16 — What Did I Do Wrong?

"I want to go back, unless you've grown deaf with age" She raised her eyebrows. "Are you?"

Emera jolted from her seat, speechless.

"What are you talking about?" Emera sighed, regaining her composure. She crossed her arms, gazing at the young lady in front of her.

"I want to gather my stuff and come here for good like you want. Without my stuff, I couldn't survive here," Zahra declared with determination.

She needed a good excuse to get there because she knew Emera wouldn't easily let her go. Her belongings and clothing served as the particular reason.

Zahra was relieved that she hadn't dressed in the outfits she had discovered in her closet when she had gotten up earlier.

Emera inspected Zahra closely. Her serious face met Zahra's confident expression, leaving her powerless.

She feared Zahra would flee again if she refused. She needed to be cautious. People have become more interested in the princess now that Emera introduced Zahra to the media and the media was sure to keep an eye on her.

"Perhaps you are still unaware, but you are no longer an ordinary girl. You are the princess of Averlyon. You cannot go back to that filthy place," Emera sternly said.

Just as Zahra was about to protest, Emera continued.

"However, I shall allow you to go only if you go with a few guards." Emera conditioned. "Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah," Zahra quickly said. "I wanna go right now though."

"At least, have some food," Emera suggested.

"No, I'm gonna get some food from there," Zahra promptly refused.

"Then, you will have the guards with you from now on," Emera gestured with her hand to her maid, who bowed and understood what she needed to do.

Emera's servant returned a few minutes later, accompanied by four guards.

"Take excellent care of the Princess. If anything goes wrong," Emera halted and did not continue her sentence.

However, the guards understood exactly what she meant. Their lives were in danger! When the Queen Dowager spoke like that, someone was certain that they would perish if anything went wrong.

Zahra hastily exited the building and boarded a vehicle in the parking lot. The driver promptly started driving, with the guards following closely behind in another car.

Thirty minutes later, Zahra recognized the familiar streets and urged the driver to accelerate as she eagerly anticipated seeing her friends.

A sudden worry crossed her mind - "What if Isaac doesn't want to meet me?" - but she quickly dismissed the thought with a firm shake of her head. She reassured herself, "No way!".

Before she knew it, they had arrived in her neighbourhood.

As soon as the car parked, she opened the door and stepped outside. Walking barefoot on the muddy ground, she dirtied her feet.

"Your Highness!" a guard shouted, struggling to keep pace with Zahra.

Despite her chubby build, Zahra had long legs that allowed her to take quick steps. She was accustomed to walking fast, as she often had to run home to beat Aziel when she sneaked out without telling him.

"Princess Zahra? It's Princess Zahra!" a young girl exclaimed.

"Princess Zahra?!" A few men and women began to gather around Zahra, surprising her.

"What the fuck?" she cursed, feeling confused by the crowd gathering around her.

"Tiana! I mean... Princess Zahra! We saw the news. You are the lost princess right?" A woman asked.

"Right, I heard that too. That's why, Aziel would buy such costly food for you! Because you were a princess!" A vendor spoke in realization.

"What? No. I'm still your old Tiana," Zahra protested.

"What are you talking about? You are the lost princess of Averlyon," a lady scoffed. "Are you gonna deny that?"

"But–" Zahra was interrupted before she could complete her sentence as Cocoa began dragging her away abruptly.

"Cocoa! Stop!" Zahra repeated nonstop but in vain.

Despite Zahra's attempts to call out to Cocoa to stop, Cocoa continued to pull her along to a secluded area.

"What's wrong?" Zahra inquired, puzzled, as Cocoa suddenly released her hand.

Zahra tried to comprehend the situation.

However Cocoa responded sarcastically, "What's wrong? Shouldn't it be obvious?!" She replied, implying that the reason for her frustration should be obvious.

Surprised by Cocoa's sudden anger, Zahra attempted to understand the cause of her friend's agitation.

Throughout their time living in the same neighbourhood, Cocoa had always remained composed even when Zahra and Sylvia engaged in playful antics. While Cocoa would express disapproval, her moments of anger were usually fleeting.

However, the Cocoa standing in front of Zahra seemed like a completely different one from the one she knew.

"Tell me," Zahra said, desperate for an answer.

"You left us. You left Issac. How could you?" Cocoa's voice trembled and broke as she pronounced her last question.

"I... I didn't," Zahra stood in shock, unable to respond, as she gazed blankly at Cocoa. Her thoughts were scrambled, making it difficult for her to comprehend her friend's words.

Cocoa walked away, leaving Zahra behind, puzzled about the recent events.

"C-cocoa!"Zahra attempted to catch up with her friend but unfortunately tripped over a rock, causing her to fall and scrape her palms and knees. A few tears managed to break free from her eyes.

"Ah," Zahra gasped and hastily tried to brush away her tears. She understood herself better than anyone; that if she allowed herself to cry at that moment, she would succumb to the overwhelming emotions she had bottled up within her. The events of the past week seemed like a horrific nightmare to her, yet she maintained faith in her ability to persevere. Zahra was confident in her strength to face any challenges that arose, though she was surprised to discover her vulnerability in the midst of it all.

"Maybe if Dad had let me meet people, I could know how to deal with them better," Zahra, gazing vacantly at her wounds, whispered to herself.

"I must go see Issac," she said as her tears had ceased and dried up.

She then rose to her feet.

Zahra's knees were bleeding, causing a few drops to fall onto the ground as she hurried to Isaac's building. Despite ringing his apartment's bell multiple times, no one answered the door. Zahra continued to ring the bell incessantly, but still, there was no response.

Growing frustrated, she shouted, "Isaac! Open the damn door!" She slammed her fists against the door increasingly agitated.

"Open the door! Please! What's wrong?! Why was Cocoa mad at me?! What did I do wrong?! Issac, please tell!" Zahra pleaded, falling to her knees, blood dripping from the wounds.

"Go away, Princess Zahra," a family high-pitched voice was heard from Zahra's back.

Upon spotting Sylvia behind her, Zahra promptly rose to her feet, ignoring the pain of her wound.

"You too?" She questioned. "What did I do wrong? At least tell me so I can fix it?"

Sylvia scoffed.

"Really? You're asking that now? Well, let me ask you this, Princess. What are you doing in our filthy building? It would be improper for you to be roaming around dressed like this and barefoot! Oh, no! You shouldn't do this. It'll be a disgrace to your royal family!" Sylvia pointed out Zahra's attire mockingly.

Zahra found herself in a state of confusion as she struggled to respond to Sylvia's harsh criticism. She cherished her friends, as they were the first friends she had ever made who had shown her the city she had grown to love.

As Sylvia walked into her apartment and abruptly closed the door, Zahra bit her lips in frustration. She watched as Sylvia shut the door before she could even reach out to her.

Zahra's gaze shifted downward, observing the bodyguards who were in a state of panic as they frantically searched for her.

"I'm sorry..." she mumbled. "I'm a disgrace to everyone. Either the people I want to protect or the ones who should be protecting me," she whispered before walking back downstairs.

"I'm sorry. Sorry, I had to do something," Zahra told the guards who seemed relieved at the sight of her.

"It's okay. We were just worried..." one of the guards smiled softly.

Zahra simply nodded and proceeded towards her former residence. The once familiar place she had called home had now been reduced to mere walls and a roof.

As she stepped inside, the dust clinging to the floor clung to her feet. Zahra made her way through the small house, opening the cupboard to find only two dresses remaining. It seemed she had overlooked these items when hastily packing up when Aziel declared that they were leaving this city.

She gathered the two dresses and scanned the room for anything else she may have missed, but found nothing else of significance.

As she was preparing to leave, she accidentally collided with an unexpected obstacle. Upon looking up, she encountered a tall, attractive, and muscular young man. Regrettably, he was someone she did not want to encounter.