Chapter 18
“What’s this?” Laith asked, pulling a note from under Aunt Marianna’s pillow. The corner of the paper had been peeking out, almost like someone wanted him to find it!
He eyed the pillow, then the paper. “Do you think it’s a clue?”
Rafi stared at the paper and nodded. “It’s a message from whoever stole our Aunt!” he declared.
“What does it say?” Angela whispered, moving closer. Most of the green eye shadow had rubbed off of her nose, leaving green smudges across her cheeks.
Zayn had followed them, like he always did, but his attention was caught by something in the corner.
Laith sounded out the words laboriously, not certain what they meant. “In rooms of grandeur, where royalty once dwelt, seek out a chandelier that's majestically dealt. Amidst its sparkle and its splendid glow, your next clue hides where shadows grow.”
The trio stood in a small circle, contemplating the clue.
“What does it mean?” Rafi asked.
Silence followed.
Zayn turned around, a towel draped over his shoulders like a cape. “I think the next clue is in my dad’s throne room.”
Angela, Rafi, and Laith blinked at the smaller boy, astonished by his answer.
“Or the ballroom,” Rafi added.
Laith and Angela nodded, all three pursing their lips in concentration. Zayn watched his three older cousins, then pursed his lips as well, glancing at them, then at himself, his eyes going cross-eyed to see if he was doing it “right”.
Rafi bounced on his toes. “We should look in both rooms to see if Aunt Marianna is being held there.”
“I agree,” Angela asserted.
“Let’s go!” Laith urged.
Angela grabbed her cousin’s hand, pulling him back and the other two stopped. “Our tutors will be arriving soon. How are we going to get past our guards to search in two different places and still be back in time for our lessons?”
Laith and Rafi considered her question, and then Rafi suggested, “We need to split up.” He turned to his twin brother and nodded towards Zayn. “You two take the ballroom. We’ll look through Uncle Khal’s throne room.” He glanced towards the open doorway, where the guards were standing just outside in the hallway. “Also, we should use the back hallways so the guards won’t see us.”
Angela shook her head. “We don’t know the back hallways here. We only memorized the back hallways around our homes! We’ll get lost.”
Laith agreed. “You’re right.” He thought hard for a moment, rubbing his chin the way he’d seen his father do. Angela rubbed her chin as well, because it made her cousin look very smart. Of course, since Laith and Angela were rubbing their chins, Rafi had to do the same. And since his three older, wiser cousins were doing it, Zayn lifted his hand to rub his chin, but he liked rubbing his nose more.
“Why don’t we go back to the school room?” Angela suggested. She pointed to Laith and Rafi. “You two can ask to use the restroom, and sneak away and search out the throne room. It should be easy to do since Uncle Khal rarely uses it.” She turned to Zayn, confused as to why he was rubbing his nose, but ignored it to ask, “If there’s nothing there, will you help me sneak out and search the ballroom?”
Zayn immediately jumped with excitement. “Yes!” he whispered, clapping his hands with delight at being included.
“Good!” Laith said with a nod that was incredibly similar to his father’s stern expression. “We have a plan. Let’s go!”
The four hurried to the door to their aunt’s private apartment.
Out in the hallway, the children’s bodyguards were eavesdropping, so when the Tiny Titans’ little footsteps were heard, the guards scattered, clearing the area so that when the little ones peeked out, the coast was clear.
One of the guards texted the specially created group chat with the suggestion that the children needed to learn how to sneak around more effectively. But the message earned only eye rolls. The guards didn’t want these four kids to be stealthier. They all knew what had happened to the previous set of guards, who had “lost” the kids only days before. No way would the new set of guards teach these kids how to escape their security detail more effectively!