Just as Anna had promised, the children saw the beautiful world on the seven hour trip. Georgia had made sure to pack toiletries, enough snacks to last for the entire trip, made sure their tablets were charged to full capacity before setting out on the road trip. For maximum safety and efficiency, Anna had hired a driver to drive them there with the arrangement that she would pay for his return ticket.
As early as six in the morning, they were all ready, clad in beautiful holiday clothes except the driver who would dress in a casual manner. They stood at the door, waiting for him to arrive and Anna turned the decision she had just made over and over in her mind.
She weighed the decisions and the possible consequences it might have on her and her children. She also looked at the other way at what might happen to her friendship with Anna if she refused. Anna wouldn't object, and would certainly not hold a grudge, but Georgia couldn't bring herself to refuse Anna, especially when it had to do with her family member.
At some minutes to seven, there was a knock on the door. Anna opened, and a clean cut, man probably in his early thirties or late twenties appeared.
"Hi, good morning. Miss Anna?"
"You must Mr. Dave, the driver?"
"Correct ma'am. I am Monsieur Dave, the getaway driver," he joked and they all burst into laughter.
"So, I dropped the location of the car yesterday, hope you got it?"
"Yes I did. Took it to the car wash to have it polished and shiny for your fancy holiday."
"I'm liking you already. If everything goes well, maybe you'll get a five star rating and a very big tip to go with it."
"Madame, the rating is already worth more than the tip. I really appreciate it." He thanked and continued, "the pointer on the map says you're headed to the Blue Moon city?"
"Yes, monsieur," Anna replied absentmindedly, her gaze fixated on Keira as she approached from the stairs.
The two boys, identical in every way, wore tailored navy blue suits with crisp white shirts and matching navy ties. Their hair was slicked back, revealing bright curious eyes that shone like gemstones. They carried themselves with confidence, their small shoulders squared and their chins held high.
Their sister, a tiny princess with a mop of curly blonde hair, wore a stunning white dress with delicate lace trim and a satin bow at the waist. The dress fell in soft folds around her knees, and she twirled with excitement, her bright blue eyes sparkling like diamonds. She clutched a small, matching purse in her hand, her tiny fingers wrapped tightly around the delicate strap.
"Why is her hair dyed blonde?" Anna asked her mother in disbelief.
"For the culture. Isn't it beautiful?" she asked, worry brewing on her face.
"This is amazingly beautiful. Turn her to a natural blonde!" she declared.
Each of the triplets carried a small, matching suitcase adorned with colorful stickers and ribbons which were obviously empty. Georgia liked to style her children up in any possible way and in every opportunity she had.
The driver's jaw dropped when he saw them and he appreciated Georgia for a job well done before helping Anna to put the stuffs in the vehicle.
Ten minutes later, the key turned into ignition and the engine roared to life, vibrating furiously beneath their seats. The driver kicked the gear into forward motion and stepped on the accelerator, the car gliding smoothly on the private asphalt road.
The driver turned from the private road into the interstate highway, joining the heavy flow of traffic. He exuded the professionalism in the way he glided the way smoothly along the highway despite the fact that the engine was roaring underneath.
The driver who further introduced himself as Dave Diaz did more than driving. He made sure to give a brief history to the kids on each and every monument they saw on the way. He knew how to communicate with the kids on their own level and in no time, they were already bonding as friends.
It shocked Georgia that even Kelvin, the less talky one among the triplets was chatting seamlessly with Dave from his seat which was positioned at the back of the truck. The journey was smooth and Dave took it upon himself to look for a roadside mobile toilet so the kids could ease themselves.
After searching on the road all to no avail, they decided for a short stop over at a nearby town before they continued their journey. A quick decision brought Georgia taking the kids to the nearby restroom while Dave and Anna secure a spot for them at the restaurant.
Before they knew it, Anna and Dave had connected, talking over a variety of topics from politics to history and humanities even down to classical physics. At that point, Anna realized she didn't know how much she had in common with this man.
As the moment was building up, Georgia came back into the restaurant with her kids, ready for lunch. They ordered honey dipped waffles and fruit juice as Dave had advised to prevent the kids from throwing up when the wheels started turning again.
They all ate their food discussing about the trip and what they were expecting at the Blue City; proclaimed city of the werewolf king. Dave seemed excited to be visiting; but it wasn't really the case for Georgia and Anna. The former was going back to a door she had closed, locked and bolted while the latter was going to the sickness of a relative.
They finished lunch and got back to the vehicle, stretching their joints before going in. before the stop over, they had spent over three hours on the road, so Dave envisaged a remaining four hours trip to the Blue City and implored them all to sleep, Anna being the only person to refuse his proposal.
One hour into the trip and they were all awake again, admiring the beautiful landscapes as they wind through beautiful forests with lush green grass and towering tall pine trees, snake – shaped bodies of water that glowed and reflected in the bright sunlight, they also passed through small local hamlets amazed at the simplicity of life that the people in all these areas lived.
They approached an understone pass, a tunnel that had been embossed in Georgia's memories as she had made her flight from this city five years ago; the tunnel of passage to the Blue City, a remarkable architectural landmark.
The Blue City is known for a lot of things but one of the most popular is the Blue tunnel which she was just about to get into and the Blue House, the tallest skyscraper in the city which was entirely built of glass and ultra high definitions reflective and display panels. The building is powered by the three natural sources of electricity; over three thousand solar panels connected to it from the solar farm at the back, wind power which were gotten from heavy and giant wind turbines installed at the four edges of the building as pillars and hydroelectric power generators which was placed in the Luna lake at the other edge of the city. This was indeed an engineering marvel, much like Stonehenge but man – made.
While people wondered at the ingenuity that powered the creation of such marvel, Georgia detested it so much she wish she could see it crumble. The Blue House had been house to the alpha and the one before him and the one before him; it is the residential house of the alpha wolf that came as a perk for climbing the throne of the Blue City. That house was also where she got her deepest regrets and her harshest memories.
As they drove it past it slowly, due to the heavy traffic usually passing it around it, the kids looked through the windows, wowed at what they had just seen, even Anna couldn't resist looking at the city's presidential palace before noticing Georgia changed countenance and turning to face her.
She reached out and grabbed her hand, gently patting it. Trying to loosen the mood, she asked, "would you love some of Riya's pancakes? She's around."
"She's around?" Georgia asked in surprise, her mind taken off the Blue House.
"Yeah, and I told her to make some of those interesting pancakes for you, just the way you like it."
"Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes!!" the triplets started humming in unison without even knowing the origin of the conversation.
Dave pulled the car to a gradual stop halting behind a long line of vehicles. They were already at the city tollgate and it not only functioned for taxpaying but also for identification of incoming and outgoing traffic.
Soon, it was their turn and Dave pulled up slowly to the guard, a hefty, husky man with a well trimmed beard and a rusty voice.
"State your business," he ordered.