"Get me some ropes." Sorin ordered the guards that were escorting them.
He knew that both he and his father needed closure. They needed to find her body and give her the proper burial that she deserved. She needed to be given a final resting place where she could finally be at peace.
The Count's gaze still remained locked in on the wreck below. He could not have imagined how frightened Erica must have been in that moment. It must have been overwhelming. The pain, the fear, the cold and the darkness. A horrible way to pass on.
Sorin along with another guard made their way to the edge of the dangerous cliff tightly secured with the ropes in makeshift harnesses. They were going to the wreck.
The report stated that it was impossible to retrieve Erica's body. Perhaps that would be true in unfavourable conditions but as the Count stood watching his son drop down, he felt angry.
It was clear that when the report was made, little to no attempt had been made. Yes it was a very dangerous climb, but it certainly was not impossible. The Count vowed to take the necessary action to those incompetent individuals who dared to lie to him.
As Sorin and the guard that was accompanying him reached the ledge where the scattered remains of the carriage lay, they were immediately greeted with the smell of death.
The smell of death in this case was rather more of a feeling. A cold feeling that makes one uncomfortable. It was eerie and unpleasant.
However, a real smell, the smell of rotten flesh, was not as strong as one may assume for a few weeks had already passed and many carnivorous birds such as vultures had already taken their fair share at the two dead horses.
Sorin did not even waste a moment before running up to what was left of the carriage body and ripping the mostly broken door off its hinges.
She was not there.
She must have fallen out in a desperate attempt to escape. He started frantically searching the area and wreckage for any clue. He was beginning to get desperate.
Moving to the edge of the ledge, he noticed another drop, although not as far, that led to a gentle stream. Judging by the rock formations and erosion, he could tell that the stream flooded in stormy weather.
What was more was there were more parts of the carriage lining its banks. Sorin knew that he needed to get down there.
With the help of the guard, he was lowered down once again and landed with a soft thud. The guard remained on the ledge as per orders that Sorin gave.
Sorin's eyes followed the wooden pieces in hopes of anything.
Nothing.
They were just pieces of the carriage and what appeared to be a wooden chest.
Sorin ran his hand through his hair and pulled at it in frustration.
Where was she?
Why was there no sign of her?
He was stumped. He had been down here for over half an hour and there was nothing. It was like she was never in the carriage to begin with...
Sorin paused at this thought.
How had he not noticed sooner? Throughout the wreckage there was no sign that Erica had been in it at all. There were no personal belongings or anything that could have indicated that she was even there to begin with. In fact, there was nothing that indicated that anyone had even been in the carriage at all.
Something was very wrong with this whole situation.
Sorin's immediate thought was that they had gotten the wrong carriage, but this was dismissed. His father would not make a mistake like this. This was definitely the wreckage that his sister was reportedly killed in.
The more he thought about it, the more he began to put the pieces together in his mind.
One thing was clear. They were lied to.
There were no bodies in the wreckage other than the horses. That meant either of the two things. Firstly, the coachman was alive and secondly there was a high chance that his sister was too.
There were so many unanswered questions which just led to more and more. It was frustrating to say the least, but this knew information brought hope.
Unfortunately, as Sorin made his way back up to inform his father of his findings, he had failed to see a very important clue. Had he spent a minute longer observing the broken wooden chest he would have noticed a fine long piece of hair caught on a splinter gently blowing in the wind.
The Count did not show it on his face, but he was definitely anxious. He had been slowly pacing the entire time that Sorin was down there. When Sorin, the Count could immediately tell that something was not right judging from Sorin's expression.
"What is it?" The Count got straight to the point.
"Nothing. There was nothing down there." Sorin replied.
"Explain yourself." The Count was confused and slightly angered at his eldest's vague answer.
"Exactly what I said. There was nothing down there. Not her, not anyone else nor anything that would indicate that my little sister was even in the carriage to begin with."
"Impossible." The Count had been taken back by this.
"The truth Your Excellency." The guard that was with Sorin bowed.
The Count was quiet for a moment as he processed this.
"Father, the report was incorrect. I have a feeling that it was done on purpose." Sorin stated hoping that his father may have an explanation as to the reasoning behind it.
"Find the coachman and the messenger from that night and bring them to me." The Counted ordered two of the guards. His tone was laced with anger as he made his way back to his own carriage, Sorin right behind him.
They were going to investigate this and find out the truth.
Why would someone lie about the death of Erica?
What would they stand to gain from this?
Was it all a ploy to stage her death?
Was Erica herself behind this?
They needed to know, they were anxious and impatient for answers. There was a lot of anger and other emotions that both the two Alvore men were currently feeling but there one thing for certain, there was hope that there was a chance that they had not lost Erica, that she was still alive and in desperation, they both clung onto it.
Throughout the rest of the journey back to the capital not much was spoken. Both the Count and Sorin kept to themselves.
The Count had found himself thinking about the voice he had heard during his visit to the Duke of Waisend again. The voice that had reminded him of his youngest. It was like an itch on his mind. After finding out that there was a possibility that Erica was alive, he immediately thought back to that moment.
It did not make sense for that to be her for he knew that she had lost her voice, he was with her during that very moment. The physician had also stated that she would never be able to use it ever again. However, it still bothered him.
Could that have been her?
Could she have somehow become able to speak again?
Impossible, but was it really?
The Count wanted to turn around and go back to the Port Town of Canterbre to personally question the Duke of Waisend and find out who the girl singing was. Unfortunately, he knew that he could not for he had too much work to do.
Fortunately Count Alvore was well aware that Louis Trencent, the Duke of Trencent's heir, was hosting a ball tomorrow night and he had a strong feeling that the Duke of Waisend would be in attendance. He did after all have an idea of what the contents of the letter that he had personally delivered from the King were. He would be able to question the Duke then.
"Sorin, I think it is best to keep quiet about our findings until we have more information." The Count broke the silence as they entered the gates of the Alvore estate.
"Understood father." Sorin agreed with this.
"Welcome home, Your Excellency." The head butler bowed at the door as the Count and Sorin entered, "The Countess and the young Miss are out but the young Commander arrived about an hour ago."
"Walter?" The Count stopped.
"Yes." The butler confirmed.
The Count was a bit surprised. He had not expected to see his son for a while still after that whole emotional outburst from the last time. Had Walter come to apologise?
"Inform him that I will be in my study in ten minutes."
"Um..." The butler trailed off not too sure how to say his next few words, "I'm afraid that he is not here to see you." The butler spoke nervously.
"Where is he?" The Count was now confused.
"The East section, Your Excellency. He is in... That room." The butler looked away.
"Let me go speak to him Father." Sorin spoke up.
The Count hesitated but eventually gave in. It was probably best for Sorin to go. Walter clearly did not come to the estate to see him.
Sorin was not particularly fond of the East section, none of the Alvore's were so this meant hardly anyone came to that side unless they really needed something. Sorin could not help but wonder what his brother was doing there but he would find out soon.
After wondering around through some of the empty hallways, he eventually found Walter standing in a strange dark room with no windows that only had a single bed and not much other furniture.
Walter had a strange expression dawning his features.
"Walter?"