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"No one knows your father by name. They refer to him as the King."

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WE WALKED DOWN a familiar hallway but stopped sooner than expected when he stood before a picture frame. Why I didn't notice the hallway lined with half my size picture frames when coming here was a mystery to me. Then I noticed this was another hallway, only identical to the one before.

I would probably get lost in this place if I was all alone.

"This is the King's Hall," he introduced as I walked further out examining every picture. I stopped before one, eyes widening, as I noticed a familiar face 'This is-'

"Me," he finished with a curt nod. He moved toward it, standing beside me, glancing at his painted portrait, "In other times, better times."

He surely did look younger here, somehow, yet there seemed to be no difference at all. He hadn't aged one bit yet strangely looked younger. But why was he in the king's hall? Wait... was he the-

"I have a seat at the table," he said with a grin, reading my expression, "continue," he urged.

I paused in front of another face I was very familiar with, thanks to current affairs.

"Ah, Miss Amir," he grinned, "you will meet her soon enough. She will be happy to see you."

I had no clue why, but I moved on freezing before the last photo, my eyes stinging a little with tears as I recognized the face before me.

He stood looking out into the vast space between us, towering like he always did. His dark eyes swirled like midnight mist, gentle yet unyielding. his left eye didn't seem as vibrant as the other, but only a few knew it was because it was made of glass.

His beard curled around his lips, neatly drawn to the precise detail, even the streak of white that went through his hair and his beard in an unusually jagged line.

A beautiful abnormality I always marveled at. His smooth dark lightly wrinkled skin gave out the fact that he had seen more than any yet would live longer than most.

He was dressed in a familiar Ekusi gown, an Ekusi band around his wrist, and his signature cane, one he never left behind no matter where he went and I mean everywhere, one his dear beloved pet ravens perched on whenever he visited the courtyard. I could even spot the jagged birthmark on his hand he had also engraved into his cane.

But then it hit me, what was he doing hanging in the King's Hall?

"Your father, the King-" Gravis paused turning to look at me, "of Kingsland."

My eyes almost bulged out of the sockets. What was my father doing heading a whole organization full of converts? Scratch that, let's backtrack a little bit, where did he get all the resources to build this place?

I mean Barotse was not by any means a poor country although it was located in the heart of Africa. On the contrary, it was considered one of the most developed in southern Africa, but these facilities must have cost trillions!

I mean the infrastructure on Kingsland seemed old English castle type but that just meant it cost a lot more.

"Time has run out princess, you will learn as you go, " Gravis suddenly declared, glancing at his watch, "I want you rested and orientated before implementation."

What did that mean? I wanted to know everything, and I wanted to know it now no matter how impossible and overwhelming it seemed to be at the moment. I still had his feeling that I was floating around somewhere in Limbo and my mind had built up this place so I could feel like it wasn't falling apart. So, I wouldn't feel death.

"I know you have questions and they will be answered but this is more important. Your identity as King Armor Gandu's daughter is confidential, confidential I mean only a handful of people know; this is for your protection."

I looked at him like he had grown two heads, eyes widening when he pulled me back a little,

"Talanda, I'm serious," no title I noted, "you cannot tell anyone, absolutely no one of your identity. Your survival and that of the Queen depends on it," His gaze was stern and serious and I nodded.

'okay'.

I wondered how it was possible people didn't know me already, I mean it was easy as going on Google and researching King Armor Gandu.

"No one knows your father by his name, they refer to him as the King, as you will from now on, whenever he is brought up. No smartphones, laptops, or any other smart devices are allowed through here, unless in the Jewel and some restricted areas. No one knows your identity or how you look like Talanda, you may go by your first name, but the last name has been switched," he grunted as we moved down the hall, me pacing beside him. Sighing he stopped in front of the elevator.

"You have already been put into the system, your room number and Identity," he informed me, handing me a sheet of paper.

Name: Talanda Karu

Age: 17

From: Zambia

Red

I noticed the only other thing that was changed from my details was the country of birth. From Barotse to Zambia one of its neighboring countries.

"I must leave you now Talanda, but we will talk tomorrow, I need you to rest for a while as you may feel a little...wobbly if you stay on your feet for too long, "he paused glancing at the floor, " Speaking of feet..."

I looked down to see he was staring at my bare feet, my toes wiggling on the tiles, causing a healing reaction in my cheeks.

"Your assigned roommate, Daya, will meet you at the bottom of the elevator. She will give you a proper tour around Kingsland, and can be a hopeful companion but should not be mistaken for a confidant."

I nodded fully understanding it in plain English. She can be a friend but don't be clumsy and spill the beans. I didn't think he needed to worry though, I had never had a friend my age and I don't know if I felt like trusting anyone at this point or even had the basic skills to acquire one with my awkward self.

As he finished saying this the elevator dinged open and he gently pushed me in. I stumbled in half shocked at his words half nervous. No questions of mine had been truly answered and I certainly had no true idea what was going on, I put my hands out in a wait motion, quickly signing a question I should at least know before being in the dark again.

'How did we survive the crash?"

Gravis' eyes lit up as I had just asked the million-dollar question, grinning as he took a step forward just before the elevator doors.

"Well," he began, pausing for a second, "as I fell from 6000 feet, ears ringing thanks to the bloody blast the fallen gave us," he growled, "I realized..." he trailed off watching me with a sly grin.

I felt a tingling sensation on my scalp, a chilly feeling traveling down my spine causing all the small hairs to rise as I shivered, almost falling back when I felt all the strands of my messy frizzy hair rise, all around me, till it stood at a ninety-degree angle.

I turned to look at him petrified at the sight of my ghostly hair but I wasn't as spooked out by it as much as I was by his now sudden glowing golden irises, the golden veins around his eyes visible.

"That I... could control gravity."

My jaw dropped at his confession, and the smug look on his face as the elevator door dinged shut in front of me, my hair falling almost immediately.

Gravis was a convert. My eyebrows furrowed in disbelief.

Gravis was a convert.

Gravis was a convert!

I pushed my frizzy hair out of my face so I could see. But how? Well, if my dad is King of Kingsland then he, logically speaking has many converts under him, but how many of them did I personally know?

I gasped, my back hitting the back of the elevator holding onto the rail in case I lost consciousness.

Were Zali and Lance converts too? I did not doubt it in my mind at this point. However, the thought that was the strongest at the moment was, was Dad a convert?

I shook the idea out of my mind, if he was a convert, I would have been one too, right?

After the conversion, it became scientifically proven that it was hereditary. Since I was the basic definition of a human with an added defect, then he couldn't have been one. Mom? I highly doubted it. But if Dad wasn't a convert, then why was he the head of the Largest and only Convert Corporation?

Wait ... I took a breath in trying to calm myself. my heart was thudding hard against my chest and everything seemed to be spinning out of control. I was getting way ahead of myself, if I kept on like this, I would pass out any minute from now. I could feel myself take shorter breaths with each passing minute as all the questions flooded my mind.

One thing at a time,

One thing at a time.

I repeated to myself glancing down at my sheet of paper which had been slightly crumpled by now thanks to all the stress I felt I was currently under, looking over at my schedule, trying to ease my shaky hands while pushing back the thoughts that were bursting through from earlier.

This thing had classes.

Classes for converts but... I wasn't a convert.

I shut my eyes groaning.

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I hope you enjoyed the update! Leave a comment on your thoughts on the chapter, vote to boost the book if you're enjoying it! Feel free to leave me a comment or a question on my discord channel, (link in bio)

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