Glancing at my digital alarm clock it was 6:49 am. I groaned. It was way too early for anything.
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The knocking came again, louder and more insistent this time. “Miss Elara! Miss Elara, you need to wake up!” It was Maria, one of the senior custodians. Her voice carried an edge of panic I’d never heard before.
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Lazily I pushed the blankets off me. The cold air hit me like a sledgehammer, hard and unexpected. She better have a good reason for this. I opened the door to see a frantic and out of breath looking Maria.
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"Hmm?" I mumbled sleepily.
"Miss Elara, it's Sir Valmount. He-he's not in his room."
Her statement jerked me awake, Father not in his room? He wasn't an early riser at all.
"Did you check his study?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes, of course, he's not in there or anywhere else on the estate in fact,"
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I knew that I had to keep calm. I knew that these people would lose their heads if someone wasn't there to give them proper instruction. I could hear my pulse quicken against the furry fabric of my nightgown.
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"Call the authorities, now,"
"Yes miss, of course miss,"
"Oh, and has Leon been informed?"
"Uh, no,"
"Ok, how about you call the police and then wake him up,"
"As you wish, Miss Elara,"
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I closed the door, sitting on my bed I buried my head in my hands. Did him fleeing have anything to do with my idea to expose him? Opening my eyes I saw my laptop, an apple mackbook, sitting innocently on my desk. I rushed over to it. Of course, the footage was by default transferred to it. It would give some hint to what his master plan was this time.
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He was at his desk ruffling the papers drinking his whiskey. I walked in. Our exchange of dialogue happened, just as I recalled it. Just as I walked out, he closed the door. Then looking straight at the camera, which I thought I had hidden so well, he spoke, "I'm already 2 steps ahead dear,". And then the camera stopped recording. So he did know. My plan had not only backfired but it made it so that I didn't even get another chance. Shoot. I had just I turned off my laptop when Leon burst through the door.
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"Maria's gone insane," he said with a smirk on his face. "She's going on about Father disappearing or something. Go bring her out of her fantasies."
"She's not lying." I couldn’t believe him. Fantasies. So that's what he thought of the news. Unbelievable.
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His smirk dropped and seemed to fall with a bang onto the overly polished hardwood floor. "You’re lying," was all he could manage, but I could see something that wasn't there before. Fear.
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"If you ever were to notice, Your Magisty, the world doesn't revolve around its High King." My voice overflowed with sarcasm, hoping he'd get the hint.
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"Where'd he go?" He said, as if he expected me to reveal that I had been holding him captive in my closet or under my bed.
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"If I really knew, then why would I be in my room?"
He shrugged and walked out shutting the door behind him.
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