1 The Female Captain

It was supposed to be a joyous day in Araven but things took an anxious turn when the young King of Araven was nowhere to be seen in the palace.

Unlike other days, the palace was heavily decorated for an important event. It was the 500th anniversary of the kingdom's foundation and after preparing for years, the day arrived, much to the joy of all the citizens of Araven. However, the fact that the King was missing caused an uproar in the beautifully decorated palace.

Apart from the royal guards and the servants, even the palace guards tried their best to find their King and not to alert the guests who resided in the palace in the process. They just cannot reveal that their King was missing when the event was just minutes away from starting!

"Again?!" One female servant with brown hair who was double-checking the hall where the event was to be held exclaimed. "Why is there always a problem with His Majesty whenever he is to attend a huge feast?"

"Does this happen before?" the other servant with braided hair asked as she curiously looked at her co-worker. As someone who was new to her work, she showed great interest in everything that the other servants said.

"The thing is... " The brown-haired servant lose her voice when she saw the Head Servant gazing at her with a not so comfortable stare.

"How many times do I have to tell you that a palace worker is banned from gossiping and spreading any news about the royals? Shut your mouth and continue working or you will be punished!" The Head Servant who was a woman in her early 60s warned. All the time, she put on a stern face which the servants were more than familiar with.

At times, the servants would gather just to debate if the Head Servant even know how to smile.

As the female servants diligently continued their work, fearing the punishment that she mentioned to keep them in place, the Head Servant glanced at the throne in the middle of the platform where the King was supposed to sit during the event. Then she knitted her brows.

Just where was the King?

Near the main gate of the vast palace, a young woman dressed in the white uniform of the Royal Guards was standing, double-checking the entrance and all other security matters with the Captain of the Palace Guards who was standing beside her. The badge that was right above the pocket in her left chest proved that the woman, unexpectedly, was the Captain of the Royal Guards, the King's right hand.

With shining medium brown hair that stretched around an inch below her shoulder and tall height with slender body, the young woman was quite a sight to behold as she commanded the other guards with authority. She was a perfectionist and every guard there knew that. That always encouraged them not to make a single mistake in her presence.

As the female Captain was going through every detail before the important event one last time, one young man rushed towards her and the moment he halted, he respectfully bowed before the female Captain.

"Captain, His Majesty is missing and the palace is a mess right now," the Vice-Captain of the Royal Guards, Lucian informed the female Captain.

Everyone's eyes grew wide in shock and this time, the perfect Captain was no exception.

"How can that happen? Didn't I tell you to look out for His Majesty while I double check one last time?!" Captain Elaine Vernimiere snapped.

"I apologize, Captain. The guards come for advice on the safety of the guest and I think His Majesty left his chamber during that," Vice-Captain Lucian responded as he hung his head low.

Captain Elaine felt like her head was spinning. A few minutes and the guests will start entering the hall but... the King was missing?

Even a perfectionist like her can't help but worry when the King was concerned. After all, it's her duty to ensure his safety.

Elaine Vernimiere briefly turned to the left where she saw the Captain of the Palace Guards trying to send out more guards to look for the King. Then she spoke up.

"Captain Remon, I don't think it's a good idea to neglect the gate and the safety of the palace to look for His Majesty."

Captain Remon thought about it and nodded. Though he was responsible for the safety of the palace, he also trusted and look up to the female Captain as much as the other guards did. Not to mention that everyone knew how much the King trusted her.

"How long has it been since the King went missing?" Captain Elaine's attention was now back to the Vice-Captain.

"About 20 minutes."

Elaine Vernimiere thought about it and said, "I was here the whole time and I don't see His Majesty leaving the gate."

She was confident that even if the King happened to be in disguise, she will be able to identify him. Everyone else will also agree with her in that matter. However, she doubted that the King will be that irresponsible.

"Did you look every corner of the palace?" The question was directed at Vice-Captain Lucian for the second time.

"Yes, Captain. We don't miss any spot," was Vice-Captain Lucian's response.

As Elaine stood still in her place, trying to figure out where the King might be, everyone's attention was on her. Then the Captain's eyes flickered. "There is one more place." She looked at the Vice-Captain and said, "Follow me."

With that, the two Royal Guards hurriedly ran towards a certain place.

A few minutes passed and the Vice-Captain slowly realized the place they were heading to. The largest and main royal garden was just a few steps ahead of them and soon enough, he was proved right as the Captain led him inside the garden.

But the garden was empty, leaving the Vice-Captain confused.

When it comes to the King, His Captain was rarely wrong!

Nevertheless, Lucian soon realized that his Captain seemed to know what she was doing as she still made her way towards the end of the garden. When they were just a few steps away from the end, they finally halted their steps.

"Captain, the garden ends here."

Much to Lucian's surprise, Captain Elaine shook her head. "It's not." She walked closer to what appeared like vines and when she was at arms-length, she pulled apart the vines, revealing a small and secluded place full of grass and just two trees.

The two guards walked inside and for Lucian, he didn't even know that such a secret place existed in the royal palace! To add to his surprisement, the King was really standing at one end before the small apricot tree.

"Here you are, Your Majesty," Elaine said, standing three steps behind the young King. "We look for you all over the palace."