Chapter 69
I went back into my room and changed into a clean shirt before I headed to my study desk and wrote down the names that Nate and Ren gave me. I just about finished writing their names when I saw the little box that Ace gave me.
I almost forgot about it. I was too preoccupied with worry to even be bothered by the fact that Ace gave me a gift. But instead of grabbing the box, I just looked at it. Ace said that I should open it as soon as he leaves.
My eyes narrowed in suspicion. He never gave me a gift before. Why even bother now? And the last thing that he said to me regards it was very alarming as well. Why can't I open it in his presence?
It's not a bomb, right?
I poked the box with the feather pen.
Very suspicious.
I grabbed the box and began to shake it. Nothing. I heard nothing. I guess I will just have to open it. "This better not be one of those things where something jumps out at you." I muttered. Hoping that a knife won't pop up and stab me.
Just as I opened the box, a knock on my door made me jump that whatever was inside, dropped on the floor. I cursed.
Why does this always happen whenever I open something?! I just hope that whatever it was, it wasn't broken.
I sighed and went under my table to fetch to item. "Come in, guys." I called out. I already knew that it was Ren and Nate. I did tell them to come and meet me in my room so we can plan better as a team.
A very disorganized team if I may add.
I found the mystery item at the foot of the table and grabbed it just as the door opened. It was a necklace with a red gem about 2 centimeters in diameter. The surface was smooth to the touch and its back has a gold plate where the chain was connected.
I have a feeling that I have seen this necklace before. It looked like the one that Nora and Ace were looking at when we were in Hazel.
"What the hell am I suppose to do with this?" I whispered.
"What to do with what?" Nate suddenly asked beside me. I jumped in surprise and hit my head on the bottom of the table. Nate chuckled. "Sorry."
I glared at him and pushed his face away so I could move out. The pendant was still in my hands. I don't know why but I decided to wear it around my neck just as I sat down on my chair.
I showed them the list of names, which weren't that much in the first place.
"Elizabeth, Luke, Brandon, Terrence, and Liam." I read the names out to them. Aside from Terrence, Brandon and Liam were one of the trusted knights of the queen as well. "That's about all of them. Minus us at least." I narrowed my eyes at them. "Unless you both give me a reason to suspect you."
"Baby girl, you should. I mean, with this face? It's so handsome that I am not sure that I even exist in the first place." He winked.
Ren suddenly cracked his knuckles and smiled sinisterly at Nate. "Would you mind repeating that?"
"No."
Ren nodded before returning his gaze to me. "Those are the names that we know. Unless someone snooped around and saw the map. But I don't think that is possible."
"Let's only conclude when we are sure that the rest are cleared. As of now, why don't we focus on the ones whose names are on the list?"
"True. But for now, I will make two false informations since I separated them into two categories. One trap will be for the king and queen. The other one will be for the knights." I said.
"Why only two?" Ren asked.
"Because they might share some information. And if they do and they find out that they were given different information, they might find it suspicious." I pointed out.
Nate crossed his arms and leaned in closer to me. "Am I the only one finding it weird that you're coming up with actually brilliant plans? And to think ahead for that matter?"
I scoffed. "Oh please. I am just running out of schemes. Then that reasoning just popped out of nowhere. You know what they say, work smarter not harder." I smiled proudly.
Nate wanted to say something, but Ren stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. "Alright, Rose. Tell us the plan."
There would be two locations. The first one would be in the stables, specifically in Midnight's cubicle. The second location will be in the library. It would be hidden in the cookbook sections. In every fake location, we would place a box big enough that could fit the actual chalice. We would place a strand of air in each box that would break when the box is opened. There would be a hidden hole at the bottom of each box where we can check if it was open or not from time to time.
It's not a guarantee that it would work but at least it's something that we can work with. And if one of them does break, at least we can narrow down the suspects.
Midnight and the cookbook sections were a good spot. It's because no one would ever dare visit those places in the first place. Especially Midnight's cubicle. I heard that Midnight would bite any stranger that would go near him. Maybe that was why Ace would personally groom his stallion.
The plan was simple. Ren and Nate would be the ones to inform the knights about the location of the first fake chalice. Nate would ask Terrence to give him some special training and would unconsciously tell his father about the location. Well, he is a big simp for his father these past few days, maybe Terrence wouldn't find it odd.
Since Brandon and Liam are both beastmen, Ren would invite them on a hunt. And that is where Ren would slip the information to them. I don't know how he's going to make it work but I trust that Ren would think of something. Nate did give him an idea though, but I didn't hear what it was. He just whispered something in Ren's ear that made him turn to me and blush. Then he headbutted Nate and they started arguing.
I, on the other hand, as my aunt's most beloved and annoying niece, would just blatantly tell them the location. With my unpredictable personality, it's a walk in the park for me.
Sometimes, my personality does have its perks.
After we settled on the plan, we all went on our separate ways to do our parts. I already know where the queen would be by now. I headed to her office, the usual place that I see her working on some documents while King Luke would review the budget.
"Hello, Auntie!" I said and opened the door without even knocking.
"Rosalie!" She scolded me immediately. "I told you countless times to knock. That is what a proper princess should do."
I looked around the room and saw all the stack of papers on her table. I grimaced. "That's a lot of paper. You want me to burn them for you?"
"No! As much as possible I don't want you going anywhere near these important documents. It's bad enough that Luke has been ditching his work lately. I don't need you adding more to my work." She sighed tiredly.
I blinked when I noticed that the king was indeed missing in the room. I initially thought that he was just covered by the stacks of papers. "Where is he anyway?"
"I don't know. Go to the gardens. Maybe he's there taking care of his plants again in the blasted greenhouse. He says it's relaxing, but I don't see the point in any of that."
"Can I go see him?"
"Please do. Maybe you can bother him enough that would make him want to come and do his work instead." By the queen's tone, I already guessed that she was just about ready to throw me out. I took that cue as I closed the door and made my way to the greenhouse just at the south of the castle where the sun would usually rise.
I hesitated to go in because truth be told, I never even considered going to this place. I mean, we have a big garden at the front where I can see everything.
I looked to my shoulders and somehow missed Custard and Viex. At these moments, they would already be telling me that going to a greenhouse with a potential traitor would be dangerous.
But still, they would keep me company. My chest suddenly tightened that I shifted my attention back to the building in front of me.
The greenhouse is in a dome shape. The last time I saw it, it has a bit of mold sticking to its frames. It looked abandoned before, but now I guess that it got a bit of a renovation since the king started coming here.
When did he start coming here?
What struck me as odd is the fact that the rocky pathway seemed more welcoming and alluring. I followed the pathway towards the entrance of the greenhouse and pushed past the glass doors. Even though I got a sneak peek of what was inside, I was still stunned at what I saw on the inside.
The ground was separated in half by an inclination and various plants that, let's face it I don't know any of their names, were mostly all leaves and no flowers. It was bland. I see purple, green, blue leaves. There are occasional flowers but they aren't that attractive that you would even try to keep them as decoration.
These plants looked alien to me.
As I continued along the path, I ended up walking down the stairs and headed for the long arrays of tables filled with test tubes, beakers, flasks, alcohol lamps. It was like a science lab in here.
In the test tubes, there were arrays of colorful liquids on display. Are those poisons?
"Rose, what are you doing here?" A voice behind me asked.
I looked back abruptly and moved back towards the table. Glass rattled in the process. As I looked up, I saw King Luke with a frown on his face before he reached out to grab me.
*****[KINGDOM OF TEREAU]*****
"You're a bit late. What's wrong?" Stella asked as soon as she saw Leo. The boy looked troubled but forced a smile when he addressed her.
"Nothing." He says.
Stella observed him. "You do remember when I said I don't like liars, right?"
"Y-Yes. You did." Kellar coughed into his fist to compose himself. He needs Stella to trust him for this plan to work. Which means that she can't find out about him being a prince right now. Especially when she's close to escaping. "Stella, I am getting you out of here later."
Stella raised a brow at him, not believing his words. "Really? Why so suddenly?" Obvious doubts were evident in her tone.
"Someone will come here later to pick you up. He's acquainted with your sister."
Stella rolled her eyes. Even though she told him countless times that she doesn't have a sister, he still keeps insisting on it. "Yeah sure. What about you? Will you be coming?"
"I...I will guide you both out of the castle. If this plan goes well, there won't be any fighting involved." Then, Kellar's eyes were suddenly fixated on the wall where ice spikes were embedded on them. "Did you do that?"
Stella followed his gaze and smiled proudly. "Yeah. Sorry about that. I forgot to clean that up." She says and waved her hand over it. In just a matter of seconds, the ice turned to mist that vanished into thin air.
Kellar wasn't familiar with winter fairies, but he has never seen someone with such precise control over such an element. Even summer fairies have trouble controlling the heat that their parents need to guide them until their bodies are old enough to handle such magic.
"T-That's great. But you should play it safe. What if you lose control over it?" He was only saying this because he was worried for her, but somehow Stella took it the wrong way.
"But it's not even that difficult. Watch." Stella opened her palm where a snowball appeared. Kellar only had a few seconds to admire that creation before she hurled it at his face.
"Sorry. Couldn't help it." Stella laughed.
Kellar dusted the ice off of his face when it vanished. He saw Stella handing him a small block of ice instead. He looked at her with a raised brow.
"For your," Stella pointed at her lower chin, the same spot where Kellar has a fresh bruise from one of his older brothers. "thing right there."
"Thanks." Kellar took it awkwardly and placed it on top of his bruise. He didn't like the cold feeling of it but he didn't want to offend the first friend that he got by not using her gift.
"No problem." She grinned.
"I'll be back in a few hours. The guards will be doing their rounds now. Just relax and prepare yourself until then." Kellar immediately said and turned around before Stella could see the solemn look on his face. As he left, he simply watched the ice on his palm beginning to melt.
That's right. His friend was going to leave. And he wants to send her off with a smile later on. After all, getting out of this place was the best present that he could ever give her.
~*~*~*~*END OF CHAPTER*~*~*~*~