Tiger's Eye - Book 1

Chapter 31: Time to Start Preparing

Chapter 31: Time to Start Preparing

                        Seth and Selma took all the books and maps and continued working on them while the rest of us went our separate ways. I walked to the palace hand in hand with Pilote, but we had to say goodbye to talk to our parents. I can’t believe all this has happened at once. I wish I could talk to Caprika and Odyss right now. I hugged Pilote and walked through the palace to find mom and dad. I found myself stopping in front of Jasmine’s door instead. It seems like we haven’t talked in weeks. It probably hasn’t been that long. I wonder if we’re supposed to be mad or fighting with each other. I’m losing track because I know one of these days she’s going to betray all of us. I wonder how close she is to doing that now. I took a deep breath and knocked on her door.

“Come in,” I heard her say.

                        I slowly pushed the door open and saw her lying on her stomach on her bed. Everything in her room had a tiger theme. It looks exactly like her in some way.

“Want to talk?” she asked. I couldn’t read her expression or tone of voice. She didn’t sound happy, but she didn’t necessarily sound angry either.

“Sure,” I nodded.

I walked in and closed the door behind me. I sat on one of her chairs and she sat up on her bed.

“How’s the war going?” she asked.

                        It was then that I realized how close she was to betraying us. Any other family member would ask you how you are doing, but Jasmine didn’t. She didn’t ask how I was doing or what I wanted when I knocked; she asked how the war was going. There was something really suspicious about that.

“Don’t you know?” I asked back.

She shook her head, “I don’t care to know. I know the basics, I’m not stupid, but I’m taking your advice.”

                        That was a lie. She just lied to me. She glanced slightly to the side of me when she said it. She wanted to make it look like she was looking me in the eye without actually looking me in the eye. Maybe this is what Nancy meant when she told me you can figure out whether to trust someone by looking them in the eyes. I was looking Jasmine in the eyes, but she wasn’t looking directly at me. She was looking close enough hoping to fool me. She’s up to something, but I can’t stop it.

“You are? What advice?”

“Your advice to write about it; years from now the Tigmas need to know that it wasn’t all scary. That some of us were happy and safe while the real heroes were out there fighting. I want to be the one they find it out from.”

That last line.

I want to be the one they find it out from.

                        The connection; what Caprika and Odyss were talking about, that was it. She’s not going to tell future generations about the war. Jasmine’s going to the Silthra. Then I remembered what the Gods told me; I can’t tell her I know or stop her. I have to let her tell them.

I faked a smile, “That’s amazing. I’m really glad you’re happy.”

At least that part was true.

“Yeah, we really haven’t been acting like sisters though have we?”

                        Way to state the obvious, sister, I wanted to say but I held myself back. I can’t act like a sister when she’s running to the enemy.