The Princess of Eden

Chapter 2

It had been ten years since Sia had heard the story of the Lost Princess from her mother. At that time, she had thought it was a wonderful story of another world with people having different powers. It was like a fairytale world. But she had no idea why her mother had whispered that she had a destiny to fulfill.

Since that day, her life has been very normal. Nothing out of the ordinary. Unless you count those few times she felt as if she was being watched. Other than that, she was pretty much just a normal teenager with a normal life.

It was her birthday today, 19th August. She was turning 20 today. Her mother decided to throw a party. Only her 2 best friends were coming. She didn't want it too crowded, herself and her mother with her two best friends; nothing too special. She was skeptical about the party at first, as she had social anxiety when near large crowds, but gave in after some pleading from her best friends as they wanted to taste her mom's wonderful food.

She had just finished her last class of the day and was returning from college when a girlish voice called out.

"Rivers wait up. I have to ask you something."

Sia turned around to see whose voice was calling her to find out it was Quinn. She groaned. Quinn was not exactly your typical mean girl in a college. She was just very annoying, constantly disturbing people to do her work so she could enjoy herself. And if they refused, she made sure that she was constantly bugging them. If Quinn wanted to talk, it could only mean one thing.

"What do you want Quinn? I need to go home, my mom is waiting."

"Nothing much. I am throwing a spa party this evening and you are coming, get it. No excuses. And btw, make sure to bring your cute guy best friend as well." Saying this she winked and left.

Seriously? There was no chance she was going to miss her own birthday party to arrange a spa date for Quinn, that too with her best friend Michael.

She took her phone and dialed Michael's number. "Michael, you there? Good. So Quinn is arranging a spa date this evening and she wants me to come with you. Well obviously I can't go because I have my own birthday party to attend. So can you call her and tell her I'll come tomorrow with you. Yeah? Thanks!" saying this she hung up.

She quickly continued on her way home. While passing through the exit of the college, she noticed several guys staring at her. Creeps. She ignored them and continued walking. Just as she exited the gate, she felt a cold shiver and turned around and no one was there. Dismissing it, she continued walking.

Her mom's apartment was not too far away so she usually walked home after college, but on some rare occasions took the cab when she felt like someone was following her.

She finally reached the apartment building and took the lift to the 2nd floor. As soon as she got out, she heard two voices shouting at each other. She followed the source of the voices and found that it was coming from her own apartment. Upon closer inspection, she recognized one of the voices to be her mother's and the other some man's.

Sia couldn't contain her curiosity and decided to listen to their conversation.

"You came here in vain, Dorman. I am not letting you take her there. I left that place years ago."

"Exactly. Why did you leave your homeland to live with these puny mortals?"

"For the sake of my daughter!" shouted her mother angrily.

However, the man didn't seem eager to respond so quickly. "I am not taking no for an answer. Your daughter is prophesied to be one of the four to lead the search for the lost princess. The other three are already there. She must come fast. You cannot fight a prophecy, Maria. She must come. She belongs to the kingdom of Eden."

At this Sia withdrew my ears from the door. She tried to make sure if it wasn't a stupid dream. Was the land of Eden even real?

Unable to control her curiosity anymore, she rang the doorbell. She heard the voices stop talking, and after a while the door flung open. Her mother hugged her and dragged her inside. She finally got a view of the man. He seemed to be a few years older than her mother. He had shiny black hair and was wearing a black suit. He was sitting lazily on their couch, looking bored.

Without saying anything, Sia moved towards the man. Her mother's expression dropped. Apparently, she could make out that her daughter had heard them talking.

"How much did you hear?" her mother asked her.

"That he is here to take me to the supposedly existing kingdom of Eden and that you don't want me to go and that I am supposed to find the missing princess whose story you told me years ago along with 3 more people."

At this, the man finally seemed interested. He got up and said, "You are correct. The Land of the Elements is real. Many of us have a special aura which lets us manipulate the elements to do our biding. You are one of us. You are one of the members of the squad who is supposed to lead the quest for the search. You must come there with me. Or else the king will send guards to take you forcefully. I am trying to ensure your safety."

His words made Sia sink in the couch. So many questions were running through her head. From what her mother told her, the king could be cruel and her mother's life was in danger. The best bet would be to accept the offer.

Besides, Sia had always wanted to visit the magnificent kingdom of Eden during her childhood. She finally had the chance now, why not go?

Completely dismissing the dangers that might be awaiting her, she told the Man she was ready. Her mother looked like she aged 10 years in the span of a few minutes. She also sat down on the couch.

The man smiled. "You have made the right choice. You will be sent for the quest after training for a month there. I shall go now. I will come tomorrow to take you there. Enjoy your birthday Sia, for you have a hard challenge awaiting you."

Saying this he vanished, literally, in thin air! The air seemed gloomy. Her mother was silently sobbing. She turned to her mother. "Do not worry about me mother. If I don't go, you might get in danger. I promise I will return back to you in one piece."

Saying this, she hugged her mother tightly.