"I'm the heiress to the Cage family. My mother is the head, while Uncle Charlie is her brother" Rhea said
"Woah. That explains a lot" Orpheus was taken aback a little by the sudden revelation
"Go on. Tell me everything" Raya said with a straight face, but if you looked closer, you'd see anger brewing in her eyes
"Raya, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" Rhea tried to apologize, but was cut short by Raya
"I said, go on"
"She's really angry huh" Andrian muttered
"What else did you expect? Her best friend has been lying to her for a long time" Tana shrugged
"Uh, you see" Rhea began her story "this is what happened…"
***
7 years ago, at the Cage Manor…
"Young miss? Young miss!" a woman dressed in a maid's clothing ran around, searching for a young girl
"Lena, what's wrong? Don't tell me Lady Rhea has escaped again" another maid walked up to her
"She has. And if I don't find her before noon, Lord Cage will have my head" Lena fidgeted
"Have you checked the garden?"
"Oh, that's true. I'll go over there right now" Lena briskly walked away "This young girl. Running away before meeting her betrothed"
________
"Sylvia, are you sure of this? You are about to jeopardize the future of your only child" Charlie said while pacing in her office
"I'm not jeopardizing anything. This is for her own good" Sylvia said
"So, you're saying, keeping Rhea coped up in this island and marrying her off just to make her stay in order to protect our secrets is for her good?!" Charlie yelled in anger
"You don't understand. She's just not ready. She can't survive out there" Sylvia tried to explain to him
"How would you know if you don't try? Huh?! Besides, mum and dad never did this to you, so, I don't get why you would do this to your own daughter" Charlie retorted
"Charlie!! Do not bring them into this. I raise my daughter as how I see fit" Sylvia said and turned her back "You're dismissed"
"Sylvia, this is not…"
"I said, you're dismissed!!"
"Yes, Lord Cage" Charlie bowed and walked out of the office with a dejected look on his face
"She didn't agree, right?" 10 year old Rhea walked up to him
"Hey, kid" Charlie forced a smile on his face "What do you mean, she didn't agree?"
"Uncle Charlie, there's no need to lie to me about this. I know the reason I'm getting engaged tomorrow is because mother doesn't want me to leave the island" Rhea said with sadness written all over her face
"No need to be sad. Don't worry, I'll try to talk to your mother about this, okay?" Charlie ruffled her hair
"Okay, Uncle Charlie" She nodded her head with a smile
"Young miss! Young miss!!" a voice called out from a far distance
"Did you escape again?" Charlie asked with a raised eyebrow
"It's not my fault" Rhea pouted "They make me wear a lotta weird things and put some sorta pancake on my face"
"Pancake?" Charlie's mouth twitched "Mwahaha… You… you called make-up pancake. Damn, kid. You're good. Hahaha"
"It's not funny, Uncle Charlie." Rhea stomped her feet on the floor in frustration on seeing her uncle bend over in laughter
"Okay… ha… hmm" Charlie tried to stifle his laughter but still cracked up once more
"I'm going" Rhea turned around to leave
"Okay, I'm sorry" Charlie said
"Young miss! Ah, there you are" Lena ran over to Rhea, seeming not to notice Charlie "Where have you been, Lady Rhea?"
"Relax. I took her out for a walk" Charlie said
"Ah! Mister Charlie! My apologies for not noticing you earlier" Lena bowed to him
"Don't worry, it's alright" He said and turned to Rhea "Run along, kid. I promise I'll find a way to talk to your mum"
"Okay, Uncle Charlie" Rhea walked away with Lena while sulking heavily
"Poor kid" Charlie sighed and walked in the opposite direction "What in fate's name are you thinking, sister?
_______
The next day,
"Sister, are you really sure about this? Could you at least reconsider?" Charlie walked up to his sister who was smoking a pipe in the garden
"Ugh, this talk again? Look, Charlie, forget about this and enjoy this happy day. Besides, it's too late to call it off" Sylvia gave out one last puff of smoke and walked away
"Well, shit" Charlie cursed "I've got no other choice then. I just hope she'll let me off with a light punishment"
---
In a large room, a reasonable number of maids ran around, trying to put things in order. They all discussed about the upcoming ceremony with large smiles on their faces as it was a happy occasion. Soon, one of the maids walked over to a door at the corner of the room
"Young miss, it's time for your make-up!
"I'm coming. I'll be right there!" Rhea answered from behind the door 'My escape plan has gone well so far. If fate wills it, it will not go wrong'
While everyone was still preparing, Charlie suddenly walked into the room
"Everyone, out. Now" he said
"Yes, Lord Charlie" the maids bowed and walked out of the room although they didn't know why Charlie had suddenly ordered them out
"Who's that? That voice sounds like…" Rhea walked out of the room she was in and took a step back in shock "Uncle Charlie? What are you doing here?"
"Shhh" he put a finger on his mouth "I want you to tell me the truth. Do you want this engagement or not?"
"But mother…"
"Answer me! This is your last chance. Do you want this engagement?" Charlie impatiently asked again
"No, I don't. But…" Rhea answered but was still cut short
"It doesn't matter" Charlie threw a katana at her "Take it and follow me"
"This is mother's third katana" Rhea caught the katana and slightly removed it from its sheath "Why are you giving me this"
"Look, none of these things matter right now. Just follow me" Charlie walked out of the room
"What's going on? Is there an invasion? No, that's impossible" Rhea muttered to herself. Charlie obviously heard her but chose to ignore it
The both of them walked down the passage way that led to the room and made their way to the staircase of the mansion
"Uncle Charlie, where are you taking me?" Rhea asked after they had gotten to the bottom of the mansion
"Far away from here. I can't let your future be tarnished in this manner. Especially when it involves the future of the Cages" Charlie said while searching around
"But mother… mother will kill you if she finds out"
"Relax. I'll take care of the aftermath" he said with an assuring smile
---
Behind the mansion, a lot of people gathered together from all over the island in order to celebrate the happy occasion
Where they had gathered was the huge garden that was located in the Cage manor. The garden had already been decorated beforehand.
"Good day everyone, and welcome to the Cage manor" Sylvia stood before everyone with a smile on her face, instantly catching everyone's attention "I believe you all know what we've gathered together to celebrate. And now, without further ado, I present to you the latest couple in the Cage family!"
A young boy of about 11 years old walked out with a bashful smile on his face. He looked around for someone and looked at Sylvia in confusion.
"Um, Lord Cage," A maid walked up to Sylvia "We can't seem to find Young miss anywhere in the mansion"
"What do you mean by you can't seem to find her?!" Sylvia unconsciously yelled in anger, forgetting that she wasn't alone
"Lord Cage's daughter ran away?"
"All these young ladies of now-a-days. Running away from their engagement ceremonies. I remember when my wife did this to me"
"The young miss is probably too shy to show herself. She'll come around in a little bit"
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry for the delay but it seems something urgent has come up. Sorry for the inconvenience" Sylvia said and briskly walked out of the garden "Why now of all times?"
"Aaahh!" someone yelled from far away, inciting the attention of everyone
"Lena? What is the matter?" Sylvia ran towards her and received a fright. Four men were sprawled on the floor at the door of the mansion
"I-I was looking f-for La-lady Rh-rhea and fo-found them on the floor like this"
"Lord Cage? Is that you?" one of the men on the floor grunted in a faint voice "It was Charlie and the young miss. They're trying to leave the mansion"
"What do you mean?" Sylvia's eyes widened in shock
"I don't… know… either" the man said and passed out
"Take them way for immediate treatment. Now!" Sylvia told Lena and disappeared
"Y-yes, Lord Cage"
***
"Quickly. Run faster" Charlie said to Rhea while they were sprinting towards the gate of the mansion "The gate contains a teleportation circle. The sooner we activate it, the better"
"Won't mother get angry if I leave the island? I thought I was just leaving the mansion" Rhea said
"Do you think she will not find you if you remain on the island?" Charlie said before stopping in front of a large gate
"Charlie and Lady Rhea? What are you doing here?" Braun was taken aback when he saw both of them standing by the gate
"Brock, Braun, I'm sorry about this" Charlie waved his hand
"Sorry about wha-" Braun and Brock instantly turned into ice sculptures
Charlie put his hands on the gate that soon began to shine with a pink light "It's activated. Go now before it shuts down"
"But-"
"Charlie! What are you doing?!' Sylvia appeared before them with anger written all over her face
"I'm sorry, sister. But I can't let my niece's future turn out the way you want it" Charlie said and turned to Rhea "Go! Now!"
"If you take one more step…" Sylvia spoke up with her gaze still fixed on Charlie "I will not consider you my daughter from that point on"
"Rhea, when you get there, you'll meet a friend of mine. I already told her you're coming over" Charlie yelled over his shoulders "The circle will close in about ten seconds. Leave!"
"But-" Rhea clutched the katana tightly
"Go!"
"Good bye, mother. I'll make sure to remember you even if you don't do the same to me" She walked into the teleportation circle with tears in her eyes and disappeared a second later