Elemental Empires

{Chapter 25}

Mia wiped her tears as her mother collapsed into a crying heap into her fathers arms. She moved closer to see who the other man was.

He was a bald, unshaven man with a paunch that struggled to escape from the leather clutches of the belt at his waist. Surrounding him were three more people. A tall, lanky woman with multiple ear piercings and two, little girls standing with them that bickered on who would steal the doll lying in front of them.

She wouldn't have recognized them at all if she hadn't looked closely at the eyes of one of the little girl's. She had no pupil.

"Wait-", her gaze rushed over to the other girl's eyes and they were -as she had predicted- purple.

"The Sangfwads!?", Mia shouted as her adoptive mum and dad looked at the baby with greed and lust evident in their eyes.

"Wait, if that's the Sangfwads, those are my parents..then the baby must be me?", Mia tried to join the scattered pieces of the puzzle of questions forming in her head.

Mia brushed her thoughts aside as she looked at her mum hand the Sangfwads two vaguely familiar boxes. Her parents then looked sadly at the baby one last time and chanted something.

The Sangfwads vanished in a flurry of Black crystals. The couple sank to the floor, clutching each other for comfort as Miranda shuffled about awkwardly before leaving the weeping couple alone to mourn.

Mia wandered aimlessly around, not able to see the state of her parents anymore as a hundred questions tangled up her thoughts, restraining her from thinking properly.

How can the baby be me when I'm right here? Where are Kira and Cathy? Where in the name of hell am I? Why were the Sangfwads and Miranda here? What was in those two boxes?

She stumbled over a bump in the road and came back to her senses, she realized that she had absent-mindedly strayed back to the palace she escaped from. Venom's palace. She looked up and to her surprise it was being painted black! The shimmering domes were now coated with black paint, it's gold hidden under the dull, opaque goo.

"What the hell? Can things get any weirder?", Mia said, frustrated as she walked past the palace when suddenly she heard muffled voices from the palace.

Mia stopped in her tracks when a scream followed which was quickly cut-off abruptly.

"Kira?", Mia whispered and ran closer to the palace. She put her ear on the wall and listened.

"Help. He-help," a female voice begged hoarsely. "No, please".

"Kira!", Mia frantically scaled the wall, trying to find a way to reach the voice which seemed to be coming from inside the walls." I'm coming!".

Mia ran her hands over the smooth, painted walls when she found a tiny hole. She crouched low and peeked through it.

It was a dusty, dark room with no doors and only one tiny window throwing in slanted rays of pale sunlight. A young man of about 21 with slick, black hair and piercing, serpent-like eyes stood in the room wearing luxurious clothes and an oversized crown on his head which tilted to the left. He laughed softly before he spoke in a rich, smoky voice.

"You'll stay safe here darling Mummy and Daddy. Starved of Food and Water and all the nasty things that could help keep you alive. A simple death, no messy murder business", he stopped to roll his beady eyes and grimace before continuing." I'll bury you right here. Since I love you, I'll let you pick out the exact spots here where you want to be buried," he grinned like a Cheshire cat and Mia would have thought he was mad, talking to himself if she hadn't caste her eyes downwards.