Not A Small-Town Girl

"Dad, Mom... are they under the control of the poison? No matter what we say, they don’t respond."

Joseph was sitting in the living room when he heard Judy mention "poison," and his mind immediately went to their parents. Although he wasn’t sure what the effects of being "poisoned" really were, he could tell something was seriously wrong.

"Yes, yes. I’ve already sent someone to fetch the healer. The village chief from where we went to find Matthew last time is on his way—everyone in their village knows how to break this curse," Danielle replied, relieved to know they had someone who could help.

Danielle couldn’t help but feel grateful for knowing those people now—hoping they could lift the poison soon.

"Everyone, let’s go to bed for now. The night shift maids will stay with Mom and Dad. We’ll be busy tomorrow."

Danielle’s brothers exchanged a look. There was no use just sitting around here.

"Alright," they agreed.

*****

The next morning, at the crack of dawn, Danielle made her way downstairs. As soon as she reached the bottom, she found several of her brothers and David sitting together in the living room.

"Danielle, are you awake? Do you want to go back to sleep?" Elliot asked, his face full of concern.

Her other brothers also looked equally concerned. All they wanted was to find the antidote for Danielle and track down the person behind this whole mess.

"I’m not tired," Danielle said. "But why are you all up so early? Even David’s here?"

She was surprised—her brothers were early risers, but David?

"Just here to have breakfast with you," David said casually, plopping down on the couch. If you didn’t know better, you’d think the Darling family was just visiting him.

"Alright then, let’s all have breakfast together," Danielle said, her tone warm.

"Oh, by the way, I just checked on Mom and Dad. Their eyes are wide open, not blinking, just lying there. They can’t eat anything yet, but Orion should be here soon."

"I saw them too. Their eyes are wide open, and if we don’t break this curse soon, I’m afraid they’ll starve themselves to death before the poison can control them again," Austin said, trying to smile, but his heart ached seeing their parents in that state.

They all sat down at the breakfast table, where a wide variety of food was laid out—mostly dishes Danielle loved.

Before she even picked up her fork, her brothers started serving her food.

"Danielle, try this, it’s really good."

"Danielle, this one’s your favorite, you should eat it."

Danielle, still holding her fork, glanced up at her brothers. All of their eyes were fixated on the large diamond ring she was wearing.

They exchanged looks, and a wave of realization spread through them. Could it be...? Was the ring what they thought it was?

They started sending subtle signals to Austin. [Austin, you ask her.]

Austin: [Why should I ask? Joseph, you’re the eldest. You ask her.] The men all turned their gaze to Joseph.

Joseph: [Who’s the youngest here? Austin, you should ask.]noveldrama

Austin, who was currently the youngest, disagreed. [Aren’t you supposed to protect your younger brothers? Elliot, you ask. You’re the strongest.]

Elliot: [What the hell do you mean "strongest"? Matthew has the best words, he’s the most suitable for this.]

Matthew flashed a grin at Austin. Austin shuddered. Threateningly, Matthew said, "Xavier, when are you getting out of the hospital? You’re not here, and now we’re all getting bullied."