"We got it. We have the evidence." Leyla announced as soon as she caught sight of us between the trees.
Calim stepped forward. "Great, let me take a look."
Reggie swatted away his outstretched hand. "It's in a safe place for now. Let's go."
"You wouldn't have known those existed if I hadn't told you. So, it's our right to have them in our possession."
Reggie mounted her horse with ease, and without a glance in Calim's direction, she responded with ice in her voice. "Even if I wanted to, I can't produce those papers now. Well, unless you want us to disrobe in front of you."
Leyla smirked at Calim's obvious discomfort. "What Regina is trying to say; is that they're in our stays."
Impatience crumpled Reggie's face. "Get on the horse, boy."
Calim's face went stiff with stubbornness. "You know you're speaking to a high-ranking military official, right?"
She rolled her eyes, "Leyla, dear, get on." Without giving it a second thought, Leyla hopped on Reggie's horse, and spurring the horse forwards, Reggie threw the words behind her back. "You're right. High-ranking officials only travel with other high-ranking officials, so you two should share the horse."
Calim scoffed and turned to look at me with eyes full of incredulity.
"I'm not moving. You're sitting on the back."
⚜⚜⚜
"This is very detailed," Reggie muttered with elation while she perused the documents. "Citizen complaints. Denouncements of noblemen's abuse of power. Even statements from a couple of palace servants, talking about their unsavory and downright inappropriate encounters with the king. We might actually have a chance."
"The old man was very thorough," Calim mumbled back to her, looking through his half of the stack of parchment.
"Oh, you got to hear this. Apparently, the king has a thing for creating misunderstandings between his palace staff for his own amusement. To the point he had a 'relationship' with ten different palace maids—who did not know about the others, I would like to add—and promised every one of them that they would be the next queen. Only to, later on. Break up with them with the excuse that he fell in love with one of the other girls he already broke up with so they will fight amongst themselves. What an egomaniac." Her own gasp interrupted her words. "One of them even committed suicide."
I covered my ears with the palm of my hands. I can't believe the friend I cared about and admired for such a long time; turned out to be such a monster.
A soft, delicate hand took hold of mine and rubbed soothing circles on the back of my battle-scarred one. "How didn't anyone hear about this?" Leyla asked.
"Probably paid them to keep their mouths shut. They all came from an impoverished background." Reggie answered absentmindedly.
"He really isn't bright; all he is doing is creating division in his household. Which one day will end up biting him in the butt." Calim tsked.
An idea illuminated Reggie's eyes. "Can we use that to our advantage?"
"How can we identify those who are not happy with the king? It's not like they wear sashes that say 'I hate the king' around the palace."
"Well, I can go to the capital and ask around."
"There are more than five hundred people in that household, and they won't trust you that easily anyway."
Reggie dropped her gaze to the papers on her lap with lips pinched in annoyance.
Calim leveled the stack beside him. "Our best option is to kidnap the king."
"Again, how are you planning to do that, Calim?" I asked.
"The king doesn't know about this new band of rebels yet. We can help them get inside the capital, and once there, they can infiltrate the palace."
"How? They have no experience in stealth or battle, and it's not like we have hundreds of men at our disposal."
"We can train them."
"For how long? Two or three days? That is not enough, Calim. They will surely get killed as soon as they step into that palace without proper clearance."
"Do we have another option? Did you think of something else?"
"No."
"This is the quickest way to get the council to listen to you, Iskander. If the king is out of commission, you are the kingdom's designated interim ruler."
Leyla pulled away in surprise. "Wait. What?"
"The king doesn't have heirs or blood-related kin, and the law requires him to have a backup ruler. Just in case he falls ill, dies, or in some very, very rare cases-if he loses favor with the citizens. That designated interim ruler is the highest-ranking official in the kingdom's militia. Which in this case is..." Calim completed his sentence with a point in my direction.
"So that's why you're so persistent with this kidnapping the king thing..." Reggie realized.
"Yes."
I shook my head. "But how are we going to do that?" A faded thought stirred at the back of my mind. Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?
"I don't know. That's why we're going to sit here and brainstorm for the night." Reggie let out an exasperated groan. "I'm not joking, and no excuses. We're not going to sleep until we come up with something."
After eating our rustic-looking dinner, we sat around the smoldering bonfire wracking our brains.
"My eyes are burning," Reggie complained hours later. "Can we call it a night?"
Calim frowned. "Do you have an idea?"
"No."
"Then no."
Before Reggie's next choice of words could detonate another fiery argument between the two. Leyla leaned forward on our makeshift log bench and placed her head in her hands. "I can't think of anything. The household depends on me, and I can't think of anything to save their lives." Her voice shook with tears.
Calim's annoyed countenance morphed into unease. "Don't be so hard on yourself."
"We'll think of something, Leyla. Don't worry."
"You keep saying that, but we haven't thought of anything in the last couple of days. How are you so sure that we will come up with a plan in time?" She sobbed.
"Trust me, we will," Calim assured.
With each of Leyla's sobs, my heart squeezed with sadness tighter and tighter. Prompting the words to spill through my lips without thinking. "Yes, we will. For example, Calim, how about we dress up some men as farmers and bring in a wagon full of crates with produce? We can hide under there."
"Where are we going to get a wagon full of produce in such a short time? Plus, your mountainous frame is not as inconspicuous as you think." He smirked. "What if we dress up as dessert lady dancers and say we are part of a traveling rhythmic arts group visiting the capital?"
"My 'mountainous frame', as you called it, will not fool anyone, and I'm not wearing a dress. What about dressing up as priests traveling to the capital for a civilian spiritual retreat event? We can steal some robes from the temple."
"Our faces will be exposed since priests don't wear veils as the dancers do." Calim's brow furrowed in thought. "What about digging a tunnel into the capital?"
"No, it will take us months before—"The thought that probed incessantly at the back of my mind hurtled to the forefront in the form of a memory, leaving me in a daze for a fraction of a second. "Yes, that's it. The tunnels."
"Um, Iskander. I wasn't that serious about that one. It will take us months before-"
"Remember, five years ago at duke Cercis' manor? He rambled about some getaway tunnels that he built."
"He built some tunnels?"
"Or helped to build, I don't remember the specifics. Remember?"
Calim's eyes grew with the realization. "Yes, I do. Do you think he still has the building plans for those tunnels?" He stopped me from answering with an abrupt wave of his hand. "Nevermind, that man is so proud of everything that he has done that he would surely keep those plans as some kind of trophy."
Leyla, who had stopped her sobbing with the hope of a way to save our friends and family, asked, "But will he be willing to give them to us? Isn't he a noble? Nobles tend to always side with the king..."
Reggie's eyes had a peculiar look as she intently stared at a piece of parchment. "You said his last name was Cercis, right? What's his first name?"
Calim leaned forward, noticing the strangeness of her gaze as well. "Ibrahim. Ibrahim Cercis the third."
The hand holding the paper outstretched towards me. "The duke complained to the High Priest three years ago."
"What?" Taking the document in my hands. My eyes scanned the words recorded in the High Priest's neat handwriting. "His son was sent to the border in a suicide mission while we were fighting for control of Rigens' dukedom."
Leyla sighed. "That's awful."
"But will he give us the plans willingly, though?" Reggie urged.
"Well, I didn't see him in the welcoming ball, and that man used to love parties." Calim's eyes lifted to meet mine. "Maybe he's no longer supporting the king."
"By the sound of what's written here, he was very aggrieved by the loss of his son to the point he blamed the king for his death."
"But he can be angry with the king and still support him to keep his wealth." Leyla countered.
Reggie shook her head. "I don't think so. Why would he complain to the high priest then?"
"Well, willing or not willing. We're still getting those plans." Calim eyes sparked with determination.
⚜⚜⚜
The grief of Cercis Manor's owner had drained the lavish estate of life. The yard once full of greenery and blooms had wilted beyond recognition. Even the grey stone walls of the grand mansion seemed worn, washed out, and brittle in the moonlit landscape.
"This is Cercis Manor?" Leyla asked from behind me.
"Yes."
Calim spurred his horse forward. "Wow, I never would've imagined this Manor would be in this condition."
Leyla shifted behind me. "He must be in great pain."
Reggie hopped off her horse, picked up a stone, and scampered to a window. "Let's go in."
Calim grabbed her wrist before she could break the glass. "Woah, Woah. Let's not be hasty."
"We don't have time to waste. The candles are out. This is the best moment for us to crawl in."
Calim's eyes went from Reggie to the window and back to her. "Fine."
The glass was swiftly broken, and we ducked inside. It took our eyes some time to adjust to the darkness inside the eerily silent house.
"Now, if I were duke Cercis I would keep those plans in my office. Framed, of course." Calim said in a light tone that seemed a little too forced.
My arm went around Leyla's shoulders and pulled her close to my side. "If I remember correctly, his office was at the other end of the hallway."
"Alright, so out the door to the right," Calim muttered to Reggie.
My eyes strained in the low light as we stumbled down the deserted hallway. It's so odd to see this place so decrepit and dead.
Calim's overexcited whisper made me jump in surprise. "This is it." The door creaked open. "Let's search his desk and shelves."
A candle was lit, and a symphony of sounds enveloped the room. The rustle of papers as thumbs went through them. The scratch of wood as shelves were opened. And the muted thud of books being moved around accompanied my hasty search through everything I could get my hands on in the office.
Calim froze. "Did you guys hear that?"
"Someone's coming."
Leyla spun around, eyes searching the room. "There's nowhere to hide in here."
Calim squared his shoulders. "We'll have to confront whoever it is."
My face went cold with the turn of the knob, and my heart dropped when a pale-faced, sunken-eyed duke Cercis walked into the office.
"Who's in here?" He rasped.
"Y-Your Grace." I breathed.
A small sliver of his past self brightened his dull eyes. "D-Duke Nubilus?"
"Yes, Your Grace. S-sorry for the intrusion."
He shuffled his feet towards me and took a tight hold of my arm. "How've you been, my boy? It's been so long."
"I-I've been better."
"Why are you here? Oh, hello, Sir. Acoma, I'm happy to see you are well too. Wo are the madams, Iskander?"
My brows pushed together in confusion. Why this odd reaction? Doesn't he care that we broke into his house? "Uh, well. This is Lehylany Nubilus, my wife and Miss. Reggie, an acquaintance of ours."
A small smile lifted his gaunt countenance. "You're married? I'm so happy for you, my boy." After an unsettling beat, he asked, "Why are you here?"
"We need the plans for the getaway tunnels."
After a slow couple of blinks, Duke Cercis asked, "Why?"
"We need to infiltrate the palace; the king has to be stopped."
He took a shaky breath. "Yes, he must, especially after sending my only son out to the border when he clearly knew that they were going to die." A vein pulsated in his temple, and his jaw clenched. "After letting me and my wife drown in our sorrows by the loss of our beloved child." He stalked to the desk, yanked the bottom drawer open, and pulled out a document case. "Here, but let me explain some things to you first."
⚜⚜⚜
Fruits, cheeses, and cold cuts populated a small table to the side of the dimly lit dining room.
Beside it, duke Cercis grimaced at the poorly set up plates on the table. "Sorry, this is all I can feed you right now. But I assure you, as soon as you take care of that miscreant, I'll gift you whatever you desire."
To my side, Calim popped a grape into his mouth. "Your Grace, you don't have to give us anything. We are not doing this for money. We are doing this to protect our kingdom from a man who clearly doesn't care about his people's well-being."
"And through those actions, you're also avenging my poor son, which I'm very grateful for. So grateful that I'll give each one of you one of my precious stone mines."
"Thank you for your generosity, but it's not necessary, Your Grace." Calim frowned when Reggie elbowed his side with an annoyed glare.
"As Calim said, your grace, we appreciate your generosity, but we can't accept a gift. We don't want the citizens to misconstrue this into something it really isn't."
The weathered duke slumped his shoulders and sighed. "Please, this is the only way I can take part in this and bring justice for my son's death."
"I'm very sorry for your loss, your grace. But—" What can I say to ease this poor man's mind?
On the other side of the table, Leyla sunk her teeth into her eleventh—seventeenth, twentieth, I lost count—orange slice. "Bleh, why can I still taste metal on my tongue?" Instantly, the gloomy moment broke with her unexpected mutter. "Oh, I'm so sorry. That was so tactless of me."
An odd crooked smirk crept up the side of the duke's face. "Want me to get you some water?"
"Um, I don't want to be a bother..."
"Don't fret, darling. I'll get you a glass."
Sometime later, we left behind a hopeful duke Cercis and galloped back to the hideout to form a plan.
"Is everyone clear about what they're supposed to do?" Calim asked the next morning to the group of men sitting around the charred pieces of wood of the unlit bonfire.
Reggie stood up. "They get it. Right guys?" The men nodded. "Well, alright. Let's go."
A tender, warm hand held me back. "Can I speak to you for a moment, Zander?" The gloomy look in her eyes rendered me mute, and I nodded. "Please take care of yourself today and do anything you can to stay alive." Her eyes welled up with tears. "Please, I beg you."
My hands moved to caress the sides of her neck. "I won't let anyone hurt me, I promise."
"Does this include yourself?"
Her words felt like she had pushed me from the summit of my fractured mind; down to the dark lair of my malicious thoughts. Where the monstrous voice waited for the opportunity to sink its venomous fangs into my brain. "W-what do you mean?"
Her eyes glided away from mine to the backs of the men anxious to ride off to battle. "I'm worried what this whole mess will do to your mind. I'm worried that your subconscious will get what it wants."
What is she talking about? "What?"
"While you were away, I wondered time and time again: why would Zander live in this condition? Why would he live in an almost empty house; when he has so much wealth? He says it's because he doesn't need to have many things, but is that really the case? Or is there something else? Then you told me the story about your family. I also recently saw how afflicted you are by the thoughts of the death of family and friends. And It got me thinking..." Her teeth worried at her bottom lip while she thought. "Is he hoping to join his family in the afterworld soon? Is that why he didn't think it necessary to furnish his house since he's not gonna be staying in the mansion for long?" She gulped, "In the world of the living for long?"
W-What? What is she talking about? That's not true! My heart's unsteady pace betrayed my dread as the frightening voice of my thoughts stirred awake.
"I just want you to pay close attention and keep in your heart my next words." Her hands took hold of mine. "I love you. You're my everything. And not only me, but a lot of people value you and would love to continue having you around. Why? Because you are a kind, thoughtful and amazing man." She pushed herself up on her tiptoes and pressed a tender kiss on my lips. "And you're not alone. You have a family who loves you and will love you all your life."
⚜⚜⚜
A royal knight made me jump in my seat with his knocking at my office door. "Your Majesty, there has been a disturbance outside the capital."
My teeth clenched. "Come in." A flustered-looking mess of a man barged in and bowed his head. "You were talking about a disturbance."
"Yes, a group of rebels was sneaking around the north end of the capital walls. It seemed they were looking for something, and when we confronted them, they fled."
Does this have something to do with Iskander? My hands shook with anger. "What? And did you just let them get away? What if they're working for Iskander and are planning to kill me!"
"We caught one of them, your majesty. The man's been brought down to the cells for interrogation."
"Was Iskander with them?"
"We didn't see him, but the man we captured seems to be one of the knights that deserted our ranks some years ago."
My teeth gnawed on my nails. "No. I'm sure he's behind this. Tell the guards to accompany me down to the cells."
Down at the cells, a disheveled, beat-up man sat tied to a chair.
"Where is he?" My voice bounced on the rough stone walls. "Where is that traitor?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do! Tell me!"
A bloody smile split his face. "No."
Blood boiling ire tightened my fists and made me grate my teeth. "Get it out of him, now!"
The man stubbornly refused to make a sound as flesh impacted flesh, turning most of his face an ugly shade of purple.
"Tell me! Where is he? What is he planning?"
"I don't know." He responded in an infuriatingly nonchalant voice.
"Well, I guess you also don't know or care what I'm about to do to your family.'' I turned towards one of the royal knights. "Apprehend his family! Wife, kids, grandparents, pets; anyone that has even had a passing glance at him!"
The golden-clad men stared at each other. "But, your majesty, we need to consult the counc-"
"Do it now!"
The man tied to the chair's ego deflated at the threat. "Wait!"
"What is he planning?"
"H-he is planning to use the old getaway tunnels to infiltrate the city and kidnap you, your majesty."
"Getaway tunnels, your majesty?"
I don't remember anything about any tunnels when I glanced at the succession debrief tome. "I-I don't know. Are you making this up?"
"The Supreme Commander stole the construction plans for the tunnels from duke Cercis. Apparently, he helped the late his majesty king Barnabas with the construction."
"Your Majesty, do you remember reading anything about that on the tome?"
Crap, I should've looked at that boring book a little more closely. "No, someone must have forgotten to add that to the tome."
"Then we need to prepare for a surprise attack that can happen at any moment." Said the Royal Guard Commander while he rushed out of the cells back to the palace.
Smothered by the pack of flustered guards around me, I rushed to my room and locked the door behind me before they could walk in.
"Your majesty, you shouldn't be left alone! We don't know where those rebels might crawl out from!" They shouted from the other side of the door.
My hand raised to bite at my sore nails. How can my friend plot to kill me? How can he betray me this way? I need to get out of here. If I stay, I'm nothing but a sitting duck. I jerked the door open, startling the men crowding the door jamb. "You need to take me out of here. Out of the capital."
"Your Majesty, we can't leave the safety of our fortified walls."
"We can't stay here! Don't you get it? This palace is like a cage with hidden trap doors ready to pop open for the wolf to come to rip me to shreds! I need to leave!"
After knocking some sense into the inept group of men, an inconspicuous carriage was prepared and sent for my escape.
The swaying of the wagon and the anxiety in the pit of my stomach almost made me double over to throw up. How can he threaten me this way? I should have let him die of hunger in that gutter for a village.
Iskander's betrayal swarmed my every thought, to the point I didn't notice that the wagon had stopped.
One of the guards opened the door. "Hey! Why are we stopping?" The man was suddenly yanked out of the carriage by an unseen force. Immediately, the other door opened, making the other knight disappear into the same void that swallowed the other man whole.
Fear gripped my heart and my fingertips moved to rest on the small knife hidden in my pocket as I inched forward to peek out the door.
My heart dropped to my stomach at the familiar face wearing a smug grin and devious glint in his eye. "Good morning, idiot. Not so nice to see you again."