Interrogation

"To whom are you calling for help?" Aurora asked sharply. She hoped that his quick answer would be the most honest.

"Blazing bees! You scared me!" Alaron yelled.

Devrim hauled the boy to his feet by his collar. "Answer your mother's question."

The prince realized he had probably been calling to Cafer for help, but there was no way he would admit that. "Anyone! It was just a reaction. It happened so fast and I was not sure who had grabbed me."

Aurora did not believe him, but had no proof to the contrary. Instead, she directed all of them to sitting room. They made Alaron sit on a cushioned sofa, while the rest stood hovering around him. Alaron could not help but feel intimidated.

The Empress addressed the broad-shouldered soldier. "Junayd, call off the search for the prince, but continue to look for intruders. If Gandr is outside, as I suspect he is, send him in."

"Yes your Majesty," Junayd bowed and left.

"Intruders?" Alaron was not catching on.

"What were you doing in the tunnels?" Devrim demanded to know.

The boy tried to look innocent. He pulled at his chin and furrowed his brow. "The tunnels? Oh! Is that what those are? I was wondering what I had wondered into…"

"He must think we are really stupid…" Devrim said to his wife, who nodded as she brought her hand to her forehead.

"Let's try again. How did you get into the tunnels, my son?" Aurora tried to remain calm.

"I stumbled into them on accident," Alaron lied.

"Tell us where so we can go investigate," Devrim said. The Emperor looked toward Nurlan, who was poised to leave.

"It was, uh, I can't quite remember…." Alaron scratched the back of his neck.

Brinn and Nurlan were both trying to keep a straight face as they looked on, but inwardly their eyes were rolling in disgust. Gandr entered the room and bowed. The Empress pointed into her bedchamer. "Make sure the tunnels are clear," she ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Gandr nodded his understanding and slipped out of sight.

Aurora turned back to the prince. "Let me save you some trouble. There are only two entrances inside the palace which access these passages. Which one did you use?"

"Yours," the boy answered simply. Cafer had not told him where the other entrance was, and it would only get him into more trouble if he tried to stick to his original story.

"Why were you in the palace tunnels?" Devrim hoped it was just innocent curiosity, but in his gut he knew better.

Having dropped for a moment, Alaron's defenses went back up as his mind tried to find an excuse. "I...I wanted to explore. There's only so much for a teenager to do around here. I wanted an adventure."

Aurora began to pace. Unlike her normally placid exterior, the Empress's face was etched with concern. Devrim could see her mounting anxiety, and took the Fate's chain from his son's neck. "Here, my love. I will return what the prince has stolen." He passed the necklace to the Empress, who gladly draped it over her head. She felt whole again.

"Stolen? No, no. I did not realize that was yours, mother. I thought it was my chain. I must have swapped them on..."

"Accident, I know..." Aurora finished his ridiculous sentence. "Who told you about the entrance and the passageway?"

"No one," Alaron insisted.

"He is a liar," Gandr said as he returned from the tunnels.

"How dare you speak about me in such a manner!" Alaron tried to stand from his seat but Devrim pushed him back down.

"If he speaks the truth, he can call you whatever he likes," the grey-eyed man said firmly.

"What did you find, Agent Gandr?" Aurora felt a lump in her throat.

"Cafer was here, Your Majesty, but I believe he is gone." The half-gnome was able to sense things through the ground. He had checked all the nearby tunnels using this power, and they were empty.

"What do you think, Spymaster?" Aurora had kept Brinn with her in case Cafer had made a direct attack, but the elf easily could have conducted the search in Gandr's place.

Brinn crossed her arms and leaned on the wall. Her casual manner always made the prince uncomfortable. "I think the boy smells of dirt and earth. He's definitely been around a gnome very recently."

Alaron sniffed at his clothes. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Enough, Alaron! Time to start telling the truth."

The prince gave up in defeat, "Fine, I saw Cafer. But he's not a traitor like you think." Just then Chief Zan entered the room. Alaron pointed at the Guardian, "It is all his fault. He didn't like Cafer and used the events on the balcony to get rid of him."

"What?" Zan was beyond confused. He wondered what he had walked into. The rumors in the castle varied widely from an all-out attack on the palace to the prince being abducted to human size mice having tea in the banquet hall. The last sounded the most suspicious, but Zan was unwilling to rule anything out after some of the things he had seen. He realized now that he was being accused of treachery. "I would never have hurt Cafer for my own gain! Why are we talking about Cafer?"

It took a moment to get the Chief up to speed, especially because Alaron argued every point. "Has Cafer visited you before?" Zan asked.

"That is none of your business," the boy stuck out his chin. One look from the Empress softened his resolve. "No, he has not visited me before."

The spymaster nodded, "He is actually telling the truth. His breathing did not quicken like every time he lies."

"Stop watching my breathing!" Alaron screamed. Brinn shrugged. She would do whatever she liked.

"What did Cafer want?" Zan queried the room. He knew better than to ask the prince directly this time.

"We think he wanted access to the Storehouse. Prince Alaron stole the Fate's chain before entering the tunnels." Devrim offered.

"But gnomes are banned from the Storehouse." The Guardian's eyes flashed silver.

"What did Cafer take from the Storehouse?" Aurora drew close to Alaron. Her gaze was not angry, but pleading. It was more than he could bear.

"He wanted something called the Semblance Stone." Alaron did not explain further and he was glad when no one asked.

"How did he contact you?" Devrim was now the one pacing. Like Aurora, he was trying to fathom how this had happened.

Alaron's mouth snapped shut. But Gandr held up his hand. He approached the Emperor and Empress and spoke softly, "I may have an idea. Do I have permission to search His Highness's room?" Aurora nodded and he headed for the door.

"Spymaster?" Aurora did not need to say more.

"I will join him." Brinn agreed with a bow. As she prepared to leave, the elf leaned into Aurora's ear. "Prince Alaron is hiding something, and I fear it is something big."

The Empress glanced at the boy and her heart sunk into the depths of the ocean. "You're right, of course. The question is, how big?"