Chapter 41 - Mission

"Where should we start?" Talia asked, her eyes wide with excitement.

I measured her with a look. She changed from her usual outfit of frilly dresses to a more comfortable jeans and t-shirt. We were standing outside, soaking in the afternoon light. The wind blew hard, putting her hair in disarray. It was the perfect weather for training. I took something from my pocket and handed it to her.

"Here, use this to tie your hair. It will only hinder you in combat." I waited for Talia to put up her honey-colored locks before going further. "What do you know about fighting princess?"

She thought hard. "Nothing," Talia admitted, crinkling her nose. "Except of course if you count the times I fought with you when you kidnapped me."

I gave her a stern look. "Now is not the time for jokes princess. The more we stay here, the less our chance of seeing Brooke and Van alive. Don't make me repeat the question."

She nodded, seeming to understand my point. "One palace guard did attempt to teach me some moves before, upon my request. However, when Ronaldo found out, he put a stop to it. I never saw the guard again and all he was able to teach me was to kick and punch, and then some."

"And then some," I said, sighing. "Okay then." I made a come-here motion with my hands. "Attack me. Let's see how well you can throw that punch."

"You mean now?"

"Well I'm not waiting for Christmas to rescue them Talia. Attack me. Now." The princess shortened the distance between us, until she was an arms reach away from me. She hesitantly raised her hands, reminding me of inexperienced boxers. I gave her a look of encouragement. "Go on princess."

She made a quick jab, which I blocked easily by catching her fist. "Rule number one of fighting," I said, staring her squarely in the eyes. "Do not let your opponent know where your attack will come from."

Her forehead crinkled. "B-but you said to punch you."

"I said that, but you didn't have to follow it did you?" I released her hand. "Again," I commanded. "Again and again until you're able to hit me. Your form is good. I'll give you that much. The guard who taught you made some progress. However, you need confidence and experience. When we rescue Van and Brooke, the longer you hesitate, the more the enemies can kill you, and I will never let that happen so take this seriously."

Talia raised her arms again. This time, her stance was different, which I recognized as karate. She attacked me without giving a warning by throwing a more confident punch towards my gut. I deflected it with a hand, just as easily as I did the first one.

"That's a bit better princess." I wagged a finger at her. "But it's not enough to take down an enemy. Surely you can do better?"

Talia rolled up the sleeves of her t-shirt. She got her game face on. "Hiyaaaaa!" she screamed, throwing punches after punches, targeting my face and body. As I blocked each and every one of them, I began to get increasingly worried. We would not make it alive to wherever we were going if she didn't improve by tonight. I had to toughen her up, or I'd have no choice but to leave her behind.

I pushed her backwards, hard. Talia was surprised by my roughness. "Hey! What gives?" she complained.

I circled her, like what a hawk would do in the air once it saw a mouse in the fields. "I never had this kind of problems with Brooke," I said with a mocking tone. "She was always good with fighting." Talia followed me with her eyes. "You know, sometimes I wish. . ."

"Oh don't you dare go there Cybele," she hissed.

"Go where?" I said snidely. "I'm just telling the truth. Brooke seems to be the better among-" Talia attacked me, looking fully enraged. Her punches got heavier, angrier, and more effective. It was the reaction I was looking for. If we were to rescue our friends, we couldn't afford to be gentle.

"That's what the guard taught you?" I said, stepping back just in time to avoid a strike to my face. "You must be sleep walking then because you didn't learn a bloody hell. Frankly, I'd rather fight Esmeralda."

At the mention of her mother's name, Talia made a roundhouse kick which connected to my ribs. I stumbled back in surprise and pain. She didn't give me time to recover. Talia performed a perfected version of a butterfly kick that I have only seen in movies. I fell to the ground, my mouth hanging open. She placed herself on top of me, a smug look on her face, while I recovered from the shooting pain she caused.

"Did I mention that the guard who trained me was Chinese?" Talia leaned down so there were only a few inches left between our faces. "I may not be good with my hands, but my feet can make up for that."

I swallowed. "I can't say the same when we're in bed." I tried to move up so I could meet her mouth and kiss her, but she pushed me down.

"Nice try Romeo." She smirked. "You think you can flirt with me after comparing me to your best friend? Not a chance." Talia moved away and helped me stand up. "So what now Cybele?"

I dusted myself off. "We'll do a couple more of your hidden moves and when I'm absolutely sure that you can attack and defend yourself, we'll switch to knife training, then guns. Clear?"

"Yes master," she said, slapping my ass with a naughty smile.

"Hmmm. . . I like the sound of that."

Hours of training later, Talia and I were completely drenched in sweat. The shirt I was wearing was disgustingly wet and clung to my back uncomfortably. I glanced at the sky. Night was upon us. The last rays of the sun was about to vanish in the horizon. We had around 40 minutes or so of daylight, then it would be so dark that we would barely see our faces outside.

Talia went down on her knees. Like me, she looked exhausted. "I call for a break."

"We can't."

"Oh come on," she said, breathing hard. "Let me just drink a glass of water." She pulled her shirt away from her chest. "See? I'm disgusting. Let's change and rest for fifteen minutes and continue training."

I considered. "Ok. But make it quick. We're losing daylight."

I followed the princess inside the house and had a quick change of outfit. It made me feel so much better. Going to the kitchen, I went directly to the table, tinkering with the laptop that Brooke and Van sent us. The screen told me that there were no results to my search yet, making me sigh in frustration.

Talia entered the kitchen. She took a glass and poured herself a drink. "What's that?" she asked, staring at the laptop screen. "What are you doing?" The princess passed me the glass filled with water after she finished consuming the first batch.

"I'm trying to track down Brooke and Van's location. I have a gut feel that they didn't go to the palace."

"How?"

"Let me tell you something about Brooke," I said, sitting down. "That girl loves her computer more than anything else in the world. I've never seen her part with one, except recently when we started living here. But now, I'm a hundred percent sure that she was able to get her hands on one, apart from this." I gestured to the laptop on the table.

"So?" Talia asked, sitting beside me.

"So I'll be able to figure out the location of the two with the use of the last IP address she used. Brooke knows that she'll be going on a suicide mission with Van. That means she will email the people she's closest to in order to say goodbye. Apart from me and her parents, Brooke is closest to my mum and dad. She tried connecting with them via email."

"And how did you know this Cybele?"

I smiled to myself. "Because I hacked my mums email and checked if Brooke sent her anything, which my best friend did. I'm using Brooke's message to track down the IP address which in turn will lead us to their location. Or at least near them anyway."

Talia bit her bottom lip. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you can do so many things, hacking included." She stared at the computer for a few seconds, then back at me. "Hey! Did you do voodoo stuff on me so I'd fall in love with you?"

I stood up. "I'm asking the same question about you. Now let's go. I'll teach you about guns. The big girl's toy."

Once again, Talia and I found ourselves outside, guns in hand. I offered her two choices, the Colt or Glock. She took the latter. "Smart choice," I said, watching the princess as she got the feel for the gun. "So do you know how to shoot?"

"A little," she admitted, checking the magazine. "Another guard also taught me how, but like the first one, Ronaldo made the guard stop when he realized what was happening."

"That bastard," I murmured. "He must have figured out that you would use the damn thing on his head." I walked beside Talia. "But it doesn't matter. I'll teach you, and you have to listen well." She nodded. "Now princess, I don't know if we're going to use guns at all. The mission should be covert, meaning we'll have to be quick and silent, like a spy. I want it to be in and out as fast as possible."

"But what if we need to use it?"

"Then we use it with silencers. And remember that when you do, you have to kill." She gave me a panicked look. "What? I don't care if one of them is your friend. You have to get your hands dirty princess."

"Cybele. . ."

"Listen," I said with a reassuring tone. "It's either them or you. If one of the guards managed to see you and you don't kill him, he will report it to the others. It will not only reach backup, but your mother as well."

"And she'll have you killed you won't she?" Talia said, a steely look on her eyes.

"She will. That's why we need to get our hands dirty."

Talia and I trained until the sun disappeared and the moon rose high in the sky. I didn't care much about the noise since we were a good distance from the town. What I cared about was the princess aim, and whether or not she would stand a chance against the enemies. I didn't think they'd kill her because she was Esmeralda's successor. But if she didn't fight, they would capture her quickly, and all of this would be for nothing. If Talia wasn't with me when I leave for England, I would rather die anyway.

I checked my wristwatch. It was currently around midnight and let's just say that we took a little detour to the town after training, resting, and dressing appropriately for tonight's mission. "Are you sure there's no one around?" Talia asked, hiding behind me. I peeked from our hiding place. The area looked clear to me.

"Yes I am," I whispered, scanning the place for good measure. She and I were hiding on the side of a big house, the darkness covering us. I pointed to the front where a car was parked. "See that? I'm going to steal it so we can use it. I'm sure that Brooke and Van did the same to travel."

"We don't have the keys," Talia murmured.

"That's not going to be a problem. And don't worry about stealing either. Once we've reunited with Brooke and Van, and we're safely back in England, I'll make sure to pay the poor chap who owns the car. I'm a millionaire Talia, not a car thief."

After getting her approval, the two of us sneaked in front. It was easy getting the car to work. As the engine roared to life, I signaled for the princess to ride in front immediately. She tossed the duffel bags at the backseat and placed the laptop on her lap before closing the door. We started zooming towards our destination.

"I don't get it," Talia said after a couple of minutes of staring on the screen. A map was opened and a red dot marked our target. "There's nothing here. No buildings or whatnot. There's only trees and grass. Where do you think they went?"

"There's got to be a base there somewhere. The queen could always have something removed from the map. That's how your mother is. Have you forgotten?"

Talia gazed out the window. "I remember every single day." For a brief moment, silenced passed between us. I gave her time to think while my mind wandered on its own. We went through a long stretch of road that had nothing but trees on either side. Strangely, the path was eerily familiar, though I did not remember driving there before. It was déjà vu.

After a while, Talia glanced back at me. Her thoughtful look was replaced by a mischievous smile. "You know," she said, settling comfortably so she could stare at me better. "You're one hell of a criminal."

I gave her an astounded look. "Wow. It's so nice hearing that from the princess."

"Think about it," she said. "You kidnapped me, tortured somebody, hacked the palace security system, stole a car, killed a couple of goons, and now you're planning to penetrate a base."

I smirked. "It makes me feel flattered that you remembered all of it. But why only the bad side Talia? If I recalled correctly, there's also a good side to it. Like, I kidnapped you, but we also fell in love. I tortured Van, but now she's our good friend. I stole a car to rescue her and my best friend. I killed a couple of goons so you wouldn't be sold to that Wang shebang guy. Hey, the least you could do is thank me."

"Thank you," she said truthfully. "Can a kiss make up for that?"

"I need more than that. Always." I pulled over to the side and stopped. "Hand me the laptop please." Talia did as I told. "Hmm," I said, studying the screen. "I think we're a couple of minutes from our destination. It would be better if we walked. The noise of our car will just alert them if we don't." I stared at her. "Are you up for this?"

"That's why I'm here," she took my hand. "I'll never leave your side, no matter how dangerous. God knows I've waited for you long enough."

I smiled quickly at her. She didn't show any signs of anxiousness or fear. The princess perfectly knew that one of us could die anytime while we were there, if not intentionally, then by accident, and she wasn't scared. "I love you Talia. Since we were little." Her eyes twinkled. "I think it's what they called puppy love at first, but for me, you were always the one."

She frowned. "Why do I feel like you're saying goodbye?"

I ran my fingers on her face, satisfied by its smoothness. "I'm not saying goodbye. I just realized that I don't say it as often as I should." I cupped her cheek with my hand. "I'm a stupid bloke."

Talia closed her eyes momentarily, savoring my touch. "I don't care if you don't say it enough. Sometimes people say what they don't mean, and I despise that. I prefer your style, making me feel things without really saying it. It's like a good book Cybele. Grammar is all fine, but without the emotions, it's nothing." She opened her eyes. "And that's what we are, characters to a fairy tale. You are my Princess Charming."

I pinched her cheek softly. "When did you become such a cheeseball?"

"It runs in the family. Father side I think." She smirked. "Shall we?"

I opened the door. "That we shall."

After getting our necessities from the car, Talia and I began our journey. We left the laptop and used a cellphone instead for the map, making it easier to bring. The girl who delivered the duffel bags earlier was kind enough to lend us some. We also took the backpack with us, loading it with a couple of guns and ammos. You could never have enough for operations like this. It might be heavy, but heavy was better than dead.

"Which direction?" Talia asked.

"From my calculations, we should head northeast from here. If we end up in the wrong path, let's take a detour."

"Sure." The two of us entered the forest, walking side-by-side. "Good thing that girl lent us a flashlight huh?"

"Yeah. . . But she's so chatty. I hate people like that," I said, taking care to point the flashlight straight ahead so we could see clearly.

"Cybele," she sighed. "You hate almost everyone."

"Well count the girl in the list. As I said, she's too chatty, not to mention cheeky."

"How are you able to stand Van then? That woman talks like no tomorrow."

"Does she?" I asked, looking around the place, making sure that no one was near us. "I hated her before, remember? But after realizing that she was just like me who had only vengeance and hate in her heart, I learned to forgive her, like her even. Plus I couldn't hate the girl. She was too funny for her own good."

Talia chuckled. "I agree on the last part. Hey. . . Do you think?"

"Whatever you're going to ask, don't ask it. We will surely find them and leave here together."

"I wasn't going to ask that," she said. "What I meant was, do you think your mom will like me?" I heard the doubt in her voice. Despite everything we've been going through, I still managed to smile. Princess or not, a girl would still get nervous when meeting her loved ones mom.

"She won't like you," I said, glancing at Talia. She scowled. "She'll love you," I corrected, watching her frown turn to a smile. "My mum has been begging me to get someone for years." I mimicked my mum's Brit accent. "Cybele, please get yourself a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, or even a cat for bloody sake." I chuckled. "That woman is full of theatrics but she'll be glad to know that I found someone."

Talia intertwined our fingers, making me smile like a fool. "Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes." I noticed a building in the distance. "Wait," I said, halting. "I think we're here."

"Good then. What does it look like?"

"Let's move closer and hide in the bushes so we can survey things." As soon as Talia agreed, the two of us made our way silently to a corner, hiding behind the bushes as planned. There in the distance was where Brooke and Van went. The longer I stared at the place, the more dread settles at the pit of my stomach. I couldn't breathe properly.

"Cybele? Are you alright?" she asked, staring at me with genuine concern.

"Fuck," I said, beginning to tremble in fear. Because there at the distance stood the villa. The exact same villa where everything began. The place where my parents where murdered. And I had to go in and relieve the nightmare again.