The Lost Boy (Sequel to The Lost Realm)

Chapter Seven

My eyes flicker open from a dreamless sleep. Outside my window my natural alarm clock rises in the sky, powering another day.

I sit up and a sigh escapes me.
"Nothing. Nothing," The word pulses through me.

I change into a hoodie and jeans (courtesy of my stylist Sylvia) and head down to the breakfast parlor, slipping the letters into my pocket.

The breakfast parlor is a little room with windows facing the sunrise, and one large table set everyday for the dining of the "royal family"- I can never get over that word. I'm from a tourist town in America, not Buckingham Palace.

Once I enter the doors of the parlor I immediately regret it.

At the table sits Snow, Charming, Ana, and Sam. All of whom are staring at Sylvia and Hook, who stand at the end of the table opposite me.

Last night Sylvia didn't get the chance to break the big news, and by the look of the scene in front of me, I'm starting to think the time has come.

Everyone's attention averts towards me.

"Good morning sweetheart!! Sleep well?" Mama Snow says smiling at me. I catch a flash of relief bolt across Sylv's eyes.

"Very good," I answer, taking a seat next to Sam. "So, what's going on?"

"Hook and Sylv have some news for us," Charming says with a smile on his face, that won't last long.

I smile back and grab a muffin from one of the trays of food in front of me. All of our attention turns back to the newly weds.

Panic glitters through Sylv's eyes. The same reaction mirrored by Hook. Honestly they don't have much to worry about, they're married and settled. Then again I'm still not sure how my parents react to everything.

"Me and Hook just wanted to say," She stops for a second and looks around the room. "That we completely forgive Arabella, and that we believe what happened at the wedding was connected with a letter she recieved a few months ago. A letter she did not tell anyone about."

I stare at her, dropping my muffin in the process. Hook looks just as shocked as I, only joy shines through his eyes.

"Honey you received a letter?" Snow asks, the attention once again on me.

"Um yah, two actually, one of them yesterday." I answer back, watching as Hook and Sylvia sick back down.

"How could not tell us?" She says angrily.

"I just couldn't," I answer back with the same level of intensity.

"May we see them?" Charming asks, calming the scene.

I nod and pull them out of my pocket. They collect them and study them.

"What happened to you yesterday? Are you sure this isn't some part of a joke?" Snow asks looking up.

I tell her about the first letter, then about the scene at the wedding. Both her and Charming listen intently, looking for an answer I hadn't already come up with.

"That sounds like powerful magic," Charming says.

"It felt like it," I say.

"Do you recognize the handwriting?" Ana asks.

They both shake their heads.

"Honestly I'm not sure what this is," Charming says shaking his head.

Snow's face gains a strange expression, "There is a man you can talk to. A very powerful sorcerer-"

"No. He-he isn't around anymore," Charming interjects, his face accented with a mix of fear and anger.

He looks back at his food and the rest of us do the same.

A silence passes through the room, muffled only by the clinging of forks and the swallows of each person.

"I'm going to the forest," I say, rising out of my seat.

Everyone nods.

I get halfway to the door when I turn around.
They all look at me in confusion.
My eyes go from Sylvia to Hook, then back to my parents.

"I may have hid this from you, but I'm not the only one with secrets," I say with a trace of venom.

I quickly turn and briskly walk out the door, escaping the fuse I'd just lit.