I. Lascia ch'io pianga

I remember my tenth birthday as it was the last day of my life.
There was a bounce house in the backyard, a slight distance from the in-ground pool, a live band by some group called “Smashnose” or something along like, I don’t really remember their name as I didn’t pay attention to them. My mind was on the day and spending time with my friends. My parents wanted me to invite everyone I knew but I chose the seven who knew me the best: the ones who I could truly call my friends.
Like me, they were children whose parents had a lot of money, but the seven of us never played into “my daddy is rich so you must kiss my shoes” kind of attitude. Well, Bethany came close, but she was eleven and felt that she had to impress others. We tried to keep her grounded, it worked sometimes as she chose to wear a swimsuit that had a price tag of under two hundred dollars and had her parents carry her inexpensive cell phone to the party.

Her brother, who we called “Benny”-really, it was Bentley-but he hated that name so we dropped the “t” and it was all good. He was nine at the time and was always the proper gentleman—at least until it came to bounce houses. Then, he was all over the walls, jumping over everyone like a wild man. I found it infectious and jumped around with him. I’m sure there would be a rumor about us if we were three years older or so.

I considered Tiffany to be one of my closest friends. She would give you the shirt off of her back. Not because she had about three closets full of them, but because she chose to. Every month she was given an allowance and she she spent that money on gift cards that she gave willingly gave to the people on the street. She said that money was only as good as the person who possessed it. She had a heart condition, I think, at least that what she told us—and that her giving nature was to try to heal that heart.
Rochelle was the smallest in our group. She was eight at the days of the party, but she was the only one who had ever read all of the “The Hobbit” and could quote it word for word. She didn’t wear glasses and we didn’t consider her a “nerd”—because you don’t tell a person with a near photographic memory anything that you don’t want to come up in the yearbook at graduation. Whenever I needed help with my spelling words, she was better than any tutor my parents could pay for.

The newest girl to our group was Wednesday. We found out that this wasn’t her real name on the day we helped her throw things out of her room. Her real name was William Arnold Fuller but she preferred the name Wednesday. Her hair was always wild and multi-colored and some of the kids at school picked on her but they were usually stopped by Mike.

“Big Mike” was not particularly tall. He wasn’t very muscular either but he had been taking Taekwondo since he was five and if someone started to pick on Wednesday he would give the aggressor—male or female—a few chances to cut it off or he’d knock their block off. The other kids around would part or form a circle—knowing fully what was about to happen, unlike the former aggressor who was then crying on the ground or running away in sheer terror. Needless to say, Mike never used his powers for evil.

Serena sometimes did use her powers for evil. She had the power of her father owning some football team or something and she could flash out tickets to games. Like Bethany, she felt that things that were worth doing were worth overdoing: like taking all of our families to the Grand Cayman Islands. Specifically, a private island, for at a least a week. The water was clear and the sand was like sugar. Benny tried some, he said looks were deceiving.

“Kristina!” My father yelled from outside the bounce house. “We’re ready!”
“Okay!” I yelled as I let go of Benny’s hand and floundered on the bouncing floor. I think I laughed for a good two minutes as I tried to get up. Failing at that, I rolled across the floor to the exit and climbed out.
“You look like you’re having fun,” My father said. He was an older man and worked for some telecommunications company. He owned it, but he stated that he worked for the company the same as everyone else on the payroll. He once sent the janitorial staff on a paid vacation to a retreat and had the bigwigs at the office do their own clean-up for a week. I’m not sure how that went, but dad was that nice kind of guy.
“A blast!”
“Maybe we should have should have had this party on the space shuttle.”
“Can we next year?” I asked.
“Maybe, princess. We’ll see. Now, go get ready.”
“Do I have to?”
“Your mother wants to see you wear it. You said you would.”
“Okay,” I replied as I ran to the house.

Mom was waiting for me in my room along with a dress that was adorned in so many diamonds that two men with guns had to stand outside my door. Mom was a photographer for a magazine or something and all of her photos had someone wearing so many gems that she had to wear sunglasses to get the right shot. She worked my hair up as she wanted it to look with the dress.
“You need to look like a princess…one who could punch a paparazzi or two, right?”
“Yep,” I replied as I stepped up into a pair of high heel shoes. Mom then placed a tiara on my head
“Those are for only one picture,” she said as she grabbed her camera and put it up to her face. “Over here, Kristi.”
I turned and looked wide-eyed at the camera as the flash strobed and the camera clicked a dozen times.
“You can go barefoot if you to.”
“Yes,” I replied with a fist pump in the air as I took the dress off, revealing the dirty clothes I still had on.
“We’re coming out!” Mom said and opened the door.
The two guards turned and one of them opened a case. Mom handed the tiara to one of the men and the dress to the other. He didn’t look pleased at the dirt on the inside of the dress.
“Remember, gentlemen, it’s the diamonds, not the fabric. Please tell Stella thank you!”

We left the house to rejoin the party and as soon as we stepped outside the band played the song “Birthday” The surrounding crowd clapped along with the music as dad joined us at the front of a massive table. My friends were near the front of everybody else and were waving up a storm that maybe, we could all take flight and fly around the world.
“Thank you for coming, everyone. It was the years ago that Kristina Anne came into our lives and there’s nothing we would not do for our birthday girl.”
Dad spoke for only a few minutes as he once again thanked everyone for coming and that the bounce house was going to become a permanent part of the landscape as soon as he could find out how to secure it down. I personally thought that was the best present ever: My own private Disney World. My smile was so bright I may have blinded Bethany with the gleam shining off of her necklace.
The party went on for a few hours until only Mike, Bethany and Benny remained. We were three shades of red by the sun and fun we had. Bethany complained that her necklace had fallen and the diamond had cracked.
“That’s not a real diamond.”
“I know. It’s just that it looked pretty.”
“It still does,” Mike replied. “It still sparkles,” he said as he looked at me.
I didn’t acknowledge his look but I know I smiled. I smiled at everyone. I was the friendly one of our group. I only had one closet though as I only wore particular clothes. Yeah, I think I was the tomboy of the group with more in common with Mike and Benny then the girls of our group. Even Wednesday had experimented with make-up and liked it. I didn’t see the point.
Mom was hopeful I’d change my mind.
Dad wondered if I would need a bodyguard or five.
“I’m going to wear the real one to school next week.”
Benny rolled his eyes. “Gonna get it stolen by someone.”
“I will not.”
“You’ll take it off and forget where you left it.”
“No, I won’t.” Bethany said with a huff.
“Didn’t Mike find the necklace?”
Mike nodded.
“I knew where it was.”
“It was in the pool,” Benny replied.
“Ferme ta bouche!" Bethany shouted.
“Tu me fais rire.”
“It’s like I’m watching ‘Sesame Street’,” Mike said which caused us to all break down in laughter.

Their parents arrived and we said out goodbyes with an exchange of hugs. Mike held his grip on me for a little longer and, like before, I didn’t feel anything from it. I had been ten for only a few hours. The back lawn had been cleaned up and the poolside looked as if nothing had occurred. The bounce house was taken down as well but a set of stakes marking the location remained. There were several lines of orange paint cris-crossing the grass where it had been.

I thanked my parents, said goodnight to them and ran up a narrow spiral staircase; a secondary way for my parents to reach my room, but one my friends and I used to access the second floor. It was secured by a six digit code or key card. The whole house was wired with cameras and security doors—with a safe room located in the hallway leading into the living room. I had locked myself in said safe room when I accidentally trigger the door to open by babbling something—I was three at the time.

I climbed into bed and went to sleep. I want to think I had a nice dream but I woke up to a nightmare as the house alarms blared. I didn’t go to my door but instead hid under my bed in a small alcove I could crawl into. Dad always said that if the alarms went off I was to protect myself and stay within the locked room as someone would have to take half the wall down in order to force it open.
The alarm abruptly stopped and I wondered if maybe my rabbit, Madam Cwningen, had chewed a wire or maybe Dad had typed in the wrong code. I stayed in place as I had bene told to do so until one of them, or the house staff, came up to open the door or give me the code word.
There was a knock at the door. It was light at first but became rapid and thumping.

I could only think about that movie I had watched at Rochelle’s house about a guy in a white mask trying to kill everybody. I think it was called “Halloween Scream”.
The door clicked open and I closed my eyes—it had to be the killer from that movie. His next words would be “Sydney” or “Laurie” as he searched for me.
“Akrista?” A voice with a strange accent asked.
My name was Kristina, so this killer must have had the wrong house.
“Where is she?” The voice asked.
“Under the bed,” My father replied.
They had to be kidnappers who wanted to hold me for ransom in our house until my dad gave them what they wanted.
“Kristi,” he said with almost a whisper. “You can come out now.”
“Really?”
“Yes, princess. It’s…It’s okay.”
I rolled out of the alcove and crawled out form under the bed to see my dad standing next to two large men; my mom behind two other large men; and a very tall man in sunglasses who knelt down in front of me.
“Akrista. We’ve come to take you home.” He said as he took off his glasses.
“She is at home!” Mom yelled.
The tall man held his hand up and Mom started to cry.
“Why is my mom crying?” I asked.
“Your mother has been crying for years, my princess.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve been sent to return you home, your highness.”
“Highness? I’m just ten.”
“You are Akrista Llewellyn, crown princess of Tyrain.”
“I’m what?”
The tall man reached out for my hand. “Will you come with me?”
I looked at my father, his face was tear-streaked. He nodded to me.
My mother screamed and bawled.
“No, I don’t want to go.”
“Kristy,” my father said as he took a step towards me. The two men firmly grabbed his arms. ‘You need to go with him. His name is Raphael and, he needs go take you.”
“Why?”
“Because you are our lost princess.”
The man named Raphael stood up, took out a cell phone. “Code Edvard,” he said as he pocketed the phone and then in a flash snatched me off of the floor and into his arms.
Mom scream again as we raced past her and down the main staircase. I remember feeling shocked. I remember feeling lost.
I remember seeing my father’s face for the last time as Raphael and the four men raced out the front door.