Lost Royalty by Kaitlyn Barnett (ap literature book list txt) 📖

throne, but instead of planet Earth, it was just red glistening balls of magic I think it was. Blacksuits were everywhere. I was at a higher level compared to everyone below. I didn't realize what was around me until I touched it. Rusted, golden bars. Beside me, the same. Prisoners packed in with me, desperate. I, along with many other people, was in giant bird cages. Some higher, some lower. Giant cages. In the basement of my own home. Or at least I think it was my own home. I look to see the spot where I climbed the ladder, but it was invisible. It was made with magic too.

For some reason, I could not cry. I could only lament but in a small amount.

Was I really trapped? Caught because I ran away? With the dark magic or what that might be? Is this really my fate?

This must be the end.

I held onto the bars tighter. Where are my friends? Bo? Evelyn? Maybe even Tobi? All these questions weren't answerable. This is really the end.

"Hello, my beautiful prisoners." A familiar voice said. I look up and see her enter the room. Everyone was more silent than before, as quiet as a pin dropping. She looked at me and smirked. The one I hate. The evil infested woman. Cysara Iprellanan. Mother.

"As you all know, I finally was able to catch the elephant in the room today. If you look over in the middle, you can see her."
Everybody looked over and they were all looking at me. After exchanging a few glances, I kept my eyes on my Mother and her only. She was the elephant in the room, not me.

"After about three months, we were finally able to catch her. Her name is Lyrosa Iprellanan if you don't know, which you should. She is my daughter who betrayed me and now knows of all my plans. Now clap for her arrival!"
Prisoners were quiet for a second before they started clapping, one by one it seems. It was obvious that they didn't want to clap for me being captured by the evil Mother of mine.

"Now that she's here, I can finally continue infecting you all with dark magic where you all will continue to be my slaves. Too bad Lyrosa didn't stay, she could have ruled with me, but now I know her heart is too 'good' for this, so she will watch all her loved ones die on the inside and become a slave! Then it's your turn, daughter of mine."

She continued:

"Wetous i hayuga tiro Evelyn, jui h Boris, jui h syuo a niotua." First I'll start with Evelyn, then Boris, then a few of the citizens.

"Bihaey vidro j iupo..." I whisper to myself, instincts telling me to say it in Crushah: "Please, don't do this." Mother started laughing.

"Maybe Evelyn will actually die for disobeying my rule about no teaching Lyrosa Crushah! Everyone, laugh!"

Everyone started laughing at me, all sounding fake except for her own. I collapsed to my knees. I guess she could hear everything I was saying, do I dare even question this?

Once the laughter quieted down, Mother left the room for a second and came back with Evelyn in metal handcuffs. I clenched my fists heavily, staring at this Evelyn. This Evelyn is different. Her medium brown hair was now short to her ears, messy. She looked like she hadn't eaten in a while along with sleeping. Her clothes were torn just like mine. She looks like a runaway. What did they do to her?

"Are you seeing this, Lyrosa?"
I was now angry to the core:
"STOP!" I had yelled, my hands on the bars and my head almost touching it. I was on my knees at this point. Evelyn looked at me, not in any happiness or relief, but fear. I looked at her the same way.

"Oh, why should I?" Mother asked, putting her arm on Evelyn's shoulder to anger me more. I felt the waterworks starting up inside me mixed with boiling anger.

"Why are you doing this? You were always so nice to everyone! What made you like this?"

Mother's green eyes went to blue for a split second before she shook her head and replied:

"Lyrosa, Lyrosa. You're really dumb, aren't you? I was always this way, I just didn't have enough power and notoriousness to go through with my plan. It's called putting on a fake smile."

A dictator she was, then. Maybe I was dumb enough. Everyone must have been dumb. Father must have been. I wonder if he's even alive or is planning something too.

"What will you gain from this? Nothing about this is like you!" I yelled, feeling as if I was going to break these bars. Again, her eyes went from green to blue. Was this magic? Is she made of magic? Is she truly not like this?
"I will gain more power, and finally be able to take over this Earth under my rule. It will have me deal with fewer problems and more fortune; and for your information, this has always been me. You really must not know me you twit!" Mother roared at me, clenching her fists.

"Are you sure? I know you more than this, you aren't this evil woman. You're a caring ruler who loves me and everyone, you don't want to kill anyone, you-"

"SILENCE!" The Queen shouted, interrupting me. Her eyes went blue for a few seconds longer. I obeyed, watching her every move. Something tells me that this really isn't her.

"HER MOTHER INFLICTED HER WITH DARK MAGIC WHEN SHE WAS A TEEN-" Evelyn suddenly shouted, being interrupted by Mother slapping her in the face, causing her to fall to the ground.

Everyone in the room gasped excluding Mother and Evelyn. Even I had gasped. This whole time I've been here, I was thinking something was wrong. It all started to make sense. Mother never spoke of her Mother, only her Father. Whenever someone mentioned it, she would become alert. Evelyn once even caught her having an episode for no reason around 10 years ago. Was that Mother's dark magic truly taking over? Was I just too blind as a kid to see that?

Is all of this really done by the works of Queen Cysara? No, I believe Evelyn. It was the magic, the dark magic.

"I have no idea what she's talking about, I simply found the dark magic from learning it in my free time. It is forbidden, yes, but I created it. Never was it somewhat also extracted from me, not...I don't know what the nonsensical words are for, Evelyn will be executed right in front of everyone in this room!"

No!

I shook the cage, hoping it would open or fall down. It was useless. I would watch her die.

"Wait, wait, sweetie." Another familiar voice of a man said. He came into the room, my Father.

"What now?" Mother snapped at him.

"Don't you think we should start with a few citizens first? They are weaker after all and we have to make yitaou be more likely to look." Father asked, laughing at the prisoners. I had no idea what yitaou meant, is this even Crushah?

"Ah yes, Evelyn can also watch people die too, she is being punished too. Aren't you?" Mother said, looking at Evelyn, grinning at her.

"Uh, yes ma'am, I am." She said, looking down at the floor.

"Good, you can go in a cage, I'll let you pick one, at least I can be a little generous." My Mother said, pushing her towards the cages.

Evelyn looked back at Mother who nodded at her. She looked around, looking at the cage I was in the most. The ambiance became darker by the second.

"Lyrosa..." Evelyn whispered to herself. Then, black suits started pushing her toward my cage. The closer I saw her, the worse she looked. This is when my tears finally started to fall. I fled to the middle of the cage as she and the black suits got closer. I was too scared to even face anyone at this point.

The cage was lowered by black suits on the right of the room using a rope. The cage slowly started coming to the ground. I felt like I was getting motion sickness even by its slowness.

When it was fully lowered, the cage was opened. Someone next to me stared at the door, waiting for the perfect moment. Evelyn was thrown into the cage, hitting her back on the back of the rusted metal, it could be heard. My broken heart was also heard by me. This world is truly, ever so truly, mad and insane.

Right before the cage was closed, someone attempted to scramble out of there, as if it was a smart idea. His arm was able to reach out from the cage, but of course, he was quickly stopped in a matter of seconds by the black suits. "Now you're going to be one of the first victims." One of the blacksuits whispered after putting the man back into his cage. I looked over and saw his eyes. They were dark, dead, and welled up with tears. Most prisoners looked this way. Evelyn and I were next to each other finally. All we could do was stare at each other, too busy to even feel the cage lifting back up. When we finally looked away, we held hands tightly, not even enough to say a word.

"Now that everyone is imprisoned, shall we go forth with the dark magic?" Mother said, clapping her hands together and looking at us all. Everyone looked at each other. Mother's eyes went red for a second, and when I saw it, I started to say yes along with everyone else.

"Good, I knew you all would! Who should we start with?"

"ME!"

Everyone looked around until they saw the lowest cage to the ground. A man, middle-aged, was who said that. He was waving his hand around. Barely able to see, he looked like he had seen horrors and was within them for months.

Mother laughed, "I see! How energetic you are, but are you from Iprellis?"
The man hesitated, "N-no!"

"So sad then, guess you'll have to watch all your foreign friends and family die before you!" She said in a rude tone.

The man just sat there, staring at her. He nodded and put his knees up to his head, rocking back and forth. It killed me inside to watch.

"Alright, since nobody else will volunteer, we'll start with the first person in the first cage to your left."

To my left was the first cage, it was the highest. My guess is that the higher, the more suspense. All the people in that cage, however, scrambled to the back as it was becoming lower and lower.

I counted and saw that I was in the middle. A chill went up my spine thinking that, but I only know it'll get worse when I witness the infliction of the magic.

Horror was about to be seen. Me, Evelyn, and everyone else knew it. For fear was the only thing in this room.

Looking back over, someone was pulled from the cage by a blacksuit. This made all negative emotions begin to increase, second by second.

 

Chapter Twenty: Horrors Commencing

The prisoner that was pulled out was being handcuffed and pulled to the front of the room. The prisoner looked dead. He looked like he was ready for it. It made my heart break just