Catheline's POV:
It was a short but arduous journey. In order not to get the attention of unnecessary trouble, Vincent had to take careful shortcuts and paths that led to the wheat trader's mansion.
The sky had begun to darken while we took shelter in a nearby inn and assessed our plans.
"Since you two are strangers, one of you will come along with me," Vincent mumbled, leaning on the table. "At nightfall, they might gather outside the mansion,"
"The real plan is to distract their attention," I whispered, leaning backward. "Audrey did specify a barn where produce is stored. So, Vincent will face the negotiators while I go search that area."
And I hadn't been entirely irrational. Just a few miles away was a soldier outpost. Vincent and Myke, one of the two men, would do their duties. I and Rick shall scour through the location, just in case they hid the child where they least expected.
"What if they realize that this is all a hoax?" Myke questioned, his fingers interlaced and drink untouched.
"We four can't manage the entire situation," I responded. "And hence, we would have to involve the army,"
In case of an emergency, Rick would run and report it to the soldiers who might salvage the situation.
"And remember, if I get caught-"
"Ensure that no such situation would arise," Vincent growled. He was more of a protective father than a guardian knight now. "If you get captured, everything goes to hell, child. Your husband will guarantee that,"
I didn't respond. I hoped that they wouldn't mention Xander and now I was thinking of him again. He was still miles away, not knowing of this adventure I got myself into. If anything went wrong, I...
"Nothing will happen tonight," I sighed, repeating it in my mind. "We are going to save that kid no matter what."
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We chose our locations as the sky darkened. I had promised Karra and Lucy that I was going to be back before midnight. It was for the best if I finished the business at bay quickly enough. But first, I wanted to witness the men who were about to meditate with Vincent.
Just before, Rick had shown me the pathway to the barn. Trees were abundant around and hence, I found myself comfortable on one of them. The mansion was just in sight, facing away from the buzzing markets and inns. The pathway was clear in vision as I watched Vincent and Myke stand in front of the gates, waiting.
And then, came two men on horses. I was already sweating at that point, my heart beating painfully loud. The two men, who were supposedly the opponents began talking out loud and approaching Vincent before maintaining a gap between the two parties.
I watched them, peering through the holes of masks while studying their movements. Their cloaked bodies were moving quite swiftly. It wasn't a good time to tell that my skills were quite rusty but if you believed yourself to be weak, that's all you'll ever be.
The negotiation seemed fine until Vincent shouted, clearly angry. One of the men began laughing. I decided that the others would manage them fine on their own and climbed down the tree. Rick was near the foot, waiting for me.
"Near the entrance," I told him.
We both traveled to the large doors and unlocked them with the key we received from Lady Audrey. The lock opened with an audible clink and I entered it quietly, leaving the other man out.
When I breathed in the dusty air, I almost began coughing. The large space was filled with bags of jute, possibly filled with wheat and other related crops. They formed towers, almost reaching the arched ceiling of the building.
This was a maze.
I sighed and kept my hands around the hilt of my sword before stepping forward. For a few moments, I simply walked and walked. Silence was the only thing that lingered. And then when I took a sharp turn, I heard strange noises.
My head snapped in that direction. It was from the right side. I slowly moved toward where the sounds were coming from. When I reached the end, I almost jumped at the voice.
"Arrived sooner than expected."
At one instance, I pulled out my sword and pointed it towards the voice. It turned out to be a man, sitting on top of a grain bag. The noises that I heard were him sharpening his knives. And as I expected, the child had been kept here.
The little boy had been tied up and gagged. Even if there was no light source except the windows paned with glass, I could see his teary eyes.
"You're horrible, I hope you remember that," I told out loud, ignoring the fact that I was supposed to act mute.
"What did you expect, Your Grace?" the man's scar on his eyebrow became more pronounced as he raised them. "Men aren't kind."
"You'll see that women aren't either," I studied my steps, holding my sword firmly. "And you have no guarantee that I am the Queen."
"You had to hide your face, that's proof enough," the man laughed, sharpening his knives even louder. "And we asked for a Queen. And we have one,"
I sighed deeply before approaching a different tactic. "You'll be caught and killed for a man who doesn't even care for you,"
"Who said we worked for someone?"
That sparked the fire of doubts in my head. He's trying to play you just as I was trying to do.
"We had counted on your maternal instinct," He scoffed and stopped grinding his knives against each other. "And it worked. You fell for our trap. No, you intentionally fell for our trap."
"Glad you're smart," I retorted. "Give me the child. Now."
"And what if I don't?" He questioned. "In turn..." he moved back and pulled the little boy from behind, placing him on his lap. "I'll truly let him go,"
I knitted my eyebrows as I watched the man cut off the ropes and cloth that kept the boy silent. He began whimpering as soon as it was done.
"Fly away, little one," the man chuckled. "Your savior is here."
I ignored the response, my eyes trained on the boy. He was looking at me with such fear that I almost lost my sanity. Too little. Too innocent. And a perfect hostage for wicked schemes. Just like my child.
"Off you go," the man nudged the boy. "Or do you want to be skinned?"
"Come over here, Elias," I called him out. "I'll take you to your mother. I promise you,"
After a moment of hesitation, the boy slid away from the lap of the man but before he could step closer to her, the man had caught him and held a knife up his throat. My heart jumped as the boy screamed in fear.
"Such a sweet and soft little boy, aren't you, Elias?" he chimed, squeezing the boy's face and running a dagger on it. I could see a thin line of red forming on the face.
"Stop it!" I shouted, unable to look. But I had to. "If you're man enough, fight me! Why must you take it out on innocent children?"
"Like yours?..." he breathed, his eyes questioning. "The one you lost. The one you mourned. You'll never see your first child again. It's all your fault. And if this one dies too, it will be all on you,"
"One more word and I'll..." I mumbled. I was a lot more affected by his taunts than I liked to admit.
"You can't deny it," he said and gave the child a tight shove, causing him to collapse on the floor. The boy didn't waste a minute, crawling and then running toward her, hugging her legs.
"Run to the door," she muttered to him. "The man outside will take you somewhere safe. Go,"
The boy looked up at her, half his face bleeding because of the cut. I couldn't safeguard him properly. But at least, he leaves with his life intact. She didn't turn when Elias made a run for it. Her focus lingered on the bittersweet memories of Cayden.
"Thinking of him again?" the man taunted. This time, he had gotten up and pulled out a second dirk. "You never knew the man who orchestrated your child's death, haven't you?"
Air caught up in my throat as I focused my mind on what he said. This time, we began to move, circling each other. The man spun his dagger in his hand before squaring his shoulders.
"They never got caught. The King of Anthreal has done a lousy job," he chuckled. "Because I'm still alive and he has never found me,"
When the realization hit me, I paused for a few moments before wasting no more time. Instead, I leapt forward. A pounce of a tigress, ready to rip him apart.
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Karra's POV:
The entire day had been hell for me. As if my nerves were burning me alive from the inside. The afternoon the Queen had left went by smoothly. Only Madam Alina, who wanted to discuss a situation had posed a situation. But I had managed it well enough, lying that the Queen was having a headache and would see her later.
Lucy was in charge of taking care of Lady Audrey, who began crying now and then. I didn't know her pain nor did I have the right to judge it. She must be feeling terrible. Lucy informed me of how she attempted to reassure her that the Queen would bring back her child.
Night had also flowed into the sky and that's where my true fears took life. The Queen would return any time soon and I had already prepared a pair of clothes for her to change into. In case of a dire situation, I had even prepared a set of gauzes.
As the Queen had ordered, I stood near the hallway that indicated if some visitor had arrived. Only then I would know if the Queen had arrived safely. I stood there, my heels rocking sideways and when they began to ache, I started to pace around.
My boredom would've disappeared if some certain tall and handsome man bothered me with some pretty words. I had to admit that I missed his irritating presence. Which didn't seem so irritating now.
Never in my life did I imagine taking a fancy for a soldier. That too, is an ambitious one. I always hoped to get a strong husband who would do all the household work so I could serve the Queen more efficiently.
"Karra,"
"Ah!" I jumped, twirling around. It was just Lucy, who held what seemed like a twig in her hands.
"Has she returned?" she queried, peeking through the window arch.
"I wouldn't have been so tense if she had," I replied, relaxing a little. I should calm down for the life of me.
Lucy hummed and looked at the sky. "Isn't our Queen so kind and brave?"
I jutted my lip and stepped forward. "She is very emotional too. You hadn't seen her when she was in mourning,"
Lucy's face darkened. "Those bastards deserve a thousand deaths!" she swore. And then followed a string of curses that the Queen wouldn't have approved of.
"That's enough," Karra wrinkled her nose in disgust when the words had gotten too unfriendly.
"You're the one who taught me those," she snapped, waggling her fingers. And then, she sighed. "I'm serious. When my father had been alive, he always spoke of how this kingdom needed a strong-headed Queen. People knew how the King's temperament was,"
I knew about the words. I had heard many of those before the King had married.
'Perhaps a woman and having a child can change his sentiments,'
It was hard for people to gossip about the King while Lady Daraa prowled around like a lioness around halls. All I had hoped for was to have a kind Queen who had the power to change everything. The gloomy nature of the castle and everything else.
"Go back to your post," I told her, tapping the marble handrail.
Lucy nodded and soon was out of sight. I watched the sky for a long time before I remembered the months the Queen had suffered after she miscarried. At first, she wouldn't even eat anything. Unless the King insisted, she refused to even talk. The beautiful woman who always radiated life simply stared at the ceiling with a blank face.
It was hard for me to see. And there were some nights when I saw her asleep, holding her belly like she used to. She truly wanted that child. She would have been a wonderful mother.
'Positive thoughts, Karra'. I slapped my cheeks. Think of nothing gloomy and only think of the brightest part of---
My thoughts stopped when I spotted some movement near the pathway that led inside the castle. My heart rattled as I jumped and ran forward, hoping that the party had arrived safely.
When I ran downstairs, I didn't see a person ahead. And I bumped into him.
"Watch it!---"
"Karra?"
My head stopped thinking and looked up, astonished to find a familiar face looking at me in surprise.
"Leon!?" I shouted, my voice high. "What are you---"
My words stopped when I looked at the front and my eyes fell on the last person I had expected to see that night. I was so stunned that my mouth clung open with fear.
"Your Majesty..."
Oh dear.
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Author's note:
Thank you so much for 150k! I love you all (In a good way)
Just got out of my writer's block so let the swords fight and wings fly.