14 Are we safe?
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| At the Kingdom of Glacier |
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People gathered round the castle gates. All came to witness the dreadful sight before them.
"Close your eyes, do not look at it." A mother cautioned her child, obscuring the child's eyes to the sight.
"What does this mean?" Another cried out in fear.
"Father?" A young child pulled on his father's sleeve, "Where did that man's body go to?" He pointed upwards.
"Shh... Be quiet." The father hissed, his brows furrowing in worry.
"T- that's blood!" A frail man shrieked, falling to the ground in fear.
"Could anyone get frail ol' Pete out of here? Who brought him here anyways?" The town's council leader called, his hands akimbo.
°How dare they allow him wander here to witness this sight?° He raged.
All moved a step back, not wanting to take any blame, they shook their head in fear, clearly in shock to respond normally.
A nurse offered to help, stepping out of the crowd, she squatted, holding onto ol' Pete, carefully pulling him up, his arm around her shoulder, assisting him up, "Let's get you rested, you shouldn't be out here by yourself." She whispered consolingly.
"I guess I should." His voice thin and breathy.
The crowd parted a clear path, they watched with unshaken attention as the nurse led ol' Pete away.
"Take good care of him!" Someone yelled among the crowd.
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"Citizens of Glacier!" A voice thundered with much vigour, all attention was drawn to the sound of the voice.
Ethelbert, the Kingdom's town crier dressed in a blue and goal coat, black trousers with matching black boots. The distinctive sound of his handbell as he made his way through the streets.
"Do not be alarmed, the Royal household are assuring of the safety of it's people." He yelled at the top of his voice, the frequent jingle of his handheld bell interfering with his announcement.
"You said what?!" An old man, who is faint of hearing, yelled back, waving his hands frantically in the air.
"He said we are safe father." The son held back down his father's arms, nervously smiling as the little attention drawn from his father's uncalled behavior brought upon them angry and pitiful stares by others.
"I have told you father, I would relay the message to you once we got back home." He hissed.
"What?" The old man asked, cupping his ear, still confused on what was going on, not being able to make out clearly what his son had just told him.
"Just forget it father," The son's hand balled in a fist in frustration. "We would get back what we have lost, the Royal household would pay for what they did." He vowed.
"Do go home everyone! Carry on with your normal duties." The town crier said, halting in his steps, bowing slightly and walking back to the castle doors. The distinctive bell jingle dimming at the distance.
"Are we really safe?" A woman murmured, her voice doubtful on the news just heard.
"The King assured we are safe, then we are safe." A man in his 30's shrugged, placing his hands behind his head in a laid-back position, he dragged his feet as he walked out towards his home just as the town crier had announced.
"I guess you're right." The woman's voice trailed off, turning away, she too headed home.
"You heard the town crier? Everyone head back home, now!" The town council leader yelled.
In a matter of hours, the crowd began to disperse. The active murmur by others as they went in groups could be heard.
*Caw* *Caw*
The crows hovered above the corpse. Their shadows casting an eerie feeling as they flocked in their numbers.
"Mom, look!" A child pointed above, clearly marveled at the strange sight.
"Let's hurry." She pulled on her daughter's hand, eager to leave the castle grounds immediately.
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| The King's Bedchambers |
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The lantern flickered as the wind blew into his bedchambers.
°Why threaten the peace of this Kingdom?° The King sat on his chair, his elbows on the table, his upper spine bent forward, staring into nothingness.
*Knock* *Knock*
Looking behind his shoulder, the King watched without saying a word as the knock on his door could be heard once more.
"Sire?" A voice said in a whisper.
"Get on in, Curt." The King relaxed in his chair, his legs crossed as he watched the door knob turn anticlockwise, opening slightly.
Royal Advisor Curt opened the door slightly, poking his head into the King's bedchambers, "Could I come in?" He asked timidly.
"Aren't you already halfway in?" The King's brow raised in annoyance.His daughter was in an enemy kingdom and yet he hasn't got any word or clue about her safety.
"Right!" Royal advisor Curt sweatdropped, opening the door fully, he slipped in, closing the door behind him. "I have news, Sire!"
°News? Is that all you're good for?° The King's rage tried to rear it's ugly head.
°Deep breath° King Fabian tried to calm himself. "It's not his fault your daughter is in this mess° He tried consoling his aching heart.
"Let me hear it then." He decided to keep an open mind on the situation.
"We uncovered this inside the mouth of the umm.. body." Royal Advisor Curt stuttered, easing his collar, gulping down hard.
"You mean the dangling head on our front door?" The King replied not mincing down any word. "Go on."
"Y-yes that," He stuttered once more.
°Would you stop and think straight for a moment?° Royal Advisor Curt scolded himself at his uncalled behavior.
"There was a note." He walked up to the King, bowing down, stretching his hands towards the King.
°Why do they resort to notes all the time?° The King shook his head in despair, taking hold of the paper.
The stench of blood seething off the piece of paper. Carefully opening the paper, the paper soaked in a deep red hue which was gradually turning brown at the dried edges. The King read it's content, the more he read the more his brows furrowed.
°How could this happen?°
"Spread the word, anyone who could think of a plan to locate the Kingdom of Azalon, bringing back my daughter alive, would be awarded a position in my Royal household." The King abruptly stood up from his seat, turning towards the window, looking at the clear night sky.
"Sire? Please do reconsider, isn't your decision a little irrational? We could unintentionally invite trouble to our Kingdom and worse yet, the Princess could be in danger because of any rash decision we might make." Royal advisor Curt panicked at the thought of confronting the enemy Kingdom.
°I could be exposed° Royal Advisor Curt sweatdropped.
"Have you ever worried over the safety of your loved one?" The King shot a death glare.
° Yes, my brother° Royal Advisor Curt looked to his side, avoiding the glare from his King. °He has every right to be angry°
Staggering back in fear, "No, Your Majesty, I have not." Royal Advisor Curt replied, looking downwards in despair.
"Then it is not your place to question my decision." The King thundered.
"I apologise, Sire!" Royal Advisor Curt pleaded.
"Who else knows of the content of this note?" The King's voice queried, his attention still fixed to the sky out the window.
"No one except You and I, Your Majesty." Royal Advisor Curt replied. "Immediately the note was found, it was handed to me immediately."
"Who handed it to you?" The King's ear picked up on that snippet of information.
"Sir Gregory, the Knight Commander." He replied.
°Sir Gregory° The King nodded his head in thought.
"Send for him." The King ordered, his hand clasped behind him.
"Yes Sire." He bowed one last time before taking his leave.
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"Your Majesty, the King." Sir Gregory saluted.
"I know our meeting caused you to forgo your night out with your fellow comrades." The King turned, concerned.
"It is my duty to serve the King, that is merely something worth forgoing." Sir Gregory replied.
"I have a question I would like to ask you though." The King's eyes narrowed, his voice serious.
"Anything, Sire!" He knelt on one knee, placing his right hand on his chest.
"It's about the note, did anything seem strange about it?" The King asked.
"How so, Sire?" Sir Gregory asked, confusion playoffs tricks on his feature.
"How many notes were there?" The King squeezed the note in his hand behind him.
"Two, Sire." Sir Gregory replied. "I immediately reported and handed them over to Advisor Curt."
°Exactly as I thought° The King's eyes darkened.
"You're sure it was two?" The King asked again, making sure of his claim.
"Affirmative, Sire!" Sir Gregory pounded hard on the armor on his chest, clearly sure of his claim.
"Fine then, you may leave." The King put on a smile as he watched Sir Gregory stand to his feet bowing down before excusing himself.
°What are these loopholes?° The King walked up to the window, looking up to the sky.
°Now I clearly am convinced you are hiding something°
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Royal Advisor Curt walked through the hallway to his bedchambers, a note scrunched in his hand. Slamming the door behind him. He heaved a sigh of relief of slipping through without the King suspecting anything.
°How would I do this?° Royal advisor Curt fell to his knees.
"I am trying my best." He cried out. "Why am I caught up in such a terrible position?"
Crawling, he held onto his chair for support, pulling himself up, he sniffled, wiping his tears.
°You have to be strong for him, his life depends on you°
Opening the note once again, he read out loud: "How do you see my warning? Would you like to be the next example, my beloved traitor?" Royal advisor winced at the latter.
Royal Advisor Curt could only imagine the cruel crackling of the writer's laughter as he read on: " Get me what I want or your Kingdom is in for a pleasant surprise."
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