The Baby and the Battlefield

Chapter Sixty-Four: Cinnamon is Frustrated

Cinnamon walked out through the heavy oak doors, finding himself on the steps in front of the large building that served as headquarters for the imperial guard, city unit. Useless, he thought to himself, these men were useless! Just because Vitus had disappeared in the country side and not the capital, Cinnamon had been told that his case was not in the city unit's jurisdiction. The fact that Cinnamon's evidence showed that there was a good chance that Vitus had been taken to the capital was, apparently, not important.

“Stupid guards,” he muttered under his breath, “And stupid Vitus.” After all, who knew what had become of his young master and friend? Cinnamon felt like he might throw up at the thought of Vitus being found dead somewhere, his corpse showing up floating in the river, perhaps, or lying in a dark alley.

Cinnamon walked slowly down the steps to the street, wondering about Vitus' captors. If they hadn't taken him for ransom – and they clearly hadn't – then they had to have something to do with the death of that Gaius guy. And that Gaius guy had been with the army. Maybe the city unit was right, and they weren't the right people to deal with this kind of problem. But that left – that left only the Emperor's own advisors. Cinnamon shuddered. For a moment he considered going back home, and talking this all over with Vitus' father. But ultimately, he shook his head. It would take too long to go home. He would write Vitus' father, and then he would go to the palace himself.