INT. ANGELA''S HOUSE - ANGELA''S ROOM - DAY
(Aurora quickly rises, nervously responding to her mother)
AURORA: you... I... it''s...
ANGELA: I thought you were going to your room to take a nap. What are you doing in my room?
AURORA: I... I came... to... mom, you were lying to me all this time
ANGELA: where have you been going to? Is it Walker? (Exasperated) Gosh, that old man is quite persistent in his interference, and he won''t get off my back either
AURORA: you... why?
ANGELA: don''t you dare ask me that! Do you know how my life has been ever since your selfish mother took everything away from me? She took your father away from me. I was supposed to marry the Emperor; I was to be his Empress, but he fell in love with your mother instead. How pathetic!
AURORA: you kidnapped me. You stole my childhood and my family''s love
ANGELA: you deserve it, Aurora. My plan to marry your father failed so I improvised. I kidnapped you from your family and raised you up. Do you know why? Because I want the exchange. I know your mother would choose you over the Emperor, so I wanted the exchange but my plan failed again. I don''t know who kidnapped the Emperor and Empress, but the person did a bad job
AURORA: you won''t win
ANGELA: the victory is already mine, sweetheart. I still have you with me
AURORA: not anymore. I am going to the palace to be the Empress I am
(Angela stares at Aurora and bursts out cackling malevolently)
ANGELA: you are so hilarious, sweetheart. You are staying with me, whether you like it or not
AURORA: I am going to the palace, and it''s final
(Aurora makes her way to the exit, but Angela picks up a vase and lands it on her head. Aurora falls down)
ANGELA: no one leaves until I say so
(Angela carries Aurora to her room and locks her up)
EXT. STREET - DAY
(The atmosphere is tense as the group of friends anxiously makes their way to Aurora''s house, desperately attempting to reach her after a prolonged period of unresponsiveness)
RILEY: I am Aurora''s best friend and I say, it is not like her to switch off her phone
DAPHNE: (worried) what could be the problem? Do you think she is in trouble?
RILEY: Aunt Angela would take down anyone trying to harm Aurora, so she is definitely safe
ANDREW: yeah, I agree with Riley
AARON: or maybe they decided to leave after all?
RILEY: I''d dig into the ground to find Aurora and give her a piece of my mind if she dared
DAPHNE: well, we can''t go to her house because Angela won''t let us in
ANDREW: and to be on the safer side
AARON: what do you mean?
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
ANDREW: Riley, do you want to elaborate?
(Riley smiles and bursts into laughter)
RILEY: I went to check on Aurora, and... Andrew accompanied me. Unfortunately, we were escorted out with a frying pan
DAPHNE: Angela?
ANDREW: mm-hmm
(They all burst out laughing)
AARON: thank God you didn''t ask me to accompany you
RILEY: what if I did? Would you have ditched me?
AARON: well, for some reasons...
DAPHNE: you are not serious, Aaron
RILEY: we are sneaking in to check on Aurora tonight. Who''s in?
DAPHNE: I am definitely in
ANDREW: me too
AARON: come on guys, don''t do this to me. (Sighs) fine, I am cautiously in
(They all burst out laughing)
RILEY: alright, see you guys later
AARON: should I accompany you home?
RILEY: I am fine
(Riley waves goodbye and exits)
DAPHNE: why are you standing here, dude? Go apologize
AARON: yeah, got it
(Aaron exits, leaving Daphne and Andrew laughing)
ANDREW: he needs help
DAPHNE: immediately
INT. EMPIRE - IMPERIAL SALON - DAY
(Walker paces around the room, contemplating how to rescue the Emperor and Empress. Allison, Charlotte and Justin enter, disrupting the moment)
ALLISON: Sire Walker, I hope my uncle is fine. I love him so much
CHARLOTTE: yeah, we haven''t heard anything from the rivals. Why is that?
WALKER: well, for some reasons, they have achieved their goals... it would be very difficult to come to an agreement with them
JUSTIN: let''s make a plan, sneak in, and rescue the Emperor and Empress
WALKER: Justin, you are handsome and charming, but not smart. Let us do the thinking, okay?
JUSTIN: I won''t be offended because you are going through a lot at the moment
ALLISON: any plans to rescue them?
WALKER: yes... about that... Jax, Caleb. Where is the Empress?
(Jax and Caleb, guarding the door, enter)
JAX: sire?
WALKER: Aurora often visits, even though she doesn''t believe us yet
CALEB: I wanted to ask the same question, sire
JAX: we will go check up on her
WALKER: that''s very thoughtful of you. Thank you so much
(Jax and Caleb nod and make their way out)
ALLISON: your Empress is refusing to take the throne?
(They bursts out laughing mockingly at the fact that Aurora refuses the throne)
ALLISON: what a pathetic loser! For a moment, I thought she was cool
WALKER: the Empress is far better than all of you combined. Aurora''s self esteem surpasses the need to come to the palace, flaunt herself, and seek fame, power and riches
CHARLOTTE: ouch... that was a little bit harsh and rude, sire
WALKER: Justin, get me Clark
JUSTIN: sire, I am not an errand boy; I am Justin Christopher
WALKER: and I am the guardian of this Empire, and since the Emperor is absent, I make the decisions. Get me Clark, now
JUSTIN: I''ll do just that
(Justin rushes out, and Walker stares at Allison, smiling)
ALLISON: do not dare, sire
WALKER: enjoy your stay!
(Walker smiles at them before making his way out of the room. Allison breathes a sigh of relief)
ALLISON: for a moment, I thought he was going to reduce me to Clark''s level
CHARLOTTE: oh my God, Allison, I got in. We are going to that Uni
ALLISON: yeah, I got the message yesterday
CHARLOTTE: and you weren''t bothered to tell me?
ALLISON: it skipped my mind. Why don''t we organize a welcome party for ourselves? We can tell everyone about ourselves
CHARLOTTE: I don''t think it''s a good idea, especially considering the fact that Sir Walker tends to dampen the mood
ALLISON: Ugh, you are right. You know what? I''ll go explore the garden because I am dying of boredom
CHARLOTTE: let''s go
(They exit)
EXT. OUTSIDE ANGELA''S HOUSE - AFTERNOON
(Angela stops a cab and forcefully pulls Aurora inside before rushing off to pack. Moments later, as she is about to leave, Jax and Caleb enter abruptly, halting the escape)
JAX: (stern) hold on, Angela?
(Angela freezes, realizing she''s been caught)
ANGELA: (Defensive) what are you doing here? Why are you here?
CALEB: Jax, make sure she doesn''t escape. I''ll take the Empress out of the car
(Jax nods, maintaining a vigilant stance as Caleb moves towards the cab)
ANGELA: (defiant) you can''t stop me
JAX: (resolute) we already did
(Exasperated, Angela throws their things in Jax''s face and darts off)
JAX: (calling out) hey!
CALEB: (calm) no need to chase her, Jax. We have the Empress, and she is safe and alive
JAX: (resigned) alright then, let''s go to the palace
(Jax and Caleb take the Empress home while Riley, Daphne, Andrew and Aaron make their way in, unaware that they just missed Aurora)
DAPHNE: (looking at suitcases) are these...?
RILEY: (disappointed) so, she left without saying goodbye after all
ANDREW: (trying to calm Riley) Riley, calm down! If they left, then why are their suitcases here?
AARON: (suggesting) maybe they don''t need them
RILEY: (determined) no matter what, Andrew, Aurora owes us an explanation
(Riley storms out, leaving the rest behind in confusion)
DAPHNE: (confused) what must have happened here? Why are the clothes scattered? Were they being robbed?
AARON: (determined) a mystery we have to find out
ANDREW: (teasing) really, dude? Are you still into those movies?
DAPHNE: (resolute) let''s go
AARON: (fee ling remorseful) Riley is ignoring me, and I apologized already
(They walk home, discussing the situation)
FADE OUT