Elemental Empires

{Chapter 8}

She was beautiful, like Aphrodite herself but looked distressed, dark shadows hooded her eyes, her eyes..so mesmerizing, so beautiful as if they had absorbed the vibrant colours of a rainbow, they shone incandescent, changing colours once in a while but they were full of tears and held immense pain inside them." Mia..," she spoke, her hands outstretched," your people need you, we need you.." Her voice was barely above a whisper as she called for help. "Remember love, All that glitters is not gold, sometimes the answers are just within your hol-" the darkness cocooned her and she faded away.

Mia woke up in shock, her eyes wide and frantic, she wrapped the duvets around her tightly and cuddled Ivory, wiping the sweat of her face, she swallowed.

Why won't they stop? The nightmares haunt  me everyday!

"All that glitters is not gold, sometimes the answers are just within your hold..," Mia repeated the verses softly to herself, brows furrowed in confusion and glanced at the clock glowing beside her bed.

2:01 AM

The house was eerily silent and a comforting darkness enveloped the house as she tiptoed slowly out of her room to get a drink. She headed to the kitchen and passed Aunt Ruby's room, to her utmost surprise the light of her room was still turned on and the door was slightly ajar, throwing a triangular shaft of light in the dark corridor.

It's so late, yet she is up?

Mia stepped closer to the door, she heard her Aunt speaking furiously in a hushed whisper.

Who is she talking to? A secret lover? You do not scream-whisper at your lover at two in the morning though.

Mia stepped closer to the door, careful to remain in the shadows, held her breath and strained her ears to listen to the conversation.

"The hell? Yeah, greedy she is, a brat. What? No! Do you expect me to keep her without payment? Ha! in your dreams! She ruins my reputation, trailing behind me in mismatched clothes! No! You pay me or I tell her everything and keep her as a maid or some-..hello? Hello!?," she slammed the received down, furiously muttering to herself.

Mia slinked deeper into the shadows as her Aunt closed the door quietly and soon the light switched off, leaving Mia in an abysmal darkness.

Mia sank to the floor as her heart broke into a million pieces, tears ebbed out of her closed eyes.

This is not true, another nightmare. I'll wake up any minute now.

She slapped herself but this wasn't a dream, she realized as her heart sank.

Ball of trickery...I should have realized, all good things come to an end.

She huddled in the corner, veiled by the dark and sobbed softly.

So that was what all those whispered conversations were about! This was all planned from the beginning! They were just toying with me, Aunt Ruby wanted nothing to do with me except for the money being paid to her! And what about her kindness and sincerity? All a show! Now that she isn't getting paid by the Sangfwads..what will she do to me?

This horrible truth dawned on her and she felt even more scared and upset. Clutching her head in her hands, she cried her heart out.

Stupid of me to think I'll live happily ever after..Lies, lies, everything I've known is a lie..except one thing which told the truth. The crystal ball.

Mia was up the whole night pacing, thinking, crying. She was too anxious to sleep a wink. When the first rays of sun lit up the sky,Mia rushed downstairs to confront her Aunt.

She searched the house twice but her Aunt was nowhere to be found, she tried calling her but her phone was switched off and the car was gone too. Pacing the corridor anxiously, she saw Alessandro head towards the corridor but upon seeing Mia, he turned the opposite way.

...Is he okay?

"Alessandro!," Mia called out but to her surprise he didn't stop and rushed downstairs, Mia ran after him.
She found Alessandro dusting cupboards, humming softly to himself.

"Alessandro? Why'd you run off?," Mia panted,crossing her arms over her chest.

"Ello! Mees Meea!," he answered without turning to face mia.

"Alessandro you didn't answer my question.."

"Oh I j..just remembers that I l..left the stove on."

Really Al? That's your excuse?

"Ohkay...where is Aunt Ruby by the way?," Mia knew he was hiding something.

He stopped humming and hesitated."Went to mall, to get new dress."

"Really? And she took the car?," Mia pushed on.

"Y..yes."

"Alessandro, she went to the mall as you said, to a mall that is almost two steps away from this house and took the car..?"

Alessandro turned and gave her a toothy grin, beads of perspiration dotted his forehead."Signorina, you know how snobbish she be at times!" He rolled his eyes dramatically and collapsed on the sofa," Oh I'm a meelonaire, why not show-off everything I have?" He waved his hands theatrically, resting his palm on his forehead and doing a spot-on impersonation of Aunt Ruby.

Mia stifled a giggle and glared at him,"Alessandro...?," she said slowly.

"Oh Signorina, I can't lie to you, she went to your old home, pliss,pliss, don't tell her that I told you or she will blast me from this job," he waved his duster about, making gruesome faces.

"Fire, She will fire you not blast you," Mia smiled at him," and no I won't tell her."

"Pheww, Thank you Signorina," he wiped the sweat of his brow.

My previous home? Must have gone there to demand her payment for keeping me.

Mia thought as she fed Ivory milk. A few seconds later, she heard the familiar revving of the car and rushed to the window, where she saw her Aunt slam the car door and stomp haughtily inside the house.

Mustn't have gotten the money.

"Hi, Aunt Ruby! You're back!," Mia exclaimed, her Aunt stopped and took off her sunglasses.

"Of course I am," she snapped furiously and sat down on the sofa.

"Where have you been!?," Mia asked, pretending to not know anything.

"Mind your own business will you? You have no right to confront or ask me what I do or where I go even if you know I'm smuggling diamonds," she hissed coldly at Mia, taking out a cigar. Mia was taken aback by her sudden change in demeanour.

I hope that cigar kills you.

"Well, just asking cause I have been waiting all morn-"

"Nobody likes a kiss-up, girl!", she yelled, her face went rigid and her eyes shone fiercely. She lit up her cigar, blew a puff of smoke in Mia's face and stomped to her room.

Money is what ruins everyone.

Mia coughed, lost among the clouds of tobacco.

Not the right time to confront her of my suspicions.

She picked up Ivory and returned to her room where she fell asleep almost immediately. She had one thought twirling constantly around her brain.

Nobody wants me.
Nobody wants me.
Nobody wants me.

Well there was somebody who did love her dearly but that somebody wasn't in this world and Mia was unaware of their existence.

A/N: Thank you so much for sticking with me this far! Also some people are complaining that I just made Aunt Ruby turn bad to advance the plot but no, this was planned from the beginning! If you have any additional questions then feel free to pm me :)

Also I want to dedicate this chapter to my Wattpad friend: @a_l_e_n_a, for helping at all times and being an awesome friend :) Thanks!