Red Eyes and Roses

Chapter 22

Like any normal person would, I go to scream. No sound comes out. My voice is muffled by a hand over my mouth.

"Annabella, be quiet!" Zaide's voice comes as a whisper from behind me. I snap around, expecting to suddenly have night vision and be able to see him. Of course, I'm met with total darkness, but the hand over my mouth falls with my movement. "We don't know what happened up there because our mother thinks we're too young," I can picture his eyes rolling as he speaks, "but what we do know is that you're hurt. So, here we are, to help you and prevent our brother from doing any more damage." The anger in this sixteen-year-old voice shocks me. They got mad at their brother during dinner for disrespecting me, but they're even angrier now.

A hand gently grabs at my own. Automatically, I flinch away from the person and tuck my hand in close. It's too dark for me to know who is in here and, for all I know, it could be a demon. "You're okay, Annabella," my body relaxes instantly upon hearing Alessio's voice. I should have known that the twins wouldn't be far apart. My hand lowers from my chest and I breathe normal again. I whisper a thank you into the darkness around me, my gratitude shining through in my voice. The boys take this as a good time to each grab one of my hands. As per usual, whenever someone grabs my hand, I'm taken back home and to memories of my sister. This time, I don't let the sadness take over my body. I smile at the thought of her.

I'm drawn from my thoughts when my hand is gently tugged. My legs follow the movement and soon we're walking forward. The boy behind me places a hand on my back in what I'm hoping is an attempt at keeping me moving. I don't even have to be able to see to know that Alessio is the one behind me.

The three of us walk through the room to what I'm assuming is a door in the wall. I hear Zaide open it, but I also hear it squeak on it's hinges. He tightens his grip on my hand and tugs me through the opening. The hand on my back shoves me forward lightly. Our pace changes until we're almost running down the hall.

Nerves begin to creep up inside of me. I need a distraction. "How did you two know I needed help?" It occurs to me that I should ask this, so I whisper out my questions. "And how did you know where I was?" The confusion I'm suddenly feeling masks the fear of their brother.

The hall around me remains silent. Rather than answering my question, I feel Zaide squeeze my hand slightly. Despite how they're younger and less powerful than their brother, neither twin seems to have any fear of him. They're helping me, the King's guest, run away from him. As I put more thought into it, I realize that none of the siblings seem to have any fear of their brother. Each one has put time into defending me and protecting me from him. None of them have forced me anywhere near him. A smile inadvertently climbs onto my face. The King might scare me, but he doesn't scare his family. If I have any hopes of escaping this place I'm going to need their help. I have no choice.

Zaide leads us down the hallway for a short while longer. I notice that we must be getting close because his pace changes. Out of nowhere, light floods the hall and I'm dragged into another room. As my eyes adjust to the sudden light, I mumble out another thank you to the twins. No matter how many times I say it, it won't be enough to show exactly how thankful I am. I look around at the room we're now standing in. There's a dark couch with two matching recliners pressed against the back wall. Directly across from that is a television set, complete with a gaming console and piles of games. The wall with the door on it also contains a tall bookshelf covered in novels. Right behind where I'm standing is a ping pong table. Finally, right beside the couch, is a small refrigerator. Laughter booms through the room. I turn back to the twins who are now seated in the chairs. Both have light in their eyes and laughter on their faces. It doesn't take a mirror for me to know that my jaw is dropped at the room around me.

"Welcome to our hideout," Alessio's voice is full of excitement as he leans his chair back. "Our dear brother has no idea that we redecorated this room. It was just an empty room used for storage. With some help," he gestures to the definitely teenage boy designed room, "we managed to create our own secret hiding spot." A smile grows on my face with each word he says. Cerin has no clue that this room even exists. On slow moving feet, I walk across the room and sit down on the couch between the boys. My whole body relaxes back into the soft pillows immediately. There's a low chance of their brother finding me in here.