The Wings of the Beautifully Fallen

Chapter 40: Reginald

Chapter 40: Reginald

"It does not look like there was an attack." Father observed as we studied the castle from the air.

"If it was a group of assassins, can you expect something different?" I demanded, eying the crowd below as people went about their shopping. The attack had happened over a week and a half ago and I could tell that the horror had already passed through their minds. They believed that the knights and royal families will protect them. I could just imagine their reactions if they knew that none of us knew what was happening or who was behind it.

"None the less, we need to see King Mitchel." He dived, his emerald wings held firmly together as my father led the way to the ground below.

Only four day had passed since we left the palace, since I left Illiana, and I feared that something would happen so that I would be unable to return.

As the ground grew nearer, the people below finally noticed us, horns echoed above the bustling noise of the city followed by cheers as the peasants welcomed us. None of us could tell that there had been an attack. There was no fear in the people, no damage to the buildings, and no blood on the ground. If my father and I did not trust the royal family then we would wonder if it had been a lie. However, it had to be the truth and the attack could only have been pulled off by experts.

Passing over the gates to the palace, my father and I, followed by our soldiers, shot towards the door, landing in front of King Mitchel and Queen Leann.

"Well, it is a pleasure to see you again." King Mitchel stated as he walked up to my father, their hands shaking in acknowledgment. A bandage wrapped around the King's wrist and neck, a slight red stain seeped from the skin to the outer edges. His wife was not much better of. A bandage wrapped around her neck as well and the way her dress built up around her body, I believed that there was another around her torso.

"You look like you got kicked by a horse!" Father exclaimed, his free hand clapping the man on the shoulder in jest. "Did your medics forget how to heal or something?"

"No, my lord. For some reason, all of their healing methods are not working." Queen Leann smiled sadly, her hand rising to her chest, solidifying the belief that there was an injury that was not just around her neck.

"Please, my lord, come in, there is much that we need to discuss." King Mitchel stated, his hand waving towards the door and my father nodded, leading the way inside.

*

"So, let me get this straight, a group of assassins, maybe three or four, broke into the palace in the dead of night, injured all of you, gave you a warning and then left?" I repeated, standing to the right of my father. I stood across the table from King Mitchel, his wife, and his eldest son, Prince Jacob. All three of them had similar bandages around their necks and a identical look of fear and confusion.

"Exactly." The king muttered.

"But why would they not just kill you and be over with it?" Father demanded, shoving himself up from the chair and stalked over to the crackling fire.

"And what did they do to make it so that magic could not heal the injuries?" I added, watching as my father waved me off with the flick of his hand.

"That is something we can deal with later. Right now, we have more pressing matters." He grumbled, turning back towards us. "Do you remember anything else? A symbol? A face? Anything that could give us a connection to the culprits?"

"It all happened so fast." King Mitchel stated, his eyes glancing down in humiliation.

For him, he did not know, but I could see an idea flickering in his eyes but I could tell that he was not willing to say whatever it was. In a way, I could understand. After being in something like that, after not being able to protect his wife from harm and to know that they all should be dead at this very moment, it was understandable at being reluctant to say anything. But whatever he has to say may be important and may give us some information that we need to figure this out.

"If we are lucky, maybe the others had better luck at finding out who was the culprit." Father grumbled and I nodded. "For now, I want to order a sweep of the city, every house to be investigated and anything suspicious reported."

"My lord, we cannot do that! The people are already doubting us enough as it is, can you imagine the fear and the anger at us if we demand to search their homes?" King Mitchel demanded, his fist colliding with the table.

"Tell them that the high king has requested it. When going in there, make sure your men know not to destroy anything." For a moment, my father looked older than ever and I knew that the stress and fear was getting to him as well. If we did not find the culprit and put an end to the insanity, then it would be possible for many innocent people to die in the cross fire.

"And make sure to tell them that we are only trying to protect them and guarantee their safety." I added.

Silence fell before the man nodded and turned to his son. No words were spoken as the man asked his son to handle the guard and the search. Even though he had given in, I knew that King Mitchel was not happy at the idea of searching his people's houses.

"I will assist you, Prince Jacob."

"Your assistance is much appreciated." The response was forced and fake, filled with doubt and I knew that it was not me who he doubted.

"Reginald, use the men that we brought as well. They can help." Father ordered and I nodded before turning to the prince and following him out of the room and across the hall to a study.

Prince Jacob strode to the desk, his hand mindlessly trailing the edge as he walked around and sat in the chair. He was not there, he did not care. Something inside of him was dead, broken. Whatever it was, I could understand the pain, but he needed to stop worrying about it. It was hard, I was sure of that, especially if the doubt was because of what happened with the assassins and his wife being injured.

With a deep breath, I walked up to him, glancing at the papers on his desk. "I think we should make at least thirty search parties of four or five people." I told him and he nodded, a glint of hope flickering across his face. Right now, he did not want to be in charge, but wanted someone else to take the lead. For this, I had no choice but to do it. This was something that needed to be done. "We brought thirty guards with us, one will be in each group to emphasize the idea that it was mandated by my father and not yours. The rest of them is up to you."

"We will have to tell the guards who are not already working. I do not want to leave the palace unguarded." He stated, his hands ruffling through the papers on the desk.

"Is that what happened?"

"In a way."

"What do you mean?"

He sat there for a moment, his left fingers curling in a fist until his knuckles were blindingly white, and his eyes stared at the empty space beside me. There was something there, something that he needed to say, but did not. I leaned forward, stepping into the line of sight as I knelt in front of him, leaving the desk between us.

"You saw something, yes? Something that we might need to know."

"Once a month, we allow a few of the night shift guards to stay home. It is random. It is never the same day in the month. Very few people know of it." His voice was soft as he continued to stare into a void that I could not see. "The guards on my door looked ill, feverish, and I did not want him near my wife. Not since the midwife confessed that Sally was pregnant. I was afraid that my wife would catch a cold from him and we would lose the child." He let out a dry laugh and I could see the pain in his eyes and I knew. He lost something more than just the sense of security, the confidence that he could protect his wife. He lost the baby, his baby. "I recognized one of the attackers. I saw him often. He came from the Southern Kingdom, moved here with his parents and became a guard. I did not trust him."

"What was his name?" I questioned.

"Salem." He muttered.

I nodded, stepping away as I tried to give him space. Even if the name of the man could not help, I did realize one thing. The assassins that were here, they did not do it to murder. They did it to upset the minds of the royal family, hoping that they would lose the security of their home. As much as I hated to admit it, from the looks of those around us, the attack worked perfectly.