15 CHAPTER-8

When Arne stops outside the theatre like masquerade hall, his steps stutter for a moment before the heavily gilded double doors, there was silks in teal and gold and silver, banners of star crest flags waving in the hall, the same one the guards had on their armour, gemstones engraved in almost everything, he smelled rich scents and perfumes that carried through the crowd of the flamboyant people in all colour shapes and sizes, broadcasting that the people here were dressed and ready for something special, the place was so big it could hold thousands of people, at the end of the hall was a raised dais, a little higher and circular in the centre holding a gold and teal velvet embedded throne like chair and in rectangular straight line in the bottom of it, where little squares of smaller sofa's in silver and teal silks cushions were placed in.

Heads turn, the moment he enters the gold gilded double doors, the murmur that was there like a fish market before stopping to a halt, people in exuberant lustrous clothes swivel in his direction almost at the same moment, a weird hush falls for seconds before several of them gasp, and bow their head almost at the same moment, except some far at the corner of the dais.

Arne frowns.

The murmur becomes louder, ear biting, why were they all staring at him?

"Arne." He hears his name being called out from the cacophony of voices, and the quiet befalls upon the hall again.

He looks at the woman, Linnea, in the same green gown, the one that had come inside the room with the vantablack eyes man, the one that had said that his mom deserved the dark prison, the one that had sent two helpers with Arne that had gotten naked the moment they had showed him the bath, his anger escalated, he felt the blood rush to his face, saw the woman's step faltering for a second before a sort of determination came over her face and she confidently walked to him from the throng of people.

She had stepped down from the rectangular dais, where Arne had seen the same man with the brown tunic, the one that had clasped her arm and told her he would help him, something gold was shining from his neck, as Arne could see from afar.

The click of the woman's sandals shakes Arne out of his observation and his eyes glare at the hazelnut eyes that meets up to him, "You are soon nephew, you didn't take the bath," she observed frowning barely, "You didn't like the servants that I-"

"What the fuck are you trying to do?" His voice when it comes out is like a slap, he sees the woman flinch, hears the gasp of the flamboyant people staring and listening to their conversation, the way the guards standing beside him still.

"I was-" The woman steps toward Arne with wide eyes, her voice almost shaky.

Suddenly the same man from before was beside the woman like a gale of wind, Arne had not seen him coming, he was holding her arm, as if stopping from her a fall, his eyes were hard when they came upon Arne, he said voice delineating, only so could Arne and the closest standing around them could hear, "Let's talk the family matters outside." And without waiting for Arne's reply, he turns towards the rabble of people, and says in a carrying voice, "I know you all are quite thrilled to see your prince, you may see him in sometime, till then enjoy the banquet." And he waves a flank of servants in red clothes, that step forward carrying silver trays with candied fruits and cakes that sparkled as if coated with glitters, with pitchers of wine and the wooden and silver inscribed glasses Arne had seen in bedroom.

Without waiting for a second the man walks out the gilded double doors, holding the woman's arm, she looked at Arne with the same glassy vulnerable eyes he had seen before, and for some unfathomable reason, Arne feels a little guilty, but then he thinks of the boy and the girl, that looked so young and guileless, she had called them servants, were they doing it reluctantly?

Arne follows, the guards flanking beside him, the man called him prince, there were people staring at him, he didn't know what the heck was going on, wanted the answers, now.

They end up in a red marbled room that had silver inscribed in corners and big rose made on the centre with flagstones covering it, god these people were obsessed with gold and silver like Olivia, the thought sends a wave of shock through him, he had forgotten about Olivia, what would she think, what would the people in his university campus think, all of a sudden just he and his mother just vanished? He thinks about the call he made, the police sirens before he fell into the orange blaze, Shit. "I need my phone." He says.

Anker who was drinking wine quite frustratedly from a glass looks up, gulping the wine he asks, "You need what?"

"Phone" Arne says, "it was in my shorts pocket, where are my clothes?" and with it a thought groves in his mind, he looks at the silk white shirt he was wearing, the black trousers, his face pales, who changed his clothes?

"What is a phooon?" Anker frowns, pronouncing it like 'foon' as if he was hearing the words for the first time.

"Phone," Arne says correcting him, "Forget it." He would get back home with mom and buy another, but what about the mess that would greet them when they would return. "Now where is mom? I want to meet her."

Anker's eyes blaze, "We told you already, your mother is in dark prison, not everyone can go to the dark prison."

Linnea looks up from the maroon gilded chair she was sitting on, "Arne you have to understand-"

"What did my mother do to be in a dark prison? I can't freaking understand any gibberish you are speaking of." But even as he says it, he remembers the stranger's mouth saying the words, feels goosebumps trailing across his skin, 'Your mother has been arrested under the imputation of taking you away from the kingdom without the King's assertion.'

Linnea rocks on the sofa, her body shaking, Anker keeps the glass of wine on the silver coiling table with a clink, and looks at Arne as if he wanted to throw him out the door.

Arne glares at Anker with challenge, the man carefully puts his hand on Linnea's shoulder, kneading it, she was sobbing now, "Your father, my brother-" she gasps and looks up at Arne and he stills, feels blood roar through his head, "He died."

The world falls silent for moments, all Arne could feel in this moment was his heart galloping, his mind telling him it was all a lie. He was in a mad hole, he remembers, this woman was probably lying, she had sent a young man and woman naked in the bath, through the blood rush and confusion spitting inside his mind, he says, "Stop making stories, I am not interested," His father had never been there, his mom had told him his father had died in a car accident seven months after he was born, [ro1] he had a photograph in his home to prove it, a man with black hair like Talish, his eyes brown, Arne has looked at the photograph countless of times, even talked to it when he was a kid and felt vulnerable and uneasy every time, thinking how it would have felt if he had a father.

[ro2] This woman and the man were lying.

The woman's eyes widen, tears flowing down her cheeks, "We are not making stories, your father-"

"My father died after seven months after I was born, my mom has-"

"She was lying to you," The woman's voice comes out in steel, her whole demeanour changes and Arne sees something dark in those hazelnut eyes.

"Linnea," The man lulls the woman's name like a lullaby, his hands raving up and down her arms in careful soothing motions, "Let me." He meets the woman's eyes, and the woman nods, gulping.

Then with a breath, his vantablack eyes slithers to Arne, "Would you like to see some proof?"

"Proof?" Arne asks unsurely.

The man nods and calls in a servant who bows pretty much like the guards did, then sets up to put a silver key in an adjoining room that was obviously made of silver and bronze, the door rattles and creaks open, "Let me show you, how everything you know is a lie," Anker confidently waves his hand towards the adjoining room, and Arne feels his heart skip a beat, was this some kind of trap, another naked servants or were they trying to force him inside some room and kidnap him.

But then he thinks about how he has woken up and he is been allowed to go almost everywhere he asked, except to see his....mother. It's as if his legs have a mind of his own, even though his heart is saying no, no, no, he feels himself following the man and the woman to the dark room, that is absolutely weary dark, smelling of things that haven't been touch for a long time.