Race to Find Her

19 had been wondering around the fountain for a few minutes, and she was starting to feel silly about it. The puppet show had already ended and the improvised stage setup was being taken down. The crowd had also slowly dispersed, and only some people opted to linger by the fountain – couples who wanted to extend their time with each other and families whose young children were playing with the water. But she still couldn't find 20.

They got separated while finding spots to watch the performance, and she didn't pay it any mind, figuring they could simply find each other after. However, that wasn't turning out to be the case, and she was beginning to get worried. The town square was relatively safe, but it was definitely not crime free. And although she's never had any trouble before, having frequented the place on her days off since she started working in the palace about a year ago, that didn't mean that 20 won't encounter problems. As she very well knew by now, 20 was the living, breathing definition of different – different personality, different ideas, different way of thinking.

She had probably rounded the fountain a couple more times when she spotted a package several meters away. It had been trampled on by the spectators earlier, but she recognized it before she even bent down to retrieve it: it was the scented candle that 20 had purchased that afternoon. There was no way her friend would have simply forgotten something that she bought. She was neat and organized, and the opposite of being a scatter brained. "If she didn't forget…" she began, but she didn't finish her sentence. Instead, she picked up her skirt and ran to find the nearest merchant store. She had to get back to the palace – fast.

*****

Caio had just finished his meetings and was walking towards the main entrance of the palace where his carriage will be waiting for him. He glanced at the window and noticed that it was already dark and he paused, debating if he should make a quick detour to the servants' quarters to check on 20 first. It was evening by then so she should have been back at least an hour ago. He was about to head that way when he saw a girl running at full speed, completely disregarding the imperial palace's etiquette norms to always walk at a laid back pace inside palace grounds.

19 was out of breath. She had run to the merchant store to get a ride back to the palace, and the wagon had barely stopped at the back entrance when she took off running again. She dashed to the servants' quarters but as she had somehow expected already, 20 was not there. So she was now running to Monsieur Di Almarati's office, hoping all the while that the chief steward wouldn't dismiss her concern as nonsense.

It was then that she saw the archduke, and she used up the remaining strength in her legs to rush over to him. "Your… Grace," she said in between gasps of air as she bowed. "Please help me."

Caio looked down at the girl. Her hair was a mess, her dress was stained and partially dripping wet, and it was clear that she could hardly catch her breath. When she raised her eyes up to him, he recognized her – Concubine Number 19. He braced himself for what she was about to say even before spoke, his intuition telling him that it must be something about 20 – something bad. And true enough, her words confirmed his fears.

"I can't find 20, Your Grace," 19 said, worry evident in her green eyes. She dared to look at the archduke directly. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't even lift her eyes from the floor, but her worry for her friend overshadowed social decorum at the moment. She would happily take any punishment later – after 20 was back safely. "We got separated and I can't find her." 

Caio stilled, but his heartbeat raced like crazy. "Where did you last see her?"

"At the fountain by the town square, Your Grace," 19 replied. "We were supposed to watch a show."

Caio nodded and turned around, running at breakneck speed. His carriage was at the main entrance just as expected, and he jumped over the flight of stairs instead of wasting time going down. Then he untied one of the horses from the carriage and immediately got on it.

"What's the problem, Your Grace?" the footman asked in alarm.

"Send a few soldiers to the town square immediately," he ordered. "I'll meet them there." He kicked the horse at full gallop, leaving a cloud of dust behind him, while the footman dashed in the direction of the soldiers' training ground. "You have to be all right, 20," Caio whispered as he rode, the palace quickly disappearing from view. "You have to be." 

*****

Alessandro was on his way to one of the palace's smaller banquet halls. His meetings had already ended and the ministers had left, leaving only a few of the empire's governors whom he had invited for a round of drinks that evening. He had received good reports on the allocation of funds in their respective provinces, and he wanted to recognize their hard work as well as encourage discussions on what else needed to be done to get the territories on track to recover after the war.

"They're waiting for you, Your Majesty," Vincenzo bowed as he opened the double doors to the banquet hall.

Just then Alessandro heard 20's voice and he stopped in his tracks at the doorway, like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. Then he turned around and ran to the stables, racking his mind for the shortest possible route to get there.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" Vincenzo called out, but the emperor didn't even look back. The governors stood up and gaped. They had never seen their monarch on a mad dash before, as though he was running for his very life.

Alessandro finally made it to the stables, but he felt like it took him an eternity to get there. He bolted the doors open, threw on a saddle at the horse nearest to the entryway, and raced out of the palace. He didn't have time to get one of his horses properly saddled – this would have to do.

The stable hands stared after him in open mouthed shock. "D-did we just see the emperor?" one of them stammered, but his companions weren't sure, either. They had never seen the emperor up close, after all.

Alessandro raced to the town square. He knew he was going as fast as possible, but it seemed like the scenery was going by in an agonizingly slow motion. His heart was in his throat, his mind was clouded with worry, and he tried to focus on the most urgent thing right now: finding 20. "Where are you?" he asked, arriving at the entrance to the square.

The man pushed me roughly on the ground and I broke my fall with my hands, causing them to be scratched from the little stones scattered on the dirt. But getting my hands slightly injured was the least of my concerns at the moment.

"What do we have here?" I heard a leery voice, and I looked to see another man scooting down in front of me. He was lanky, but for some reason he scared me a lot more than the burly guy did. It was his eyes, dark and bottomless, as though telling me that I had just arrived in hell – and I was about to experience it too.

I was down on my knees from the fall, and when I attempted to get up, the burly guy pushed me again, rougher this time. I felt my elbow getting a huge scrape and I saw blood starting to trickle down my arm. "Now, now," the burly man said. "If you don't try to escape, you won't get hurt."

"Just stay still," the lanky man whispered, his voice sending cold shivers down my spine. "Who knows, you might actually enjoy it."

By this time I had crept into a corner to get as far away from them as possible, but there was nowhere else to turn to. It was a dead end. I heard 1's question and I tried to discreetly put my hand in my pocket so I could answer him. 'Side alley,' I replied. 'Hurry up.'

The lanky man grabbed my feet and dragged me on the ground until I was completely on my back. I kicked and struggled to break free, and my skirt tore at the edge. The burly man caught my wrists and pinned them over my head. 'No,' I silently screamed. 'No.'

Alessandro cursed the number of side alleys at the square. He had gone to three or four so far, but there was still no sign of 20. When he heard her screams, his blood turned into ice and he jumped down his horse, abandoning it by the fountain. Racing through the narrow passageways around it, his ears caught the voices of men. He followed the voices and turned at a narrow bend – and the sight that greeted him turned his vision into red.