THE DOOR flew open.
Adin had been stabbing at a piece of lettuce, trying to figure out how to eat it without the process of chewing it. Why'd he have to eat vegetables anyway?
That was when the door was shoved open with a deafening bang.
Mrs Aulus slammed a fork onto the table, and the ten-year-old drew back nervously. "Sorry, Adin," Mrs Aulus murmured, then turned to glare at her husband's tall frame in the doorway. "Finn, where have you been?" she asked sharply.
"There's no time to explain," Mr Aulus responded hurriedly. "Adin, go pack your things. We have to leave."
Adin pushed back his chair and stood up but his mother stopped him.
As she forced a bite of lettuce into her son's mouth, she demanded, "Leave? Where? Amethirus is our home!"
Mr Aulus pushed past his wife but stopped to look at her. "Not anymore," was all he said before he turned away again.
"What do you mean?"
He couldn't bear to look his wife in the eye anymore. "The Regii Custodes are here."
Mrs Aulus froze, her eyes widening.
"C'mon, Adin, grab your things," Mr Aulus said to his son.
Adin nodded and sped away from the living room, away from the lettuce and weird vegetables that were supposed to be healthy for him. He grabbed his backpack and filled it, just as a pounding knock came to the door.
His mother's bare feet padded across the wooden floor. The doorknob turned, creaking slightly.
"Are you Alcmene Hollan?"
"Yes, how can I help you, sir?"
"Do you know where your husband is?" a man asked in return.
"No," Mrs Aulus lied. "He hasn't come home from work yet."
"Are you sure?" he questioned.
"Yes," she responded, her voice quivering at the lie.
"Very well then," he said as he turned to the men behind him. Coldly, he commanded, "Search the house. Leave nothing unchecked."
✧･☆: *✧･☆:*✧･☆: *✧･☆:*✧･☆: *✧･☆:*
GEARS LINED every corner of three walls, creaking and whining but eventually generating the sweet scent of the King's Tonic.
Of the four walls, one was devoid of gears but was covered with glass capsules, the blue liquid and silver sparkles glinting from the reflection of the sun. At the counter, glass cups were filled with the drink from a gray nozzle until an automated hand brought a tray to each booth.
Looking at the mechanical parts in the room made the gears in Adin's mind turn, too. He couldn't stop thinking about the report that Anna had made earlier that day. If he could make an invention that—
"Careful," Chris warned.
Adin was pulled from his thoughts ( again! ) to find Medea reaching for a glass, though she chose the one furthest away from her. Chris tugged at her arm again.
As her sleeve grazed the top of the other glasses, Adin spotted something sparkling under the sun. He stared at it, and Medea glanced up at him, grinning. "Like my bracelet?" she teased, pulling up her sleeve to reveal a golden circlet around her wrist.
"Gold?" Adin asked, feeling slightly mesmerized by the shiny metal, and embarrassed, too, that he had been caught looking at her bracelet.
Medea set her cup in front of her, her hands wrapped around the glass. She stared at the drink for a long time before she finally responded, "My ancestors were of the Noble House until my father cut off all ties with royalty for love." Her lip curled into a sneer. "My mother, well, made a lot of enemies. We should've expected it, but they caught us off guard. Our family was robbed of my father's ideas and then I was in need of medical attention. In his haste, he sold all of his valuables but this bracelet. Even then, we ended up in debt." Her shoulders slumped.
He knew he could understand. There was a difference between not showing sympathy and being nosy yet Adin couldn't stop the question from rolling off his tongue. "What happened next?"
"Doesn't matter," Medea responded quietly, an edge to her voice that Adin had never heard before. Her eyes and voice softened. "I've learned it's not how you start off that counts, it's how you finish."
Not knowing what exactly to say, Adin replied, "Poetic."
She laughed, shaking her head. "I've got more, and I'm sure some of them could give Edgar Allan Poe a run for his money," she joked.
"No, seriously!" Adin said, grinning.
"I'm sure he wouldn't even be a poet if they met her," Chris added as he rolled his eyes.
They fell into a comfortable silence but Adin couldn't stop thinking about what Chris had said—if they met her. Finally, he asked, "What would happen if the outside world found out about us?"
For a long time, no one said anything.
Medea turned to stare out the window. "As they have always done in history, they will be blinded by greed, and a war will break out, one that Amethirus has never fought before."
"And our island will be torn to shreds," Chris finished.
After three dreadful minutes of silence, Medea cleared her throat. "Well, let's hope that doesn't happen then."
Chris shot her an irritable look. "You think?"
Under the table, Adin kicked Chris' shin.
"Right," Chris muttered immediately.
Thankfully, their discussion took a much lighter turn. Chris was back to being his jokester self ( why do spies undercover prefer armor made of leather? because it's made of hide ) but there was an underlying tone of annoyance in his voice. Adin was worried that his friend was feeling sick, though Medea didn't seem to notice anything weird, and Chris seemed energetic enough to fight over the check with him ( Adin won, and he silently thanked his height for giving him the advantage ).
They left the small café to browse through the rows of shops. Admittedly, Adin needed some new clothes but he had promised Chris to go to the apothecary. Without much consideration, Adin decided to follow Chris—his entire life was filled with broken promises, and he was feeling terribly sick of them. Besides, he could just go to the clothing stores with Medea later.
Inside the apothecary was like a candy shop—except eating the wrong one guaranteed a slow, painful death. Clear chutes filled with herbs took up the entire surface area of two wide walls, and leaning against another were rows of cabinets, each door fastened with a lock. Adin glanced at the floor, finding it peculiar that it was purely pavement. The rest of the space was taken up by a labyrinth of shelves, these holding everyday medication supplies—medicine for headaches, creams for burns, and bandages for scrapes.
They were just looking through the shelves when Chris disappeared without warning. Bewildered, Adin turned to find no trace of his friend. And to think he had to navigate the rest of this maze by himself with no map, guide, or knowledge of it—
"Lost?" a voice suddenly asked.
Adin yelped and whirled around. In front of him was a girl that looked a little younger than him, her dark hair in a braid. She was shorter than him, but her sharp gaze made him feel intimidated.
"Erm, kinda, I mean, yes," he said. "I can't find my friend."
Her intense amber eyes watched him from under her bangs. "The tall brunette with blue eyes?" she asked, and her voice was cold now, with a hint of a judgemental tone.
Defensively, Adin responded, "Yeah, that's him."
"I know where he is," she said with a roll of her eyes.
"Where?" Adin asked.
With a shrug, she answered, "Where he always is."
She led him through the maze, and he found himself back by the entrance. Sure enough, Chris was standing there patiently waiting by one of the glass cabinets, and he offered Adin a wave.
"Why'd you leave?" Adin asked.
Apologetically, Chris answered, "I thought you were behind me— you didn't get too lost, did you?"
"I was okay," Adin replied with a shrug.
"Well, do go on and give yourself all the credit," someone behind him said scathingly. "And you, you really are obsessed with sleep syrups, aren't you?"
Adin had forgotten that she was still there, and whirled around to find her annoyed gaze fixed on Chris now. Chris looked at his Adin, then at the mysterious girl in front of him.
"How do you come back with some random person every time I leave you alone for more than five minutes?"
"For the record, I'm not a 'random person.' I've actually had the misfortune of seeing you twice today already," she said, shooting him a seething glare.
"Okay, Victoria," Chris responded with an eye roll. "No one cares."
She was about to retort when the door by them flew open.
Adin froze, trepidation coursing through his veins, and he could only think of the way the door too had burst open so many years ago. And suddenly the brightness of the afternoon had dimmed to evening, and then his father was standing at the doorway, the rainwater dripping down from his soggy hair. It had made him look insane, the way the moonlight cast rippling shadows across his face. And then—
Chris' sudden voice floated to him but it sounded distant. "Adin? Are you alright?"
There was a tap on his shoulder, and he flinched. Chris was looking at him anxiously, and next to him was Victoria, her concern voiced in her piercing eyes. She clicked her tongue and moved aside as she disappeared amongst the aisles of shelves. Maverick stood in front of him now, and Adin realized it had to be her who had startled him with quite an entrance—
"Are you okay?" Maverick asked. "The door was so light, and I thought it'd be much heavier, I pushed it too hard—and I'll leave now, I was next door at the ink merchant's place, and thought I might as well stop by the apothecary—"
Maverick turned scarlet red suddenly, and Adin turned to find that Victoria had returned with her signature scathing look. Victoria forced Adin to sit down on a bench, and he watched as she uncorked the top of a small vial. She poured a few drops onto an already damp towel from a small vial, and set it on Adin's forehead.
"I don't have a fever," he complained, reaching up to pull it off.
She swatted his hand away. "It's not for a fever, idiot."
"Oh," Adin responded, but suddenly he started noticing a throbbing headache. He had been tired earlier on, too, but he found himself exhausted now. His eyelids wanted to close, and it took all of his effort to force them open.
Victoria was frowning at him, then at the vial. "None of my customers have ever mentioned fatigue as a side effect—"
Chris glared at Victoria, then turned to Adin apprehensively again. "There's too much glass here, and it's not safe. You should go back to the car, I'll walk you there."
With some help, Adin managed to stand up, but his legs trembled with the effort of keeping himself up. His vision turned blurry, and he felt Chris' reassuring hand on his shoulder. Faintly, he heard his name being called, but it was too far away to hold on to. He felt the ground collide with his shoulder, and there was the sound of shattering glass.
And everything turned dark.
1889 words<3
author speaking!
I DON'T KNOW WHAT IM DOING WITH THIS STORY ANYMORE SO DONT BE SURPRISED IF YOU FIND THAT I TAKE THIS BOOK DOWN FOR EDITING AGAIN LMAO— anyway, i hope you enjoy this chapter, if you did, make sure to vote and comment! love you ALL so much, so have a great rest of your day! <3000
— sophia xoxo