Trouble In Paradise

15. "In the immortal words of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore..."

"Why is it so dark in here? You're performing a ritual to Satan, aren't you?"

"Yes, and you shall be the next sacrifice if you don't state your business."

"N-next?"

"Yes. Now, " I turned my head from its current position on my soft pillow to look, well, squint, really, at Caleb standing in the doorway, the only source of light being the lights in the hallway, (Ah, how heartwarming it was, to see one's younger sibling quake in fear!), "what is it?"

After Torryn had dropped me home, I had come up to my room, to sleep. But, sadly and astonishingly, I discovered that I couldn't.

All this time, I had been pressing all the questions related to Elektra Queen to the back of my mind, but they didn't seem to want to be there anymore. They demanded to be the first priority.

My mind was, most of the time, quite a messed up place. My thoughts could change tracks very easily, too. For instance, I could be thinking about cute babies one minute and crows the next.

So, when I lay down in my bed, calm and alone and at peace, my thoughts managed to consume me whole. All sorts of questions started arising from all sorts of places.

What really happened to Elektra Queen? The police hadn't really revealed the details of her death, yet. Was it homicide? Suicide? Or did she simply slip on her way to the fridge and break her neck?

Also, what was wrong with that house? Maybe the elders were right, coming up with that name. The Cursed House of Paradise.

My thoughts didn't stop there and then, came the questions that had been suppressed for the longest of times.

What about Mad Batter?  Why, in Hades' name, would someone want to rob a cafe of all places?

Each question presented a new puzzle.

I had a habit of plunging my room into darkness when I wanted to sleep and I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't even notice that it was almost six in the evening. So, as a result, my room had gone from dark-as-a-pit to dark-as-Tartarus.

"Dad says it's your turn to help him with dinner today. "

Ah, yes. Today was Dad's and my turn to cook dinner. We had all divided the tasks between the four of us, based on days or sometimes, weeks.

I sighed, "Tell him, I'll be down in a minute."

                          ××××

"Careful, Princess. You will cut your fing—" my dad suddenly stopped talking, and then he turned to see that I had already managed to cut my index finger.

I held it out to him with as innocent an expression as I could muster, with a knife in one hand and one bleeding finger. He sighed and turned to get the first aid kit on the counter, that was always present whenever it was my turn to cook.

I sat down in the nearest chair, as he got the necessary things from the first aid kit. It was quite habitual for me to injure myself.

Trip over air on a daily basis?
You know it.

Hairline crack in both my legs?
Done.

Fractured ribs because I slipped and fell off the staircase of my own house?
I got quite bored of it after the first time.

Fractured my left arm because I fell off a tree and landed on it?
Achieved that one when I was 7, baby!

So, you can see, how a stupid little cut didn't freak me out in the slightest.

"Dad?"

"Hmm."

"Can I ask you something?"

He looked up from his current task, cleaning my finger of blood and looked at me curiously, "Go ahead."

"What..um..what do you think of Elektra Queen's death?"

He was a lawyer, so he had obviously heard about it.

"Well, I think that your Mom will have a coronary if she hears you even talking about the woman who was murdered hours after you left her home. Not to mention what would happen to her, if she finds out your true intentions. "
Clever brown eyes pierced mine and I almost smiled.

He knew. Of course, he did. He was, after all, my royal advisor when I was a child and ruled my kingdom of cars, dolls, unicorns, dragons and other stuffed toys. I was the princess, the ruler of my kingdom, and my dad, the royal advisor, taught me my responsibilities towards the people of my kingdom. We would sit down and discuss the different problems occurring in my kingdom and how best to solve them.

He didn't just call me a princess. He gave me a kingdom to rule and showed me what the responsibilities of that title would be. He knew the way my brain worked and the directions in which it would go. My dad was a very clever man, the second-best lawyer at the largest firm in Paradise (Mom was the best lawyer). He knew my mind was urging me to go after the mystery as a vulture went after its prey.

I pouted, "That's not an answer. "

He smiled, shaking his head, "I don't have enough information to form an opinion on this matter, Princess. Also, I don't know what exactly is going through that brain of yours, but make sure you're safe."

I raised an eyebrow. "You won't stop me?"

At this, he snorted, "Gods, no. It would be pointless, really," He gave me a small smile, "For as long as I remember, whenever it has been our turn to cook,  you have always demanded to chop the vegetables. And you also have always managed to cut your fingers. Not once did you stop trying to chop the vegetables, " He pointed at my now bandaged index finger, "You've improved quite a lot. That was the smallest cut in a long while. Remember the time you managed to cut three of your fingers?"

We both shuddered. Mom had found out and gone ballistic on Dad.

He sighed again, that serene smile still lingering on his face, "What I want to say is, that whenever you have wanted to achieve something, be it information or a tiny task like chopping vegetables, you've always made sure you achieved it. So, no, I won't stop you from doing whatever your cunning little mind is brewing. Also," this time, he grinned the impish grin that I had inherited from him, "in the immortal words of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, curiosity is not a sin, but we should exercise caution with our curiosity. So, Princess, whatever you want to do, go ahead and do it. Only, you must remember to be careful. You can do that for me, right?"

"What is going on between you father and daughter?" Mom looked at us suspiciously, entering the kitchen.

"We were talking about Harry Potter," Dad said with a straight face.

I nodded immediately, "Yes, it was a stimulating conversation as always. "

"If you say so. What's that? Did you cut your finger again? Aria, how many times have I told you..."  

Mom went on, while Dad and I got up and started with our tasks again, only this time, I managed to chop the vegetables without cutting any of my fingers.

********************************

Hello people!!

How are y'all doing?

Let me know what you think of this chapter.

Also, how is the new cover?

Until next time.

VOTE
COMMENT
SHARE

Aria: Vote if you are an accident, prone person!