The Prince of Avalor

Chapter 4

Video not mine.  Play when there's a star.

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"Hey, Mateo!  Are you ready for town?!"  Carla asked.

Mateo looked up from his papers.  "Yep!  I haven't been in a long time.  I've been counting the days for this!"

Carla beamed.  "Then what are we waiting for?  Let's go!  Mamá isn't coming, but it will be you, me, and páppy."

"Really?"  Mateo asked.

"She says she's too busy," Carla explained.

"We leave in an hour, right?  I have a few more papers to read and sign..."

"Just sign them and be done with them.  It's not like you have any say in the matters, so why bother at the moment?  Páppy said if we were done,  we can go early and he'll meet us there."

"Ok," Mateo said as he quickly signed his remaking papers.  Carla grinned and the two siblings quickly made their way to the castle courtyard where they were met by a footman, driver, carriage, and four soldiers trailing it on horseback.  The prince and princess got into the carriage and Mateo bit his lower lip from his excitement and nervousness that he had begun to develop.

"Relax," Carla chuckled as they began to ride their way into the village.  "It's civilians, they're excited to see you."

"Us.  Excited to see us," Mateo corrected.

The people walking in the streets to stop and look as their carriage went by.  Children pointed, some smiled and waved, while some of the adults even bowed, uncertain how they should react.  Carla and Mateo just waved back, and offered smiles as well.

Elena was sweeping the entrance to the chocolate store when she heard the commotion.  She looked up as the Royal carriage started driving by.  Stopping her chore, she looked directly at the prince, her heart stopping.  There was no way he would recognize her would he?  It had been so long ago and she hardly recognized him after all this time.  Besides, it was only that one day.

☆

Mateo looked up ahead as something caught his eye.  Something wasn't settling right in his stomach.  No sooner had the feeling washed over him when he head someone shout something in a foriegn tongue, followed it came a large blast.  The horses were freed and they ran off as the carriage flew backwards.  Mateo and Carla screamed in terror as they landed on the stone street.  Carla on top of her brother had a much softer collision, but was merely inches away from being crushed by the flipped carriage.

Screams and shouts erupted into Mateo's ears.  He hissed in pain, feeling an overwhelmingly odd familiarity about the situation.  Especially as there was a grunting sound and the carriage was lifted.

"Crawl out!"  Someone ordered.

Carla managed the get off her brother and both crawled out.  The carriage was dropped as a girl grabbed Mateo and Carla's arms.  "Let's get out of here!" She hissed as her and the boy that had also helped them quickly pushed them into the nearest building.

"Isa!  Lock the store door!"  The girl demanded the younger girl who was inside.  She looked terrified, but determined and she did as she had been asked.

"Girls!  Esteban!  Hurry!  In the safe room!"  A man ordered.

"Coming, Uncle Rual!"  The boy-Esteban?-said as he quickly pushed Carla and Mateo towards the kitchen.

"Hurry, kids.  Get in!"  An old man held a trap door open.  All the teens were in the underground room before Mateo could even stutter a word.  Soon, all of them were in the room and a woman was lighting lamps.

"What the heck just happened?"  Carla  finally sputtered out.

"Another terrorist attack.  There's been these group of wizards that have throwing random attacks Tye past decade.  You should know this.  Are you foriegn?"  The woman lighting the lamps asked.

"Mami," the older girl interrupted.  "This is Prince Mateo and Princess Carla."

"Elena?"  The man (Esteban's uncle) looked at the girl named Elena.

"I don't think this is a regular terrorist attack papi.  They went straight for the Royal Carriage," Elena said.

The others in the room stared at the two royal teens.  Mateo's face grew red.  "H-Hi?"