บท 55: Part LV.

The clock strikes four and my heart drops, a lump forms in my throat as I start to get nervous of the uncertainty of events that's about to unfold with Zara.

Sean left few hours ago to God knows where and he seemed agitated, probably because of the war or maybe leaving me in the hands of Zara, or both.

He never told me what the war was about, not even the fiftieth time I asked and all he said was "Don't go around asking too many questions Crystal, it won't end good."

I didn't ask again but made a resolve in my heart to find out everything not leaving a stone unturned.

Nothing ends good with me no matter the effort so there's no point trying. I have a lot of questions and if he's not willing to answer them, I'm sure someone else would.

It's time to meet Zara.

Wearing a blue denim jeans and plain white camisole with a long blue blazer jacket that reaches the back of my knee and some silver flats, I put on my wedding necklace feeling a sudden sense of power and superiority that drives off every paranoia and insecurity.

Sean says I don't need to wear the crown and this necklace is sign enough to show that I'm the queen and his wife. No harm will come to me. You're a queen so be a queen.

Taking a deep breath, I plaster a smile on my face and open up the door to find Zara standing outside with her head slightly bowed just as Sean had said.

She's a slim woman, although curvier than I am and she's average height with a healthy wavy auburn hair falling off her shoulders.

"Thank you for volunteering." I say and she poses properly, looking up at me with a poker face. What's with these people and ridding their faces of expressions?!.

"Like I said before," she responds, "it's for the good of the kingdom."

"You must really care about this kingdom." I say still smiling although not too comfortable, but I'm comfortable enough. You can't be too carefree when you're surrounded by people who don't have your best interests at heart and would rejoice the day your own heart decides to stop working.

"Yes I do," she agrees defiantly and I smile in response.

"Shall we?" I ask and begin to walk down the hallway but she stops me with a tap on my arm.

"There'll be no need for that." Before I can ask what she means, she touches my arm and I find myself outside in the middle of the gigantic gate and the mansion.

The sun beats down on me and it feels so foreign on my skin making me realise it's been ages since I was outside, right under the bright sky.

The test was held outdoors, yeah, but that can't count as it was late at night and I couldn't even savour the feeling of the night air on my skin. I look up and see the large window that's in our room at the top floor, really high up making me wonder how many floors this building actually is. It's like a sky scraper, the most beautiful I've seen making my mouth hang slightly open in awe of its fineness and evident luxury.

"We shall." Zara says bringing back my attention to her and I nod once looking around the area as we walk to the gate. It's just vast and empty with huge walls surrounding it, I'm sure some decorative flowers would do amazingly well in making it even more pleasing than it already is.

"Where are we headed?" I ask as we get closer to the gate.

"The kingdom." She responds, "you'll see the way it is structured and how people live here."

"So I'm going to meet with people?" I ask starting to feel a little weary.

"Yes we are." She responds, "after which I'll take you to the library where we can get a few historical books and I'll tell you some basic things that you should know."

"That sounds like a plan." I say smiling but she doesn't even look at me nor smile back and we walk in silence till we get to the gate where two fierce men stand, manning it.

Once their eyes find my necklace that's glittering in the sun, they bow a little and open up the gate granting us access into the kingdom and exit from the palace.

Muttering a 'thank you'. We step out and the moment I hear the gate lock behind me, I start to respire a little more than usual. The image of the lady with her child plays in my head along with Miranda's taunting words and fear grabs a fierce hold of my heart.

Sean isn't here to save me this time, Dylan isn't here either. There's no one, it's just me this time around. I hold the pendant in my hand, the head of the goddess, looking for comfort and I find just a little. It's little but enough.

"Are you ready?" Zara asks and I nod nervously, preparing myself mentally for the event I'm about to face. She walks forward and I walk beside her and after a few steps, we turn left and I'm greeted with a small city buzzing with people. It looks just like earth, with stores on either side of the road and people walking in and out of them.

The road is a bit smaller than usual and the only form of transportation I see the people using is their feet. There are no cars nor bikes nor even animals, just their feet. But if they have powers and can teleport from place to place, why walk?.

"Why are they walking?" I ask Zara, "if you all have the ability to appear at any place at anytime, why aren't they using that power?".

"Not everyone has that power," she answers and I frown at it, confused, "teleportation is a rare gift that mostly only higher ups possess. Everyone is born with a gift, some more than the others and the stronger your power, the higher you go. Some people do not even discover their powers till death."

"So the people here do not have as much power as the people there." I point backwards with my thumb towards the palace and she nods once. Without powers, aren't these people just like we mere humans? This new information is a real eye opener and makes me eager to learn even more about these people.

"One quick advice before we head on," Zara says and I nod for her to continue, "you're different than us. A strange being whose kind isn't on our good record." She pauses and looks into my eyes, "The sooner you accept that, the better it'd be for you."