Chapter 45 - Rebels
After a long night of partying in the palace after graduation the next day was reserved for relaxing. Carter and I stayed in my room only leaving to get food or drinks from the kitchen. We watched movies or messed around on our computers for most of the day. Considering our wedding is approaching and we just graduated it seemed like a perfect day to do nothing. We will not be able to do this much longer. However, I started getting this weird feeling in my stomach that I couldn’t quite place. The feeling got stronger and stronger as the day went on, but I didn’t want to say anything. Suddenly I heard a scream and my head shot up. I know that voice. I know that scream. I jumped off the bed and ran after the screaming. A man stood over somebody. He turned around in shock when he saw me.
“NO!” I screamed running to find my mom on the ground. He stabbed her. “Who are you?!” I screamed at him but he was already running out the door. I turned around to check on mom but it was too late.
“I love you,” she whispered before turning to dust.
I didn’t have time to think. I’m in danger. My mom’s dead. The King and Queen are in danger. I could feel Carter approaching ready to put his arm around me but it was too late. As I screamed in horror my black tiger transformed and I raced after the killer. I chased after him in the quad as he raced back to the human world. Before leaving Murera I reached him and threw him back down in the quad. This disturbance got everybody’s attention. Many people still hadn’t seen this side of me before. I stood over the man and growled at him. He looked scared but I didn’t care. My black tiger side only thought about the knife in his hand and my dead mom.
“Lily, stop!” I heard Rolla yelling and looked up.
She pushed me back and stood between me and the killer. I growled hoping she would get out of my way but she didn’t. How can she defend him?! Why would she want to stop me?! He killed my mom! She’s dead! We’re supposed to be peaceful with the humans. How dare they come after us again! I’m going to kill them all!
“NO!” Rolla screamed, “Listen to me! I am your Queen! You cannot kill him!”
Why not?!
“Lily, Carter told me what happened. He saw it too. I promise you that your mom’s killer will get what he deserves. He will go to jail and he will never come out but you cannot kill him. You will never be able to live with yourself if you kill him. Listen to me, if you let your black tiger side win then war will erupt all over again. He is one rebel! Just one! Don’t sacrifice our freedom for him!”
Her demands calmed my black tiger side down and I transformed back into my other form. My anger did not leave but added onto it were the emotions my black tiger side pushed away. Rolla ordered the man to be arrested and thrown in jail. She wanted his face and this attacked and murder to be posted everywhere in our world and the human world. She would not let it happen again. I couldn’t hold it in anymore as I listened to Rolla giving instructions on what to do next. I broke down into tears and fell onto my knees. My mom used to be the only person that I had. When my dad died we only had each other and for years it was just me and her. Now she’s gone but I need her. I need my mom. I rested my face in my hands and I could not stop the crying. Rolla stopped what she was doing and bent down to comfort me but before she could say anything Carter was there. He forced me to stand up and he hugged me as tightly as he could.
Nobody in all of Murera said anything. The police escorted the killer to jail and Rolla tried her best to calm me down with Carter while Pilote went to the police station to make sure the killer is charged for murder of my mom and attempted murder of the King and Queen. Rolla suspects that if he was in the palace he snuck in and was probably after her and Pilote. It was an attempted assassination that ended with a murder instead. The Tigmas stopped and stared. I could see Brittany, Mike, and Sasha fighting their way to the front only to see me breaking down in Carter’s arms. The other police officers kept everybody back at a safe distance and Rolla addressed the people to keep their worries down.
“There have been an attempted assassination and a murder today,” Rolla said. “A rebel snuck into the palace and killed one of my family members on his way to try and kill me and my husband. This is not okay and he will pay for his crimes. I want to assure everybody that we are still safe. He is only one rebel. I promise you that we are still peaceful with the humans and all other races. It was only one man filled with hatred, not a race, that did this. I please ask you to give my family time to grieve and hold a ceremony to celebrate Meera Carter’s life. The ceremony will be tomorrow for all those that knew her. Please return to your homes to give us peace.”
I was still in Carter’s arms when Rolla spoke and I could hear Brittany and Mike exclaim in surprise as Rolla said my mom’s name. I didn’t look away but I know Brittany and Mike are both on the verge of tears. They each spent countless days and nights at my house with my mom and I. Eventually Carter finally got me back in the house in my own room. I still couldn’t say anything. How could he just kill her like that? If he was really going after Rolla then why settle for the first person he comes across in the palace? Carter put his arms around me after he laid me down in my bed and made sure to hug me tightly. I can’t handle something like this. I wasn’t ready for it. The war is supposed to be over. The fighting is supposed to be over. We were supposed to live our lives in peace. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I can’t handle it. I can’t physically or emotionally handle this.
“Yes you can,” Carter said, “Yes you can. I promise you that you can. Let it all out now. Let it out.”
Carter didn’t have to tell me to let it all out because my body wasn’t going to do anything else. I don’t know how long I cried but I know it killed Carter to see me like that. I wasn’t quiet about the crying either. It was a completely out of control screaming type of crying. After a while I heard another voice and rolled over in my bed. Brittany stood in the doorway with tears streaming down her face. I jumped up and hugged her as tight as I could making both of us cry harder.
“She can’t be,” Brittany sobbed, “I won’t believe it. I can’t. D-did you see it?”
I nodded, “It was terrible. S-she j-just turned to dust. She said she loved me then she was gone.”
Brittany shook her head and we pulled away, “I don’t want to believe it.”
“I don’t either.”
“Rolla said she would let you handle all the arrangements. She said she didn’t feel right doing it without your permission.”
I nodded, “I can’t think about it right now. I need to leave.”
Carter jumped up from the bed and quickly grabbed my arm, “Where are you going?”
“I need to be alone.”
“I’m not leaving your alone,” he said.
“Carter –“
“No Lily,” he said, “I am not leaving you alone.”
“Fine, come with me.”
I took his hand and pulled him out of my room and out of the palace. I pulled him with me out of Murera altogether. We walked through the Murera Station and considering we’re royalty they recognized us and let us through right away.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“Anywhere but Murera.”
“Wait wait wait,” he stopped me by putting his hands on my shoulders, “What are we doing?”
“I couldn’t be down there anymore,” I said frustrated.
“Why?”
“Because!”
“Lily, talk to me. Calm down and talk to me.”
“I don’t know,” I sighed, “I just couldn’t be down there anymore. I can’t handle it. I needed fresh air.”
“Okay just calm down,” he told me. “Why don’t we stop at a restaurant to get something to eat? I know a place down the road that serves amazing hot chocolate and they have some great food, okay? We’ll sit there for a few hours.”
I finally nodded, “Okay. I guess that’s okay.”
He put his arm around me and kissed my head, “It’ll be okay. I love you. Fresh air might be a good thing.”
“Carter?”
“Yeah?”
“What did it feel like when you lost your parents?”
He sighed, “I didn’t know how to feel. That’s why I started acting out. With my abilities I felt like I always had to hide who I was and losing them meant losing everybody I could be honest with. Eventually I came to realize that I had my aunt and uncle and I made some friends. My friends weren’t the greatest people obviously but they helped get my mind off my parents. I know my parents are in a better place and I know they would want me to be happy so I get through it knowing that. I know how you feel Lily.”
“Why do you always understand me so much?”
He tightened his arm around me, “Because I’m your soul mate. That’s why we were put together.”
I smiled hugging him to me, “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
A waitress set us at a table as we walked in the restaurant. Carter immediately ordered us a couple hot chocolates and the waitress left us alone to read through the menu. I rested against him with my head on his shoulder after we ordered. I’m still too numb to feel anything. I don’t know what to think and I don’t know how I’m going to plan my mom’s funeral. Usually when somebody dies we have a short funeral before putting a picture and a plaque in our house in memory of that person. I can’t believe she’s gone. The one person who has been there for me my entire life is gone. She didn’t deserve it.
“No she didn’t,” Carter agreed, “But now that it’s happened we have to deal with it. I’ll help with the funeral if you need me to. I’ll do everything you need me to do.”
I nodded, “If I find a photo can you talk to Rolla or Pilote and have a plaque made? They’ll know what they’re supposed to look like?”
“Yes I’ll do that.”
“Thank you.”
“Anything else?”
I shrugged, “I don’t know. I’ll have to talk to Rolla and arrange for a funeral. We have a church downtown we can use. It was specifically built for religious reasons and everybody uses it for funerals.”
“I’ll go with you,” he offered, “so you don’t have to do this alone?”
I smiled and kissed him, “You’re the best.”
“I am your soul mate after all. I know what it’s like to lose your parents and it’s terrible. It’s heartbreaking but we can get through it. She would want you to be happy. Both your parents would want you to be happy. I am going to help you through this and we will get married and have a huge celebration so we can start the next part of our lives. I’ll be your family.”
I kissed him again this time putting my arms around his neck, “You already are my family Carter. You’ll always be my family.”