The Prophecy of the Kings

Filler Chapter 1: Raven's Espionage

Raven headed off to begin her task, one evening, of spying on Venice after receiving her instructions from Lyra. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she was up for it. She had been a spy for many years and was skilled in the art of deceit.

Raven proceeded as Venice was leaving her house, grabbing the opportunity to act. There was a bodyguard right in front of Venice's gates. Raven approached the bodyguard and began flirting with him, diverting his attention away from his duty. Raven captivated the guard's attention with her salamander-like onyx eyes. She started twirling her midnight black hair and licked her upper lip tenderly. She moved forward, tiptoeing up and staring into his blue eyes as he towered over her. The guard's breath hitched in his throat as Raven placed her hand behind his head; merely as they were about to kiss, she muttered loveless trance into his ears. Raven nibbled his earlobe and he moaned at the sensation. Raven came to a halt and took a step back to examine the guard's face. He was beet red, so she went back to tiptoeing and kissed the tip of his nose. 

Raven's charms immediately swayed the bodyguard, a young man in his early twenties. Boys his age lack adequate battlefield experience, particularly in recognizing when an enemy is attempting to woo them. The guard peered into nothingness before leaning back and sliding down the wall, moaning in pleasure. Raven's seduction always puts men in a trance and leads them to believe they are bedding her. Raven took advantage of the circumstance and slipped by him unseen.

Once inside, Raven searched through Venice's belongings, looking for any information that could be useful to her investigation. She found nothing of interest in the main rooms of the house, but as she was about to leave, she notices a peculiar bookshelf. Every book are in the same color, which is murky brown, except for one, which is red. She pulled the red book off the shelf and the shelf started to shake. The shelf slowly slides to the left, and hearing the wood scraping the stone wall. There, Raven stumbles into a dark secret room with no windows nor light. 

That's not very smart of Venice to have a red book in a shelf of books that have all the same color, Raven mulled at the bookshelf.

"O'or", Raven whispered the luminous magic, a yellow orb grew from the palm of her right hand, so she can see what the entirety of the room looks like. It is a very tight space, like a cupboard in one's house, and it is very dusty with many cobwebs. Raven can smell the mold growing from the floors, making her cough and gag. She grabbed a handkerchief with her left hand out of her skirt pocket to cover her mouth. On the left side of a moldy wall, she notices a strongbox on the top of the shelf. 

Raven's tongue curled as she hissed "Lerakhefy," the magical word that enabled her to effortlessly float the box towards her. Luckily for her, the strongbox does not have a lock. Inside, she found a stash of documents that revealed Venice's deep connections with Luminar.

Raven swiftly went through the files, noting everything that appeared important. She discovered evidence of covert meetings between Venice and Luminar officials, as well as suspicious financial dealings. One strange document that she has noticed appears to be an indenture, was wrapped with a red ribbon. As she untied the ribbon, the indenture fell to the floor, displaying Venice's signature along with thirty-nine others. It appears that Venice had made a contractual deal with the Luminar officials before she entered the council fifteen years ago. Evidently, Venice's exact intentions toward Alex's Aliyahan eluded. Yet, this revelation is a significant step toward exposing Venice's treason of the Valida royal family and her own kingdom. Raven took notes in her mini codex about this revelation, marking every detail, because she couldn't take the document with her, or else Venice would notice that it be missing.

Raven stopped dead on her tracks when she heard heavy footsteps approaching the door. The guard must've woken up from his fever dream, Raven thought. Her breath attacked her throat as she rapidly stored everything, her trepidation threatening to overpower her. As she was leaving the room she did not realize she left a small parchment of paper on the floor. Raven placed the red book back into its correct spot on the shelf, making a grating sound as it did so.