Chapter 3. Outside

It has been three whole weeks since I kidnapped the princess. I haven't left the hideout during those weeks, and I knew I should go to town to check on things. By now, the people in the palace must be freaking out. A little sleuthing is in order. Nobody would ever guess that I did it. But still... I needed to be sure.

Early that morning, I left Talia without saying anything about my plan and drove to the nearest town. It was a 2-hour drive but I didn't mind it since the scenery was great and it gave me time to think. I was confident that Talia wouldn't be able to escape. The security system in place was too sophisticated. The princess didn't know the art of hacking like I do, so she was stuck in that place. Too bad for her.

I soon reached the town and parked the car outside a resto. Once I did, I took the phone from my pocket and dialed my adoptive parent's number. Got to call on the folks or they might haul me all the way to England because they miss me too much. Mum answered on the first ring.

"Iris! Where have you been munchkin? Your father and I have been very worried about you. You haven't called for 3 weeks." I could almost imagine my mum shaking her head at me while wagging a well-manicured finger. She was always one for theatrics, that woman. But I did love her with all I've got. Dad too. They gave me everything when I was stripped to nothing.

"Sorry mum," I mumbled. "You know I've always wanted to live in this place. I guess I got too sidetracked to even think of calling. I'll make it up to you and daddy."

"Aww honey," mum said wearily. "Why don't you just come back here in England? You have everything you need right here. You don't have to search for your real parents. Your father and I are more than enough. Once we die, we'll leave everything to you."

I sighed. "Don't say such things mum. You're not going to die anytime soon. And once I finish everything I need to do, I'll come home to you and daddy. Until then, just wait for me." In addition I said, "Please don't make the butler pick me up. I really need to do some stuff here."

"Okay," she said in agreement. "But if you don't call me for weeks like this, I can't promise about the butler. Oh, here's your father. He wants to talk to you."

"Iris," my daddy said in his loud intimidating voice. "Where are you pumpkin? Your mother is worried sick about you. No emails, no calls. What is happening to you? Do you want me to send in the butler?"

Oh blimey! The butler again. "No daddy, please don't send the butler." Heaven knows I have too much to handle right now to think about the annoying butler who always made it her business to snoop on me.

"I hope you're not partying there and getting high on coke," he said with a hint of regret in his voice. "We raised you to be a respectable member of the community and your mother and I will be disappointed if you take drugs."

I rolled my eyes at no one in particular. "Seriously daddy." I said in a scolding tone. "You should relax. I'll never do anything to disgrace you." On a side note, I did kidnap the princess of this country. That would be more than a disgrace. It would be death penalty for me. But I didn't tell him that. My parents didn't have any idea of my crimes.

"It's just that we miss you honey," he said sadly. "The mansion has been very quiet without you around." I felt a pang in my chest. My adoptive parents truly loved me as their own. "I miss you too daddy," I replied. "But I need to find my own way. Tell mum I love her okay? Bye..." I pushed the call end button and tossed my mobile to the passenger seat.

My parents have always been supportive of me. When they adopted me 12 years ago, they gave me everything I could wish for. Imagine having nothing at all and being adopted by two oddball millionaires who didn't have a child of their own.

They made me live in a huge mansion with my own butler and servants to cater to my every want. They gave me the best education that England had to offer. Love and affection were a non-issue because they always treated me as their own. I was well-cared for and everyone knew it. Even me.

So why then did I kidnap the princess of this country? Because I had to, that's why. It was a mission that I should do. Even if it means that she'd hate me. Even if they tried and killed me for it. Even if I hurt myself for doing it to her. I would only be whole again if I carried out my plan. Until then, I'd continue being a shell of my former self. And that wouldn't be enough. At least not for me.

My phone vibrated on the leather seat, giving me a jolt. I quickly snatched the thing and checked the number on the screen. Who is this unidentified person? "Hello?" I said after accepting the call.

"Iris, it's me."

"Brooke? I told you not to call me yet."

"Yeah I know. But I was worried sick about you. Besides, your parents keep on bothering me. They threatened to send that freako butler of yours if I don't keep tabs on you," she sighed. "That's why I went all the way to that country to check on you," she finished sheepishly.

"You're here?" I gasped while looking outside the car for any signs of her. "Yeah," she replied. "Where are you right now Iris?" I told her the town where I was currently held up.

"Bummer," she said. "That's a one hour drive from here. Whatever, I'll come to you. Wait for me. I'll call again."

"Sure." I ended the call and tossed the phone on the passenger seat again. Oh God. Brooke being here was not good at all. Don't get me wrong. She was a good friend of mine from college. Like me, she was also raised by a prominent family. She wasn't adopted though but she didn't mind that I was.

Brooke was as gorgeous as they could get. Sun-kissed skin, lips that were on a permanent pout, slender figure, ebony hair, and all that. She did tell me that she had a thing for me in college. But since I was busy plotting my kidnapping agenda, I knew that I didn't have time for love. I told her truthfully that I had no interests in such things and we ended up as good friends instead.

It was a good thing too since I needed to tell someone about my plan. That's right. She knew that I'd kidnap the princess. But my reasons were unclear to her. She just had to accept that I wouldn't divulge that to anyone. Anyway, it was bad that she was here because when things go to hell and don't go according to plan, she might be deemed as an accomplice.

She was too good a friend to end up dead because of me. I needed to convince her to go back to England as soon as possible. A check on my watch told me that I still had 40 minutes till she arrived. Until then, I needed to read the newspaper and ask the locals about the princess.

I left the car and bought a newspaper like planned. The disappearance of Talia was still the major headline. At first the palace tried to keep things mum. But when a diplomat from Asia didn't see the princess as per schedule, her kidnapping was exposed. Of course by that time, the princess was safely tucked away in my hideout.

I walked to a diner and sat down on the chair in front of the counter. The waitress immediately headed to me. "So what's your order," she said while chewing a gum. She looked me up and down and gave me a coy smile. Lesbian are we? I thought. Well, I'd use that to my advantage.

"Give me coffee," I said in a low voice. "Black." She wrote my order in her paper. "Anything else hun?"I licked my lips and watched her jaw fell. This one was going to be easy. "I'm a foreigner to this country," I said. "Can you tell me about the princess?"

She leaned on the counter. The action exposed her cleavage which I just stared at in amusement before glancing back at her. Sorry babe, I thought. But you're not my type. I was more for the princess type of female, like Talia. Tsk! I shouldn't have thought that.

The waitress continued to chew on her gum. "The princess is currently gone right now."

I feigned ignorance. "What do you mean?" She raised her eyebrow. "You don't know that she's been kidnapped? It's all over the news girl. The people in the palace are going shiz crazy because our future queen is missing."

I tried to look as innocent as possible. "Do they know who did it? And what's the reason behind her disappearance?" The waitress quickly retrieved my coffee before answering my question. "They don't know who did it," she said. "But there's some rumors saying that the enemy of the queen did it to mock her."

"No way," I said. "Your queen has enemies?"

"That's right sister," she said with a ghetto accent. "Our princess is well-loved by the whole country, but you know from what I heard, the queen is very strict and had some enemies. Maybe they kidnapped her daughter to make a statement."

"Maybe," I replied and sipped the coffee. Yuck! I've always hated this. I didn't know why I kept on drinking it black. Maybe because I wanted to taste the bitterness of it all. Talia was right. I did have a dark sense of humor.

With a sigh, I pulled a couple of bills from my pocket and placed it on the counter before grabbing my coffee. I headed to a booth beside a glass window and sat there to wait for Brooke. She came a couple of minutes later. She smiled widely when she saw me and sat in front of me on the booth.

"I miss you Iris," she said.

I gave her a look and didn't tell her that I miss her back. I've always hated saying those yucky feelings. For me there were only three things in life- kidnapping the princess, kidnapping the queen's daughter, kidnapping Talia. You know me so well by now.

"You need to go back to England," I told her.

"I just got here," she said while flipping her hair over her shoulder. God. Why do girls do that all the time? I mean, I have long hair. But I never do that. Maybe I should start practicing.

Brooke opened her bag and rummaged inside, totally ignoring me. Once she found out what she was looking for, she snatched it from her bag and handed the small bookmark to me. "Here," she said. "Your mum said you left it."

I took the bookmark from her hand and stared at the familiar flower pressed on the laminated paper. It was all that was left of that day so I just had to preserve it. "Thank you Brooke," I said in gratitude. "I didn't realize that I left it behind. When I did, I was already inside the plane."

"No biggie Iris." She leaned nearer, her eyes darting left and right to ensure that no one was listening to our conversation. "Is she safe?"

I knew that she meant the princess. "Yes she is. She's hidden in my property and she won't be going away for a long time."

"What are you going to do to her? You're not going to kill her are you?"

"Of course not. I'm not a murderer Brooke. But she's mine now. I own her." I leaned back on the seat and smirked. "I'll do what I want with her."

She gave me a look of disgust. "Iris," she said in a warning tone. "I love you to death. But if you rape that girl, I'm going to punch you in the face."

That wiped my smirk away. "What the hell do you think of me Brooke?!" I slammed my hand on the table, making the few people in the diner turn our way. They quickly went back to their business when they sensed that it won't turn out into a full-blown fight.

"Do you really think I'd do something as revolting to someone?" I said in a hushed tone. "If I wanted to have sex, I would have done it with you. Or any other female out there. Hell I can even pay for that. Have you checked my bank account lately?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "Then why the obsession with her Iris? Ever since I've met you in college, she was all you could talk about. Talia this. Talia that. It's like you're in love with her."

"Will you lower your voice?" I said angrily. "I'm not in love with her. I need her."

Brooke stared at me in surprise. "What exactly do you mean when you said you need her?"

I looked out the window and dodged her question. "You'll never understand it Brooke. Just leave it alone." When she didn't reply, I glanced back to her and softened my expression. "Look. I know how much you care for me. I also know that you're worried right now. But please understand that I'm not going to do those things to her."

"Even if she was attractive, I'd never okay. You should know me better than that." Brooke clicked her tongue. "So you find her attractive? That's the first time I've heard of that."

"You heard wrong," I said in denial. "Anyway, I want you out of this country in 24 hours. You don't want to be here when the next step starts."

"What next step?" she asked. "Please let me in on your plans." She took my hand across the table and squeezed it gently. She always did that in college when we'd have a disagreement or she wanted to know something.

I shook my head at her. "Sorry. To keep you safe, I'm not telling you anything else." I pried my hand gently from her finger and stood up. "I need to go now Brooke. Call me when you're back in England." I raised the bookmark and tapped it on her forehead. "Thanks for this."

She stood up and walked me to my car. "Promise you'll be safe."

"I promise," I said and entered the vehicle. "Go home Brooke. Goodbye." I started the engine and drove away. I didn't look at the rearview mirror to glance back at her. Keep moving forward was a quote that I tried to live by. At least that was what I wanted to believe in. Until now, I was very much stuck in the past.

It was nightfall when I reached the hideout. I haven't seen Talia the whole day. Was she doing fine? When I climbed the stairs and opened the main door to the third floor after activating the lock, I saw her sitting crossed legged in the middle of the hallway. She opened her eyes when she heard me come in.

"You're here!" she said before running to me and giving me a hug. The contact scared the shit out of me. I was not comfortable with this kind of affection. Even my adoptive parents knew it was my limit. I tried to pry her grip from me, but she had me on a deadlock.

"I was lonely without you," she whispered on my ear. I felt goose bumps crawling on my skin and straight to my flesh. Against my will, my heart thudded hard against my chest. She was pressed on my body and I could feel the heat radiating from her skin. It has been so long since we were like this. No. Stop it Cybele. Stop it!

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to control the surge of emotion that I felt. "You're trembling," she said. "Why are you trembling Cybele?" She broke the embrace and held me at arms length.

"You're crying too," she said in surprise.

"I'm not," I said with bathed breath.

She wiped my eyes and showed me her hands. "See?" She embraced me quickly before I could run away from her which was all I wanted to do at the moment. "I think you're crying because you're lonely too," she said gently.

Her words made me cry harder. I couldn't tell her in that moment that she was the reason I was lonely. There was never a day when I simply stopped wanting her. What I would give so that I didn't need to hurt her in the future. But I couldn't. Enemies were supposed to hurt each other.