I go to the nearest restrooms and change my dress. Luckily, Alice and I are the same size. Alice’s dress is not as spectacular as the one I had, but it is cute and, the best part, the design is original. I toss Grace’s dress to the trash, furious at Mabel for what she did.
I walk back to my group. Mabel’s face reddens with anger when she sees me coming.
“What happened to you, girl? Where is your dress?” She asks angrily.
“Alice’s son spilled grape juice on it and it got ruined, she gave me a spare she had as an apology,” I lie not able to hide a joyful grin.
“Oh, what a shame, it was such a nice dress,” Grandma exclaims. “But this one is pretty too.”
Mrs. Jordan smile
(Leopold’s P.O.V.)I pull Aubrey closer to me, I do not wish to let her go. I place my hands around her tiny waist. For some silly reason, seeing that boy, Zack Peterson, infuriated me. I am certain that he is in love with Aubrey, I can see it in his eyes along with something else I can not quite figure out just yet but it makes me not trust him. There is something about that boy I just do not like. I should not have left Jareth convince me to accept him in the 9th Unit, but I found no valid reason to reject him, his performance inside the Shark Youth Forces was remarkable, besides, he was brave enough to come forward and tell us about Aubrey’s innocence, which I find admirable. Probably I just do not like him because I am jealous, and it would be unprofessional of me to allow my feeling to make decisions for me. At least it seems like I have nothing to worry about, Aubrey is clearly not interested in the boy. She wants me, I do not
(Aubrey’s P.O.V.)I tremble inconsolably as Grandma and Mrs. Jordan drag me as far as possible from where Eliza’s corpse is lying, Mabel is following us closely, she too looks upset about what we just witnessed. I can not believe Eliza committed suicide. I let the women take me without resistance, my mind is too troubled and it prevents me from thinking clearly. The women take me back to one of the tents and find a seat for me to rest. Mabel fans me vigorously as Mrs. Jordan wipes my tears away. Grandma is standing next to me, looking concerned.“That poor girl…” mutters Mrs. Jordan“What a terrible thing just happened,” Grandma exclaims.“Why would someone do that?” Mabel asks.
We have spent the whole day glued to the TV. I am sure many people all over Estermond are doing the exact same. Mother Addison’s murdered is an unprecedented event in this nation. Never before have the Eels had so much power. Roberta Jordan came over to watch the news with us, no one feels like being alone right now, there is too much uncertainty and a sense of danger in the air. I go downstairs to make us some tea to calm our nerves when all of a sudden the doorbell rings. When I open the door I find two men with brown overalls with the initials M.E. embroidered on the left front pocket.“Good afternoon. We are sorry to bother you, ma’am, we are workers from the Ministry of Energy. We received some reports about voltage fluctuations around the area and we have come in to check your energy supply,” one of the men, the shortest one, explains to me as he takes a step forward.
I rush to see what is going on. Both women are looking open-mouthed at the TV screen. I turn to see what they are seeing: Leopold and Jareth are on the screen, along with the rest of the 9th Unit. I do not even pay attention to what the reporter is saying, I only care about how Leopold is doing, he looks so strong and determined it is hard to imagine that he was so close to death only a few weeks ago. I sigh relieved to see he is okay, but my relief doesn’t last long, the camera shows Zack among the Sharks and cold sweat starts to run down my back, he should not be there. I do not like this.“I am glad see they are alright,” Mrs. Jordan exclaims with a sigh of relief.“Of course they are alright. Our sons are heroes of Estermond! If anyone can put a stop to those wretc
(Aubrey’s P.O.V.)Locked in my room, I cry for hours, I try to be as quiet as I can so my mother-in-law won’t hear me. I do not want her to know how much her mean-spirited remarks hurt me. Besides, as much as it pains me, I have to admit that she only spoke the truth. Grace is Leopold’s original Bearer, I was only a poor substitute. Now it is time for her to take her rightful place beside him and for me to step aside.Mrs. Jordan and Mabel watch television for a couple more hours, the volume is so high I can clearly hear what happened with the Shark mission: the live transmission was interrupted to take Grace to a safe location. Just the idea of Leopold and Grace being together while I lie on the bed makes my stomach churn. I wonder if he is happy to be reunited with her? I wish I knew what was going on, at first I thought Grace being there meant she ran
(Aubrey’s P.O.V.)Our house sinks in despair and anguish. Commander Leopold Mortensen, Estermond’s hero, arrested for treason is something I never imagined would happened. Mabel walks from one side to the other with a concerned expression on her face, she is like a caged lion, her despair is palpable. I’m no better, I bite my nails until my fingers hurt, we are both too upset and distressed about the situation.Jareth followed Commander’s Wilson Unit to find out more about the accusations against Leopold and to see if he could help in anyway to clarify the situation. We are waiting for his return and there is not much we can do in the meantime.Mrs. Jordan comes over with a plate of her famous lasagna to cheer us up but neither of us is hungry. We are too worried to eat. I do not th
(Aubrey’s P.O.V.)Shortly after Alice leaves, Mrs. Jordan informs Mabel about the latest developments and she replies by throwing a big tantrum. While Mrs. Jordan tries to comfort her, I lock myself in my room to have a moment of peace. I do not understand why Grace is doing this, she was already with the man she loved, why did she come back to accuse Leopold of being an Eel? It is hard to come up with a plausible explanation when Alice’s words are tormenting me, she was so certain that Leopold was going to be executed… would the Righteous Regime be capable of murdering one of his greatest heroes? I wish I could say no, but I have experienced first hand how easy it is for authorities to believe you are guilty of a crime you did not commit. It happened to me, it can happen to anyone. I feel sick with guilt, I should have shared my suspicions about Zack
(Aubrey’s P.O.V.)Shortly after breakfast, Jareth arrives. He is disconcerted to find us all in his house. His mother explains to him what happened and how Grace took over Leopold’s house, kicking us out in the process.“Ugh, she is a nasty person, I always knew it,” he mutters angrily.“How is Leopold? Is it true they are going to execute him?” Mabel asks frightened for her son.“Not if I can help it,” Jareth replies not sounding very convinced. “Look, I am not going to lie to you. The situation does not look good for the commander. For some reason, the Eels have decided to testify against the commander and they claim that he is their leader, and, to make things worse, an idiot from the