The Invincible (CHP 28)
I would like to thank you all for the constant love and support! Hope you enjoy today’s chapter ☺
Summary Of Last Chapter – Theo explains his childhood life in the palace and his reasons for being outside. The book of Arthethmis opens up and they realize that Audrey’s death was a plan made by the vampires and a traitor hellhound! The solution to bringing Audrey back is smudged so they pack is left clueless. Theo’s father – the king calls!
On the other hand a girl called Meredith (she is Audrey) is shown playing with her sister. She explains her life two years after she woke up after an accident. She reveals her family members are all vampires except her. Her mother and father always try to push her in for some kind of martial practice, which she does not like but still has to do for a reason she doesn’t yet know…
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
CHP 28
Theo’s POV
“Theodore? Is that you, son?” My dad’s voice booms from the other end.
“Yes, dad! It’s me.” I say quietly.
He coughs as he gasps for air and then regaining his poise says “Theodore, you need to come back to Illeas immediately. I’m extremely unwell and I need someone here to look after the kingdom while I’m resting.”
“But dad, there’s still a whole month left before I’m 23… It’s against the agreement.” I say.
“I know. That’s why I talked to Romulus about it. He said you could come here. You’ve done enough for the werewolves and they appreciate your help.” Dad says.
“And what about my pack?” I ask, my voice draining.
“Bring them of course… They can live in the penthouse near the palace.” Dad says.
“I’ll come there as soon as possible.” I say, smiling.
“I’ve already sent a car. It must be arriving in a few minutes. And don’t bother bringing anything. Everything you will need is here.” Dad mumbles.
“Alright. I’ll see you soon dad.” I say.
“Yes… I’ll see you soon too my son.” He says as he hangs the phone down.
“What happened?” Natalie asks as I turn back.
“My dad wants me to come back…” I say quietly.
“What? And what about all the plans for Audrey and all….” She asks, frowning.
“We’ll talk about it in the car. For now just pack up everything important to you and let’s go.” I say, blinking rapidly as I head upstairs.
I grab my phone, a few souvenirs from my journey and pictures. Pictures of our pack, of the werewolves, of Audrey…. I dump them all in my bag in a rush and sprint downstairs.
Everyone awaits outside the door, clutching their bags in their hands… There’s not much to take. A white Rolls-Royce car awaits at the door with the driver standing straight, his head bowed down and two soldiers with their head proudly held high; their uniforms shining with glory.
Our country Illeas is a close ally of England. It’s at the north of England, just opposite to Scotland.
“How far is Illeas from here by car?” Dylan asks me.
“About 5-6 hours.” I say.
“That’s enough time to plan..” He says nodding his head.
Lydia is bobbing up and down with excitement. She seems more excited about being part of the Royal family than anyone else. Everyone takes a seat in the car. Veronica stands aside, her hands behind her back.
“Come on?” I usher her.
“Do you really want me to come?” She asks.
I swallow hard. Even though I’m not as close to her as I used to be and don’t trust her that much too.. she is part of my pack and she deserves to come. It’s not her fault. She tried to control how much ever she could.
“Yes, I want you to come. Even though I don’t trust you as much… You are still part of our pack. We need you. It wasn’t your fault that day…” I say.
She nods her head and looks at me for a moment before getting in. Soon we’re driven away.
“So… Why exactly are we going to Illeas?” Melissa asks.
“My dad is unwell.. He needs someone to look after the kingdom.” I say.
Suddenly a thought strikes my mind. An agitated groan escapes me.
“What happened?” Zack asks.
“I just remembered. When I left Illeas my dad said that as soon as I would come back he would host ‘The Regal Heir’.” I say, shaking my head.
“What’s that?” Dylan asks
“The Regal Heir is an event that takes place when the prince is old enough to get married. 20 girls from the kingdom are chosen and they live in the palace for 6 months with the prince. The prince at the end of those 6 months then has to chose one of the girls to be his bride.” Natalie says.
“How do you know about all of this?” I ask.
“My sister was one of the chose elites to take part.. She didn’t make it till the end though.” Natalie says.
“So how does this affect our…Oh!” Melissa says, stopping when she realizes the problem.
“You and Audrey won’t be able to be together.” She continues, her voice soft.
“They will be together if she is chosen to be one of the 20 girls…” Veronica says smiling.
“That’s not possible. The invitations are only given to Illean citizens..” I say irritably.
“I have a plan which can force her to come to Illeas..” She says, a smirk making way up her face…
“OK..What’s the plan?” I ask.
“Before any of that, I need something of her’s. Some clothing item maybe.” Veronica mumbles.
I immediately pull out a scarf of mine that Audrey had put around her neck one day when it was cold in Yorkshire.
“She wore this once.” I said, plunking the scarf in Veronica’s hand.
She ruffled the scarf in her hand and closed her eyes. She was trying to use her abilities to find her. She gasped; a little lost for a moment or two and then her eyes opened wide with colour and flush.
“I know where Audrey is.” She said.
“Where?” I asked, my mind wide awake with the rushing feeling.
“She’s near South of London with vampires. They’ve taken her in. She’s happy there.” Veronica whispered.
I felt my heart sink. Why would she be happy? Then I remembered they took her in by betrayal and it was up to us to bring her back.
“Theo?” Dylan said, shaking my knee.
I suddenly awoke from my daydream and tried to focus on Veronica’s words.
“What were you saying?” I asked her.
“I was saying that the vampires changed her name. She’s Meredith now.” Veronica said.
I let my head nod. I shouldn’t be surprised.
“So, what’s your plan of leading her to Illeas?” I asked raising my eyebrows.
“According to statistics the vampires lost a lot of money due to the war and are having a financial crisis right?” She asked raising her eyebrows.
“Yeah… That’s what’s been floating around.” I said.
“If I’m not wrong then for every one week you spend in the castle for ‘The Regal Heir’, the contestant’s family is given $1000 right?” She asked.
“Yeah that’s true.” I said.
Lydia gasped. “$1000 for being part of the competition per week?” She asked.
I grinned and winked in return.
“So what if, by some propaganda we get her to come to Illeas for money?” Veronica mumbled.
“Why would they send her?” I ask.
“Because they are in poor conditions. They will do anything for money. Remember? No money, no weapons and then… defeat!” Veronica says.
“What if this doesn’t work?” I ask.
“We can try atleast.” Veronica says.
I nod. There’s no harm in trying right?
Meanwhile in London….
Meredith’s POV
It’s becoming increasing tiring. Life has become such a monotonous routine. Wake up, breakfast, practice, teach May, help mother cook then practice again and sleep. I’m pinning and aching for some adventure or fun. Pinning to be free.
“Mere?” May says coming into the balcony.
We live in an old building with 4 floors. We can’t afford to live in a well built beautiful house. Dad and mom both work super hard to earn money but it never seems enough.
“Hey May baby.” I say, scooping her up in my arms.
She winds her tiny arms around my neck. I bury my face in her shoulder and breathe. From all the chaos and monotony; there’s always one thing constant and that is May, my little baby sister. The sound of her voice always brings me back home and I adore her.
“I’m hungry.” She mumbles.
I hear the growl of her stomach and it hurts me. There have been so many nights where I’ve fallen asleep hungry because I’ve given my food to May. Nowadays I can barely sleep at night because all I can hear is my own stomach growling thunderously. I’ve grown skinnier than ever and my bones stand out. Even through my shirt I can make out my rib cage. I would do anything for money.
“Come on.” I say, taking her hand in mine.
I carefully open up dad’s cupboard and take out an ancient violin. I taught myself how to play the violin. Sometimes when mom and dad are out, I sneakily take it out of the cupboard and play it on the streets in exchange for money. Then I but May some food and if there’s extra then some for myself.
I run onto the street in my sandals with May following closely. I give her a cap to collect the money in and play.
Music is a weird complexion. It’s almost like I get swooped onto a whole new world. It does something weird to me; makes me sway and smile…I hardly ever smile. Or actually I only ever smile with May. Music makes me forget about all the worries and the hunger and the problems. It makes me feel like running away. I would do anything to run away. Suddenly I clasp out of my daydream and finish my piece. When I open my eyes I get an applause from an overjoyed crowd and lots of pennies in the cap for May and I to spend. I grab May’s hand in mine and lead her to a bakery. The smell of fresh bread makes my head dizzy and I long to pop a piece of it in my dry mouth.
There’s only enough money to buy a loaf of bread. I take it from the baker with a thankful smile. Slowly she slips a blueberry muffin in the paper bag and gives me a wink. I smile gratefully and mumble a thank you while leaving.
May and I find a quite cranny on the streets to eat the food we’ve gotten. I let May take the whole loaf of bread although she insists on sharing. I break of a piece of the blueberry muffin and plop in into my mouth. I reel with it’s sweetness as it takes over me. If not wrong then this is the first morsel of food I’ve eaten in 54 hours… Just then a piece of paper flies over and hits my knee.
I pick it up and squint at it. It’s an advertisement; inviting girls aged between 19 to 22 to submit their forms in for the well known ‘Regal Heir’. May snatches the pamphlet from my hand and squeals in delight.
“Its for the Regal Heir! Oooh! It’s so exciting. The chance to be with the prince and become a princess! I wish I could go!” She says giggling.
I smile and gently take the paper from her “Maybe one day when the prince has a son, you’ll be old enough for him. Then you can go.” I say.
I look at the paper again. I’ve never seen the prince, but I don’t care anyway. I’m a pauper here and not to forget a werewolf and he’s the prince. I would never get chosen to be part of it. However just as I’m about to throw away the paper I catch glimpse of the small note on the side.
‘$1000 for every contestant for every week they stay in Illeas!’.
$1000!! That itself could last a whole month for us… Imagine the amount of money I could collect by staying for just 6-7 weeks! It would be enough to last us a whole year without any problems! This could be a signal… A chance that awaits. An instinct tells me that I should go… Not only would it solve all our financial problems but I would get away from the monotony here and gives wings to my freedom by getting a taste of what royalty feels like…
Precap – Meredith arrives in Illeas and Theo spots her. They meet for the first time but end up in hot words and a bitter argument.