The Henchman's Report

Princess Alkas wore a simple teal nightdress made of silk. Its skirt flared into an a-line cut, the hem reaching her ankles. Over it, she wore a black robe with golden embroidery, its length similar to her dress.

She sat in front of her dressing table which was painted in cream and gold. Its mirror was a large oval framed by wood carved into vines on either side.

Her black hair was parted in the middle, one side flowed down her back and the other over her front. She brushed her hair, starting from the tips up to the roots in order to detangle the strands that had intertwined in her sleep.

From her position, she could easily see the threshold that led to the balcony through the mirror. The view of the sun rising over the Ahana Forest provided a gentle light to her room.

Just then, a dark figure stepped onto her balcony. It landed on its knees and rose up slowly to its feet.

The Princess didn't turn around nor did she make sudden movements. Her golden almond eyes stayed on the mirror, at the reflection of her brush.

"What a beautiful sight to behold this fine morning," the visitor greeted her.

Alkas' lips barely moved, answering cryptically, "State your business and leave, Renz."

From the corner of her eye, she could see his silhouette.

"Ah, such warm welcome," Renz chuckled, stepping inside her chambers. Still, the Princess didn't spare him a glance, "Teralyn's Royal Carriage had crossed the border."

"It has? About time."

Alkas flipped the hair she had finished detangling. Then, she pulled the other half over her front and began brushing it.

Noticing the silhouette still in her peripheral vision, she said, "Is that all?"

Renz sighed, used to the Princess' aloof attitude towards him and his group. Among their clients, she was the most unpredictable to please.

"Crown Prince Tylen is not in it."

Alka's hands froze, finally looking at him. Her pupils dilated, "What… did you say?"

Renz gulped. If his partner wasn't seriously injured, he would left this report duty to him, "It is as I said, Princess. The carriage is on its way… but without its Prince."

He stood near the bed. A good few meters away from the Princess. His all black outfit was torn and the top of his head was bandaged.

Alkas' eyes narrowed at the sight of him.

"Then, who's in it?" She asked. Her cold flat voice echoed through the room.

"His knight."

"Hayden?"

Alkas huffed and slammed her brush on the dressing table. She stared off into space, her hands on her hips. Renz waited patiently as he watched the scowl on the Princess' face deepen.

Then, her gaze went back to his reflection on the mirror, burnt orange specks seeping through her gold eyes.

Renz' muscles tensed.

The Princess folded her hands over her lap, her glare somehow cold despite her burning eyes, "Where is the Prince?"

Renz hesitated. His throat was tight. Air barely made its way to his lungs before it flew out of his nose. Even his voice wobbled, "In the Stitz Inn on the outskirts of Teralyn Kingdom."

Alkas raised an eyebrow, "Near the mountain range?"

"Yes."

"I see…" She stood up and turned around, walking up to Renz with arms circled in front of her stomach, her hands held together. Her chin was up high as she further interrogated him, "Is he alone?"

Beads of sweat trickled down the back of Renz' neck as if he stood near a furnace, "It seems that the Crown Prince has requested the help of the Phantom Pirates."

Alkas stopped in her tracks, "Phantom Pirates?"

Renz observed the flicker of emotions on the Princess' face. Her startled expression diffused as if lost in a dream. He frowned at the sight. It was no secret that the Princess favored the Phantom Pirates over his Nocti Task group.

They were merely a second choice since the Pirates had refused to be associated to the royal family.

Renz bared his teeth, "Princess, don't let the past affect your judgement."

Even after their disagreements, somehow the Princess still yearned to work with the Pirates.

Alkas blinked out of her daze and returned the intensity of his eyes, "I haven't even said anything yet, Renz. Stop assuming my thoughts."

"But if they go against you, we will not hesitate to eradicate them."

Alkas stepped forward and grabbed his injured shoulder, ripping open the wound. Renz crumbled under her touch and howled like a wolf in pain.

"That. Would. Be. My. Decision. Renz," she sneered. He felt her hand squeeze and quivered under the pressure. Fresh blood oozed out, re-soaking his clothes.

"AND. Don't. Make. Sudden. Movements. AGAIN."

Flames bursted out of her palm and disintegrated the cloth underneath it along with his skin. Sharp pain from a hundred needles pierced through his flesh. His scorched flesh throbbed, clear fluid dripping out. His knees gave out under him.

The Princess pulled her hand back.

Renz gasped for breath, now on his hands and knees. He didn't look at his charred skin, enduring the fresh sting until it would turn numb. In the meantime, the open air helped cool down the blisters.

Without lifting his head, he begged, "Princess, Richard and I didn't attack anyone."

He heard her click her tongue, "Explain your wounds then."

"We… we were discovered," Renz mumbled. The sight of the young man with the butterfly swords invaded his mind. The snow white skin that glimmered under the moonlight with charcoal eyes that held the intensity of a rumbling volcano.

"It was... one of the Phantom Pirates," he confessed. His limbs shook, " ... the Rash of the Sea."

"Incompetent fools," she spat, slowly pressing a foot on the burn. Renz hissed but Alkas wasn't done, "How much do they know?"

"I escaped as soon as I woke up." He choked, praying for her foot to be gone.

"And Richard?"

Renz paled, "I…"

The Princess lifted her foot and stomped it on the floor, her blood boiling inside her veins, "You left him there?! Is he still alive?"

"I…"

"Useless. A disgrace to your fellow men," she scolded him. With one last kick at his injury, pushing him out to the balcony, she ordered, "Go back to your leader. I will report to him all that you've done and have him punish you as he wishes. But before you go… if Tylen and those pirates found out about our schemes to secure the crown, I swear to the heavens that I will punish you myself."

Renz immediately scrambled to his feet and ran off to the balcony.

Princess Alkas took a deep and slow breath, calming her temper down. Hasten steps led her to the room's service bell. A long rope that hanged from the ceiling. One pull of it and the entire servants quarters would hear a series of bells ring, signaling that it came from her suite.

Not a minute later, her lady's maid knocked and opened her door. Her blonde hair was wrapped up under a white bonnet. Her baby blue dress and cream white apron reached below her knees.

"Melody," Alkas greeted her.

As soon as she entered, Melody's head was bowed. Her sapphire eyes on her closed black shoes. Her hands clasped together around her stomach.

"Your Highness," she answered politely. She could hear the Princess' steps shuffling around the room but didn't dare to make eye contact.

"Tell the Prime Minister that I want a court meeting in two hours."

Melody looked up with eyes wide, stumbling a little, "Pri—Princess?"

She immediately met the Princess' gaze who stood in front of the bed. Her black robe draped over the bed frame and her hands placed firmly on her hips with eyes that burned towards Melody's direction.

The lady's maid gulped and reverted to her original bowed position, almost tripping again. Her heart drummed up to her throat and clogged her airway. Even when she gulped, the lump remained.

"I have important matters to discuss," she heard Alkas' compelling voice explain, "I plan to move the coronation date. It will now be on Ariene's birthday."