Isabelle awoke from a peaceful sleep recalling yesterday's events. Amongst the chains of thoughts that were traveling back and forth in her mind, the mysterious guy was at the fore front. She hadn't spoken to her sister, Princess Jumanné, since her return from Egypt and she had so much to fill her in on. Isabelle got out of bed and grabbed her phone to give her a call. She walked towards the glass door that separated the room from the balcony while dialing the number. She waited, taking the time to admire the flock of Bee-eaters that flew by. Her eyes traveled along with the birds, only to meet another pair of eyes on her balcony.
Isabelle felt her heart rate quicken as she stared back at this person clothed in black. She began to contemplate between screaming and running when the answering machine blasted at full volume causing her to jump. "Jumanné here! I am currently unavailable. Call back later or allow me to do the honors". Isabelle looked down at the phone and hung up in one breath. This only took a few seconds, but another glance outside revealed an empty balcony. He/she disappeared just as mysteriously as they had appeared. She was now worried sick, for her safety but more for the safety of Jumanné. As her anxiety levels increased, her natural color did the opposite causing her to look pale. "You better be safe", Isabelle thought to herself now pacing back and forth. The Kingdom of Loudefé and Spain were connected with a deep history. There wasn't one without the other and once you ruled over one, you co-ruled the other.
Isabelle realized this from a very young age. Every major decision for her kingdom was put on hold until a signed message of approval was given from King Dejean and vice versa. Further proof of their connection was the presence of only one grand council for both kingdoms. Isabelle came to a halt and a horrific conclusion. " If Authur is after me, he must be after Jumanné as well!", she thought out loud. "I agree", Clara responded causing Isabelle to almost jump out of her nightgown. "Oh Clara, it's just you" she replied clutching her chest. "Of course it's me, Isa. Have a seat, you look like a vampire", Clara replied gesturing towards the sofa. "Thanks", Isabelle responded smiling as she sat.
They heard a gentle knock on the door and Clara got up with the intentions of dismissing Señor Kenny. Clara opened the door and spoke to him briefly before closing it once more. "He knocked?", she asked confused, " I spoke to him", Isabelle responded trying to get herself together. "Good, even I am startled with the way he barges in sometimes" Clara stated looking over at Isabelle. " Isa, what's wrong? you look as if you'd seen a ghost" she finished genuinely concerned. " I wished it were a ghost. That would've been less nerve racking", Isabelle responded. She then explained everything from the mysterious person to the unanswered call and reminded Clara of yesterday's call whilst including the conclusion to which she had arrived.
"You're right Isa, the Salúve family needs to be warned. I will be moving in with you because I don't want you here by yourself", Clara finished. "Thank you. I know I'll have guards here after my parents learn about this, but it'll be more bearable with you here", Isabelle stated with a new sense of comfort. What was still puzzling to her was how the person knew her room and how he/she came through the gates and in the palace unnoticed. She would eventually tell her parents but after returning from the village. She already had a hard time sneaking out, then yesterday's events tripled security so breaking this news would make it impossible. She hoped to meet Luke today and explain things to Brian. Nothing was going as she fantasized, not to mention the fact that her mother thought she was a spy.
Isabelle sighed and got up from the sofa; she walked towards the bathroom to follow through with her usual morning routine. She was looking for her pins to pin up her hair when something on the bathroom walls caught her attention; it was a note. She called Clara in the bathroom before taking the note from the wall and closing the bathroom door behind her. The note read "Just a few more days Princesa or should I say Princesas, yours truly, Authur". Isabelle had to submerge herself in the warm water to reduce the trembling. "Isa, I don't think you should wait. Tell the King and Queen when you're having breakfast, this is serious", Clara spoke sternly. "Clars, relax, I'm going to tell them.... after I return from the village", Isabelle responded as chill as she possibly could which wasn't really chill at all.
Clara sighed realizing that Isabelle would not agree with her. "At least carry the pepper spray. I'm worried about your safety", Clara finished. She then exited the bathroom leaving Isabelle to her own thoughts. She quickly took her bath and got out of the tub realizing that she would be late for breakfast. Clara picked out a black mini skirt, and an orange cropped top for Isabelle to wear to the village with a black and orange sneaker. In the meantime, Isabelle got dressed in a red and white floral dress and red flats along with her silver tiara to have breakfast. She had to act as if everything was normal if she wanted to complete today's mission. She winked at Clara to reassure herself that she could do this. She then descended the stairs feeling more and more numb with each step. Upon entering the dining room, she noticed that breakfast was already served. She then greeted everyone and apologized for her tardiness before taking a seat.
Her father spoke with pride about the business sector of the kingdom but to Isabelle it was all the same. Profits, losses, liability, assets, new ideas to make more profit. Queen Melaine listened keenly and gave her input before steering the conversation towards the upcoming masquerade ball. She was curious about who Isabelle was planning to court. There were many suitors, but Isabelle was not interested in any of them. Luke on the other hand caught her attention but her father would dismiss the very thought. "I'm not sure as yet", she responded believably. "You have plenty of time to figure it out. Meet them at the ball, choose a few to continue courtship with and every month deny one the opportunity. This should narrow it down until you've made your final choice", Queen Melaine finished enthusiastically.
"Yeah, sounds fun. Are all the villagers invited to the ball?", Isabelle asked, now interested in the conversation. "Pero, por supuesto cariña ", Queen Melaine replied, and that was all the answer Isabelle needed. She excused herself from the dining table and made her way back upstairs leaving her mother smiling to herself. She then locked her door and started to undress. Five minutes later she was smiling in the mirror admiring herself. Clara placed the wig on Isabelle's head and braided it in a fish bone. She then applied the makeup and even added a few freckles before handing her a small side bag. After preparing Isabelle for the road, Clara went downstairs and distracted the guards while she climbed down the balcony. She quickly slipped through the palace gates taking one last glance to see Clara showing the five guards on the right wing of the palace an imaginary person behind the garden. Isabelle chuckled and started off for the village with a newfound excitement not to see Brian, but Luke.
She remembered his daring eyes not even glimpsing her for a minute, and she loved that. She saw Brian standing in front of the Ice cream parlor and went over to greet him. He was too busy telling some other guy about his experience with the princess to notice her. They were obviously having a guy moment, so Isabelle left them to it. She turned around to see a set of light blue eyes looking at her keenly. She immediately recognized the nonchalant gaze, it was Luke. She stopped in her track and matched his daring gaze. He smirked and that gave her the courage to walk over to him and introduce herself. To her surprise, he already knew her name and she had no idea how. He saw her reaction and explained that Brian had told him about her. "They know each other?", she thought to herself. That was supposed to erase the uneasy feeling that Isabelle was slowly developing but it didn't.
She had to remind herself that she had only just met Brian a few days ago. Her brain was doing cartwheels trying to piece everything together. "Ohh right", she replied nodding and fumbling with her side bag. Luke smiled at her reaction before inviting her to the garden with him explaining that he feeds the wild animals there on a daily basis. Isabelle was skeptical about his claims but then remembered that the garden was connected to the nearby forest. Luke didn't ask any other questions; he didn't even say anything else. They just walked in silence through the central village and towards the garden. Isabelle was unaware of why she agreed to go to a place where she could easily be kidnapped recalling this morning's events.
They arrived at the entrance of the garden then took a detour that was nonexistent to Isabelle. This little secret pathway was not easily spotted which prove that he did visit regularly. The dirt path was so narrow that it was almost impossible to take a horse through. They walked for about ten minutes in silence with the occasional sounds of nature jumping in from time to time. Isabelle realized that they were going deeper into the forest and in doing so were drawn further away from the village. She remembered that she had the pepper spray in her side bag, and she had been doing some marking to find her way back if necessary. Luke finally halted and she followed suit. Isabelle stood still in awe, dumfounded by the beauty around her. There were different varieties of trees, plants and exotic flowers. The sound & feel of the wind making contact with her surroundings felt somewhat freeing.
Her attention was diverted by a ruffle in the tree that Luke was standing below. She squinted her eyes to try and see what it was. A gasp escaped her lips as her eyes met a pair of gold ones from behind the leaves. Upon further observation, Isabelle realized what it was. The panic that rushed through her seemed to isolate any sense of feeling. She subconsciously started to back away. Luke glanced at her and followed her gaze then smiled satisfied. "Ah, so you've met Lina. Come down Lina, it's okay" he said to the wild animal. The Panther emerged from the tree and carefully walked over to where Luke was standing. He petted her and made the introduction all the while Isabelle stood frozen. "Cia, Lina, Lina, Cia" he stated with a warm smile. The animal sniffed Isabelle before running off into the deeper parts of the forest.
Isabelle was now more conscious of the decision she made as well as her surroundings. She felt her mind beginning to relax as she just confirmed that Luke was in fact telling the truth. "How did you do that?", she finally managed to ask after what felt like minutes of complete silence. "A magician never reveals his secrets", he said looking proud. "That was terrifying yet exhilarating", she finished still dazed. " Are you coming to the Masquerade ball?" she asked awkwardly. "Well, I have to attend as I will be working there. I take it that you'll be attending", he answered lightheartedly.
"I will be. Attending that is, so yeah, I'll see you there" she replied doing backflips internally. At least she wouldn't be bored out of her mind by the princes. Isabelle was brought back to reality by voices coming in the distance. She looked over at Luke who seemed relaxed yet again. "Why is he always so calm", she thought to herself. She too tried to relax but kept a keen eye as the voices were getting louder and louder. Then nothing! It was as if she was imagining things. She released a long breath "maybe they changed course" she said looking hopeful at Luke. He was giving a devilish grin "Mmmmh, I don't think so", he responded glancing at her ...
BAM! Isabelle's soul left her body.