MY FIRST MYSTERY

My First Mystery
Part: 1

‘If you’re not out by the next minute I’m leaving without you.’ Neel’s irritated voice streamed in through the window. I was yet not done packing and the roar of the engine was already making things more confusing. He just loves to do that. Annoy me. Sometimes I just can’t believe he is my older brother. ‘Yeah yeah, I am coming.’ I shouted out.
I rushed down the stairs in a suicidal manner, tossed my backpack and jumped in the front seat. While he started babbling about how irresponsible I am, I plugged in my earphones and pretended he didn’t exist.
If I could I wouldn’t have spent a day with him, forget making an entire trip. But I have to. Last week we got a letter from our ‘Royal’ aunt, inviting us for her 25th wedding anniversary to Lakhsmipur. We call her royal because her husband descended from the once reigning kings and queens. In spite of autocracy being diminished centuries ago, people of the village still believed in the legacy of a ruler and venerated the bloodline. So you can pretty much say they still ‘rule’, only unofficially. And yeah, they still lived in the royal mansion.
My uncle was the first cousin of the recent king. He actually got into the picture after the very unfortunate and tragic death of the king, who was only in his mid-forties. So he was the next eligible option to take over the title and live the aristocrat life. That’s all we knew from the very vague phone call our aunt made to us. And now we were headed towards the palace and a few affluent days of luxury. Oh and why I had to travel with my loathsome companion? Well our parents were out of city for work and wanted us to go ahead first and enjoy ourselves longer.
‘HONK, HONK’. The hydraulic horn nearly gave me a heart attack. I always thought they were fatal. And someday, I fear this is exactly how my life would end. I jolted upright. ‘What the…’ ‘Wake up shithead, we are here.’ Neel announced with a smirk. I squinted up. ‘Already?’. A huge iron gate swung open and made way for us. Now, what I saw through the windshield left me flabbergasted. The façade of the palace was enormous! It seemed to be entirely crafted out of beige marble. When the red evening sun light touched the large center dome it gave out tints of amber and lilac. It was barely traceable because the place had already been abundantly lit up with strong but warm yellow light. There were beautiful garden all around the vicinity.
We drove around a magnificent water fountain with sparkling water and stopped at the entrance. The gushing water made me realize how tired I was and I felt like dumping myself in. Maids and servants rushed towards us to help us out and carried our luggage away. Two of them escorted us inside. We stepped inside this huge parlor that resembled more of the ball rooms they show on movies. The ceiling  must have been three stories high and grand chandeliers hung from every corner. The marvelous and sumptuous décor already made me feel like Cinderella, only about to meet the prince.
Blinded, it took me a while to notice our aunt and uncle waiting. ‘ Oh how are you, look how much you’ve all grown up’ Aunt Bella shrieked in her squeaky voice. She greeted my brother and then turned to me. Then she crushed me, I mean hugged me. ‘Hey Aunty, it’s good to see you’, I said, choking. And when she finally released me, Uncle K got a chance to say hi. ‘So kids, was the journey too harsh on you?’ he asked. ‘No, no, not at all’. Neel and I both replied unanimously. ‘Actually Uncle K, we were really looking forward to making it and be here.’ I said. He gave a hesitant smile and said ‘Very well then, why don’t you guys freshen up and we will meet at the dinner table.’
At about eight o’clock in the evening we were summoned at the dining hall. The dining table was so long that it could seat 20 people at the same time. Soon we were joined by the highnesses. Uncle K entered with a grim face. As we went through the courses and conversed, all along Uncle K seemed to be deeply consumed in thought and uttered very few words. I got a feeling he didn’t really appreciate our presence. A while later one of the servants arrived. ‘Your Highness, the princess refuses to join you at dinner. She says she doesn’t want to eat.’ Aunt Bella objected, ‘But, she can’t continue like this, she has got to eat! And what about the courtesy of meeting our guests, how…’ ‘Leave her alone.’ Uncle K grumped. ‘ Just leave her alone for a while. She’ll get over it.’ I marked contempt in his tone. Of course! They were talking about Rose. Rose was the princess and the only daughter of the late king. She is the sole heiress and would be rightfully crowned when she’ll turn 18. Uncle K is only in power for the next 3 years.
‘Is she alright? Still in trauma?’ I questioned. ‘Of course not!’ Uncle K looked really offended. ‘That girl is going crazy and she is planning to drive us all crazy as well.’ We stared at him in confusion. ‘ She claims that her dad came in her dreams and implied that he hadn't had a heart attack but was deliberately given one.’’ ‘You mean the king was MURDERED?’ I uttered in astonishment. ‘OF COURSE NOT!’ He roared with exasperation. ‘Don’t you think that if the matter was anywhere near that, I would've been the first one to dig deep into it? Solomon was not only my brother but a dearest friend. I would have myself sentenced the convict to death!’ ‘Rose is obsessed with this to such an extent that she has personally requested the police to thoroughly re-investigate. I can’t believe her audacity. I am just sick of dealing with HER!’. Uncle K’s features went unearthly and menacing. He was furious. The next thing he did was very unexpected. He dumped his cutlery hard on the table and stormed out of the room.
That was the end of the dinner. And I was still starving. But that didn’t quite trouble me later. It’s pretty obvious for someone to react in a situation where he have been bearing the pain of losing a friend and is simultaneously burdened with the responsibility of a the title and a daughter. Who of course refuses to listen to him. But today what I saw in his eyes were more than annoyance or frustration. There was fear. This troubled me. Hadn’t he over-reacted? What harm will it do if the police reopened the case just for the princess’s peace of mind? Was he trying to hide something? What was the reason behind the awkward, unwelcoming smile that crossed his lips several times at dinner? Everything was just so weird. And some things were definitely not right. And I had one heck of a feeling that this was gonna be the trip of a lifetime.