Chapter 34 - Inner Pandemonium

Talia and I stared dumbfounded back at the stage. It was, without a doubt, our friend and comrade Vanessa who was up in there, surrounded by strange people whom I could barely recognize. Their faces were hidden in grotesque masks, and their body language indicated that everything we have been seeing was not a performance.

Besides, the circling fire around Van was proof enough that she didn’t suddenly join a group of theatre people just for kicks. No. . . This was about something else. Something about me and the princess, and Van was live bait.

Talia took a deep, strangled breath beside me. “What are we going to do?” she squeaked. I looked at her face. The ghostly makeup she was wearing was perfect for the scared expression she showed.

A combination of adrenaline and fear rushed through my veins. “Let’s get her. I don’t know how. But damn if we don’t.” Glancing around the surrounding area, I searched for something, anything that could help us get Van out of that situation. We had no weapons or man power. Only the desire to get her.

In my haste to search, I barely recognized that someone already took a microphone on the stage. Talia had to nudge me so I could focus my attention there. The muscled guy tapped the microphone twice before speaking. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said in a loud booming voice, the sound echoing all over the place.

Talia gasped. “Muscles!”

“You know that guy?” I asked as I trained my eyes carefully to the stage.

She nodded vigorously. “Yes! He was part of the group who kidnapped me from you. They called him Muscles and he was originally in league with Vanessa.” Talia shook her head in dismay, looking like she was remembering something unpleasant. I grabbed her hand to calm her, though the thought of losing Talia that night made my insides boil.

“If this Muscles guy is a friend of Van’s, then what do you think is going on? Are they perhaps fooling around?”

“I don’t think so Cybele.” Her eyes flitted worriedly to the stage, the glow of the fire reflected there. “These people are not good okay? They are different from Van. Malicious. Evil. I think they,”

The word she was going to say was cut off by the squealing sound of the microphone. It was like sharp fingernails were being dragged on a chalkboard, creating a very unpleasant scratching noise, which made me and Talia cover our ears momentarily with our hands. All around us, the crowd did the same, though some just stared with barely concealed interest at the supposed performance.

“Tonight!” Muscles announced. “We will show you something different. Something you’ve never witnessed before.” He bowed for emphasis. The onlookers and almost everyone around the plaza, with the exception of me and Talia began to clap loudly. When the cheering subsided, Muscles continued. “The play is about a girl who betrayed her friends. And we all know what happens to betrayer’s right? Can you guess it?” he asked the audience.

“You stop being friends?” one shouted.

“Well there is that,” Muscle said on the microphone. “Anymore guesses?”

“You leave them to rot so they’ll come back begging to you,” a teenager yelled on our right. His companions agreed with him by laughing and slapping their thighs.

Muscles smiled knowingly. “Close enough, but we have something better,” he boomed. “Because tonight, we will witness a punishment.” The audience quieted down immediately. “The play is called burned alive, and without further ado, we will now begin. Enjoy!”

The cheering of the crowd that followed after that was drowned out by the fast beating of my heart. It was all I could focus on, and of course Van who squirmed uncomfortably from the wooden pole, the blaze too near for her own good. “Come on Cybele!” Talia said, pulling me. “We shouldn’t waste time. Van will be dead in a few minutes. If not for the fire licking her skin when it does get to her, then from the smoke.” She was right. We must hurry.

Springing on my feet, the two of us began to push our way through the horde. There were too many of them. All were gathered there to see the play, and more was coming. “Hey watch it!” a teenager yelled as I accidentally stepped on his foot. I didn’t turn to apologize. We just kept moving.

About a hundred yards from the stage, what I thought couldn’t get worse just turned into a bigger nightmare. Because out of the blue, palace guards began arriving one by one, each heading to the stage with grim expressions, guns on their hands. They must have caught wind of the fake performance and was there to stop it.

“What are we going to do Cybele?!” Talia asked with wide eyes, her hands trembling. “If they managed to stop the play, the guards will still recognize Van and execute her for her treachery. She will die through fire or the death sentence.”

I swallowed hard. My throat was dry as the desert. “I know. Which is why we should get to her first.”

Once again, we pushed and fought our way through the mass. But apparently, Muscles and his group saw the approach of the guards as well and didn’t want their efforts to go to waste. Taking a torch, Muscles together with his companions began to ignite the edge of the stage so no one would get near. It was a good strategy. They’d have time to torture Van and escape on time before everything turned into inferno.

“Arrest them!” said the guard commander. “Quickly before they escape!”

A group of twelve guards moved nearer to the stage, desperate to follow the command. The people, thinking that it was still part of the play didn’t budge from their positions. Talia and I were different. The clock was ticking and every second wasted meant that we wouldn’t see Van again.

“Excuse me!” Talia said, pushing everyone out of the way. “Coming through.” For my part, I had to elbow everyone who wouldn’t move, uncaring for the harsh stares we got and the curses that were thrown to us.

The first six guards that were able to reach the edge of the stage removed their coats to take the fire out. But it was too large, the flames dancing left and right, taunting everyone who dared get on its way. I thought that the guards would be helpless against it, but another group of guards came running to them, buckets filled with water on their hands. They stared to splash the edge of the stage with it.

“Cybele, we’re near the stage,” Talia said with excitement in front of me. “I think Van saw us. We just made eye contact.” Hope bloomed in my heart. We could still make it to her.

“Then hurry up Talia we must save h-“

The screaming from the stage halted me. Both the princess and I stared in horror in its direction as the canopy caught on fire. It was one big inferno. There was smoke and flames, and the whole structure was about to cave in. As if in slow motion, the canopy buckled and sagged, then completely fell on top of them. Muscles and his group vanished underneath the ruble. So did Van. For a moment, I couldn’t see anything from where I was standing, making me panic. There was so much dust and smoke.

The audience oohed and aahed, too mesmerized to think that it was not an act. “Clear the stage!” screamed the commander. “I want them arrested now!”

Before the other guards could do the order, I saw Muscles and the gang make their way out of the ruble. They were dirty, dusty, and some of them sported fresh wounds. The flame was still there, though the collapse that occurred put it under control. If one could call that blazing fire under control at all.

“Where’s Vanessa?!” Muscles asked, turning all over the place in search of their betrayer.

“I see movement there,” said his girl companion. “But the guards are already on the stage. Let’s take revenge some other time. We’ll get arrested.”

Muscles slapped her hard on the cheek. “I don’t care about being arrested. All I want is to kill that bitch for betraying us. Toothy!” He motioned to the other guy. “Give me your machete so I can cut her head off.” Toothy handed his weapon to Muscles.

No, no, no, no! My head screamed as Muscles made his way to the subtle movement on the stage. The area was heavily covered by a large part of the canopy, though I was pretty sure that there was someone over there.

“Move!” I said to the audience that surrounded me and Talia, preventing us from getting to our friend. “Please move!” I pushed and clawed my way through the buzzing crowd, but we were still too far away. Van was so near that I could almost see her hand from the rubble, yet still far to even save her. Dread began to fill me. This could not be happening.

“Muscles do it quick! The guards!” Sure enough, about six guards have reached them. In a desperate attempt to finish what he started, I watched helplessly as Muscles raised his machete, its blade glimmering menacingly.

In that moment, Talia faced me, grabbed my head and kissed me hard on the lips. It was all she could do to shield me away from the horror that happened next. To keep me from howling loudly in pain as my newfound sister was slaughtered before us. It was mere seconds, yet every tick of the clock brought fresh waves of pain to my heart.

Talia broke free from me. She had deep sadness in her eyes, yet she was doing all she could to pull herself together. “Let’s go Cybele. We must leave.”

A dam of tears fell down to my cheeks. “But. . .” My voice was strangled. It didn’t sound like mine. “But I promised her.”

“I know you promised her,” Talia said gently. “But there’s nothing we can do. We must go. Or the guards will find us and capture us instead. Do you want them to bring me back to my mother?”

Her question seemed to shake me. I should think of Talia’s safety first. Talia always come first. Endure it Cybele. Just as you did with mother and father. Nodding to her, we started to go in the opposite direction. This time was easier. We were not in a race to save someone. She was dead.

Going back to the hideout was one of the hardest things that I had to do. Throughout our long walk, Talia and I didn’t speak to each other. I couldn’t, even if I wanted to. My heart and mind was closed to anything. No outside stimulus could penetrate it, though my instinct of survival and protecting the princess was very much alive.

Reaching the house, I went straight to the sofa, sinking on it with a heavy heart. Talia did the same. To think that Van slept here a few hours ago was beyond ridiculous. Now she was simply gone.

Talia reached for my hand. “Hey. . .” I didn’t answer. “You can cry to me if you want,” she continued, caressing my hand with her thumb.

“I almost never cry Talia. That’s the thing about me. Earlier was an exception.”

“You said almost Cybele. It means out of a hundred, there is still a .00001 percent chance that you’ll still do.” She frowned. “Don’t keep it bottled up inside okay? Let’s cry together. You have the opportunity now. Come on,” she urged. “Cry with me.”

I glared at her. “This is not some sort of audition Talia. I don’t need to cry when someone tells me to. Just leave me alone.”

“To what? To blame yourself?” Talia asked. “Because I know you. Right in this second you’re probably beating yourself to a pulp, wondering why you weren’t there in time to save her.”

I raised my hands in frustration. “You just said so yourself. I wasn’t there. If I didn’t ask her to go to town this morning, none of that would have happened. If I wasn’t so focused on myself, she would still be alive!”

“But it’s not your fault,” Talia said. “We had no idea that Muscles and his group would be searching for Van. We were victims of circumstances.”

I exhaled loudly. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I broke my promise. I told her. . .” I glanced painfully at Talia. “That we’ll all go to England. That she was my little sister, and I’ll help her with Brooke.” A humorless laugh escaped from my mouth. “Now Van is dead and Brooke is still missing. Heaven knows if my best friend is alive or being tortured by palace guards. I’m such a screw up and I was supposed to be the Queen. No wonder your mother stole the seat from me easily. I’m hopeless.”

“Cybele. . . How can you say that?” Talia moved nearer, cupping my face with her hands. “Stop blaming yourself. And just so you know, you would have been the best queen the kingdom has seen. If Van was here, she probably would agree. She believed in you enough to follow you. Don’t waste her trust.”

The mask I was wearing crumbled. I gave her a very unhappy look. “If you say so.” I sighed. “Go ahead and sleep Talia. I’ll just keep watch and make sure that we’re safe. I’ll follow you in our room after a few ours.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

Talia got up and went to the stairs. Before she disappeared, she said, “I loved her as a sister too.”

Something cold and unpleasant pressed against my neck, pulling me from my dreams. I must have fallen asleep, I thought groggily. As soon as I opened my eyes, I immediately knew that something was off. It was a combination of gut feeling, plus a sharp thing began to dig itself on my neck. I stared down cautiously and was surprised at what I found.

“Well hello there,” someone whispered from my right. His breath smells foul. I couldn’t see him because he was standing right behind me.

“Who are you?” I asked, careful not to move. A knife was held against my neck.

“They call me Muscles around this part,” he chuckled. Coldness consumed my body.

“And what do you want from me? I don’t remember making an enemy out of you.” But I am your biggest nightmare now, considering you killed Vanessa, I thought in hatred. Wait until I get out of this situation.

“Oh you have something of mine,” he said, no doubt with a sneer on his face. “You see, while we were escaping the palace guards, I saw you and the princess walking away. I thought it’s time to collect the money that we were promised with. The money that Vanessa didn’t give us when she made the trade. You seem like a smart beautiful woman, I know you get what I’m saying.”

“I’m not going to give Talia to you,” I answered with a clear voice. “And what kind of man are you, so unwilling to fight a woman squarely?”

“You don’t have to give her to me,” he whispered, leaning his head to me. “My companion already have her.”

At that moment, I heard a piercing scream. Talia, I thought in agony. “Don’t hurt her!” I grit my teeth. “Look, I have money. Lot’s of it. I’ll give some to you, in exchange that you won’t lay a finger on her.”

I so desperately wanted to smash his head on the floor, but he had me on a disadvantage. I was on sitting on the couch with a knife pressed against my neck while he was standing behind. There was no escape for now. All I could do was convince him to leave my princess alone.

“But I don’t roll that way,” Muscles said. “I already made a deal with Mr. Wang before, and this time, I’m going to keep my word. A deal is a deal after all. Toothy!” he hollered. “Bring the princess down.”

A couple of seconds later, I saw Talia being dragged forcefully by the ugly guy they called Toothy down the stairs. I bit my lips hard. It was all I could do to keep from shouting. I learned that being calm during these situations is the best tactic, though in reality, my whole world was falling apart at seeing that image.

Talia’s eyes widened in fear. “Cybele!” She glanced at Muscles. “Let go of her you scoundrel! Just take me and go.”

“No way! Shut your trap Talia. Let me handle this. Muscles,” I called. “How much did Mr. Wang offer you? I can give you double.”

He chuckled. “This is not about that anymore. A gentleman needs to keep his word. And besides, what assurance do I have that you won’t hunt me down? So no thanks missy, but I’m killing you and taking her. Mr. Wang will have so much fun.”

“I’ll triple the deal!”

“No can do. Toothy, take her away so I can kill this punk.”

Toothy jerked the princess towards the door. Talia wouldn’t give up without a fight. “Cybele! No!”

“Talia!” I grabbed Muscles hand, trying to pry it away. All he did was press the knife tighter on my neck, its sharpness digging in. Blood trickled down, but I didn’t mind it. All I could see was my princess. “Let her go!”

It was a complete surprise when Toothy suddenly crumpled on the ground. Focusing on him, I noticed that there was a bullet hole on his forehead. What was going on? I thought in amazement as someone walked inside the door like she owned the place.

“Hey. Sorry I’m late.” Brooke smiled sheepishly, holding a gun. There were fading bruises all over her skin. My stomach flipped in excitement. My best friend was here. Who knew that I’d be so glad to see her?

“Who are you?” Muscles asked. “Don’t come near. I’ll kill your fr-“ I heard his body hitting the ground before I saw it. Looking behind, I caught her leaning against the wall.

“I just came in through the window,” she said. “Don’t look at me like that your highness. What? You thought I was dead?” Van grinned. “You have to adopt me first.”