Callie and I headed down the winding staircase leading from my bedroom, with her almost falling down the stairs twice, a cause created by the new sensation of wearing heels.
"Cece," she said to me "What if your real parents hate me? I mean, how do you know that they're anything like you're other ones?"
I smiled and said "Well, they loved me right from the start, so..." She didn't look very convinced.
"Of course they loved you. You're their daughter, a girl whom they haven't seen in almost 17 years! It's very possible that they are going to hate me!" She said, starting to get a little panicked.
"Callie. They. Will. Love. You!" I said, squeezing her hand in between each word. I was positive that they would like her. I mean, she was my best friend! How could they not? And even if they didn't, then too bad. They would have to tough it out, because Callie, she's not going anywhere.
"Okay," She smiled at me "I guess you're right."
We turned the corner and came face to face with the giant doors that led to the giant dining room.
"Are you ready, Cal's?" I asked my best friend, who, at the moment, looked so nervous she could pass out.
"Of course." She smiled at me, trying not to let her nervousness show. I laughed which made her giggle as well.
I reached out and pulled open the doors that led to the dining room, which took a lot of effort, considering that the doors were huge. Callie gasped and I smiled when I had to give her a little nudge to keep walking when she was mesmerized by an exquisite painting of the orchard outside.
I looked over to the long table stretched out before us. Just like when I first came to the castle, there were two seats left, the rest taken up by lords and ladies that lived in the castle and worked out in the gardens and orchards. When we walked over to our seats which were right beside the king and queens everyone stood. As we sat down in the chairs that had red, plush seats, everyone else sat down too.
"Everyone, I would like you to meet my daughter Cecelia's best friend Callie." said the queen, and as she spoke, silence fell before us at the table. When she finished speaking, everyone started greeting us and clapping at the same time. Some were saying "Hello" or "Good evening", and others just smiled and waved. I couldn't help but notice both my mother and fathers eyes widen and they gave each other a nervous glance when they looked at Callie. I wondered what was up with them, but I decided it was nothing and brushed it off.
I took Callie's hand in mine under the table and gave it a little squeeze. Her hands were really sweaty. I guess she was still nervous, but she was doing a pretty good job to cover it up.
"How ya holding up?" I whispered to her as the waiters and waitresses brought out the first course; a light spinach salad with olive oil dressing, and strawberries.
"I'm good," she said while taking a bite of a strawberry "Mmm! These are so juicy!" I laughed. It was like she had never eaten a strawberry before. I popped a strawberry into my own mouth and chewed. I closed my eyes, trying to savor the flavor. Callie was right. These were amazing. I ate five more then started on my salad which was also amazing.
About 20 minutes later, we had all finished the appetizer and were halfway through the main course of the meal which consisted of lasagna and garlic bread with lemonade to drink; Callie's favorite, requested to the chef by yours truly, when she whispered to me that she had to go to the bathroom.
"Mom," I said in a hushed tone to my mother "Callie has to go to the bathroom. I'll show her where the closest one to here is, and we'll come right back. Okay?"
"Of course sweetie. Go ahead." she replied without really paying attention to what I was saying. I smiled at her anyway and motioned for Callie to follow me. She got up and I led her out of the dining room. As soon as the giant doors had closed, Callie stopped.
"Callie? What's wrong?" I asked, getting worried.
"Cece," she said "I don't know how to tell you this, but those people... Well... They're not actually you're real parents. Surely you must've thought about this before now. I mean, you don't even look like them. Think about it. Suddenly people show up at your house and claim to be your long lost parents after 17 years? It makes no sense!"
"What? Sure it does! Why do you even think that?" I couldn't understand why she would say that.
"Well, for one, you don't look like them. For two, they used to come to my house when my parents weren't home and claim to be my real parents too."
"Gurlll, you crazy!"
"No, Cece, you have to believe me! You're going to get hurt! If you're not going to believe ms then fine. But at least contact you're other parents. For me?"
"Fine." I agreed, starting to think on the idea of this whole thing being a lie.
I mean, what if this is technically all a lie and I've been kidnapped!? What if it's true and they never let me go? What If I never get to see my parents again? I started to hyperventilate as we were walking to the bathroom. I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up right there, right then. I began a full paced run to hopefully make it to the bathroom before I threw up - well, as full paced as you can get in a dress and heels, even though I can run in heels, it was mostly the heaviness of the dress. Just to put it out there, I hate throw up. If I see someone getting sick, I will do the same. No matter what's happening, or who it is. So I definitely didn't want to throw up on myself. Or this dress. I would be in so much trouble if that happened...
Callie suddenly appeared at my side, having to take off her shoes so that she wouldn't break her ankle before pursuing me. I was not surprised that she caught up to me so quickly, she has been on the track team for at least three years prior to now, and still is, after all.
I made it to the bathroom just in time. I knelt over the toilet while Callie held my hair, vomited once, and then it was just dry heaving. I stood up after a while and went over to quickly rinse my mouth. I felt better, but no less worried. I left the bathroom so that Callie could go, and I waited outside for her. She soon emerged and we slowly walked back to the dining room, chatting along the way.
"Callie, what if it is true? What if I really have been kidnapped? What if they never let me go?" I had a sudden thought "What if your stuck here now too!"
"Cece. Breathe. First of all, we have to find out if it's true. And if it is, we can't let them know that we know. Tomorrow, we'll contact your parents. Your other parents."
"Alright." I whispered, as we were now in the dining room and almost back to our seats.
Dessert was being served, which was strawberry shortcake with whip cream. We ate in almost complete silence, only talking when spoken to by the king or queen.
When dinner was over, it was half past eight. Callie and I hurried back to my to my bedroom without even saying goodnight. Fully believing her now, I was rushing to to figure out a plan. I wanted to find out if these people really were kidnappers. I felt confused because at first I thought that my parents weren't my real parents, and now I think that these people aren't who they say they are. I felt betrayed by these people because they were so nice to me at first, and I felt ashamed and gullible because I believed them.
Callie and I changed out of our dresses into pajamas, each of us putting on a pair of my many slippers. I grabbed a pen and some paper, threw it to Callie who was sitting cross legged on my bed, and ran over to the radio. I hit the 'CD' button and put in my Mariana's Trench 'Ever After' album. It's one of my favorites, along with Simple Plan and One Direction. I turned it up loud enough that it would keep us awake, and walked over to the bed where Callie sat and helped her to start devising a plan.
*Some hours later*
Finally. Our plan was finished. Complete. At 3:47am, we were finally satisfied that if we were really kidnapped, we would get out. Alive, safe, and unharmed. And soon, our plan would be set into action. Right now, we needed sleep. Lots of it.
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A/N: Alright, so I owe a big huge thanks to my mom and my librarian because they gave me the tools that I needed to finish this chapter, and if I didn't have them, then it would still be unfinished. So I hope you liked this chapter, and hopefully the next one will be up in the next few weeks. xD
~Sid