Chapter-11
I did not expect a modern-architectural office inside. It was beautiful. It radiated warmth and feminity, but it reflected business, too.
"Madam Esmerelda?"
I called to the woman standing in a striped pantsuit, looking outside a big window; the window was as big as the wall itself.
She turned around and looked at me with a warm expression. Her smile reminded me of someone, but I couldn't remember who. Those eyes, that smile, it's so familiar.
"Sylvester!" She caressed my hair. "I love your curls."
"Thanks, they're pretty annoying to manage."
She smiled. Her teeth were as white as pearls.
"How are you?"
My diagnosis said I was mentally unstable. Since the beginning of summer, I've not been doing anything but attending therapy sessions, workshops, and support group meetings. I am on loads of meds. And I've decided I'm not attending college. My mum had to leave her decent-paying job so that she could work from home to take care of me in case I had my episodes. We're becoming poorer with each day passing, and the bills are just stacking up. And I don't quite enjoy living lately.
"I'm fine."
She gave a pursed lips smile.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you."
"I'm sorry, but why would you be there for me? I mean, I don't even recognize you. Also, I think you could answer the questions I have. There are about a thousand."
She let out a chuckle.
"I know. Well, you might be aware you have a hearing this evening. And to win it, you need to have conviction in your argument. And for that, you need to know the truth. Your truth."
My heart started racing. My palms were sweaty. I gulped.
"You're in Rychville, the land of the devil. No ordinary person can come here. And, no ordinary person would want to."
She turned around and went to her desk. After she sat, she moved her eyes from mine to the seat opposite hers.
I didn't want to sit. I want to pace back and forth; that's how I combat my anxiousness. But I went and sat.
"You're not ordinary, Sylvester. You're the heir of this country."
"You're the queen, right?"
"You aren't my biological son, darling, but my husband's."