Saving Grandpa Robert

"Do one thing that scares you every day." Eleanor Roosevelt

--

The footsteps move on. I wait until I couldn't hear the footsteps anymore before sighing in relief.

'That was close,' I moan, suddenly feeling exhausted. I've been tightly strung for so long now, and my body just stopped working. All the adrenaline just left. I sag, and my ninth brother quickly catches me, gently lowering me to the ground.

'Are you alright, Adi?' He asks.

'Yeah. I'm fine. I'm just glad we weren't found. I think I need to rest a bit.'

'That's fine. We need to check if they're all gone anyway,' eighth brother sighs.

'I'll ask my rats to make a sound if there are still guards in that room,' ninth brother states.

'That's a good idea. How will you contact them, though?' I ask.

'Through my mind. As a beast tamer, I can speak to my tamed beasts no matter how far away they are. I can understand them, and they can understand me,' ninth brother explains.

'I should've learnt all this, shouldn't I?' I ask quietly. I feel sad. There were so many things I didn't know, and it frightens me sometimes. Can I be a good Queen even if I lack so much knowledge?

'I know the reason,' third brother murmurs.

'Why wasn't I taught any of this?' I ask him pleadingly.

'It's because of your mother. You know how she killed our youngest sibling?' My brothers all make sounds of acknowledgement.

'Hold on! She didn't kill anyone! My mother is the sweetest person alive! There's no way she'd kill a defenceless baby!' I shout through the link. My brothers wince.

'We know, we know—your mother's way too naive to do something like that,' seventh brother groans.

'We never said she did, Adi. But it's something the whole kingdom knows and believes, so you can't say she didn't do it without proof.' I glare at them before looking away. I was so mad. Does no one believe in my mother like I do? My sweet, clumsy, gentle mother. There's no way she'd harm another person's child, especially my father's. She loves him so much, and it hurts her so badly when he treats her coldly like that. She's suffered so much because of him.

'As I was saying, because of that... incident, our father decided that you weren't allowed to learn the basics. He said it was punishment for your mother killing one of his children... one of his sons.'

'Did he ever care for me?' I ask in a small voice.

'I'm sure he does care for you, Adi.'

'He's never shown any care for me...'

'He used to hold you all the time when you were a baby,' third brother smiles. 'He would carry you, set you on his knee, and rock you to sleep. He would sing to you and play with you. With you around, we would see him smile all the time.'

'But that was before the incident,' I state.

'...Yes... That was before the incident...'

'There's no one in the room,' ninth brother suddenly exclaims.

'It's time then?' I ask, jumping to my feet.

'Yes, it's time.'

Third brother opens the wall for us to leave. We move quickly and quietly as our third brother closes the wall up once more. I reach the room first and stick my head in it.

"There really is no one here!" I exclaim aloud.

"Shh!" my brothers hush me. I giggle, clamping my hands over my mouth.

"Sorry," I whisper. "Let's go in."

We move slowly, with ninth brother on the lookout. Looking around the brightly lit room, it feels cozy. The stone walls are cleaner. There's a fireplace going, and the furniture is classy. There's a huge red rug before the fireplace, with a small table and two armchairs sitting on top. There are paintings on the walls and a larger table with more chairs surrounding it. There's another hallway on the opposite wall to where we entered.

"I think grandpa Robert is through that passageway," I say, pointing to it.

"I'll go with Adi. Sandor, you stay here with Xander," third brother orders.

"Got it, big bro!" eighth brother salutes him playfully.

Third brother rolls his eyes, pulling seventh brother and me along. We're back in the dark and damp again. I shiver as the warmth of the previous room leaves my body in an instant.

"Draw power from your bloodline, Adi," third brother says softly.

I nod and close my eyes. Feeling the power in my bloodline is much easier this time. It doesn't take as long to touch upon it. The temperature slowly stabilises, and I no longer feel the cold.

"I feel much better," I sigh, turning to my two brothers. They look at me weirdly. "What?"

"I think your powers have an icy component..." seventh brother mumbles.

"An icy component?" I ask.

"Look at the ground at your feet, Adi," third brother says softly.

I look down, only to see ice. I blink for a second before jumping away from the icy area.

"Where did that come from?" I gasp in shock.  I'm sure there was no ice a minute ago!

"The ice came from you, Adi," third brother says gently.

"That means your powers are icy!" seventh brother exclaims.

"Ice?" I mumble. "So that means I have powers over ice?"

"Yes."

"That's so cool!" I squeal. "Let's go get grandpa Robert! I really want to show him!"

I sprint off, giggling.

"Careful, Adi!" third brother calls out.

"Wait for us!"

I ignore them and continue down the passageway to another room. The room was filled with cells. I quickly stop at the entrance, my eyes wide. There were a few people in the cells, but even more skeletons and crushed skulls.

"Woah! So many skeletons!" I was too shocked at what I saw.

"Princess?" a voice calls out. I turn to it.

"Grandpa Robert!" I rush over to his cell. He looked peaceful, and I couldn't see any wounds. "You're alright? Sixth brother didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"I'm fine. I'm not hurt." His voice is soothing and gentle.

"That's good," I sigh in relief. "What is this place?"

"It's a dungeon. One that's kept many captives over the years."

"I can see that." Third brother and seventh brother come up to me.

"We need to get going, grandpa Robert," third brother says seriously. Grandpa Robert nods.

"That'd be best if we do. Who else is here?"

"Eighth brother and ninth brother."

Third brother uses his powers on the cell walls, creating an opening for grandpa Robert to get through. This time, I can feel a stronger tugging sensation in my bloodline.

"Third brother, I'm feeling this tugging sensation..."

"That's because I'm using my powers. The more you become in tune with your abilities and bloodline, you will feel that tugging sensation grow stronger. Especially when someone with the same blood as you uses their powers near you."

"Oh. So that's what sixth brother would have felt?" I ask.

"Yes."

"That's so mysterious!"

"It is." Grandpa Robert hugs me.

"I'm glad you're alright, grandpa Robert," I sigh.

"I'll always be alright, Princess. I may be old, but I'm not useless."

"Let's go back now."

We head through the passageway once more, completely ignoring the other prisoners. I don't know why they were there, but I'm sure not all of them are innocent. We move through the passage in record time.

"Ninth brother! Eighth brother! We've got grandpa Robert!"

Ninth brother and eighth brother were sitting on the armchairs by the fireplace.

"That's good. Let's get out of here then. I'm pretty sure Brutus is returning."

"Do we need to hide in the wall again?" I ask.

"We can, or we can just fight our way through."

"I want to hide. I don't want to confront sixth brother just yet..."

"Ok."

Third brother leaves the room. A few minutes later, he returns. "We should probably hurry. The space in the wall is open again."

The six of us rush into the small space, and third brother encloses us once more. Footsteps and voices grow louder.

"Those rats were crazy!"

"I know! I feel so dirty and sore from all those bites!"

"I honestly want a raise... I don't have enough money to buy medication for any diseases those rats might have. Just thinking about it makes me shudder."

The voices move on into the room, but footsteps stop right in front of us once again.

All is quiet in the passageway. I cover my mouth with my hands, hoping my breathing isn't as loud as it sounds in the silence. My heart is racing, and it sounds deafening.  Don't find us! Don't hear us!

The footsteps move on once more.

'That was close! I don't want to do something like this ever again! It's way too scary!'

Third brother quickly opens the wall up, and we rush out, sprinting away. I continue to hope they don't hear our shoes over the noise they make in the room.