Chapter 35: 35_The Hidden Village

“Shit!” Natalia dashed out of her chair. Jade dropped to the floor and crawled under the table.

Pursing his lips, Raiden watched Natalia run over to hide behind him.

The doors opened and the Queen sashayed in, all grace and poise. Stealthily, Lane left the room.

“Welcome,” said Veronica, with a perfect curtsey. “Queen Monica.”

Ignoring the swaying brown hair moving behind Raiden’s arm, Monica smiled and opened her arms to hug Veronica. “Hello, my darling. How are you?”

“Great! Have you come to finally adopt me?”

The Queen laughed, the sound as cheerful as tinkling bells. Natalia wasn’t easily fooled, she would remain hidden behind Raiden.

“Your brother wouldn’t let me, dear.” Monica turned to Raiden. “Would you?”

He warmly returned her smile. “I would never do that to you, your Majesty.”

Laughing at the glare Veronica gave her brother, Monica affectionately patted his arm. “It’s lovely to see you again. Now, please step aside, dearie, so I can speak to that wife of yours.”

Raiden stepped aside and Natalia immediately vanished.

“Get back here,” was the Queen’s stern order.

Natalia reappeared, shoulders drooping. “Hello, Mother.” No good having Vampire capabilities when your mother could ban their usage.

With pursed lips, Monica only looked at her for a moment. She tilted her head to the side. “How long do I have to wait?”

The silence stretched. Giving up, Jade slowly crawled out from under the table. “Oh!” She smiled brightly as she straightened. “Mummy, what are you doing here?!”

Skipping over, she wrapped both arms around the Queen and kissed her cheek. “You look lovely.”

“Where’s Milana?”

Jade froze. Glancing over, she met Natalia’s gaze.

“Shopping.”

“Sleeping."

Their simultaneous answers made their mother raise a brow and that was enough to have Natalia inching closer to Raiden.

“Which is it?” Monica questioned. “Shopping or sleeping? Unless she’s making purchases in her dreams, of course? Or has she taken to napping amidst the silk scarves of her favourite boutique?”

Natalia snorted. “Imagine that—”

“Talia, I’m not joking.”

Taking Raiden’s arm, Natalia tightly held it. “Mother, you’re scaring me, let’s talk about this calmly.”

“I am calm.”

“Then why’re you glaring? It’s scary. I’m a Queen too, now, so you can’t frighten me with your eyes, you know?”

“You’re my daughter and will always be my daughter. You could become a god, for all I care, you’re still my daughter.”

Raiden suppressed his smile as his wife immediately nodded. “Yes, Mother.”

“Now.” Monica released a heavy breath. Her heart was frantic with worry but she wanted to keep calm. If she panicked, there would be no controlling her. “I’d come here with one problem but, judging by how you’ve failed to tell me where Milana is, I guess I have two. Firstly. Does anybody in this room care to explain why I had to start my morning with a letter from some well-respected acquaintances, informing me that my daughter, my Amethyst, was seen in the most preposterous of circumstances? In filthy garb and assisting a bunch of Barbarians make a robbery.”

*********

The gentle sound of flowing water stirred her out of her sleep. As the sound grew clearer and the sleep faded faster, Amethyst sighed, turning over. Clean cotton rubbed her cheek and she became aware of the warmth that enveloped her.

Slowly, her eyes squinted open, a frown drawing her brows together as she raised her head to look around.

The fog in her mind cleared and she jerked upright, the warm fur blanket falling off her body as she looked anxiously around her. What on earth? Blinking to clear the sleep in her eyes. She looked cluelessly around. Where on earth was she?

The room was beautifully furnished, clearly belonging to somebody. Alarmed, she threw off the blanket and lowered her bare feet to the cold wooden floor.

The door in the corner of the room was firmly shut and she feared it was locked. One twist of the doorknob easily had it open, quickly dispelling her fear.

Outside the bedroom was a neat little living room. A few armchairs around a rug positioned by the fireplace. To her left was a pretty kitchen, sparkling clean and glistening from the bright light pouring in through the wide kitchen window. Everything in this house seemed to be small, pretty and strictly neat.

Was she in the Barbarians’ village? If yes, where was Thoran and Gunnar? Slowly, she made her way to what she believed was the front door, curious to see what lay beyond this house.

The door easily opened with a turn of the doorknob and the sight beyond left Amethyst awestruck, her mouth slowly opening as she dazedly stepped out of the house. With widening eyes, she gazed at the incredible picture before her.

It was like a hidden paradise. In every direction she looked, the horizon was made of giant, dark grey mountains, dotted with green trees. Clouds were thick and white in the blue sky, the weather pleasantly complimenting the tweeting birds and flowing rivers she could hear.

The house she’d just stepped out of was on a tiny, little hill with stairs leading down to the road below. She could see the entire village from where she stood and what a beauty it was. Green hills and fields, pretty, little stone houses, neatly built around the place. A few chimneys had smoke rolling lazily to the sky, a few yards had a dog or two playing about. It was glorious.

Blinking, she snapped out of the trance. Her gem. Her hand flew up, covering her left breast. A sigh of relief parted her lips as the hard edge of her gem pressed against her palm. He’d found it. Thank God.

But, where on earth was he? Frowning, she glanced around the little streets of the village. In fact, where was anyone?

Finding it odd, she made her way down the stairs to the road, unbothered about her bare feet.

Walking hesitantly about the roads, Amie did spot a few people, mostly children. It wasn’t very helpful, however, because the moment she started to speak to them, they snapped their windows shut or ducked out of sight.

Putting their odd behaviour down to the fact that they literally never saw outsiders, she calmly continued her search.

When she came to a large stone house with a thick, thatch roof, she slowed down, looking in curiously from the white picket fence. Determinedly, she pushed open the fence and made her way up to the house. She had to start somewhere.

Hopefully, there was someone here who could tell her just what was going on and where she could find Thoran.

She hurried up to the front doors and didn’t think twice before pushing them open.

A flood of chatter poured out of the giant room and then broke off into silence as every pair of eyes snapped over to her.

She froze, eyes wide in her face before the giant crowd. It seemed to be a large dining hall, decked out in comfy armchairs and rugs in the corners, wooden chairs around a long table in the centre and random stools about the place. Every seat was taken by men and women of varying ages.

As anxiety stiffened her spine, her eyes scanned the crowd and then, like a magnet, were drawn to one side of the table where a pair of grey ones met her gaze. Thoran.