Chapter 37

"Do you need anything, my lady?" They asked and i just stared. They were treating me so specially. "Like water? More pillows? Anything at all?"

"No, thank you" I said but they lingered in the corner of the room. They were hesitating. They must have seen the helplessness on my face

"I want to be alone please" i pleaded. I sounded absurd in my own ears even. These women were at least ten years older than I was, yet here I was, issuing them a command with a stern face. What did I think I was? But they obeyed and left. It quickly occured to me as they left that I could make some enquiries about the whole thing. So, I called Elaine back and shut the door. She seemed to be the smartest and most beautiful of the three.

"Tell me about him, Elaine"

"About Master??"

"Yes , the Prince" so Uncle Robinson had royal blood.

"What do you want to know, my lady?" She asked, rubbing her palms together

"Everything. Every damn thing, Elaine" i said, feeling tense but pleased. It felt good to be treated like royalty. It felt like heaven.

"He'll hear us. I don't want to make him angry" she said looking around the room

. "But he's upstairs in the dining hall? How can he hear us?" I quizzed

"The thing is, Master can hear whatever we say here , even many miles away. Everyone here can, but Master's sharper" she said

"Forgive me my lady, but you'll have to talk to him yourself. Please" she said with her large beautiful eyes twinkling continuously, her large beautiful eyes which now looked like they had been frightened.

I just looked on and watched her leave. Then I sighed after she bowed and left. What was I supposed to do?

Here I was in the room of a man I barely knew. A man who wanted me to be his mate. A man who was not human. I could have just turned around and bolted but I needed his help. If he could help me save my sister's future, then, I'd agree to get mated to him. But wasn't that dangerous? It was definitely going to be difficult

Wasn't I entering into a path that I might not be able to leave? I thought deeply. Yes, it was my fault for being too curious. Look where being curious led me to.

I didn't want to have anything to do with him. I didn't want to be his mate. I didn't want to associate with his non-human family. Only Elaine and the two other maids appealed to me here. But maybe they weren't human too? I didn't want to be in a supernatural world. I just wanted to be myself. Be normal and happy, not confused, stuck or worried.

I thought about mom, thought about Dr Brown, thought about my sister's, thought about Mike. No, I shouldn't think about Mike. Were they all fine without me? Did they know what I was going through at the camp?

Just then, it occured to me that I had not checked my phone ever since I woke up from the revelation the previous night. I took out my phone from my pocket and there were 10 missed calls from mom, 5 texts from Dr Brown and one text from Jack. None from Mike. Oh I forgot I blocked and deleted his number from my cell phone. It hurt me to do that but I did it.

I called back mom immediately. She picked at the second ring. I could hear Jack's muffled voice in the background. She was at Jack's.

"Hey baby!" Her voice sounded raspy, like she was half asleep. I didn't say anything. I was trying to process everything that was happening at the moment. Mom didn't sleep in the evening, she never did. So why did she sound sleepy? Didn't Uncle Robinson's family just eat dinner? Didn't the maids greet the people at the table, "Good evening?" And no, mom rarely took siestas too. She was always on the move, and even if she was lying down, she'd be awake and active. Something was off. It was oddly satisfying though. But freakish at the same time.

"Baby? You there?" She asked. "Heyyyy" she called when I was not responding. I quickly took the phone away from my ears and checked the time. It was 4:15am. My hands began to shake so much I almost dropped my phone.

"Baby??? Are you there?" She asked groggily but apprehensively. Now I could hear Jack louder. "Who are you calling at 4am?" He said, and she said "Shushhhh". Now that confirmed it. It was exactly the same time zone. It was only different here in the castle. We left the camp at 4:15am and it was still 4:15am??? Someone must have stopped the time.

I hung up the call and stood up from the master bed on which I had been sitting, ruffled my hair and rubbed my head, trying to process what was going on.

Okay, these people were supernatural with superpowers and stuff but it was the first time I'd experience time being put on hold. I wondered what was going on upstairs in the dining hall where I left Uncle and his parents to talk. Were they still talking about me? Was Uncle going to convince them to accept me? Or were they trying to trap me? Were they plotting against me? What was I thinking relaxing in a big royal master bedroom that belonged to people who had powers? As long as I was human, I was meat to these people.

Mom called back just then but I didn't take it. I wanted to tell her many things but judging from the fact that they heard everything you said in this Were-Castle that was inhabited by supernaturals, I wouldn't want to fall into their net. I was going to tell her to come pick me up in the morning because some non-humans were about to eat me up. I'm sure mom must have thought I was hallucinating again. So, it was of no use.

Still I thought: What if I texted then? Could they hear my tap-tap on my screen too? I thought. Oh yeah, Uncle Robinson read my mind not once, but twice on our way to this castle. Jeez!! I was stuck...I dropped my phone on the bed and went to the mirror. I stood there and admired my hair. It was very long but thick as usual. I saw many combs on the dresser, I picked one and started to brush my hair. That moment, I saw someone was behind me. You know when you stare at the mirror, you could see whatever was behind you. It was the spooky figure. Now he followed me everywhere like a companion. Dr Brown wouldn't be able to handle this, I bet.

I turned back quickly to look and within a twinkle of an eye, he disappeared.

"What do you want?" I yelled. "Why are you following me?!!!!" I looked around the room and pointed at nothing with the comb in my hand. "Come out here and talk to me, you coward!" I was already tired of being followed by him. He scared me everytime he appeared mostly because he was very quiet and his appearance gave me chills. It was very exhausting especially because no one else saw him.

Why did the supernaturals think I was special? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Why did they need me?

The maids ran in that same minute. They had probably heard my voice and came to my rescue. I knew I shouted and I didn't care.

"My lady, are you all right?" Elaine said.

"We are here to prepare you" Prisca, the quietest said. "You have nothing to fear, Miss" How dare she call me Miss? I wanted to slap her but what was I? I liked to be called 'My Lady' it made me feel good. Despite that being in this royal bedroom brought some aura of honour and royalty to me, all I wanted to do was go back to the camp or go home. I wondered what was delaying Uncle Robinson.

Were they still talking about me? Was I going to be stuck here forever? I worried about these things.

"Prepare me for what??" I asked with a tone of annoyance.

"A royalty walk. We'll wear you a dress for the walk" they all smiled. Wow, a royalty walk? Sounds like a good plan. I thought.

They took me into an inn where there were many beautiful dresses, mostly gowns. They asked me which of them i wanted to wear. I pointed at a purple one, and they took off my school uniform, cleaned me with a towel dipped in water, and creamed my whole body before they made me wear the purple gown. It was a little too big for me but who cared? They let my hair loose, combed it and styled it in the most royal way possible. It was adorned with hair pins and clips. When I looked in the mirror, I could not believe my self.

"You look very beautiful, My Lady" Jido said. Others nodded and I was blushing. "Thank you" i said.

"Master himself will take you around for the royalty walk. There are many things to see, you just tell him where you want to see, and he'll walk you there. Have fun, my lady" they said and hurriedly made their leave.

"Wait ..But..." They had already left. They seemed to be working with time. The door soon opened again and there was 'Master' in all his gorgeousness and gloriousness at my door. But I was looking in the mirror and it looked like I was double my age. I smiled; a satisfactory smile because this was satisfying..

"Ariana" he called. I heard him before I saw him.

I turned to face him and oh my God, gorgeous was an understatement to how beautiful he appeared. He had on a princely gown and crown and it seemed that his whole appearance was brimming with fire. It felt awkward that he considered me to his...

"Are you okay?"

He was so close now and looking at my eyeballs.

"When are we going back to the camp? I'd be late for the competition, what's going on? Why did you bring me here?"

"We'll talk as we walk" he said and grabbed my little chubby hand and walked me out of the room, down the hallway and into the end of the quarters. There were many beautiful flowers on our sides and water that flowed everywhere. The sounds it made made you relax. It looked so surreal. I had to scratch my skin to make sure we were not dreaming. The moonlight shone on the water and made it look much more beautiful. The moon was so near that it felt like if I jumped, I could grab it.

"Shall we go sit in the garden and talk?" He asked, boring his eyes into mine. His eyes looked golden now. He had so much royal aura around him, he scared me. I wasn't comfortable with him.

I couldn't imagine sitting with him.

"No, let's walk" I said and created distance between us as we walked further. I saw many interesting things but what caught my attention the most was the beautiful water creatures--the Swan, duck and ducklings, lobsters, crabs, tortoise, sea animals, sea shells etc. I was so awestruck that I ran towards the water and touched the swans. It was amazing and satisfactorily relaxing. Was this a therapy for me?

"Are they real?" I asked as he joined me near the water. He inched closer and held me so I'll not fall into the water

"Yes they are. Ariana, we need to talk. Look at me" he said with an exasperated voice.

"Yeah, keep talking. I just want to touch and watch these birds" i said not listening to him

"Do you like to live here?" He asked. I dropped a duck back into its puddle and looked squarely at him.

"No I want to go home. I don't belong here" i replied, changing my countenance. Yes I was excited to see beautiful plants and sea creatures but I still would bolt if I had the opportunity. The environment was nice but the people here scared me. All of them except the maids who attended to me.

"You do" he said.

"No I don't. What the hell are you talking about?"

"You have a superpower. Maybe more than one even. I can help you discover them" He said. I took out my phone and checked the time again.

"Why's it 4:15am though? Is my clock not working or something?" I asked no one in particular, trying to change the topic. Meanwhile, I planned to discuss my sister's issue with him later on.

"I stopped the time"

"What??"

"I want you to spend five hours with me before the competition begins. I want to prove to you reasons you should reconsider your decision and agree to be with me. Then, after the camp, I'll come to your home to take you away" he said and smiled. That was the first time I'd see a smile on his face.

"I'll never agree to be with you" i said and thumped off. I actually took off my slippers and walked faster away from him. I was ready to bolt even though I didn't know my way out. I looked back at him still sitting in the water bed. Before I knew it, he was right behind me holding me back.

"Please" he pleaded. "I'll give you time to consider it"

I sighed. Why would a grown man, a non-human want me mated to him?

Because I was confused about the whole thing and because I could not even talk to Mom about it, I wanted to scream and destroy whatever my hands touched. If I told Mom, she'd say: "Werewolves and Vampires and Elves and Fairies and Ghosts and Pontianaks, whatever supernatural there is, exist only in myths. They do not exist in real life. They are just existent in fictional books. You're hallucinating, you're going crazy; I need to take you back to Dr Brown's. This time around, you're not leaving therapy. It'll be a year long session" then she'd start to cry and ask herself how this came upon her beloved first daughter. Telling mom or Dr Brown about it did not work, will never do. Even me myself I hoped beyond hopes that I would stop seeing the spooky figure, and that he'd get tired one day and stop coming to me.

"I'm human, Uncle" I said amidst unshed tears

"Half human" he replied. "That's why you're here"

"What do you mean I'm half-human? I'm totally human, I have no superpowers and I'm usually scared of people who do" I retorted. I was not having it.

"You know what? I do not need any explanation. Just take me home, and I mean my own home! I'm not camping with y'all anymore, I'm sick of this creepiness!!" I said and looked away. The moonlight shone brightly now and thunder sparked in the night sky twice and stopped, like it placed a stamp on my words, like "Hey, These words of yours is the final say". I watched him stare at the moon carefully.

"Don't you think it's pretty unusually spectacular for a child your age to be this smart, outspoken and intelligent?" He asked softly. His voice was louder now. His touch on my back felt more solid. He seemed to have got more strength in split seconds.

"There's nothing spectacular about me. I could just be a genius" i replied. "That's all"

"Okay fine, but does a genius see ghosts?" He asked again and I stared straight into his face without uttering a word. What seemed like three minutes passed and we were dead silent.

"You can see ghosts, do you know that?" He asked, breaking the silence. "I myself can't see them, but you can" i softened immediately because it was starting to get clearer

"How do you know this?"

"You see Joe every night"

"No I don't"

"You do. You sometimes wake up not remembering what dream you had. It was him blurring out the memories because even in his death, he cares about you. You do not want to see ghosts, so he just does what you want by blurring out the memories of the night" he said. I shook my head.

"I'm reading a book , aren't I? I asked no one in particular. I wanted someone to slap me and say that we were only acting a film or that I was reading a fictional novel

"No, this is real" he replied and i swallowed a lump that had formed in my throat.

"You see a spooky figure in the daytime too" I was shocked. "Don't you?" He pulled me to a seat in the garden.

"Yes I do, and I do not want to see him again" I said crying.

"Do you know who he is?" I asked him.

"No I don't. Like I said, I don't see ghosts. Look around now, do you see anyone? Just look" he said and I slowly turned, and I faintly saw him. He was far away from the castle but I could see him staring at me.

I nodded.

"If you don't want to see him again, walk up to him and tell him that, or ask him what he wants"

"But he's far away, he..." I looked towards the road again. He was gone. "He's gone"

"Then that'll be next time" he said and I nodded.

"May I show you another of your superpowers?" He asked standing up. I was curious to know. There I go again-- If anything kills me, it'll be curiousity.

I nodded and let him hold my hands as we walked towards a stable at the far end of the garden. Everywhere either had flowers or water or sea animals or gold or all or three of them .The stable was in fact very beautiful and there were very many beautiful horses with long manes. It was surreal. Honestly immediately we got there, I didn't want to go home neither did I want to go back towards the castle. I just wanted to live in the stable. The horses were white, all of them, with black and brown dots on the hairs on their bodies.