Revenge of the Roses

Chapter 6 ~Alana~

It has been almost a day since I left to find this woman, and I was dirty and tired already. Hanging out in the rural part of the kingdoms wasn't really a hobby of mine. Obviously.

Lucky I had lots of money on me and that, thankfully gets you pretty much anywhere.

(For All the buisnessy people out there who are probably interested in the conversion rate, it's around £2 for every Kingdom Crown.)

I spent 23C (C is short for a crown) on a small little room in an inn called 'The Hawks Cup' near the borders of the Swords yesterday. Bargain, if you ask me; I got breakfast too, though I spent most the time dodging wandering hands of creepy old men.

Ew.

It didn't take me long to get through the border into the swords kingdom, the guards all knew who I was, and wouldn't dare disobey my orders.

I wonder where some woman who could talk to the dead would stay. Probably in hell...

Maybe she lives with her nephew? The Lord whats-his-face.

Crap.

No...I can't have forgotten the name.

Oh god.

Lord McBenjamin?

Something like that...C'mon, Alana, you massive idiot.

Lord Benjamin McBegal.

No.

Lord McDingal.

Geez. Lord Bejamin McDegal, obviously. I remembered, as the picture of his name tag appeared in my head.

Going to the Royal Palace of the Swords would be the easiest way to find out where that Lord and his relatives lived. They had a records room of everyone in the kingdom. It was private, obviously, so I had to wait until sunset to get into there. Then my ninja skills would have take over so I could somehow pick the lock and get in.

And yes, I was counting on my ninja skills- I had no other idea; I'm probably the least creative person alive...except for when it comes to fantasising about Morgan...

His long dark hair, his beautiful vibrant eyes, his soft hands, ful...

"Ow!" I screeched, as I collided into a wooden post, there for no other reason except for people to crash into.

Well that would teach me to not daydream whilst walking.

*********

There was still a faint line of glowing orange in the sky as I sneaked into the gardens. It was extremely neat and tidy, with chrysanthemums and tulips neatly arranged in all of the flower beds, small green bushes organised into cubes, and rectangles of grass trimmed short. However the gardener was clearly not as talented as ours.

I ducked behind a rose bush (obviously uglier than ours) and waited until a pair of guards had walked by. They marched past, chatting to each other about which local girl was prettiest and what dinner would be, oblivious to me squatting next to them. Sunset was the best time to get in, because that's when all the guards switch duties. I would have to be really quick, though. Unfortunately.

I sprinted round to the back of the palace, through the back door and looked for somewhere to hide. I was quite familiar with the layout, as it was similar to ours, and because I'd been here a few times on 'official visits'.

I only realised how loud my footsteps were until I heard a door open and a voice saying, "I swear I just heard someone!"

Nice one, Alana. How about you just go and announce it to the world that you're here.

I quickly scuttled in the opposite direction of the voice, and arrived at a moonlit corridor, with a plush red carpet  I practically sunk into every time I took a step. It was as if it could tell I was an intruder, and wanted to stop me, by sucking me into its red carpety depths. What a loyal carpet.

What a stupid thought. I'm going crazy. Carpets can't tell who you are, can they? Can you enchant carpets?

I looked into every room on the corridor, but none of them had any traces of files or books. The palace had hundreds of rooms, and the enormity of what I was trying to do sunk in.

I really should have made a plan! I'll never find the room in palace. I'll be caught and they may send me home and I wont be able to find out.... for my mum.

Then I reached the last room on the corridor. And it just happened to be the right room.

Oh thank god.

It also happened to be unlocked, so my amazingly ninja lock-picking skills didn't get to show.

I walked in, and I was immediately amazed.

The room was massive, for starters. And it was lined with shelves over every wall, each packed full of big books, small books, scrolls - any type of paper you could think of. Above each set of shelves was an ornate sign saying what could be found there- history, reference, instructions, records.

I stood there gawping at the size for ages, until I finally realised that I was there to look at the files. I jogged to the records shelf, and scanned all the files, looking for the M's.

I found the ones of Lord McDegal's family easily enough. His aunt lived in...

Trojan Forest.

A Forest?

Well, that's where I'll be heading, anyway.

I was just about to leave, feeling rather proud of myself, when I realised that I didn't have an exit plan.

Shit.

I'm going to get caught. oh god. Oh god. They're going to send me home. I can't go home. No no.

I tried to stay calm and made my way back to the door I came in.

To find it wide open, with nobody guarding it.

Good security, guys.

Still, I couldn't complain.