Chapter Six

Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner

Bradford opened the door and led Sara into the hallway. “That is your room at the end of the hall.”

“Why do I have to change my shirt? This is my favorite shirt. My father bought it for me at Disneyland.”

“It would be too complicated to explain now. I can only say the other guests at The Manor are not fond of rodents or amphibians, famous or infamous. I’m sure Mr. Thompson will explain later.” He opened the door at the end of the hall. “Dinner is in twenty-three minutes. There are clean clothes in the closet.”

“Thanks.”

Bradford closed the door. Sara looked around. The centerpiece of the room was a large four poster bed with an ornate canopy from which hung beautiful bed curtains. On top of the bed was a beautiful handmade down quilted comforter with a tiny star-shaped design. Massive down pillows lay on top of the quilt. She made a swan dive into the bed.

“Ah, this is fantastic. This is the most comfortable bed in the world. It’s a princess bed.” She rolled around on the soft covers.

Reluctantly, she got up, went to the closet, and pulled out the first item she touched a green dress embossed with a white star on the collar. Looking through the closet, it was full of clothes, all her size, but none of them any more exciting than the dress she pulled out. [RO1] 

After changing, she lay down on the bed and waited for Bradford. The softness of the bed was lulling her to sleep when Bradford knocked at the door.

He led her to the door at the end of the hall.

“This is the door to the study, Bradford.”

“Perhaps, or maybe not,” he said as he opened the door and revealed a long dining room. The dining room table was intricately carved with stars, and the dishes were also predominantly designed with stars.

“This Mr. Thompson dude must like stars,” she thought.

Bradford pulled out a chair. “Have a seat, Miss Sara; the others will be entering shortly.”

Other members of the household began to come into the room and sit down. All of them were staring at Sara, and they all looked familiar to her. There were former teachers, neighbors, and babysitters, all sitting around the table staring at Sara. Five seats remained unfilled. Mr. Thompson and Bradford came in, taking two of the seats. Lastly, Mr. Dalton, Ms. Graham, and Tiffani walked in and sat at the table. Tiffani winked at her.

“Tiffani.”

“Surprise.”

“What are you doing here?”

“It will all be explained in time, Sara,” Mr. Thompson said. “It is time for our first course of dinner.” He jingled a small bell, and several servants came in carrying trays of food: peanut butter and pickle soup.

After finishing his soup, Mr. Dalton explained to Sara, “You see, Sara. We are all guardians; we have sworn to protect others. All of us have been assigned, at some point in your life, to keep you safe.”

“Protect me from what?”

Mr. Thompson jingled the bell, and the main course was delivered: roast beef marinated in vinegar and mayonnaise, peas and pears in tomato sauce, and mashed potatoes with plum and cornflakes gravy.

“We are all from another world, Sara.”

“You are aliens from outer space? Have I been abducted by aliens?”

“You have not been abducted; you are one of us.” Everyone at the table nodded.

“Get out of here.”

“Bradford is the only one here that is actually from Earth. We are from a place far away called Tenebrae. Two thousand years ago it was taken over by evil; causing a small portion of the country adhering to the old ways to split off and become Libero Salus,”

“You guys are crazy, right?” Sara sat up from the table.

“I wish we were, Sara. Sit down, please. I can prove what I say. Our world is a place of deep magic. Magical persons from Tenebrae have a symbol of their magic on the palm of their hand. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you Sara?”

Everyone at the table, except Bradford, raised their right palms to reveal tiny white stars. Sara raised her hand. In the center was a tiny black star. Everyone around the table gasped. Her ex-babysitter, an old woman of about 40, swooned. Bradford jumped up to help her.

“Please relax everyone. I suspected Sara’s star might be black. It probably changes from black to white and back again, does it not Sara?”

“Yes, it does.”

“That is what makes you unique among us, Sara.” He jingled the bell again, and dessert was served: asparagus and onion parfait. “After dessert, Tiffani, you and Sara may take a walk in the garden if you would like and have some time together. At precisely eight oh four, I need to talk to Sara for a while and then we don’t want to miss the audition rounds of Americas Got Talent tonight.” Mr. Thompson started eating his parfait.

          

Sub Commander Jackson Roberts sat at his desk in the dark, damp cave the Senate had chosen for the base of operations for the entire army of Libero Salus forces. His troops were under-armed, underpaid, under-trained, and under-budgeted.

The High Commander repeatedly explained to him, “Libero Salus has a long-standing treaty with Tenebrae, and any show of force would only convince Queen Hillary to break the treaty. Her large, well maintained, superbly trained offensive forces could then invade the last vestiges of Libero Salus.”

He had pleaded to the High Commander for more men, more money, and a chance to make his forces as good as or even better than the Queen’s but with no success. Jackson reviewed his options. The only possibility to fight Tenebrae was covert. He had once belonged to an organization that was doing just that- The Defenders of the White Star. Queen Hillary had caught the leaders and executed or imprisoned them. The organization disbanded. Afterward, the Queen declared a departure amnesty to Earth for all the remaining members and potential members. Only he and his inept army remained to fight.

Jackson, his wife, and newborn daughter had escaped at that time with the help of forged papers from the Guardians. The three of them had been running ever. Queen Hillary wanted Elizabeth back. After all, she was the heir to the Queendom.

Maggie and Janet, Elizabeth’s older sisters, wanted her dead, ensuring the throne for themselves. They had already mysteriously disposed of three older sisters before Elizabeth was even born. They were gradually poisoning their mother to death. Once she succumbed, only Elizabeth would stand in the way. The sisters hired toads and rats to hunt down the Jackson family. The family had been running ever since. Jackson’s only hope was that Thomas, the leader of the Guardians, would keep them safe while he was stuck here in this dead-end army.

If only he had cell phone reception or internet, he could check on them and make sure they were all okay. He had promised to email them daily. Looking down at the picture of the three of them at Splash Mountain, he smiled, remembering the look on his wife’s face when Sara picked out a Minnie Mouse t-shirt. “They need me at home. They need me to protect them from Queen Hillary and her daughters.” He closed his eyes and imagined his daughter screaming with delight as the roller coaster twisted and turned. Then the screams of joy turned into screams of terror as he imagined her captured by the toads.

---

 [RO1]