The Royal Agency

♕~Chapter Two~♕

Hazel was spooked, to say the least. Right after the man disappeared, she turned and galloped immediately back to the stables, glancing over her shoulder every ten seconds. She hastily unsaddled Calpurnia and then ran up the stairs to her room, holding Chione tightly against her chest.

She froze once she flung open the door to her room. Her governess stood there, a blank expression on her face.

"Julia," Hazel said nervously. "Why are you in here?"

"We must go," Julia said in a clipped tone. "Hurry. We don't have much time."

Hazel stared at her. "What do you mean?"

Julia gestured to a single carry-on sized suitcase shed laid out on Hazel's bed. "You have ten minutes to pack. Bring only necessities. And for the love of all that is good, please change your outfit. Something no one will recognize you in."

"I-I don't understand," Hazel said, not moving from the doorway. "What's happening?"

"No time!" Julia snapped. "You've seen him, yes?"

Him...

"The man out in the gardens?" Hazel asked.

"Yes. He's come to collect you."

Hazel didn't like that phrasing. She wasn't some inanimate collectible!

"I'm not going to run off to who-knows-where with who-knows-who if you don't tell me what's going on!"

"I'll explain on the way," Julia said. "I promise, nothing bad is going to happen. Yet. Now, hurry!"

With that, her governess left the room and shut the door. Hazel didn't hear her footsteps descending the spiral stairs, but when she opened the door, there was no one there.

She took a deep breath, stroking Chione's fur. Unfortunately, the soft feel assured her that she was not in one of her weird dreams.

She stood still for a while, but the memory of the man who'd disappeared right before her eyes prompted her to go pack. If she could get some answers out of Julia, she'd just about do anything.

So she hurried around her room, grabbing clothes and a few other things and stuffing them into her suitcase after putting Chione down onto her bed. She changed from her jodhpurs and polo into black leggings and a large black hoodie she had in the back of her closet for some reason, but she kept her black ankle-length boots on. After a second of thought, she threw her riding clothes in with the rest of the stuff she was packing. She only packed one dress- the blue one Christine had given her. The rest of the suitcase was filled with civilian clothing that she never wore but still always had on hand for some reason, some soap and toiletries, her blue-covered journal, and a pouch of writing utensils. She tucked her sun-shaped necklace underneath her hoodie and slipped her phone into her pocket before tying her hair up with a black elastic.

Hazel glanced at her reflection in the mirror. She looked almost like a shadow.

Just to be extra careful, she grabbed a pair of dark sunglasses and stuck them into her collar, and then took some black lipstick she'd never used and applied it. When she slipped the glasses onto her face, she almost couldn't recognize herself.

A knock sounded on her door. Hazel panicked momentarily, but when it opened, it was just Julia who stood there again.

"Good," she said. "Time to get going."

She snapped her fingers, and Hazel's suitcase floated up through the air and towards her.

Hazel almost screamed. What on Earth was going on?