Supply Handler

I found the General wandering down the hallway, completely lost in thought. His eyebrows where scrunched together, and his eyes where cast to the ground. His once bright gray eyes seemed to grow darker as he continued with his train of thought. I have never seen him look so perplexed before. Something was bothering him, that much was evident, but what would make him seem so worried. I wonder if he had heard the rumor too. If anyone were going to cause a huge fuss over this, it would be him. Ever since I was young, he had always been over protective of me. He acted more like a father than even my own, so relied heavily on his judgement and advice. I don't think I could accept though it if came down to Nicklos. He didn't know him like I do. At least he didn't know him like I thought I did.

"What has you so concerned General?" I asked getting in his line of sight. Startled, he paused mid stride. His eyes darted up to mine and I could see the sigh of relief cross his face. But it hardened shortly after, concealing his emotions behind a thick mask. No jokes this morning, no cheerful smile, and no smart remarks. He was definitely off.

"Your Majesty, I assume you have already started hearing the rumors." He said with a low voice, casting his gaze back and forth down the hallway before returning his attention to me. I gave an annoyed sigh and nodded my head. This rumor must have sprouted shortly after our absence, because a big fuss would have already been made, unless that is why Nicklos is hauled up in my father's office instead of by my side.

"I already asked Marquise to look into it. I still don't believe that Nicklos could commit such a crime without reason. I was trained with him; he doesn't have an indecent or immoral thought. Nicklos has always been as pure as they come, so to go on a tyrant rampage is not something I am willing to accept without proof. Besides, we have more important things to deal with right now. I was reading over the documents and came across something interesting." I told him everything I found in the paperwork that I had read over, and the perplexed look came across his face once more.

He stood as still as a statue; his gaze cast once more down at the floor. He stroked a hand thoughtfully against his chin as he mulled over the new information. With a sigh and a scratch to the back of his head, he returned his attention to me. The dark circles under his eyes told me that even the strain was getting to him. I felt bad that he had to face this challenge with me, but who else could I trust but him.

"That does seem like a rather huge problem. I think we should go and talk to the supply handler together. Two eyes are better than one, and maybe we can throw him off if he is plotting something." I nodded in agreement. Two Knights would seem intimidating and can often times cause fear. If he where to slip up at all and act out irrationally, we can subdue him as well and try to force information from his lips as well. If I can get anything of use towards this threat, I would be happy to kill the both of them once this was all over.

"Let's head there now. I still want to head over to the science department today and see if they have discovered anything new." I said wringing my neck. The tension in my shoulders was slowly returning, making all of Nicklos's efforts worthless. Maybe I could just convince him to rub my shoulders again later tonight. As we walked an image of us sitting in the bathtub together came across my mind, his hands resting on my shoulders as his lips grazed my neck. The heat of the pool matching my own heated desire as he gently soothed the tension rolling about my back.

I mentally slapped the image from my head, blush rushing across my face at the dirty thought that crossed my mind. There was no way, I would ever allow that before marriage. I still had my dignity to keep intact, and abstinence was key. Maybe it was dangerous for Nicklos to stay in my room. Father would get an earful once I met with him again. Hopefully with the stack of evidence we where about to gather. Which reminded me, didn't Marquise say that the General had something to say to me.

"Marquise said you needed to talk to me about my father. Did something come up?" I asked giving him a sideways glance. Hopefully, he didn't see the blush that had taken over my face moments ago. Thankfully, his gaze was cast forward in an endless dark void. It was like I was walking next to an angry corpse.

"Oh right, thank goodness for Marquise. His Majesty would like you to attend a dinner tonight and finally and formally introduce yourself to the Royals and High Officials. We have been so busy you have neglected your position as Crowned Princess and as a host. To say the least he has been growing more irritable with your lack of interest in looking for a suitor." A faint smile appeared on his lips, fully knowing well I was just trying to avoid the situation. I grimaced in response and sighed.

"He won't let it go, will he? I guess this is his way of saying he no longer wants me to be a Knight. Which means I am running out of time. As soon as my engagement is announced I lose everything." I clenched my fists angrily. Sometimes, I really wish I were born a man so I could keep my title of both a royal and a prince. I hated the fact that the rules where different just because I was a different gender. I had already come this far, why not continue to bend them?

"Your father, even though agreed to let you come this far, is a stickler for the old days. Your mother was the one that pushed for you to be a Knight but sense her passing he has been trying to reclaim order without hurting your feelings. Although I will say you have changed history. Did you hear about the knew guard we are training. She is a woman, and a highly skilled one at that." I could see the pride in his eyes as he spoke. I felt the warmth surround my heart at the thought of another female soldier in the ranks. I wondered if she would be strong enough to take the Knight exam.

"You will have to introduce me one of these days. I would love to test her skill. Maybe we can finally have another Knight join our ranks. If we encourage her to join, maybe more women would be inclined to try also." The General chuckled, his cheerful attitude slowly returning.

"Your optimism is always refreshing your Majesty. Never lose sight of it." He beamed before stopping at a wooden door. It was like any other plain door, minus the wooden plaque that hung from a thick twine. Supply Handler was engraved into the grainy wood. The General's face grew somber again, his gray eyes growing dark as his eyes wandered over the sign. We had to be ready for anything, and that meant the betrayal that may or may not be behind this door. I clenched my fist together firmly, feeling a little uneasy raising my hand to the door. It would be the first time that I would be questioning someone from the Palace, let alone someone who served us for 20 plus years.

I know that when I knocked on this door, his smiling old face would appear, and he would greet us warmly like he always does. He will offer us inside, and even as if we would want tea. Then he will go on about his wife Delphine who was currently serving as the head maid and talk about how busy she is with current events. He will act kind and sweet just as he always did, and I will play the fool. There was a huge chance he had no idea what was going on, but everyone was a suspect at this point. No matter how loyal he appeared in the past, I would still need to have my guard up around him. So, I gently wrapped on the door with the back of my hand. It was eerily quiet. General Bregus and I shared a skeptical look before knocking again.

Again, I was met with silence. This was out of character for him. Normally he is at the door within minutes, smiling and waving. There was never a dull moment with Mr. Siege. So why was it now that he was quiet? Could he possibly be out of the office and running errands? He did that from time to time, but it was seldom and normally at night when the sun was setting. Shipments normally stopped just before nightfall as it was dangerous to travel when the sun wasn't out. I bit my lip, feeling a bit nervous that maybe something had happened to him. After all he was a rather old man. No hair, large wire brimmed glasses, wrinkles along his mouth and deep ones on his forehead. Very thin, so thin you could practically just see his bones.

I drew my sword as I knocked for the last time. This time I used the edge of my fist to make large knocking sounds. Even a man who was practically deaf could hear that one. But to my dismay there was still no noise. I had a sinking feeling that we were already too late. I wasn't ready to see the sweet old man's dead body. But it also meant that he was apart of the enemies plans all along, and that might mean that his wife, Madam Delphine, could possibly be in on it too. I placed my hand on the door knob, turning it slowly and passing General Bregus a nod before slamming open the door. We rushed in swords poised at the ready incase there was an attack. But the room was silent and dark. The torches had been snuffed out, and a putrid rotting scent came from deep within the room. I paled, holding my stomach as my nose adjusted to the sudden scent of decay.

"Light a torch, would you? I can't see a damned thing in here." I demanded the General. While he bustled around the room, knocking over a chair or two in the process, the room was finally lit. The General pulled the small metal handled torch from the wall, and walked back around the lit oak table, picking up the chairs he kicked over in the process. As he grew closer, my side of the room grew lighter. A slumped form leaned against the wall of the back of the room, motionless like a corpse. I pointed in the direction of the form, and General Bregus slowly took a few steps closer, illuminating the corpse of Supply Handler Mr. Siege.

I felt the bile rise in my stomach as we both stared silently at him. His skin had grown blue, gash wounds that had marked his body had started to rot away. A hand laid in his lap, held a cloth that looked almost looked black. It was saturated with dried blood. A stain around his abdomen confirmed that he had been stabbed, and he bled out from the mortal wound. His body had started to bloat, signaling it had been a few days since his apparent death. They attacked while we where away, knowing that we wouldn't be there to investigate until to culprit was long gone. But it did confirm the suspicions that this was an inside job after all. Who knows how many others where involved in the plans to over throw the Kingdom?

"General, I want medics down here to confirm the death of Mr. Siege, and I want his wife tossed in the cells down stairs. Be discrete about this matter. The last thing we need is a Palace wide panic on top of every thing else. I'll scan the room until the others have arrived. The shipment documents have to be around here somewhere." I said sheathing my sword. My stomach had started to slowly settle down. No longer contained by nausea, I grabbed the torch from the General's hand and used it to light the six others that hung on the wall.

"Your Majesty, what do you make of this matter?" He asked quietly, staring at the dead body of Mr. Siege. I hung the torch that the General pulled off the wall, back in it's pedestal before coming to stand beside him. I gazed at the slumped old man, despair filling my heart.

"I don't know if he was apart of the scheme or not, but I do know that he was some how involved whether it be by chance or sheer will. He knew something about the shipment transfers, and they didn't want it getting out. Another bizarre thing is that he was clearly murdered while we where away and yet his wife said nothing. Something is very fishy about all this and I want to know what it is. When I am wrapped up here, I will come back down to the dungeon and we will question her together. Again, General. Not a word get's out." I said giving him a hardened look. He bowed once, before quietly making and exit. I was now left alone with Mr. Siege's body, the decaying smell slowly fading into the background of my senses.

I would have to mourn later, because right now I had to find those documents from the transfers. They would be able to tell me who it was that sent those crates of dangerous substances. That was if they hadn't already taken them. Maybe I would get lucky, and he would have hidden a second copy of the transfers in a safe place. But if I were Mr. Siege, where would I hide them. The old man was well known for his knickknacks. He was a collector of clay statues and figurines. I mean he had book shelves lined against the walls full of figurines and paper work. He may act like bit of an air head, but he was actually quite clever.

I would obviously check his desk room first and see if maybe he hid it in plain sight. Rule out the obvious places before trying my luck at harder places. To the left of the small table was an open archway that led into a separate room he used as his work space. Often times he used it to right reporting's of the goods, or answer requests that the Palace people made. He was generally in charge of ordering supplies from other Kingdoms, or even small villages if we can't ask the Kingdoms for help. It would be pretty easy to sneak a package in if it came from a small village, but normally we would have to have a reason to conduct business with them first. We don't just go out of our way to trade goods with villages.

Which makes me believe that if the Western Kingdom didn't send the crates, the west village did. It also means that the secret mercenary camp was residing in a resident area with people. They must have a hideout with a notorious village, but they could also be crafty enough to hide in plain sight. If I could just get a hold of those papers, I could send a squadron of troops to that location and exterminate the problem.

"Alright Mr. Siege, where would you hide important documents, you want to report?" I said to myself as I walked through the archway. I pulled a torch off the wall nearest to the opening and stepped in. It was a very small office in deed. Only a single oak wooden desk and chair were able to fit inside, and it was crammed with stacks of loose paper strewn about. I paled at the mess, knowing that it would take me hours just to sift through all this. I would definitely need help if I wanted to get this done swiftly. When the medics came down to take away Mr. Siege's body, I would summon for Marquise. Maybe together we could tackle through this.