CHAPTER 10

"Come here you two!" Wendy said to the kids who were waiting for her at the back of the maidens block. They approached her with smiling faces. "Thank you ma'am. The money is complete and nobody saw us coming". The elder of them said with a mischievous smile on his face. They were orphans that the pandemic took away their parents. Ever since the demise of their parents, they have been fending for themselves illegally. Only a few people knew about them; and part of that few is the likes of Wendy. These kids are known for pick-pocketing, animal stealing, local robbery and forcefully taking funds or market produce from younger children whom parents sent on errands. "Are you sure nobody saw you two coming here?" Wendy asked to be so sure. "I won't lie" he replied her. "Okay, good! I need you two to go quietly and spy on the princess and her mother. The Empress said they were going to fetch out whoever was behind her daughter's accusation by al means and I made a very grave mistake. I do not have any idea that the Empress was with her daughter in her room before they left to answer the Emperor and she observed the room to notice that there was no strange vase. After the argument, they came and saw the vase I planted there to implicate her. So, at the moment, there is a little mess and i want to be one step ahead of them. That is why I need you boys to be all around them unseen and unnoticed so you two would continually feed me with first hand information. Do you two understand this?" She asked with a rather hushed tone. "Of course ma'am. We perfectly understand, The problem now is that the princess knows our faces." "And the princess' friend, Tania. They know our faces" The younger one said with a straight face. "And are you two saying that you do not know of any way to pull this off without them getting to see your faces?" Disturbed Wendy asked in utter confusion. "To be honest for now I do not know how we would do this without involving new faces. And I do not know for sure if you would welcome the idea of using strange faces that would be of no suspicion at all just to keep our deeds clean and without traces of you in it." The elder boy said spreading his arms in the air as a gesture of saying [I don't know]. "Ermmm... These boys you want to involve how are they? I mean their ages. And where are they from?" Wendy asked with her eyes hovering around and behind her to be sure no one was eavesdropping on them. "Ma'am, we said we would use strange faces, we didn't say boys. They are young girls of 14 and 11 years respectively. They are smart kids in the hood. No record of being apprehended even once. They would be very suitable for this job. Moreover, the Empress and the Princess would see them to be normal kids who came in with their parents to visit the Emperor and are wandering. It won't be a mess trust me!" He said this time with a smirk. "Okay!, If you say so. Let them in. I leave them to you two. Educate them on how to do their jobs. If my plans are successful, I would double the price. By the way, there are so many future jobs I would need you two to do for me. Just deliver this one neatly. Understood!" She said and signaled them to leave hurriedly because she heard footsteps coming towards their direction. In a blink, they both disappeared, leaving Wendy to herself. She just stood there with eyes on the shrubs growing beside the walls in a poise of admiring them. "How would they Involve girls who are strangers when the Emperor knows each of the kids who comes in daily with their parents to pay homage. The king seeing strange children would hold them and look for their parents and you know what that means." Alexander, one of the Emperor's guard said to Wendy. She shook with fear and felt mother Earth should open up and take her right away. She began shaking with fear and unsure of what would come out of her mouth if she opened it. Finally she found her shaky voice saying, "I do not actually mean any harm. I .. I... wa...s onl..y..." "Speak no more, I totally understand your plight. Your secret is safe with me if only you would promise me something." Alex, said with a mischievous smile on one side of his lips. "What might that be? Anything at all I would do as long as this is kept a secret", Wendy said with her finger twirling against each other on her sweaty palms. "I just need you to pledge to be present in my chambers one hour before I retire for the day. Before I get in, ensure my dish is ready and you would definitely warm my bed for as long as you want this to be kept a secret. Anyday missed, consider this no more a secret. Understood?" Alex sounded clearly to her with a broader smile. "Bu..bu...but thissss... Its too much for you to ask. Please...." She said trying to get hold of his shirt and he adjusted his stance. Looked at her again, smiled and said "You begin today". With that, he left her, not minding how she feels afterwards. Of course she has no other choice and this is actually so easy to keep up because unlike other royal castles, there are task masters who ensure everybody is dutiful. Emperor Arthur is just a man of nobility. Everyone serving him is doing it out of trust and the youngest staff have been doing this for over a decade. 'Well, Its worth the sacrifice'. She said to herself. She quickly left as soon as she lost sight of Alex. It was really a close one. What if it had been the emperor who caught her, what would've been her fate? She thought to herself and decided this is a very bad place for meeting as well as what Alex initially said, the Emperor might be so observant to spot them and term them 'missing kids? They would be taken to the city gates and thorough search would be on. If the truth get in the open, It would be double trouble for her. Going with Alex's first word, she have been in deeper sh!t than she is now. In her heart, she have already concluded to be with Alex for as long as her plans still go on, She just have to keep this to herself and away from even her accomplices. At least it would keep them focused but the only problem is the Emperor not finding that the strange girls are spies for one of his maids working against his wife and only daughter. She would be done for. Nevertheless, something can be done. She would get message across to her boys to tell the girls to make friends with a few of the kids incase issues arise, they would claim to come by as companies to some kids of their choice.