I Am Here

Chapter 5

Reyna wanted to scream at her mother for saying such things that she already knew, but the more she thought about it, the princess had never seen her mother this seriously distressed. She had turned from her daughter and started pacing again, leaving Reyna in the dark momentarily. What had her mother meant? Reyna knew Ace was obviously in danger, but what kind of danger? Why was Mira so worried about it? Reyna knew to be worried, but usually even in situations like this, Mira was calm. Why was she suddenly so nervous and skeptical? 

"Mother..." Reyna started anxiously, forcing herself to suck in large breaths. She knew that she should probably sit down before her knees buckled, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She was too terrified. 

Mira whipped around and faced her daughter again. "Reyna, if Ace was abducted by Wolves, we cannot wait to look for him." She snatched a hair tie from her dresser, flung her hair into a high ponytail, and took her daughters shoulders in her hands. "Snap to it, Reyna. This is serious." 

Reyna gave her head a little shake, as if to jostle her thoughts back into order again. "Mother-" 

"Come, hurry," Mira said sharply, interrupting Reyna most likely without knowing. When she was extremely focused on things, she hardly noticed what was going on around her. She put her mind and body to the task and ignored distractions.

Reyna tried again to get her mother's attention, but the queen hurried past her and out of the room. Reyna had no choice but to follow as quickly as possible. Together they speed-walked down the stairs, careful not to fall. 

"Mother," Reyna tried again after a few minutes of silently rushing downstairs. 

"You," Mira said suddenly, pointing to a red-head maid that was stepping out of their way. Reyna could just make out her face - Ember. "Tell the two guards at the doors to assemble every guard they can find and meet me in the Front Court. Now." 

Ember didn't question, but for a split second, her confused eyes latched onto Reyna's desperate ones, and the two shared a moment of confusion. Then she was turning around and rushing down the hall as fast as she could go, bounding down the steps two at a time.

"Mo-" 

Mira was already speeding off. Reyna cursed under her breath and hurried to follow her mother. She knew where the Front Court was, but was it really this important that the queen had to call all of the royal guard? 

The wrenching feeling deep in her stomach told her that it was. She felt shaky and on the verge of throwing up from fear, but she had to keep going for Ace. She would find him, no matter what. She just prayed that he wouldn't be hurt.

 "MOTHER!" Reyna yelled, planting a firm hand on her mother's shoulder and trapping her in place. Mira skidded to a stop and whipped around sharply to face her daughter. "Tell me what's going on," Reyna instructed her mother harshly. 

"You were the one who told me what's going on," Mira said back roughly, turning to dash off, but once more getting slammed to a halt by Reyna's grip. Reluctantly, she faced Reyna again. 

"Tell me why this is so important," Reyna pleaded. "Give me background. Why are you suddenly so worried? I've never seen you like this." As much as Reyna was itching to go find her friend, she had to know what she was facing. She had to be patient. Rash actions could lead to bad outcomes. 

Mira hesitated, but nodded. "I will tell you what I know on the way." 

Reyna readily agreed, and a moment later, the two were running again. 

"I fear for your friend because of the Wolves, as you know," Mira started. Reyna didn't want to hear the introduction. She wanted to get to the important part. "Why I fear for him so strongly is a long story, but I will shorten it as much as I can.