"Your majesty!" Peter heard someone yelled behind the door. Through lidded eyes, he can see the moon still shining bright on the night sky. "Your majesty! I have urgent news to report to you," he heard the same voice shouted and Peter could sense the panic from his voice.
Peter opened the door and was met by a soldier. He recognized the soldier since he was the one who is in charge to protect the dungeon. Blood was straining down his arms as his face was shown, true terror. His hands were trembling as his breathing got quicker and quicker. "What happen?!" Peter widened his eyes. "A- a man with a black cloak attack the dungeon. He- he killed everyone including all the prisoners and-"
An arrow suddenly shot right to the soldier's chest. "Guards!" Peter quickly shouted but it was all too late, the arrow had already shot him to death. Peter closed the soldier's eyes as he silently spoke a prayer. He knew the killer has run away so by the time the guards has come, he didn't order them to search for whoever it was. He only asks them to bury the fallen soldier.
At the same time, Edmund heard a loud 'bang'. He was quick to react as he grabbed his sword and followed the sound. It lead him to the music room and he was met by a cloaked person. He couldn't see the person's face as it was covered with black cloth. But from his features, he could tell it was a man. The man grabbed something from his cloak and before Edmund could do anything, he was already swarmed by gray clouds. And just like that, the person disappeared or more like vanished.
Edmund made his way inside the music room. Since the moon was shining bright, he could see everything clearly but nothing was damaged. Everything was neatly placed. And when he was about to close the door, a piece of the letter was tugged into the gold handle. So he opened it but it was only an empty piece of paper. He studied the letter and the paper but he got no clue. The only thing he could do now is to report this matter to his brother.
The door was already opened as a few guards were standing in front of Peter's room. Those guards bowed when Edmund walked past them while Edmund gave them a nod.
"Ed," Peter exclaimed as he stood up from his chair. He was sure glad to see his own brother. "You came just in time, I'm desperate for help right now."
"You saw the cloaked man?" Edmund asked as he saw some blood-stained on the ground. "What?! No, I didn't saw anyone but a soldier did tell me about it but he was killed and so is the rest of the prisoners."
"And the messengers were killed right here?"
"Indeed, and how did you know about all this?"
"I saw him. But I doubt that it's the same person," Edmund replied as he tried to analyzed what had just happened. "Why so? It could be the same person, after he killed everyone in the dungeon he went to kill the last soldier then he ran away."
"He was coming out from the music room. Even if he is a well-trained assassin, he still needs some time to get there. So the one who came here is a completely different person from the one I saw."
"You're right. This arrow is the only clue the man left," Peter stated as he put the arrow on the table between them. "But there's nothing special. It's just a wooden arrow."
Edmund took the arrow as he studied it, but his brother was right. It was just a normal wooden arrow. And he just remembered about the existence of the letter. He tugged his hand into his pocket before placing it on the table. "And I found this in the music room."
Peter's eyes were suddenly lightened by it. He thought that it would contain more clues but that hope soon disappeared. "It's just an empty letter?!" he exclaimed in disappointment. "Although, they are both different people they might be in this together."
"Both only left some common stuff," Peter agreed. "Exactly, and their motive is not to kill us nor causing chaos."
"Then do you have any clue who would do grotesque things like this?"
"No, I don't. But my main suspect is that Elena," Edmund said as hatred filled his eyes. "Oh, of course. The Queen everybody wishes to marry who also happens to rule one of the wealthiest kingdoms, wants to kill some prisoners she doesn't even know existed?" Peter laughed. "I am not using my personal hatred towards this case," Edmund rolled his eyes.
"Look, we all know Vremoor has the dark nights who are always hooded. So there might be a big chance, that the one who ambushed the dungeons is one of the knights. Not to mention, the man succeeds to kill all our men in a mere moment. All our men are fully armed and trained but they were all beaten up by a cloaked man!"
It took quite a while for Peter to think about it and what his brother had stated did make sense, but he shrugged it off. "Vremoor won't do such disgraceful things, Ed. Lucy even said Elena is a nice person. I know, you've learned some lessons from Jadis. But you need to learn to tell the differences between ally and enemy."
"Oh, so Vremoor is now an ally?!"
"They will be."
"Vremoor never attend any invitation from other kingdoms, except now. And to mention that Cair Paravel is the one who invites them who also happens to receive a surprise party."
"Because it's Cair Paravel so they accepted it."
"You know, I sometimes don't get what's running in your mind. The statements are clear and yet you don't seem to bother about it. This might risk the lives of our people, Pete."
"Edmund, that's enough!" Peter exclaimed. "I know how to protect our people and don't you dare to threaten me with that kind of statement. Vremoor is and will be our ally, you must accept that whether you like it or not. Unless you find some concrete evidence, I don't want to hear you saying these things in front of anyone else."
"Fine," Edmund replied in disbelief before gathered all the evidence and left the room. He needs some fresh air to clear his mind and to proof it that he is indeed right. He had no doubt about this matter since he knew Elena was up to something. How come the Queen everybody has been talking about suddenly had the urge to visit a ball. He went straight to his study room. And called his most trusted mate, Leon.
"What is it?" Leon spoke as he entered the room. "The prisoners were all killed," Edmund shortly replied. "All of them?" Leon widened his eyes in disbelief. He had just woken up from his sleep and this news waked him up. "Even those soldiers?"
"Yes, all of them."
"But how? We've trained every one of them and they're one of the best soldiers. Nobody could've wiped them clean in a night."
"Less than two hours to be exact," Edmund corrected him. "And he's a single fighter."
"A single fighter?! Killed our men in less than two hours?!" Leon gasped as he shook his head.
"So you've seen him?"
"I only saw his friend who came out from the music room," Edmund explained as he handed out the arrow and the letter. "I suspect that the one who came from the dungeon is the one who showed up around Peter's room and left this arrow to kill the last soldier who escaped. While the man I saw left this letter." Leon studied all the evidence but just like Edmund, he didn't find any clue. "I don't know what's their motive. If they want chaos or power, they could've attacked me or Peter."
Leon took a pair of glasses from the cupboard before he pour some tea for himself and Edmund but he accidentally spilled some tea to the letter. "Oh, I am so sorry," he quickly grabbed a napkin to clean the mess but he suddenly froze when he saw some lines started to form on the letter. "Ed, look!"
Edmund took the letter as studied it. Then he grabbed the nearest candle and placed the letter a few centimeters away from it. And he could see a symbol of a fox tail which is curled into a circle. Both Edmund and Leon shared a look but none of them knew what kind of symbol was that. "Do you think-" and before Leon finished his words, Edmund already pour some tea to the wooden arrow. But nothing strange seemed to happen.
"It seems that both men aren't together?" Leon asked as he raised his eyebrow. "It seems like that, but it's impossible."
"Why would two people that have different motives come to drawn attention at the same night? And if they both have different intentions, then what was the man doing in the music room?"
"Don't ask me, mate. My brain isn't that clever to think those kinds of scenarios. That's your part, not mine. I'm just here to share my opinion and do the work, not the thinking."
"Well then, keep an eye on Queen of Vremoor and her subordinate," Edmund spoke as he pour some tea to his glass. "I've done that. So you mean Vremoor is our main suspect?"
"Indeed, but now I need all eyes on them. I want you to watch every move they make and if anything strange happens, report it to me. I've told you about my suspicions about their arrival since day one and this incident made my conclusion stronger."
"You think this is the dark knights doing?"
"Yes, rumors say that a knight has ten powers of men. Not to mention that all the knights are all highly-trained," he said his idea before he sipped some tea. "Those are rumors, Ed. Didn't know you trust those."
"I know but sometimes, if we met a dead end. We might as find some clue to what people say and probably it would take us to what we're looking for. And I got a feeling about this, trust me, mate."
"Don't have any other choices do I?" Leon shook his head with a small smile. "Oh, and what about this matter? Should I order all the soldiers to keep their mouths shut?"
"There's no need to do that. Since they did it then let it spread. And if what you said is true, then this is the perfect plan. Those two sides would attack each other and by that time, we would show up and catch them both," Edmund smirked. "Kill two birds with one stone, that's a smart move."
- ☽.