Deception at its Finest
That night not a single person slept in the palace, the villagers and the other royal families made an early departure with promise to call and help anyway they could. They reassured the Salúve and D'avilla family that they would find their daughters. The other Royals decided to stay at a nearby hotel until they were ready to return to their kingdoms as to give the families some space. The event of courting was obviously postponed as the two most sought-after Princesses were stolen. Clara and Lenora were exhausted after hours of helping to finalize measures that would be taken to find the Princesses. Giving orders so that the Royal families and guest departed in an orderly manner, explaining to the villagers the events that occurred in the week that led up to this moment and recalling their findings to the grand council with the help of the two guards who were introduced as Kevanté and Edward. They finally bid everyone a goodnight before retiring to Princess Isabelle's bedroom where they would make a useless attempt to sleep. They opened the door revealing Queens Melaine and Latifa who were wiping tears from their tired eyes. Clara was planning to keep Leo's phone call a secret but seeing them sitting on the sofa in that state pushed her to speak up. If she was feeling this amount of emotional pain, she couldn't begin to imagine what they were feeling as the Princesses mothers. "I know this is has been a painfully long night your highnesses but there's something we have to tell you "Stated Clara. " And we don't know if you're going to believe us" added Lenora. "It has been a difficult night not only for us but for the entire Kingdom including you too, we are aware of the relationship that you have with our girls" stated Queen Melaine, "So we are all ears, now talk to us"Encouraged Queen Latifa.
Clara: bueno, cuando salí del salón de baile para tomar un poco de aire fresco, escuché a leo hablando por teléfono.
Latifa: y de que estaba hablando
Lenura: Más Como con quien estaba hablando
Clara: lo escuhé decir " No somos amigos, Authur" antes de colgar el teléfono.
Lenura: ah, y recuerdo cuando estábamos en la oficina, había tres invitaciones que ya estaban firmadas.
Clara: sí, dijo que tenía órdenes directas de ambos reyes para firmar las invitaciones, así que no nos molestamos en verificar los registros.
Melaine: gracias a ambos por esta valiosa información.
Latifa: Solo sepa que estamos aquí para ayudar.
Translation
Clara: (gave a long pause before speaking) Well, when I exited the ballroom to get some fresh air, I overheard Leo talking on the phone.
Latifa: And what was he talking about?
Lenura: More like who he was talking to
Clara: I heard him say " We are not friends, Authur" before hanging up the phone.
Lenura: Oh and I remember when we were at the office, there were three invitations that were already signed for.
Clara: yes! He said he had direct orders from both Kings to sign the invitations, so we didn't bother to check the records.
Melaine: thank you both for this valuable information
Lenura: Just know that we are here to help.
The Queens bid Clara and Lenora a good night before exiting the bedroom keeping it in mind to ask the Kings about the permission that Leo was given and why. Queens Melaine and Latifa were not going to tell their husbands about what they had just learnt. The main goal for now was to find out if that permission was granted to Leo. It was after Clara and Lenora finished speaking with the Queens that they realized, the two guards keeping watch on the balcony were Kevanté and Edward. They went out on the balcony to have a little chat with them and for some reason they trusted these two guards. They shared everything that they knew with them, everything from start to finish. "Well, we are sorry that all of this happened to the Princesses, especially under our watch, we'll devote our time to your services. We're beside you a hundred and ten percent with finding them" said Edward with a determined expression, "Just keep an open mind, we see how hard you work and we have realized that you're smart so your level of thinking will be critical in helping to find the Princesses" said Kevanté hugging Lenora.
"And for the record I think Leo is a suspect in this investigation, just know that we are here anytime you want to talk" finished Edward hugging Clara. It was after they re-entered the room that they realized, there was really no need for Kevanté and Edward to be there as the Princesses were already kidnapped. Little did they know that Kevanté and Edward just wanted to make sure that they were okay. Clara and Lenora bid them goodnight once again before entering the bathroom to change and remove their makeup, the only thing they kept on were the bracelets. They climbed into the bed, clapped once to take out the lights and laid there in the darkness crying silently. Clara and Lenora had been holding back tears throughout the entire process of comforting the Royal family and helping anyway they could to improve the chances of a successful search. they still couldn't believe that this had happened, and the fact that it happened to two of the nicest persons was unbearable. Clara and Lenora tried to stop the tears, but their efforts were in vain, in the meantime Kevanté and Edward sat on the sofa on the balcony discussing what they had just learnt until they all fell asleep. Why were Kevanté and Edward pulled towards Clara and Lenora? They had no idea but from the moment they approached them at the fitting room to this moment, Someway, somehow, it felt like everything happened for a reason.
Clara heard a Raspy voice calling her name and saw someone moving in the dark, she began to shake Lenora, but she wouldn't wake up. Clara got up and ran to the door, shaking the knob in panic as the door would not open, it was sealed shut. She turned her back to the door as she heard the person coming closer whispering her name, "Ohhh Clara" before laughing evilly. She screamed as loud as she possibly could and awoke from her nightmare, only to see a concerned looking Edward, Kevanté and Lenora looking down at her. "Are you ok, what happened?" asked Lenora, " I'm fine it was just a bad dream" answered Clara still shaken. Lenora checked the time, and it was five thirty, it made no sense for them to go back to sleep because they had a meeting with the Royal families and the rest of the grand council at six. The guys were going to be a part of the meeting, so they were getting ready to leave as they were still in their ball attire. "Are you going to be alright?" asked Kevanté with genuine concern, "Yeah we'll be fine" answered Lenora. The rising sun highlighted their features as they stood on the balcony. Both of them had black hair, but Kevanté's eyes were grey while Edward had hazel eyes. They both had black masks covering their eyes, and they were dressed in a black tuxedo with white shirt, blue bracelet, black bow tie and black shoes. They hugged each other before the guys exited the room leaving Lenora and Clara to get dressed.
Clara and Lenora arrived in the dining room where the Royal families and the rest of the grand council were already seated. Queens Melaine and Latifa smiled at them and gestured for them to take a seat. They spotted Edward and Kevanté and went to sit opposite to them. Everyone looked as if they were suffering from lack of sleep except Leo who looked well rested. " To start things off, Clara, what happened since morning, it showed up on our bracelets that your anxiety levels were through the roof" asked King Rafael. "It was just a bad dream, your highness" answered Clara. Lenora realized that Queens Melaine's and Latifa's eyes widen as they looked at each other. King Rafael looked at his wife and immediately felt anxious, he knew that look anywhere, that look meant that she was out for blood. She rarely showed this side of her but when she did not even the king could measure up to her savagery, she was the silent one which made her more dangerous. "Tea, your highness?" asked the waitress that was serving, " Make that a bottle of Hennessy, thank you" replied Queen Melaine with a calm but deadly expression. Both Queens got up from where they were seated in sync and sat opposite to Leo, one on the left and one on the right. Leo was confused but brushed it off as nothing, deadly mistake, the two women went in for the kill. The waitress arrived with the alcohol and poured out two servings for both Queens before disappearing from the room.
Everything was silent as Queen Melaine took her first gulp, " Now Leo, I have some questions for you to answer. I saw you fit for this interrogation as you WERE our most TRUSTED member of the grand council" she said calmly. "Anything for you, your highness" he answered casually. " Now, do we or do we not have one grand council for both Kingdoms" asked Queen Melaine taking a sip of her drink. Only she, Clara, Lenora, Edward, Kevanté and Queen Latifa knew where this was going. "We do" answered Leo confidently, "Good, and you're the most trusted member for both kingdoms, aren't you?" asked Queen Latifa after taking a sip of her drink. The dining room was silent as everyone listened keenly. " Well, I don't mean to brag, but I am" he answered with a smirk, "great, that means you know, what's going to happen, where it's going to happen and how it's going to happen in advance before any other member of the grand council knows that something is going to happen correct?" asked Queen Melaine shooting daggers with her eyes. "Correct" he answered without the smirk this time, " And you are the only member of this council who knows the Princesses schedule. Things like when they would be in their rooms, you know their whereabouts and you're the only one who knows where both Princesses rooms are apart from the family" stated Queen Latifa. Leo started to feel uncomfortable " I, I, promise, it wasn't me" he said looking into the Kings eyes. Everyone now saw where this was going but was still curious to find out what the queens had learnt. "Let us finish Leo, we didn't say it was you" stated Queen Latifa smiling. " You are the only member of this council that knows almost everything that the Royal family knows" said Queen Melaine before taking another drink. "But that's not the best part, Leo!" she finished smiling wildly. " The best part?" questioned Leo with his heart rate speeding up with every passing second. He knew that he was sinking deeper and deeper into destruction.
"Let's get to it, shall we?, you did not want Clara and Lenora on this team", stated Queen Melaine. "Is it because it would be harder for you to complete Authur's request with them being so observant", finished Queen Latifa. Leo's eyes widen with recognition, "they know", Leo thought to himself. "Cats got your tongue Leo", asked Queen Latifa. "Dear Leo, you know what I just realized? When the Princesses were being kidnapped their anxiety levels should have shown on our bracelets like it did with Clara", stated Queen Melaine gesturing to Clara. " Then we remembered that you! Leo, were the one who delivered the bracelets to them", said Queen Latifa shaking her head. "Son of a", shouted King Rafael getting up from his seat. Queen Melaine put up one hand as a signal for him to sit back down which he did from respect. "Now Leo as if tampering with our technology wasn't enough, you invited three unauthorized guests to our ball and now our daughters are gone. You didn't think we would make the connection", stated Queen Latifa looking him dead in the eyes. "You got permission from the Kings huh? But from which kingdom because it sure wasn't ours", stated Queen Melaine. "You traitor", shouted King Dejean, now realizing why his wife had questioned him last night. "Allow us to finish", demanded Queen Melaine before drinking all of her drink and refilling her glass. "Now Señor Kenny saw you giving a letter to our daughters before they exited the ballroom and so help me God! You better not lie to me because I will find out the truth and you won't like what I'll do to you", warned Queen Melaine.
"Who gave you that letter Leo?", asked Queen Latifa, "I, I, I wrote it your highness, when I went to give the Princesses their bracelets, I saw what they were wearing so I wrote the letter. I'm telling the truth", he said with his head hanging low. "Lift your head up and look me in the eyes you bastard, what did the letter say?", asked Queen Melaine still in a very calm manner. "I told them to meet me in the fitting room, but I wrote it from someone else's point of view", he confessed. "How could you? Why Leo, why?", asked Queen Latifa with a pained expression. "I am in trouble and Authur offered me seventeen million dollars, it would make it disappear, so I took it", he confessed. "You greedy, sick twit, you could have asked for a raise, we would have given it to you. You put our daughters in the hands of a twisted, psychotic excuse of a human for seventeen million dollars!", barked King Rafael. "Was he the one who called you in the elevator", asked a member of the grand council. "Yes, he was", Leo said now pondering the consequences of his actions. "And he also called him last night, yeah we know Leo!", said Queen Latifa. "You are no longer apart of this council but before you are brought to the dungeon, get up and look at that painting", said Queen Melaine pointing at the painting behind them.
Edward and Kevanté took Leo and brought him in front of the painting, "Who are they?", Queen Melaine asked coldly. "King Rafael, King Dejean and Authur", Leo replied with his voice cracking. "Correct and take a long look on who you betrayed us for", she said laughing coldly. Queen Melaine got up from the dining table, took the knife that was being used to cut the rotisserie and threw it with direct precision glazing Leo's neck and hooking him by the shirt to Authur's face in the painting. "Spare me the fear Leo, if I wanted your neck gone, it wouldn't be there, I just brought you a bit closer to your master, look at him", she said staring Leo dead in the eyes. "Betrayal shouldn't be an option, but if it is, here you listen, I reward loyalty with loyalty and disloyalty with distance", she said turning to everyone else in the room to get the message across. She turned back to the guards "He will spend a week in the dungeon with that painting, we will feed him and give him water, but he will be left in the darkness with the only lights being on the painting. I think that is enough time for you to think about what you've done and at the end of the week you'll let me know if it was worth it", said Queen Melaine with her eyes being a dark green ripping into Leo's soul.
" After you have spent your week in the dungeon, you will be banned from the Kingdoms. You will not even be allowed to come close to the villages. Oh and another silly mistake that you made, the account with the seventeen million is the one that you joined with our kingdoms so the money will be used in getting the best technologies for this search", stated Queen Melaine. "How did we not see the connection, he will not get off so easily", said King Rafael. "If we don't locate our daughters within the next two weeks, no matter where you hide just know that we're coming to find you. If you're dead you'll be resurrected, tortured, then killed, I promise you", threatened King Dejean. "And repeat to me the Royalty's tradition", commanded King Rafael. "You always keep your promises", answered Leo already regretting his decisions, "remember that", finished King Rafael. Edward and Kevanté were going to take Leo away when Clara stopped them. "Wait, who were the three persons that you invited to the ball Leo?" she asked. "Authur and his two sons", replied Leo now willing to talk, shaken up by almost losing his neck. "Sons?", asked everyone in unison, "Is that why he kidnapped the Princesses", questioned Lenora. "That psychopath has some devilish plans', concluded Clara. "What are their names?", asked King Rafael now curious. " Luke,", king Rafael and Queen Melaine looked at each other when the realization hit them as they had a flashback of Luke introducing himself at the central village, "and Alejandro" finished Leo. Queen Latifa and King Dejean stopped in their tracts as they too remember Alejandro. "Oh My God", whispered Clara to Lenora. "They were planning this all along", stated Queen Latifa. Lenora was still in shock, "Luke and Alejandro were Author's sons! Now everything made sense at the same time that nothing did", she whispered to herself. Clara and Lenora knew a lot more than the Royals, but would they share the princesses' secrets, or would they try to protect it?