Chapter 9 - The Prize of the New Millennium

            Stone and jewelry appraisers were the Vaziris, and Emily was one of the best in the business. Even if remembering the men who saved her was an eerie new reality, she would still get to be the best stone and rock appraiser in Lexington. The new store her family opened was in the best place ever-an iron commercial shed just off route I-27 in East Jessamine County. That did not seem a great place, but there were some people who owned horses and large parcels of land around here (and that's usually a sign of good money). Kentucky was an idyllic place, with almost nothing like it seemed.

            The store was a coated-iron structure, with a golf shop, antique store and Mexican restaurant that served tacos with free limes, a salsa bar with marinated carrots, and REAL CHALUPAS! You know, the kind in the shape of tiny little boats? No Taco Bell flatbread mutations here! The windows were blacked out, with big red neon signs saying JEWELRY and OPEN in them. Inside were several counters with displays of journey diamonds, engagement rings, large birthday stone pendants, and the centerpiece, a thick glass display in the center of the back showroom wall with large rocks of emerald, heliodor, tanzanite, thulite, carved purplish and dark green jade, and the biggest kunzite stone mined out of the Pala deposites near San Diego. The kunzite stone was set rising out of its spodumene deposit, carved in a large baguette. It was very difficult to keep the stone polished, Mr. Vaziri would say, because it could have cleaved into two very easily. The store was blacked out and the least daylight let in as possible due to the presence of this large stone.

            Emily loved the colors of the stone very much-lilac, pink, and even some purple, and was promised the stone in the family estate. She never quite knew why, and perhaps it was the note of the man who called himself Lord Kunzite that brought that harrowing night back on the 68 by the river. Somehow, looking at that stone gave her peace.

            The days never seemed brighter. Emily got great marks in her classes, no tornadoes hit the places she had been, the family house was easy to get, and Emily had made almost miraculous progress with her broken leg. She only had to walk with a cane, and that would soon end. There was no need to worry-or so the family thought.

            One dark, steamy night, there was a break-in at the jewelry store. Emily was closing up, so she went there to protect the merchandise. The robber was a woman who had pink hair, purple clothing and a mask on the lower part of her face. It was rather odd, but she somehow got past the ultra high tech security system created in Irvine, California for the shop. Somehow, she was there.

            The woman came out from behind the counter, threw a necklace at Emily and ran out the door. Emily hobbled with her cane to her car, got in and drove after her. They raced through several places in the city, and then out to several farms in the countryside.

            Emily finally cornered the robber behind a house that had been abandoned. The robber went inside, and Emily followed. Pistol ready, she fired one warning shot. She went inside, and cleared several rooms before she had finally caught the burglar in the living room. The robber then dropped the bag, put her hands in the air, and cocked her eyebrow.

            "I've caught you now, you thief!"screamed Emily.

            "This was easier than I thought," the burglar sneered.

            She raised her hands, and suddenly several boards caught on fire. There was an explosion, and then the floor caved in. The fire glowed white around her, like some sort of wormhole. Soon, Emily found herself in the basement-but this was no basement. She was surrounded by a circle of stalactites, in the center of a crowd of cheering monsters. Most of the faces did not even look human in this crowd. Four of them suddenly jumped in and pushed her to the ground, and even though Emily fought as mightily as she could, they overcame her. The burglar then clamped a neck manacle around the girl's neck, then her wrists, and her legs. They put some sort of silencing mask on her head and then she was placed in a hanging cage.

            Meanwhile, outside in the real world, cops came to the scene. There, they noticed the house had collapsed, but Emily's car and ID were still there. Also, the bag of stolen jewelry had been left there for anyone to pick up. There was no ransom note.

            Soon, the procession went through the kingdom, up to the dark castle with the drawbridge. There, it went through the courtyard, to the keep, and finally into the throne room, where the robber presented Emily, trapped in her cage, to the woman on the throne.

            She seemed much less otherworldly than these creatures that captured her. The only thing that marked her was a pair of horns jutting out from her shoulders. She had dark eyes and red hair. She was tall and statuesque, with a long violet dress that had a train, and a large, sparkling gem necklace with multicolored stones, a large chicken-bone jade boomerang with a black onyx stone, and a larger stone wrapped in cord above that, presumably as a crown.

            Strangely enough, she looked like that long-lost British billionaire Brandie Richardson, owner of Immaculate Traders.

            "Oh, you poor thing, look what you've been through!"

            "Don't give me any of that good cop, bad cop charade! I bet you ordered these minions to kidnap me!"

            "Well, well, well, you're just as insolent as your father. Quite a difficult prize of the new millennium to hold, I see."

            "My father will come after you! So will the cops and everyone in Kentucky!"

            "Oh, no, dear, Kentucky can't reach you here. You're all mine, due to your real father."

            Emily scowled at the woman. "Why did you bring me here?"

            "Do you remember your father telling you about your adoption?"

            "Yes. What do you know about it?"

            "You were the children of my noblemen. I had to get you to safe homes. It turns out you were my best placement."

            "Hmph. That's awful funny coming from Brandie Richardson."

            "That name no longer has any meaning to me."

            "Now we're quoting Star Wars?"

            "No, you INSOLENT BITCH!" She threw an electric shock at Emily, who screamed in pain.

               "I am Beryl, your new queen."

            Great. I've been kidnapped by circus freaks led by Eurotrash, thought Emily to herself.

            "Oh, darling, I'm not Eurotrash. I'm the real thing."

            "Well, I guess this cage is my new home then?"

            "No. I'm taking you to your quarters right now."

            The cage door appeared and swung open, with steps suspended in midair leading to the floor. Emily stared at it.

            "Time to go to your suite, dear."

            "My suite?"

            "Would you rather stay in the cage?"

            Emily carefully stepped down to the floor.

            "Will you try to escape?"

            "Yeah, in another dimension in front of the queen, with five hundred minions around."

            The shackles came off, and she was given a servant, who looked like a giant horseheaded woman. The horseheaded woman gave Emily a magic carpet to sit on, made of white with silver lacing and tassels. Emily and the horsehead woman sat on the carpet, and it flew her to a large castle with four giant turrets. The carpet flew them to the southern tower, where it came to a balcony.

            The balcony was large, with a rock door leading to the suite. Inside, there was a large white and lavender bed, a white armoire, and a white stand with a large mirror and many drawers on the side. There was also a white laptop computer on a table and table for making dresses and other articles of clothing. Also, a lavender and blue nightdress lay on the bed for her, with her name stitched on one of the straps. She could get used to this.

            The horsehead woman came to her side.

            "Is there anything I could do for you, your Highness?"

            "Yes, please. I never got your name."

            "I am called Mare Leah."

            "Thank you. Mare Leah, could you please bring me decaffeinated coffee and a proper set for it? I like coffee very much."

            "Of course. I will be back soon."

            Mare Leah left on the flying carpet.

            There was another person on the balcony. His hair was gold, styled in the curls and waves of Queen Beryl, but he had beautiful, jewel-like eyes that were green and blue at differing times.

            She remembered him from several weeks ago, when he was at the Mexican place by the shop. He had a chimichanga, and wore all kinds of motocycle leather. She could not resist giving him her phone number.

            "Good evening. I'm Heliodor."

            Suddenly, Emily sprang into action. She kicked Heliodor to the ground, and grabbed a sword from a pink pair on the wall. Heliodor looked at her in amazement, his eyes fixed to the blade-or was it her breasts?

            "So it is true. You're Kunzite's daughter!"

            "Well, this is something I learned the hard way. Never give a guy your real phone number."

            "What? I never knew they were going to capture you! I would have simply taken you to the Bahamas."

            "YOU GAVE THEM MY PHONE NUMBER!"

            "No, NO! I never gave them your number. It's in my wallet! Besides, is this how you greet the Crown Royal Prince?"

            Emily lowered the blade.

            "Does this mean I face execution?"

            "Okay, you're talking to the wrong guy. I just came by to see who you were. I didn't know it was you at that restaurant."

            "So, you never gave them my number?"

            "Never. I was just relaxing, taking in the countryside. My mother said I could have a day to find a girl to take to the Bahamas."

            Soon, Mare Leah returned, with a hot pot of coffee inside a French press, sugar, cream and a few flavoring shots.

            "Your Highness, what is Prince Heliodor doing here?"

            "He's a guest. Do not worry, he's not sleeping here."

            "Well, that's not any problem. Truth is, Queen Metallia says the first woman he has an interest in will be his true love."

            "Says Metallia."

            "Do not doubt Queen Metallia. She is the true ruler and protector of the Kingdom."

            "Uh, the Kingdom?"

            "That is where you are."

            "Mare Leah, would you set the coffee down on the table and let us be alone?"

            "Very well, then. Heliodor, your mother is expecting you back in two hours."

            "Okay."

            "Good night, everybody."

            Mare Leah left. Heliodor sat down at the table. Emily poured them coffee, and he took one of the flavoring shots.

            "How long have you been here?"

            "Only an hour or two. What brings you here?"

             "Meeting my Bahamas girl because she ended up down here."

            "So, you were scoping out chicks at the Mexican restaurant next door?"

            "I was eating a Chimichanga meal and waiting for somebody to come from there. The minute you stepped in the door, your eyes shined like emeralds, and you were lit from behind, like an angel. You picked up the order, went over to the salsa bar and then came to me."

            "So, you weren't working with these people? You're the son of their ruler."

            "No. I didn't even know you existed. Just seeing you for the first time was like something inside me stirred to action. I was coming back to ask you out this Friday."

            "How did you know I was here?"

            "There was a commotion. I had heard there was a capture of another daughter of the Kings. Did you see me over in the corner with the girl in the gray outfit?"

            "No. There were so many people there that I could hardly see anything."

            "There's no doubt in my mind that girl I saw was you. One of these days, we have to have lunch together. How about next week?"

            "Sure. Why don't you go home so your mother doesn't worry about you?"

            "Okay. I'll be dancing with you at your Inaugural Ball tomorrow. Good night."

            Heliodor left. Emily thought he was kind of sexy.

            Emily took off her clothes and went to bed (she preferred to sleep nude). This day was hard enough.