THE INTRODUCTION CEREMONY [2]

Soon, the meditation realm was over and she stepped out. "Tell me, my Princess," the announcer inquired, "what did you observe?" The princess paused for a moment, her eyes downcast. Then she looked up and replied, "I saw nothing." The crowd was stunned when the Princess replied to the announcer, "I saw nothing." The King was angered and asked, "What kind of insult is this?" "Your Majesty, I assure you, I did not intend to insult you," Princess Polami replied to the King. "I saw nothing." It is acceptable. There are many such cases, and they occur frequently. You need not be concerned, Princess. Now, let us proceed to the next phase of the test, which is the test of the twelve elements. Hanta and Sonya were determined to disrupt the induction ceremony of their step-sister, Princess Polami. They had learned that if Polami were to complete the ceremony, she would acquire supernatural powers that would make her virtually invincible. Hanta and Sonya could not allow this to transpire, for they knew that if Polami were to gain these powers, she would use them to further her own ambitions and consolidate her power. Therefore, Hanta and Sonya withdrew from the gathering to go to their secret chamber to plot their strategy for disrupting the ceremony. "Did you collect the sweat from Romel?" Sonya asked Hanta. "I did," Hanta replied. "I extracted it from his shirt, as per your instructions. The task was somewhat challenging, but I managed to obtain a quantity of his sweat on a handkerchief." 

Suddenly, Sonya began intoning soft incantations. Polami was immediately entranced and seemed to fall under Sonya's spell. What was Sonya trying to accomplish? Was she merely attempting to impress Polami with her magical prowess, or was she attempting to control her? Sonya attempted to make Polami dance to her tune, but the force surrounding Polami was too powerful. What was Sonya trying to accomplish? Did she want to control Pomila, or was she trying to free Polami from some unseen force? Sonya had been eagerly anticipating meeting Polami, the young sorceress who had been the talk of the wizarding community for weeks. Sonya had a plan to impress Polami with her magical prowess, but she was disappointed when her plan did not succeed. The force surrounding Polami was so potent that Sonya could not penetrate it. In the trial room, Carmella, Polami's biological sister, glanced around and saw that Hanta and Sonya, the twins, were nowhere to be found. They were two grown adults, so they couldn't have gone missing suddenly. Where could they be?

Carmella slipped out of the wedding ceremony to find Hanta and Sonya. She knew that they were unhappy with the ceremony and that they wanted to disrupt it. But she didn't know why they were so upset and what they were planning to do. She was determined to find out. The hallway was long and dimly lit, and the sounds of footsteps echoed on the marble floor. As she walked, she scanned the faces of the passing maids, hoping to catch a glimpse of Hanta or Sonya. She stopped several of them and asked if they had seen either of the girls, but they all shook their heads and continued on their way. As Princess Carmella walked through the palace, she saw Sayee, her sister's maid, coming toward her. "Sayee," she said, "I really need your help." Sayee stopped. "With what?" she asked. "I can't find Sonya and Hanta!" Carmella exclaimed. "What are you looking for them for?" Sayee asked Carmella. Carmella replied, "I'm afraid they might try to disrupt your sister's introduction ceremony." "Why are you concerned about Sonya and Hanta disrupting your sister's introduction ceremony?" Sayee asked. "I know they don't like your sister, but I don't think they would go that far," Carmella replied. "They have always been against my sister," she added. "What makes you think that way?" Sayee asked. "Their sudden disappearance in the middle of the ceremony is enough to arouse my suspicions," Carmella replied.

What is the next course of action? inquired Sayee, looking at Carmella with concern. I do not know, replied Carmella, but we must first locate them. We cannot simply sit here and await their arrival.

'You are right, let's go look for them' Sayee said, dropping the towels in her hand. The King was not too focused on the ceremony, his mid was on something else when he suddenly realized that most of his children were no where near the ceremony. He became anxious and sent signals to the chief guard to look for his children and where they went to.

Sayee and Carmella were assigned the task of finding the twins, who had disappeared from the palace. They searched high and low, leaving no stone unturned, but their efforts were in vain. They couldn't find the twins anywhere.

Then they decided to go to their room but no one was there. 'My Princess, it seems no one has been here for over three hours' Sayee said when the Princess opened the door to the twins' room. 

Carmella regarded the open door of the room with suspicion. She knew that the occupants would not leave their room open for any reason. But why had they left it open? And what was the reason for their departure?

Princess Carmella and Sayee moved slowly into the twins' room. 'My Princess this is a mistake, we need to look for them else-where' Sayee said. 'Shh. Look around for anything suspicious' Carmella replied. After a while she could not here Sayee's foot-steps behind her. She turned back and then "BLACK-OUT".

BACK AT THE CEREMONY

'My King the Princess has passed two fazes with one left, the test of blood' The Announcer said to the King. 'Very well then, bring forth the Royal Duggar' the King commanded. The dagger was on a pillow like structure, covered and brought by Yulo. The dagger was then given to announcer who said some incantations and went further to trying to cut open Princess Polami's wrist when suddenly...

[BLACK-OUT]