Magnoliophyta

17. A MEMORY THAT'S NOT MINE!

The room was dimly lit and shadows were dancing around the candle kept on the table. The scene looked like an interrogation and I could see Jared and his dad sitting opposite to each other.

Then suddenly the man got up and tackled Jared into a tight hug. I could sense Jared's discomfort. "Dad" The word spilled out of his mouth, conveying his shock, surprise, happiness and dread, all in that one word. "Jared, I know you think I am a devil. Also... I go by the name Will now." The man said in remorse. "You think!" Jared spat out in anger and disgust. "Look I didn't steal the Sapphire du Soleil because I wanted to, I was compelled into doing so!" His dad said in self defence. "Oh ya, well who forced you to do it then... and where is mom?" His voice shivered with fear and anticipation. 

" Nero, forced us to steal the sapphire and..." His voice broke into a thousand sad shards as he stabled himself after tripping on the carpet. "Nero has your mom in captivity, she is deep down in the dark dungeons of Nerville." His voice sounded genuinely depressed. " Nerville?" Jared asked in confusion. His dad looked like he had been smacked in the face for a minute but he immediately recomposed himself. " Nerville, Nero's city. The city of corruption. murder. treason. betrayal. cruelty and sin. 

"So... does that mean you can come back home now. Come back to... me?" Jared asked with shining yet remorseful eyes. "No..." his dad replied. Jared let out a deep silent breath. Will continued. " I need to find the sapphire and take it to Nero within three days, otherwise... he will feed your mother to the parasites." Tears were rolling down his dad's cheeks making a soft sound as they reached the ground. 

" NO! me and my friends will help you look for it, I am sure we can find it together." Jared had determined set to his mouth. We will not let mom be harmed" Jared said with confidence. "Do you think your friends will help you?" Will asked Jared. "Of course" Jared said and slowly a smile played on his face. " I wonder..." Jared became as still as a statue.

Things swirled before me, the room became fluid and my vision came back in a torrent of thoughts and memories. 

I was right where I had been - Hanging upside down with my foot tied to a rope -Jared had the same cruel smile like his father. I was confused, from what I had seen in the memory... Jared's dad was supposed to be nice and so was Jared. My mind was still working out mystery when Jared suddenly clapped his hand to get our attention.

"GUYS! CHILL! It's like you've never played a prank on anyone your whole life!" Jared burst out laughing. After a minute or two, we joined in. " You scared me to death" I banged Jared's back. I wondered if he knew that I had seen his memory but that just seemed like a minor thing now so I decided to keep it for later.

Will came up and untied all of us and we dropped to the ground with relief. " Why in the world would you tie us!?" Amor asked in exasperation. " Sorry, I was afraid you might run away or hurt Jared" Will replied in an apologetic tone. " It's cool, but try to restrain from hanging people if you want their support" Amor smirked and my lips twitched up into a smile. 

"On a serious note, how the hell did you get so many soldiers that work for you?" I asked genuinely surprised. " I was the one who gathered them and bought them here. They had all faced loss because of Nero and wanted revenge. They already had the motive, I just gave them the means." Will shrugged and said in a false superior tone. " So... now I am their leader.".

I smiled. " I am glad Jared found you and that you're not the villain. Jared really misses you. I hope you know that." Jared's ears turned pink, he quickly diverted the topic to our mission. "Guys, we have three days and not a second more. We need to find the Sapphire Du Soleil and hand it over to Nero. Y'all with me till now?"  Lil, Amor and I cried out at the same time. "What! are you mad!" Lil made a small whimpering noise. "Jared you can't. You know Nero will use the sapphire to wipe out Magnoliophyta and massacre 'The Liberated' We can't let that happen" I reasoned with Jared.

"Blimey! did you actually think I was just going to hand it over. I mean... we will hand it over but just for the purpose of show. As soon as we get my mom back, we will steal back the sapphire, defeat Nero and be back on our way home." Jared talked like this was as easy as bursting a balloon. " And how do you propose to steal back the Sapphire and defeat Nero?" Amor spoke in a slow drawling voice brimmed with sarcasm. " I'm sure we'll figure something out." Jared said with complete certainty and the matter was closed. Their was to be no more discussion on the topic.

" Fine... Then how do you propose to find the Sapphire in the firs' place?" Amor wasn't going to give up. Jared was stumped. I suddenly chimed in " Will, weren't you the one who stole the sapphire from Magnoliophyta?" Will nodded. "Well, then why don't you have it?" I pestered on. "Me and my wife were forced to give it to the Connor trolls. In exchange for being alive." Will answered after a moment of pause. " "Connor trolls?" I asked. " They are the most devious and sinister of creatures. They murder and loot everyone they meet and we were unfortunate enough to bump into them. Those twin trolls are feared far and near. Kingdoms even have legends based on their deeds." I was enthralled and shocked at the same time. I slowly opened my mouth. "Alrighty! we have a plan. We need to go the Connor trolls and get the Sapphire back." I announced like this was something complicated that only I could come up with.

"But Where are the trolls livin' " Amor asked. "Right here in India. They terrorize from their home base- Bangalore."  Will replied. " Great! Let's get going!" I tried to sound up beat but I guess I failed, looking at the drooping faces of the others. 

Another day, Another Adventure.

 I couldn't wait ( sarcastically speaking )!!!