Edmund was sitting behind the study desk. A piece of quill was on his hand while he was scribbling on a paper. The dancing fire that radiate warm throughout the room was the only thing that accompanied him in the cold and peaceful night.
Then a knock which broke the silence was heard. "The door is open," Edmund spoke as he torn the paper into tiny pieces before throwing it into the fireplace.
It was very typical for the king to call him at such late hours. Leon didn't have the right to complain. It was his job. After all, he had known him for years that it had become a habit.
"What do you want?" he asked through lidded eyes. Leon lazily approached him as Edmund was opening the drawer and handed him the letter.
Leon opened it and revealed an empty letter. Edmund handed him a cup of water and spilled an amount of water. He waited for a second and two before there a thin line was seen. Leon took the letter and observed it above the candle to take a better look. The line started to get thicker as he saw the fox's tail.
"It's exactly the same with that other," he spoke as he furrowed his eyebrows in curiousness.
"Indeed," the king replied as Leon placed the letter on the nearest table. "The chief of Tmanian gave me this. He said that it was found on the day the black herbs were stolen and it's the only clue the thief had left behind."
"So it is them."
"In order to find Lucy, we have to find out about this symbol so we could track them down."
"Maybe Elena could help," Leon said more like a question rather than a statement.
"No," the king shook his head in disagreement. "Send a letter to Sophie and ask her about her progress. I'll write a letter to Susan to ask for her help. I'm sure she'll know something about it since she has read numerous books."
"Alright," Leon nodded his head. He knew Edmund has his own plan so it was better for him to follow his lead. "Well, if there's nothing else I'll head back to sleep," he waved his hand before he went out of the room.
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"Any news?" the queen asked as she was taking a sip of her tea. She placed the cup on the table beside her and looked directly at him.
"No," Matthias replied, knowing that it was the last word she wanted to hear.
"Keep on checking and do inform me as soon as possible. But they won't do anything in these few days."
"But how could they know that you're out?" Matthias pointed out. She nodded her head in as she was also thinking about the same thing. What Matthias said was true, she never told an outsider about her departure to the Tmanian. So there must be a traitor around her since the information had leaked.
But the question is who?
"There are still two people on that list," he said referring to the list that his father had given. There were many names and Matthias had checked all of them. He didn't find any major flaws in them. There's some fallacy but it had all been taken care of and after a few more examinations, it has nothing to do with the betrayal.
"They're our friends, Matthias. And I trust them with my whole heart," she sighed. "Do you really want to investigate your own friends?"
"As a general and for the sake of Vremoor, yes," he stated. "But as a friend, no."
He understood her feeling, it wasn't easy to rule over a kingdom while having the responsibility to find the traitor and her brother.
"One of them is the advisor of Vremoor who was chosen by my father. The other is the second general of Vremoor and she had saved me countless times before. Not to mention that she was always there for me," Elena let out a heavy sigh as she rubbed her temple.
"But those two people are the only ones that we haven't investigate. Their names were written on the list."
"I know, Matthias. I know."
"Do what you have to do," the queen finally said with a heavy heart. Matthias nodded his head before he excused himself and went out of the room, giving her some space.
She was always certain with her decisions but this time, she was far from it. Some part of her knew well that her father would want her to find the rebel, for the sake of the people. The late king always taught her about standing for what is right. "Justice must be made," that was what he said.
But deep down in her heart, she hesitated. She had been protecting them for years. She always avoided to check them two. Frankly, she was afraid of the truth and if one of them really is the person she had been looking for, would she be able to admit it?
After times of ruminating, she came to a conclusion that the one who helped the former General Judas rebelled against her. Is the same one person as the one who leaked the information. And that person instructed the South district to attack the castle. Whoever it is, the crimes that had been done were severe.
And all she has to do now was to wait for further news.
The dark knights were all trained by the queen. She was the one who taught them the basics till they became knights. It was well known that the dark knights were invincible, but their loyalty? Nobody could guarantee that, not even their mentor.
Now her mind was wandering. She had many different questions with not a single answer.
How could the person influence the dark knights? And why?
Certainly, everyone has the possibility to be a rebel. The urge to withstand the law is always inside every person, it's human nature.
But everyone has a choice and the choices are in our hands, whether to follow the right path that would sometimes be troublesome but with the right encouragement and motivation, it would lead to a marvelous end. Or the wrong one that gave many shortcuts and looks very exciting. But in the end, it would only lead to devastation.
- ☽.
