Merely Existing

Chapter 21: What We Call Friends

[Yuesora Palace]

An almost undetectable shadow prowled the palace grounds. Its silent footsteps unheard by the motionless guards, its quick movements unseen by the listless servants. The shadow of that hooded figure stopped at the inner palace, the place closest to the King's chamber.

There the person was met with a similarly hooded figure, an accomplice.

"Hmph, you arrived rather quickly." A girl's voice escaped one of the hooded figure.

"Well, thanks to someone all the guards seemed to be sleeping. Or are they dead?" The other person asked, his emotionless tone indicating that he couldn't care less whether they were asleep or dead.

"Poisoned needles. Learned it from the best. Why put them to sleep when you can kill?"

"I guess it's more efficient that way. So, how did it go?"

The girl fell silent for the shortest while, a twisted smile taking over her face. "It went perfectly."

The two figures slipped passed the palace grounds just before the uproar started, with shouts of panic and rage filling the air.

"What did you do?" The hooded guy asked with slight amusement at the chaos which they were leaving in their wake.

"Oh, nothing much. I just had a little talk with Aralorn."

"Aralorn?"

"Yup. His Majesty Aralorn Versaik Thers Zeraphus."

"The King? I can hardly imagine that a King would just sit down and have a pleasant conversation with an unknown intruder. How are you even on first name basis..."

"Well, he was more than happy to have a pleasant conversation with me after I gift wrapped his advisor's head and presented it to him."

"I guess that's efficient too."

They slowed down upon arriving the busy streets of Aoyoru, falling to a pace that matched those around them, blending in like a chameleon would in a new environment.

"Where to now?" he asked as they randomly stopped by a shop, pretending to look at the wooden necklaces hung there.

"To the place where she is sure to return," the girl replied as she fingered the carefully crafted work which took form of a feline barring it's fangs, "I have all the cards in my hands now. Everything is in motion even without our interference. All we need to do, is wait for our dear prey to take the bait."

They set off again, wandering as though they were aimless, yet steadily approaching a cargo wheel.

"The web has been laid to trap our beloved leader."

"A web she will never escape from. So that she will be ours till the end of time."

The whisperings of those two hooded figures were carried away by the wind, but the ominousness of their words hung over the air, like a premonition of a calamity.

At a small shop of Aoyoru's busiest streets, a wooden necklace of a fierce little cat could no longer be seen.

Lost and forgotten, just like those shadows of that day.

*

Blacky's POV

More than four people had dropped their jaws upon seeing me today.

As I was calmly sipping my morning coffee, the fifth person who barged into the room began to gawk at me in the same manner as the rest.

"Blacky?! I didn't know you were discharged already!" grandfather exclaimed after regaining his posture, "I didn't receive any calls from the hospital...."