Searching

Chapter 1: Losing her

Arias POV

It started out a normal day. I was in the covers of my comfy bed. Life in the palace as boring as usual. I gently closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep like it was a normal night.

I woke to a familiar scream down the hall. My footsteps padded down the hall as I bounded to my sister's room. I peeked into the doorway to see a stranger to black mask there with my sister by her bright blond hair. He had a short steak knife in his hand trying to slice open my sister's forearm. Thank goodness she was squirming to much and the man seemed to give up.

He took out a bag from somewhere and easily stuffed her into it. I watched in frozen horror as he climbed back out the broken window.

I stumbled over and peeked out just to burst into tears seeing him ride away with my only sister.

When the guards found me I was crying on my sister's bed Squeezing her pillow. My grandfather came up and started yelling at me. Yelling at me for not doing anything. For letting the criminal get away. The more he yelled the more I cried. I cried and cried until my father came. He had lost mother when Kiara was born. I was only 6 when she passed. I remembered the smell of her Lilly pads on the water. Her kind hazel eyes, my father said they were like mine. Now that he had also lost my sister, he was devastated. He stood there, shaking. Scared for me, for Kiara. But I was only scared for him. He'd been through too much, too many losses. He stared at me dumbfounded.

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault." I said now that we were in the dining hall. He had got me apple cider. My favorite. It warmed my body, the cinnamon flavor lingering on my tongue. My father hugged me more tightly.

"It's never your fault, princess. Never." He had said it with more honesty then I had ever heard anyone say.

1 month later

I lounged on my window seat, staring out into the woods in a comfy plain dress. Memories with my sister shifted through my mind making my eyes water. Not tears, just water. A knock at the door shook me out of my trance.

"Yes?" I wiped my watery eyes with the back of my sleeve.

"Your majesty, it's time for the funeral." The butler Jonathan said. They gave up looking for my sister. Right after she was taken. My dad had sent out a search party. They tried for only a couple of weeks until they gave up. (crappy parenting if you ask me)

I nodded signaling him to leave. I wanted to break down in tears and leave, forever. Even though, I made jokes with my parents saying I was enough, I still loved my sister, more than anything. More than the stupid things she said and did. My emotions slipped away from me as I started to cry.

I cried about all the bad times I had with her. All the good times. All the stupid memories I shouldn't be crying about. How much tears could be in a 16 year old girl. I mean probably not that many.

Another knock came to my door.

"Go away!" I yelled, not caring who it was. Though, against my will the door slowly opened, and my dads head popped in.

"Hey princess, you okay?" I turned my head to look back out the window, and the gray, cloudy sky.

My Dad came and sat down next to me, staring in the same lifeless world.

"I'm sorry Aria." my dad whispered into my ear.

"Why? It was my fault..." I answered. At that, my amazing dad just sat stroking my hair, while I leaned my head against his comforting heartbeat. After a couple of minutes my dad lifted my chin and kissed my forehead.

"Its time, princess." he said and got up and left. I took a shaky breath and stood. This might be the end of my sisters story, but it's the beginning of mine.

I walked into my closest to a black dress laid out on a velvety chair. I pulled of my clothes that were already wet, thanks to my salty tears. The dress was simple, with black lace lining the bottom. It had long sleeves with gloves that just covered my hands. I pulled the dress over my head. It was about knee length. I went to the vanity that sat at the foot of my bed,grabbed a brush and pulled it through my messy dirty blond hair.

The birds nest of a hair I have was about a foot long. Today I left it lose. I went to the door, took a deep breath, and opened the dark brown wood. The palace workers seemed less active than usual. They were moping around and doing things slower. Looks like I wasn't the only one missing Kiara. Just thinking her name made me sad. I found my way outside to where the funeral was.

The sky was cloudy. It reminded me of the time Kiara wanted to go sledding. It was almost winter and Kiara and me begged to go outside just to see the first snow. We waited and waited on the palace lawn laying on our backs talking about the most random of things. Until the first snow flake came floating down and landed in the palm of my hand. I quickly stood up as the rest of the snowflakes fell. Kiara's laugh was the best thing I had heard that week.

With all the confusion of the Kiara's kidnapping it seemed odd to remember her laugh.

" Your majesty," said the voice that woke me from the hole of my thoughts. I looked to see Jonathan the butler in front of me.

" You don't have to call me that you know." I told him. He smiled and said;

"Aria, you look very nice this evening." I gave him my best half smile as he lead me to my seat next to my dad.

" Hey princess." He said as I sat in the simple chairs. They were like Kiara. Simple but still amazing and sturdy, and could make it through anything.

" Hi dad."

A couple minutes after I sat down, an old man about 50 came to the front. It would have looked like a wedding to the naked eye, besides all the black and gray.

" We gather here today in honor of Kiara, Ann, Jeneson. She was the youngest edition to the royal family..." his voice was drowned out by another memory.

It was the first time Kiara put on pants. She usually wore dresses full of color. Today she wanted to try something new. She slid on the pants and said,

" They feel like bubbles." She was three and I was nine. I laughed and hugged her. She was small enough to pick up but she hated it. If someone were to pick her up she would squirm until she slid back onto the floor.

" I'm a big girl. No one touches big girls." She had a surprisingly big word variety at a young age that she would use.

Before I noticed what I was doing I silently laughed out loud. When my dad heard me he glanced at me and put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed me. When it was my grandpa's turn to go up he started with,

" Kiara's death was dear to me and I would have done anything to prevent it," he looked at me and continued " I wish I could have been there to stop the criminal. But we can't stop this from us not moving forward. This minor setback can lead us to a brighter future.

I stared at him.

" we can mourn for her death or step forward and make this an opportunity."

At this point I wasn't sure I was hearing him strait.

" we can rebuild and make her room another safe for money."

I was done. I stood up abruptly in my seat and yelled.

"What is wrong with you!" Everyone stared at me and I didn't care.

" Do you think she was just another Pearson?!" He glared at me and continues his stupid speech.

" We can fix this and make it better."

"Do you even hear me!" I yelled and he continued.

" Of course you don't! Nobody does anyway!" I screamed and ran. I ran for the woods. Before I made it I heard my dad yell my name. I didn't listen. I kept running. But I knew I couldn't run away from my thoughts. That's the day I vowed never to cry again. Not in front of a crowd not in front of anybody ever again.

Not even my dad.