LOGINThe phone rang, and Mia quickly answered it. "Mia Sauner speaking." "Miss Sauner, please come over to the police station," the voice said from the line."Is there a problem? Have you found my sister?" Mia asked anxiously."We found a lead," the voice answered. Mia's hand tightened around the phone. "I'll be there soon." With that, the call ended. "Who was that?" Her father asked. "Police station," she responded, still glued at the spot she was. "What did they say?" He asked, his voice frail. "They found a lead," she answered without soul."That's good," her father said in relief. "But why are you like that... like you've just seen a ghost?" He asked.She finally turned to face him, her eyes blank. "I don't know," her voice was barely above a whisper.Her father looked at her for a while then sighed. "Go and hear what they have to say," he instructed, and she nodded slowly, leaving the room.Mia didn’t remember picking up her bag, or locking the door, or how her feet carried her
Dua hummed a song as Belle helped with dressing her hair.Belle smiled, "you seem to be in a really good mood, my lady.""Of course, victory would be mine tonight." Dua replied, and resumed her humming again. She had spent the last two days touring the whole castle, and mastering the whole place.Belle stiffened at Dua's reply, a shiver running down her spine. "Don't do anything you'll end up regretting, my lady." "Okay," Dua replied.With Dua fully dressed, they made their way to the dinning room for breakfast with Dua skipping, and humming, her steps filled with dance that it got the servants and guards whispering.As the guards opened the doors to the dinning room, they heard a voice from behind. "You look too happy for someone who'll die soon."Dua turned to find Reya some feet away from her, accompanied by some maids. Dua sighed tiredly, her body coming to a still. "Hey, Reya," she began. "If you're mad at me because you think I took donkey brain from you the other night then
Dua opened her eyes. Steadying her sight within seconds, she went out of bed, heading straight to the bathroom.Coming back out in minutes after relieving herself, her eyes caught sight of a figure in the dark extreme of the room. Jolting in fear, Dua quickly grabbed a candle, and pointed it in the direction to find Alexander there, sitting in the dark, looking so intense.Dua sighed in relief, yelling at him right after. "Hey!" He simply raised his eyes to look at her."And why do you look like you're about to fight a war?" She hissed. "If you cannot fall asleep then why did you come here? You should have stayed with your lady Reya as planned." "This is my chamber, and this is my kingdom, I can do whatever I want," Alexander replied."This is my chamber, and this is my kingdom, I can do whatever I want," Dua mimicked him while making faces at him. "Royalties and the way they always feel like God," she hissed, rolling her eyes.Turning away from him, she set the candle back down i
The police station building loomed heavily over Mia. With slow heavy steps, she walked in. "I... I'm here to file a report of a missing person," she said to an officer at the counter. "Is it an adult or a child?" The officer asked. "My kid sister," Mia answered, her voice shaky, her eyes turning wet with tears. "Oh, a child," the officer said, writing something down."25 years," Mia corrected, and the officer raised his head to look at her. "She's 25 years old." "Oh," the police officer nodded. "I see.""How long has she been missing?" He asked."Since last night," Mia answered, her voice barely above a whisper. "And what happened before she went missing? Any strange attitude from her? Was there a fight? Did something happen? Where did she say she was going?" The police officer asked. Mia heaved a long sigh. "We... I asked her to go get our father's meds. She needed to buy fresh ones... and we had a little argument before she left.""I see," the officer nodded again. "Given th
Dua sank into the bath tub filled with warm, soapy water with scented oils. "Ah!" She moaned, sinking deeper into the tub. "That hit the spot." She sat up again as the memory of the whole day flashed before her— routes, paths, places in the castle. "Just one more tour tomorrow, and my escape plan is set," she smiled. "I'll finally get to leave this place forever." She stood up, and climbed out the bath tub, entering the main shower area to rinse off. She turned on the shower, letting the cool water pour on her, soothing her pent up muscles. "They'll be looking for me by now," she heaved a sigh, suddenly remembering her family. The water streamed down her skin in steady rivulets, washing away the lingering tension of the day, but not the thoughts crowding her mind."Dad…" her voice softened, almost lost beneath the sound of the shower. "I'm sorry…"Her eyes closed briefly, her shoulders dropping as the weight of everything pressed down on her chest.Then the door opened. Dua didn
"Dad! I'm home!" Mia announced as she stepped into the house. "Dua!" Her father's frail voice rang out from the other room.Mia rolled her eyes as she made her way into her father's bedroom. "Dad, it's me. Do you not know the difference between Dua's voice and mine? I'm so disappointed," she sulked."I'm sorry, dear, I thought you were Dua," her father apologized. "It's fine," Mia waved it off, as she walked closer to him."Where is Dua?" He asked."Isn't Dua home?" Mia asked in return. Silence reigned between the two, both of them staring at each other. "Did you fight with her again this morning before she left work?" Her father asked. "Dad!!" Mia exclaimed, her voice rising in frustration. "Why does everything always circle back to me whenever Dua is involved?"Her father didn’t respond immediately. He just looked at her, long and quiet, like he was searching her face for something she wasn’t saying.Mia shifted under his gaze."I’m asking a simple question," he said finally, h
The guards opened the doors to the dinning room, and as Dua was about entering, she heard someone call, "Your Majesty." Dua paused. Turning to the direction the voice came, she saw a young woman a few meters away, beautifully dressed with a few maids flanked behind her. Dua ignored the young woma
"My lady," Belle called once, twice, three times but Dua didn't even budge. Belle heaved a sigh, shaking her head. "What kind of woman sleeps this?" She shook her head once more.Dua laid in the center of the bed, her legs spread wide with one of them folded behind her butt. Her one hand was stret
Dua froze, her jaw dropping slightly as her entire body went still.For a moment, she couldn’t move. She couldn’t think. Her mind went completely blank. Her eyes refused to look away.Alexander stood just beyond the thin veil of steam, the faint mist curling around him like it had no choice but to
Alexander rose from the table, and the young man with him rose too. Dua looked up at them both, and without saying a word, she focused on her food again. Alexander strode out of the room with the young man walking beside him. As soon as they stepped out of the room, the young man spoke. "What wi







