Scales and Swords ✓

40: The Duty Of A King's Guard

The message was sent via root mail. Philip insisted it was the most efficient and fastest method among our options. Our options being as follows; Lucius could write a message in the sky, but then if you could decipher the code it would be written in then we were practically announcing it to the whole of Kreatier, Brise could have brought the message on foot, but I feared for her and the people who'd get in her way so we decided not to go with that and the last option, Rowan could send the message via lightning, but that was a no-no as it would probably disintegrate the paper before the message could even be sent.

Whatever the case, the fact remained, we didn't believe a thing Cyr had said. It was impossible, King Arthur couldn't have dethroned Prince James, he knew that Prince James was his only living relative. And what reason would be great enough for the king to dethrone his own nephew, surely if it were true it would be of enormous hindrance to the Prince's ability to rule. It couldn't have been true, the king would never have done something so unreasonable, right?

We were left wondering this even when we got the reply: Suspend Mission. Return to the Castle as soon as possible.

There was no room for objections, we simply had to get up and get going. And that's what we did.

Brise and I easily escaped suspicion from Toby, at least, when we said we needed to check up on our drunkard of a mom. We left the guys to come up with their own covers. We departed early in the morning. The giant forest was located on the border of the province of Cathermine and Lozs. Lozs being the capital where the royal castle was located. The journey consisted of several carriage rides and a shortcut walk over a fissure via a long rickety bridge, a walk through a water fairy village and a troll tunnel. I'm not sure how Toby manage to transport Brise and I the first time, but magic makes the ridiculous child's play.

After what was probably half the day Brise and I caught the first sights of the capital town. We took off our cloaking devices and made our way into town. All the while, I was on the edge, hoping what we'd been told by Cyr was nothing but a lie. But the closer we got the more obvious the truth became. We wouldn't have been asked to halt the mission if it weren't true. If it weren't true, they'd have simply confirmed it, right? It must have been true. But with that notion strung along many new questions. And the worst of all I was unwilling to consider. There was a spy in the castle, maybe even closer to the king. Who could have informed Cyr?

That's when we heard the first scream. And then the scent of smoke became obvious. Followed by loud crashing sounds and more screams. Brise didn't think twice, she ran right towards the source of the rising thick black smoke that laid itself over the town. I followed immediately. We rounded a corner only to be met with a stampede.

People pushed and ran and fought to get away. Driven by fear, even the sanest turn into animals. I lost Brise among the crowd. And almost had myself toppled standing in the river that was the stampeding crowd. But when the crowd passed she was nowhere to be seen. No, she was already rounding another corner. I pushed to catch up with her, to reach the fire.

The fire quickly swept up a whole block of buildings in the flames. But what caused the stampede if not the fire?

Standing before a burning building was a small crowd of people. Among them was a weeping woman being held back by two grown men. "My baby!" she cried out, struggling against their grips.

I halted, but Brise continued onwards. It seemed the fire was not her target. Though it were mine.

I ran into the flaming building. But it was almost nothing but flames and more flames. The child, wherever he was, wouldn't have survived such heat or the heavy smoke. Though I didn't yet give in, not when I saw that there was a second floor. But the stairs had been burnt to smithereens and there was no other way up.