Summerguard

CHAPTER 12: Queen's Palace

~PAXTON~

Hyper doesn't begin to describe my state of mind. I was highly drunk on the excitement of flying out of the country for the first time. Poor Chrysos is asleep on my shoulder as we are on the plane en route to London. It's a seven-hour flight from New York City to London and I had exhausted her all night yesterday. I was like a puppy asking her so many questions and practicing my English accent which she greatly despised. She threatened me that if I ever spoke like that again, I would be sleeping on the couch in the attic the whole vacation. Yeah, I shut up after that.

Besides the debatable fact that my English accent is subpar, Chrysos is insistent that Nicole and I also take a vacation. That meant no surveillance, secret gadgets, and definitely all-out loosey-goosey. Whatever that means. But really I interpreted it as 'we can't do that stuff in England'. Well, technically, right now we are over the Atlantic Ocean. So I pull out my notebook from my backpack and find a gorgeous picture of the Beaumont manor. It used to be the Beaumont family home that is traditionally passed down from successor to successor. But now that tradition has been overtaken by modern times, the mansion is now a summer home.

According to Chrysos, the baroque-style manor is not that big compared to what we see on television, but knowing her, she is completely underestimating my definition of small. When I think of small, I see my old family apartment where there were only two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and three siblings, plus my mom and me.

Fortunately, the estate is in the countryside so the strategic location will be out of the prying eyes of the public and its remoteness will least likely catch the attention of the more metropolitan gang. But, that does not excuse for complete ease. Bennet is sitting behind me and quietly labeled all entrances and exits just by the photo and his memory. Unleashing my childhood Narnian fantasies, he informs me about some of the hidden passageways created during the World War. This can definitely be used to our advantage if anyone tries to ambush us.

"Get some rest Miss. Iustus. It will be difficult to adjust to the hours in the UK," Bennet pats me and closes his eyes.

I try to close my eyes and fall asleep, but my crooked mind can't seem to lend me its mercy even as happiness is right beside me. The last time I had a vacation was when I was turning sixteen and my father was still alive. For my sweet sixteen, my parents saved up some of their pay to get us a trip to Canada. We built so many fond memories of riding a ferry in Niagara Falls, trying poutine for the first time, and finishing it off with a trip to the Space Needle in Toronto. My little brother and sister were so jubilant and loved running around the open spaces. My sister and I took so many pictures and made a blog about it on Instagram. It was perfect, but perfect never lasts forever. It was the last time my family would live happily ever after. Because three months later, we would be standing over my father's closed casket, the next few years we would be living on every single dollar, and two years later, I was disowned.

Tap! Tap! I bolt awake, look to the aisle next to me, and see Nicky eyeing me with worry.

"Are you okay?" she asks and I quickly nod, wiping away the sweat on my forehead.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Actually, more than fine. I am so so so super excited and it's gonna be the bestest time ever," I half-lie, hoping she would drop the subject.

"You're hilarious, Paxton. I know you're ready to hitch your wagon to a star," she winks and closes her eyes to sleep.

"Yeah, I am. So stoked," I agree, not understanding what she meant.

Ahhahaaam. Shoot, I must have woken my travel companion. Like a moron, I play dead and hold my breath. I feel her head lift off my shoulder and hear her stretch herself out. For a minute nothing happened, but then I feel a hand suddenly underneath my chin, squeezing my cheeks.