Princeps

24. That Just Happened.

I sat down in my office chair and stared at the letter in front of me. I heard a knock on my door and my head snapped up. It must be my little team of investigators.

"Come in!" I called. The door opened, revealing Nickolas and Nathaniel. My eyebrows furrowed. "Where's John?" I asked.

"He had something to do." Nickolas replied. I sighed and shook my head.

"I won't even ask. Just have a seat and we can start dissecting this stupid letter." I said, gesturing to the seats in front of me. The two men nodded and sat in two of the three chairs I had in front of my desk.

"So, what does the note say?" Nathaniel asked. I picked up the note and cleared my throat. Just as I was about to read the note to them, another knock could be heard from the door.

"Come in!" I called. Johnathon walked in and apologized for being late. "It's fine. You didn't miss anything, anyways." I finished.

"So? What does it say?" Nathaniel repeated. I read the letter aloud.

We are the unknown. You know us, But you don't.
We are close, But we aren't.
We are many, We have one.
If you have any, Consider it won.
See you soon, Princeps.

"Princeps?" Johnathon asked.

"What could that mean?" Nickolas asked.

"Who are they talking about?" Nathaniel added.

I groaned and put my head in my hands. I hate it when the questions outweigh the answers. We spent hours scrutinizing every detail of the letter, to no avail. Eventually, I sent everyone to bed, including me. I stumbled to bed and fell right onto my bed, falling asleep in seconds.

I awoke to a banging on my door. I groaned and sat up, walking to my door. I opened it to see a guard.

"What?" I asked, yawning. "Sorry to wake you, your majesty. But we have another note." The guard said, handing me the note. My eyes widened and I took the letter from his hands. "Where was this one found?" I asked.

"It was shot through a window that faces the forest."

"Anybody hurt?"

"It skimmed by two servant's faces. They're petrified, but they're okay."

I nodded. "Thank you, Noah. I want Randall, Luke, and Peter to examine the forest. Tell them to not go too far in and to stick together. And, if you run into Katherine, please send her to my office." I ordered. Noah bowed and walked away.

I quickly walked to my office and closed the door behind me. I put my hair back in a braid rolled my neck, hearing a couple cracks. I looked down at the note and sighed. It's basically the same note as the first one.

We are the unknown. You know us,
And you can't seem to remember.
We are close, and getting closer.
We are many, We have one.
If you have any, Consider it won.
Your time is up, Princeps.

I heard a knock on my door. "Come in!" I called. I heard the door click open and I smelt something delicious. I looked up to see Katherine with a tray of my favorite breakfast. Two apple pie pancakes with an egg.

"Thanks, Katherine." I said, moving some papers to make room for my breakfast. She smiled and set the tray down.

"I thought that you would want some breakfast." She said, smiling. "That was a good guess." I said, taking a bite of my pancakes. She looked down and started to fiddle with her hands. I finished swallowing my bite and looked at my friend, concerned.