personality. "We are honored to have you as guests."

"Thank you," Catherine said sweetly. "The honor is all ours. Let me introduce you to the youngest and most talented agents we have." She stepped back, and I noticed that only the King and Queen were in front of us. There was no sign of Princess Piper anywhere.

"My apologies," Queen Skye said, reading my thoughts. "Piper can be a bit, ah, well, shy. She's probably somewhere inside."

"This is Cynthia, Mike, Zoe, Jamie, Ben, and my daughter, Erica," Catherine said, gesturing to all of us in order.

The King and Queen smiled warmly. King Ryan had thick, shiny black hair and a muscular build. He was well-shaved and suave. If it weren't for the crown or the sleek cape behind him, I would've mistaken him for a famous billionaire.

Queen Skye wore a long blue gown fading into white with simple pearl jewelry. She looked quite regal, though she had flowers in her hair instead of a crown.

"Come on in," the queen continued. "You can rest in your rooms until dinnertime. The guards will lead you to your respective rooms, alright?"

We all mumbled thanks and smiled as the king and queen walked away. Three bodyguards led us up the grand flights of stairs. Famous works of art adorned the hallways. Everything looked very regal and posh.

One guard pointed to a series of bedrooms. "Your rooms," he said, then he walked away. Each of our rooms had one bodyguard in front. Our names were etched out on the doors in cursive.

I walked into the door with my name and found the bed extremely comfy. There was enough lighting and light blue walls.

I placed my bag on the floor and walked out of the room. The guard up front snapped to attention.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked in a low tone.

"I'm just walking around," I replied, and he resumed his work while I wandered down the hallways, admiring the paintings, statues and portraits.

I walked up another flight of stairs and found myself in a huge gallery of artwork. As I wandered around, though, I didn't notice where I was going and I ran smack into someone. We both fell down.