Silver: The Lost Royal

7| Gema

♛
Silverein ~ sil-ver-reyn
Wlerden ~ wuh-ler-den
Wyrione ~ why-ree-uh-ne
Pearli ~ purl-ahy
Golder ~ gohld-er
Rubian ~ roo-bee-uhn
Emeraldine ~ em-er-uhld-deen
Sapphirian ~ saf-ahyuhr-uhn
♛

GEMA cleared her throat to break the growing silence.

"The task ahead of us is finding out which of them is the princess. We're gonna have to work as a team but to do so, we have to be transparent with each other. You both have agreed to be our informants, meaning you'll be sharing information with us. But it works both ways." Her eyes flitted between each person before they settled on Karyn. "Ryn, you've been here all your life. Have you ever noticed anything strange in this town or out of place?"

One thing Gema noticed about Karyn was how thoughtful she was. She witnessed it over the past week with Karyn's not-so-discrete questions, but that was a good thing. It meant Karyn wasn't someone who would make hasty decisions without thinking it through. She admired that about her.

"Not that I can think of."

Gema observed Karyn's subtle body language, noticing the slight tension in her shoulders and the way her brows came together ever so slightly. The pursed lips and the small frown etched on her face spoke volumes as if Karyn's internal struggle was manifesting itself physically.

She could tell that there was more to Karyn's response, a hidden truth in the unspoken words that lay behind Karyn's guarded expression.

"No strange occurrences?" Jamie asked, and Gema couldn't decipher what flashed in Karyn's eyes.

"Why do you ask? And also why did we have to come all the way here? Couldn't we have done this somewhere in town, like Larry's?"

"It's not safe in town," Jamie said.

Zack's hands came up to cross at his chest. "How?"

"My aunt gave a similar warning earlier. Though I feel she said that, so I wouldn't spend a lot of time outside."

"She cares for you that much?" Zack asked, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"Way more than you can even imagine," Karyn replied, a sardonic smile tugging at her lips.

Gema knew little about Karyn's situation at home, but from what she gathered, it didn't sound like a happy one. If that was truly the case, Gema understood how difficult it could be to navigate a troubled home life.

After all, she was no stranger to family dysfunctions.

"But why do you feel it's not safe?" Karyn asked.

"We've come across some... bad people in town. A lot of them, actually," Gema said.

Karyn's brows knitted in confusion. "What do you mean bad people?"

"We need the princess to do good, but if these people get to her, they can turn her against her kingdom and use her for their evil purposes before we can get to her."

"What makes you sure they'll do that?"

Sometimes, it bothered her how Zack's inquiries always seemed to cast suspicion on her or anyone he questioned. Even if his face showed nothing, she could hear it as clear as day in his voice. But then again, that could be one of his tactics for gathering information.