Chapter 47: Just a usual prison day

Francine

"Are you sure that was a good idea?"

"I am," I spoke sternly. "Prince Augustus wanted to meet Charlie. I could not stop him from meeting her. Besides, he wanted answers. Anyone in his shoes would do the same,"

Nicole sighed. "Jeremiah didn't,"

At this point, everyone in the cell knew who Jeremiah was and the relationship we shared. Brother was a bit over-protective, while Jamie jumped around in excitement and asked me for details.

Brother defended. "Maybe, he did - from what you have told us about him. I cannot accept the fact that he did not bother knowing answers,"

Nicole argued. "Then why isn't he here?!"

Brother argued back. " 'Tis not possible for him to be here. The guards shall not allow him in,"

Jamie added. "He does not have the same privileges as we do,"

I sighed. "He's right, Nicole. 'Tis not possible for him to be here. Besides, Phobias could not get through to him, remember? There's no way Jeremiah knows where we are,"

I wish he did, though. I wish he knew where/ how we were right now. He would have known how to cheer me up. However, I should remember that it was for a good reason that he was not around.

Brother interrupted. "We should focus more on McCrae than your lover right now, Liz. Speaking of McCrae, where the hell is Darlene? She should've been here by now."

"He's not my lover," I muttered under my breath.

Brother retorted. "He's not your friend, either."

"Bro-" Before I could defend, Nicole stopped the two of us. "Guys, we can talk about Jeremiah later. Right now, we have a bigger fish to fry."

Brother apologized. "Sorry darling, you're right. Liz, we shall talk about this soon enough."

I rolled my eyes at him, a small smile on my face. "I shall turn twenty-one in four days, brother. I have grown up! Can you stop with your over-protective nature now?!"

"Never!" He grinned. "No matter how much you grow up, you shall always be my baby sister - my princess beautiful,"

My smile widened. "And you, my prince charming."

Nicole stared at us strangely. "Why do I feel so weird all of a sudden?"

Brother and I both laughed.

"Relax, Nicole. 'Tis just sibling-love, that's all. No need to get all 'weirded out' by this."

Jamie added. "Yes, they have always been this way! When these two were young children, no princess was ever so beautiful to compare to Francine in Sam's eyes and vice versa in Francine's case,"

"Okay, if you say so. It's still weird,"

Brother and I said in unison. "'Tis not!"

Jamie chuckled. "I am glad you two have not lost your weird connection, yet."

Brother smiled. "We're siblings, Jamie. No matter what happens - the connection Liz and I share can never fade or be replaced,"

Darlene strolled inside the dungeons, a wide grin on her face.

"Hello, fellas!" She greeted us.

"Darlene!" Brother screamed in joy. "We've been anticipating your arrival. What is the news?"

"Let me in, first. Then we can talk."

---

"Charlie and Prince Augustus have joined hands to take down McCrae. So, as of right now, we have an addition to the team. Charlie just informed me last night that they've been contacting all of McCrae's associates and gathering evidence. Might as well say, the progress is great!" Darlene explained.

I felt my shoulders relax a bit. It was as if the burden was lifted from my shoulders. Jamie fist-bumped in the air with ecstasy. Brother grinned and Nicole just danced, or well, tried to dance as she was still healing.

"That's great news, Darlene! Finally, we'll be out of this hell-hole, Francine can get her crown, and we all can get back to our usual lives!" Nicole sang, happily.

"Do not be too excited right now, Nicole. You all are not out of this place, yet." Darlene reminded.

"But we should celebrate the small victories along the way!" Nicole retorted. "It's been a while since I've heard a piece of good news. I have the right to celebrate!"

"Aye, agreed. However, I was not done yet."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What else do we need to know?"

"McCrae has joined hands with King Aurelius to take over Titania," Darlene informed.

Our eyes widened in surprise.

"What?!"

Darlene shrugged her shoulders. "You heard me,"

"Why does this always happen to us?!" Nicole said, exasperated. "The minute we think everything's gonna be alright...we find out something big!"

"'Tis like a never-ending mess now. If Aurelius and McCrae are working together - I do not know if we can get out of this labyrinth," Jamie spoke.

"We shall," I declared. "We have to get out of this mess. We cannot forget that Charlie and Prince Augustus are working together too. Four more days, people. We shall see a new day,"

Brother smiled. "You sound so much like our old man now. You deserve that throne, Liz. Right now, I cannot think of anyone who could be a perfect fit for the throne except you,"

I smiled. I may not have always wanted to be a queen, however, at this moment, I knew there was no one else who would be a better ruler. Let's just say I grew into accepting the role of a Queen.

A Titanian Queen.

"Someone once said, 'You're not what the kingdom needs, you're what the kingdom deserves," I repeated my brother's words to him to see if he remembered telling me that. As predicted, he did.

Brother grinned. "At the moment, you are both what our kingdom needs and deserves."

All of us smiled and it was as if the tension had dissolved for the moment. We went back to cracking jokes and laughing our hearts out, forgetting what our tomorrow held. This was something we always did when everything around us seemed to be crashing down. Even if I did tell them to have hope and that we'd live to see another day - I was anxious, myself.

However, seeing all of them laughing and giggling and reverting to how we all were before our life screwed up calmed me down. We'd make it out alive. McCrae would be executed for his crimes. I'd be crowned Queen. Jamie and Darlene would return to their kingdom. Brother and Nicole would get engaged and someday get married. As for Charlie? I wasn't sure what plans she had for the future. Maybe...ending up with the Prince one day?

Hey! I did see how he talked about her - 'twas as if she was the only person that mattered and the fact that he wanted to know the whole story from her, made me think that the Prince did, in fact, care about her. I may not know much about the Prince, however, I could say when someone cared. He did.

After a while of laughter, Darlene stood up. "Guess 'tis time for me to take my leave. See you guys at the coronation,"

We stood up, hugging her in turns and bidding farewell for the time being. Finally, 'twas my turn to hug her.

"See you on the brighter side, Darlene."

She hugged me tighter. "See you on the brighter side, Your Highness,"

---

"Your food has arrived," I heard someone say as they knelt as passed the trays. However, that voice...wasn't of someone we knew. Was he a new guard? Brother and I locked our gazes for a split second and I could feel that he thought the same.

"Hey! You aren't the usual guard who serves us food - who are you?" Brother interrogated, sternly.

The only difference between the other guards and this new guard was that - he was hiding his face with a plain, black shawl. Even in the dim lighting, I could make out the tall figure that stood on the other side of the jail.

He seemed to stammer a bit. "I-I'm new, here. I have been assigned to bring you food recently,"

Brother said, suspicious. "Old man's assigned a new guard? What if he turned a spy who worked for us? Did he not think of that?"

Jamie laughed. "Looks like your old man's getting old, Sam. He does not think before acting these days,"

Nicole defended. "Maybe he did some inquiry before allowing him. Besides he isn't our spy, is he?"

"What if the Prince sent him here?" I asked.

Brother dismissed my idea with a wave of his hand. "That is out of the question, Liz. Xavier's too busy helping Charlie to clear this mess. Plus, why would he sneak a spy in? He knows our condition already,"

"You sure have a point," I agreed with him.

"I shall be taking my leave now. I should not be here for long," The guard bowed and took his leave.

Strange.

Dismissing the thought of the guard, we dug in. These days the only food that we got was tortillas, vegetable, and a glass of water.

"I can't have this food, anymore. It's stale!" Nicole pushed the tray away.

Brother pushed the tray back to her. "You have to, darling. This is the only thing that's keeping us alive right now."

Jamie added. "Four more days, Nic. Four more days and then we are out of this hell-hole,"

I piped in. "I don't wanna have it, either. But, I promise you, we can have all your favourite ice-creams and milkshakes once we get out."

Brother nodded. "Absolutely, my dear! Absolutely."

Nicole sighed, taking the tray on her lap. "Okay, Nicole. Four more days."

"That's like a good girl," We said in unison.

Nicole laughed. "I like it bad,"