The princess had us to come into a huge room, much like the banquet hall, that it hardly any furniture. At the end of the long walkway stood the Princess and her entourage.

Near the princess stood Corvi, Dan and Billy and a couple of protectors who I didn’t recognize. The princess walked towards us and looked at Jack as we held him up, “Is this one of the hybrids that helped Jack Findle to escape?”

“No, ma’am. This is Jack.” I declared.

“Don’t toy with me! Your assignment was to get Jack: now, where is he?” the princess shouted impatiently.

Broadie then spoke up, “My lady, we were just as shocked as you are, but this truly is Jack Findle. Look at his hair and look at his eyes. That’s the same man that we captured before, but somehow, he’s a----“

“A hybrid?” The princess interrupted. She slowly walked toward the unconscious Jack Findle and took a closer look at him. “I must say, he does look like him, but this isn’t possible?”

She touched Jack’s face to get a thorough look at him.

“AHHH!” Jack wailed as he awoke and attempted to spit ice in the princess’ face.

The princess didn’t flinch, “That voice . . . you are Jack Findle.” The princess began to circle around Jack while Broadie and I held his arms as he struggled to break free. “So, tell me, Jack Findle. How is it possible that you were once a human but are now a hybrid?”

The hybrid looked at the princess, “You really are stupid, aren’t you? I’m not speaking to you!”

The princess smiled and walked away, “There are many ways that I can find out what I need.”

Standing behind the princess with his arms folded, Dan Siratchi stepped forward and spoke discreetly: “My Lady, perhaps Dr. Kyro can help shed some light on this situation.”

“Not only is the doctor injured now, but he said that he didn’t see any signs of Jack being a hybrid. So, calling him in would be useless.” The princess demanded.

Dan smoothly responded, “Maybe you’re right. Or maybe the doctor was disoriented because of the recent attack. I think we should give him the opportunity to tell us any information he may have neglected to tell us before.”  

The princess smiled, “Very well. We need to get Dr. Kyro in here to find out what he knows.”

Moments later, Dr. Kyro arrived. “How can I be of service to you, Your Excellency?” The doctor asked as he entered the room.

The princess said, “I called you here to ask you something.” Dr. Kyro nodded.

“Dr. Kyro, you stated that there was no signs that indicated that Jack was a hybrid. So, please explain this.”

The princess pointed at Jack Findle.

The doctor’s eyes widened, “I-I-I-“

The princess interrupted, “Now Doctor, help me to understand. You specialize in genetics, so how could you miss this? Did he look like this when he escaped your lab?”

“Yes, I mean-No! Let me explain.” The doctor said nervously.

“Please do.” The princess insisted.

The doctor looked at the now smiling Jack Findle then looked at the princess. He took a deep breath, allowing all of his nervousness began to slowly dissolve.

The doctor looked at the princess and smiled, “Your Excellency, that creature can’t be the Jack Findle that I examined. It’s just not possible.”

The princess maliciously smiled back at Dr. Kyro, “We’ve already examined him, and everyone here is sure that he is the same Jack Findle. But, just to be certain, why don’t you get a blood sample from the hybrid, and we’ll compare it to the sample that you have of Jack Findle’s blood.”

Dr. Kyro smirked, “That’s simply impossible Your Excellency. All of my progress was destroyed in my laboratory, including Jack Findle’s DNA samples.”

Then Jack shouted, “Why don’t you just tell them doctor? It’s not like there anything that they can do about it now!” The Doctor’s face changed from pleasant into deep aggression.

“Tell us WHAT?” the princess demanded.

Jack began to laugh hysterically and confidently. He held back his head, “Dr. Kyro is th–“

Before Jack could finish his sentence, Dr. Kyro pulled a dagger from his jacket and quickly threw it in my direction. The dagger pierced Jack Findle in his throat. Jack’s body was hit so hard that he flew out of our hands. Two of the protectors that stood near the princess immediately grabbed Jack’s bleeding and shaking body and took him out of the room.

“Why did you do that?” The princess shouted, stomping furiously toward the doctor.

“It’s like you said, Your Excellency. We are of the Umi Tribe; we have a zero toleration policy for hybrids. Am I not correct?” Dr. Kyro said with malice in his voice.

The princess stood over the doctor, “What are you trying to hide?”

“Please, don’t confuse my motives, Your Excellency. The only thing that I was trying to hide is my own shame. I’m ashamed that I missed such a phenomenon. I can’t begin to describe to you how sorry I am for my negligence.” The doctor said.

The princess continued to stare at the doctor while clenching her fists.

Dr. Kyro passionately continued, “I could have never predicted that his cells would change him from human to hybrid.”

Dan spoke up, “Then why kill the Hybrid? What was he going to say that you didn’t want us to know?”

“Please, don’t confuse my motives,” Dr. Kyro repeated calmly. “I didn’t kill that thing because of what he was saying. I killed it because—“

Corvi interrupted, “May I, Princess Tuyette.” 

The princess never took her eyes off of the doctor, “Yes, Corvi, your opinion is highly valued here. Please go ahead.”

Corvi stepped forward, “As a scientist myself, I’ve studied not only plants but also the human body and I must say that a transformation like this is completely unheard of. So, I don’t believe that the doctor saw this coming. Besides, there’s also something that we haven’t considered.”

The princess then looked at Corvi as she continued. “We haven’t considered that Jack may have transformed after he left Dr. Kyro’s laboratory. And if that’s the case, then the doctor would not have seen any signs of him being a hybrid.”

Corvi, then,  turned to Dr. Kyro. “So Doctor, is that what happened? Was Jack in human form when he escaped your lab?” 

The doctor closed his eyes and smirked a little. Then he looked directly at the princess and said, “Yes. That’s exactly what happened.”

“There you have it. The only thing this man is guilty of is being negligent.” Corvi said with confidence.

The princess slowly walked to her throne and took a seat. “Listen up! I’ve made a decision. Dr. Kyro, you are hereby on probation until we understand what’s going on with this hybrid situation. That means that you are not to interfere with our investigation concerning Jack Findle. Understood?”

Dr. Kyro bowed, “Wise decision, Your Excellency.”

“You are dismissed doctor!” The princess shouted.

The room was in complete silence as the doctor slowly limped out. “Where was that limb when he came in?” Lucius whispered jokingly. I just shook my head.

“Alright, everyone. If there is nothing else, then you are all dis—“

“Please wait, Your Majesty!” Steve interrupted the princess, “We still have one order of business to tend to.”

“This guy is not who he says that he is!” Steve said, pointing directly at me.

Next Chapter: HERONA’S SECRET