The airship stood proud in the middle of the landing deck. With its wings outstretched it seemed to take to take up most of the sky. The airship had been painted metallic blue and had the Royal Amitician logo embossed on the wings. There was something majestic and terrifying about the airship - it like an eagle.
Rosaline bounced up the stairs, her fingertips skimming the railing. There was a long white couch that was pressed against the far end corner. A buffet had been prepared for The Falcons. Cakes, sandwiches and champagne (non-alcoholic). The lighting gave the food a heavenly glow.
Rosaline followed Victoria into another room where twelve single beds lined the walls. The right hand side of the doorway was the King and Queen's suite and the other side of the doorway was the bathroom.
Victoria pushed her suitcase under a bed and sat on it. Other people filtered into the room but only to dump their luggage and go straight to the buffet.
"Why are there beds?" Rosaline asked.
"Because people don't like to sleep on the floor" Victoria said.
"They could've just got recliner seats" Rosaline argued.
"But this isn't an AIA craft. This is the royal family's personal airship" Victoria said. "You should be thankful you have a comfortable place to sleep. It's going to be a long flight".
Nicholas appeared at the doorway with an anxious look on his face.
"I take it you girls haven't heard the news?" he said.
Rosaline and Victoria shook their heads.
"They searched for Adelaide in the forest near the prison, but found nothing. That was really one of the few places she could've ran to in her injured state. They really don't know where else to look".
"Maybe they didn't search the forest properly" Rosaline suggested.
Nicholas's brow creased as he shook his head.
"Impossible. They were out there for days" he said.
"The AIA should change its motto from no situation is too dire to lousy at finding people" Victoria said dumping the rest of her luggage on her bed and marching out the room.
Rosaline found herself wandering through to the control room. Prince Casper sat behind the wheel. Ritchie sat next to him with a look of fascination on his small face. Ritchie could often be found in the front of the boat. He'd never been on an airship before. Rosaline herself felt excitement pulse through her.
Rosaline hurried back into the main room just as Casper's voice filtered through the intercom asking everyone to take their seats. As the craft ascended, Rosaline began to feel heavier and heavier, as if there was lead in her veins. A ringing sound stung her ears. She turned to Victoria, who looked just as pale.
"This feels strange" Rosaline said.
Victoria didn't say anything she just gritted her teeth and braced herself. Rosaline's ears popped and pain exploded across her temple. She gripped the armrests and lurched over. The airship shuddered and Rosaline fell off her seat.
"Rosaline!" Victoria exclaimed.
"I can't breathe. There's no oxygen. I can't breathe" Rosaline cried.
"Calm down. It's just the air pressure changing" Nicholas said.
Warmth rushed to Rosaline's cheeks. She knew what it is what, but had let the panic drown her. The last time she allowed that to happen – she nearly died. A few sniggers followed her humiliation, but Rosaline didn't stay to who it was. She ran across the room, threw open the door and shoved her head into a pillow.
After a few hours of sleep, Rosaline didn't feel as dizzy as she did before. She sat up with a groan, crawled out of bed and strode towards the door. Her hand reached out for the door knob. Laughter streamed from the sitting room. Rosaline was reminded of when their laughter was directed at her. Her hand wavered.
A rumbling erupted from the engine room. Rosaline marched across the bedroom and attempted to wrench the doors open. They were locked. But you didn't survive long being a thief not knowing how to pick a lock. Rosaline pulled a hair clip from her hair, snapped it in half and placed the clip in the lock. She twisted it until the doors swung opened. Inside, the room mostly consisted of tanks of fuel.
At first, Rosaline thought she was alone, but a low muttering under the rumble of the engines caused her to peer closer into the shadows. She could make out an outline of a person. The light streaming from the bedroom doors shining on the person's long glossy hair. Penelope.
As Rosaline drew closer she noticed Penelope held an Enchanter's staff. There was also something engraved on the floor space she was sitting on; triangles and diagonal lines. A chill went through Rosaline.
Rosaline leapt to her feet. She had to stop her. But she had no idea what happened if a person that wasn't an Enchantress stepped in a pentagram. She didn't want to find out.
"Penelope" Rosaline shouted.
Penelope's eyes snapped open. But her eyes were not the same. Instead of brown, they were stark black. She smiled, but it was not her usual smile. There was something unnerving about it.
The pentagram glowed red and the airship began to shake.
"Penelope, I know it's not you doing this. You can stop this" Rosaline yelled.
But people who were possessed could not be coaxed with mere words. Rosaline's head spun at the sound of a growl. A gargoyle imp with fiery eyes was perched on a tank. Another gargoyle soon followed behind it. Rosaline didn't see where it came from. It just seemed to materialise out of nowhere.
Rosaline didn't have any weapons. Not on her. She ran out the room, through the bedroom and into the main area.
"Imps. In the engine room" Rosaline shouted.
The room descended into panic. Everyone jumped to their feet and ran to get their weapons from the storage compartments. Rosaline had to jump on the couch to reach the storage compartments.
"How is that possible?" Victoria said.
"Penelope summoned them. I think she's possessed" Rosaline replied.
"Then we need to restrain her" Victoria said as she looked around but everyone had already left the room.
"Ritchie" Victoria shouted running into the control room.
Rosaline felt a little bewildered. Why would Victoria want Ritchie to restrain her? Maybe she thought Rosaline was already in battle. Victoria ran through the main area with Ritchie in tow.
"What are you still doing here?" Victoria said.
She looked more confused than angry. Rosaline was never reluctant to go into a battle. But battles never consisted of a possessed girl controlling the monsters. Rosaline followed Victoria and Ritchie into the commotion.
A dozen imps swarmed the room. Ritchie looked alarmed. He'd never been in a fight before. He needn't be so worried. These pathetic monsters were no match for The Falcons. Victoria fought her way over to Penelope's ring of terror, dragging Ritchie behind her. Rosaline still couldn't believe Victoria picked Ritchie to help her with Penelope's capture. Rosaline had been capturing people for years. Be there Ritchie was. Doing her job. Ritchie. Who spent half his life in control rooms.
The control room. The prince was in there alone. Rosaline ran out the engine room and towards the control room. The place seemed untouched. No sign of imps anywhere. But still. Rosaline threw open the door of the control room. An arm wrapped around her, a knife caressed her throat.
"Change the coordinates of the airship" A cold familiar behind her said.
"I'm not going to plunge us all to our death, if that's what you're thinking" Casper said coolly. "I'm not temporarily saving one life to endanger hundreds that could potentially be in that building. It would be illogical".
This was not the way Rosaline wanted to die. She struggled against her capturer.
"Let me go" Rosaline shrieked.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you".
An anger flared up inside her that burned away her fear. You don't forget the person who imprisoned you.
"Dominic" Rosaline hissed. "Where is Adelaide? Where is she?"
Dominic stiffened, but didn't say anything.
"I can't change the course this far into the flight" Casper said calmly.
What does he care? You're a Concordian, she told herself.
"Are you willing to take that chance on Rosaline's life?" Dominic snarled.
Apparently he wasn't because he grabbed the wheel and turned it the other way. The airship jerked violently to the side. Rosaline tumbled to the ground. Dominic was gone. Along with Rosaline's anger. It was replaced with terror - the airship sped to the ground at a rapid pace.
Casper tried his best to regain control of the airship. He managed to get the airship back on the right track. Rosaline felt relieved but her head still felt like she was spinning. Rosaline stepped out the control room. Dominic was nowhere to be seen. And neither was his imp minions (including Penelope). They did however leave a trail of destruction at their wake.
When she walked in the engine room, she saw a few injuries nothing serious. That was until she saw the amount of blood coming from Ritchie.
"Why isn't anyone helping him?" Rosaline said.
The Falcons circled Ritchie, but they were still.
"It's too late" Nicholas said. "He's dead".
When Victoria finally joined everyone for dinner, she didn't sit down and eat. She stayed standing with a look of well-disguised nausea on her face.
"It seems that the imps have damaged the airship. We're losing fuel fast. We'll have to make an emergency landing on one of the Concordian islands. We're sad to have lost Ritchie, but the causalities would have been greater had we have not killed the imps as soon as we did".
"Yes it seems our friend wasn't meant for the battlefield" Maxwell said. "But we admire his bravery".
"Ritchie would never have been in the engine room if Vicky hadn't asked him to restrain Penelope" Rosaline said.
"You asked someone who had next to nothing knowledge of demons to restrain a person under stage four possession?" Nicholas exclaimed.
"Everyone else was occupied. I was there the whole time but things got out of hand" Victoria said desperately.
"Face it Victoria, someone died because you made the wrong decision" Maxwell said.
Although what he said was true, the smug grin on his face gave Rosaline the urge to hit him with a blunt object. But Victoria was more than capable of doing that herself. And, by the looks of it, willing. She took a deep breath and said:
"Penelope should never have been there, none of the imps should have".
"And Dominic" Rosaline added.
"What?"
"Dominic was here" Rosaline announced.
"And you didn't think to tell us that?" Victoria said.
"I was waiting for everyone to come to the dinner table. But some people were taking their sweet time" Rosaline said. "I'm surprised you actually believed me. I've been saying Dominic is Erebus the whole time".
"This proves nothing" Victoria said.
"This proves everything" Nicholas said. "Who else would sabotage our mission except Erebus?"
"Or his followers" Cecelia added.
Victoria sighed. "So we're all in agreement that Dominic may or may not be Erebus, but he definitely is affiliated with him. The real question is how did he and his imps get on this airship in the first place?"
"Penelope was there first, I saw her draw the pentagram" Rosaline said.
"That mark on the floor wasn't a pentagram" Raymond said. "I've studied demonology for years – I know a pentagram when I see one"
"Then what was it?" Rosaline asked.
"I'm not sure" Raymond shrugged. "It looks like a pentagram, I'll give you that. It's some other dark ritual – used to summon Dominic and the imps"
"I didn't know Enchantresses could do that"
"They shouldn't be able to. But Penelope obviously did".
"Maybe it was because she was possessed she had greater powers than ordinary Enchanters" Rosaline said.
"Maybe" Raymond said.
"I don't understand why Penelope was working with Dominic at all. It doesn't make any sense" Nicholas said. "If she was possessed does that mean she was the whole time even when she was with us?"
Raymond shook his head. "We would've noticed".
"None of this makes any sense" Victoria said. "Penelope couldn't have been possessed. It's impossible. Before joining the AIA you have to prove you were blessed as a child. And Penelope did. Everyone knows the blessing ritual prevents demonic possession"
"That's right, it does" Raymond said. "It would have been practically impossible for Penelope to become possessed. Unless she willingly let the demon take over her mind".
"That's ridiculous" Nicholas said.
"No it isn't" Rosaline said. "If Penelope's been working with Dominic the whole time. It makes perfect sense. That's why she allowed herself to become possessed. That's why she brought the imps here. And it's why Dominic is always one step ahead of us. He had a rat".
"One problem" Victoria said. "How did Penelope know we would be flying to Concordia? I fired her weeks ago and yet Dominic is still one step ahead of the game".
"That can only mean one thing" Rosaline said. "There's another rat in the group"
Who do you think the other rat is? Don't forgot to like/comment if you like what you read.