The Tale of Ezra: Book 1

Chapter 9: The Ring Thief

A week went by in a flash. I ultimately became a better fighter. I still sucked at shooting and my aim was trash, but I had found something I was actually good at. That was using a lightsaber. 
It was finally our last day at camp. 
"Man, I had fun at this camp not even gonna lie" I said. "Yeah, it was fun." Nathaniel replied. "Let's come back to this training field every day to train." I said. "Sure, sounds like a plan to me" We departed and went our separate ways. Nathaniel was a very good friend, he helped me a lot. Finally, I would see Anna again. I hadn't seen her beautiful face in a week. I went back up to our group unit but there was no one there. Looks like I had been the first one back. I went to the fridge, and it was loaded with food. The workers must of put food in our fridge while we were gone. I grabbed a can of sprite and one ham and cheese sandwich and went to the living room. I sat on the couch and turned on the TV. Apparently, the news was blowing up. There was a ring in Regalia's possession that was stolen. The ring was very important, and the main suspect was America. 
"Breaking news, the ring of Regalia has been stolen. The prime suspect for this theft is America. Regalia suspects America as the prime suspect because of them trying to buy the ring on several occasions and some Americans attempting to steal the ring. Regalia officials say that the ring was most likely stolen at the meeting between America and Regalia which was held in Regalia. The Queen of Regalia has said herself that if the ring is not returned in 30 days there will be an all-out war between the two countries" 
Going to war over a ring seemed stupid to me. It was just a ring, they could probably buy way more expensive and valuable rings or just buy one that looked exactly the same as the stolen one. Maybe there was something to it that I didn't know or didn't understand. The door opened and Finn, Ariana, Anna, and Jay had entered the room. "Ezra! It's been too long!" Finn shouted. "Finn!" He leaped at me and hugged me tightly. Finn had never hugged me, he was all about the bro code and handshakes and all that stuff. "How was your camp, Ezra?" Anna asked me. "G-Good" I was trying not to suffocate from Finn squeezing the life out of me. He finally stopped and allowed me to breathe. "How was yours?" "It was rough but mostly enjoyable" Anna replied. "We didn't even see our camp trainer." Ariana complained. I wanted to tell them about how I fought Ezekiel and managed to get a hit on him but something told me not to. "Did you hear the news?" Jay said. "What news?" Anna asked. "About the ring being stolen. "Yeah I just saw that on TV" I said. "A ring, really? How pathetic can this country get" Ariana said. 
We were called downstairs for a quick briefing. All of the squads were called downstairs, and of course it was about the stolen ring issue. "I'm sure most of you are aware of Regalia's ring being stolen" Luke said. "This has caused quite an upset among the Regalia elders and NGO is doing their best to find the ring and who stole it. The North is planning to join this search and expect for most of you all to be sent to America to try and help with the search. Your squad captains will give you more information" 
So now most of our missions would be happening in America, all to try and find a stolen ring that could easily be replaced. 
After the briefing was over we were all sent back. Just as me and my group were about to go upstairs, Luke stopped us. "Hey Ezra. I want you and your group to come with me along with Captain Hannah as representatives in the royal briefing." "Royal briefing?" I asked. "It's a briefing where all the NGO division commanders must attend. It usually happens when stuff like this happens or war is about to happen. I just need a few members from the raid squad to come along, as I plan for you guys to be our main investigators for this." 
Great now we were going to be playing a big part in this search for a dumb ring. But I couldn't say anything so I just went along with it. 
We got ready and left the North HQ. We were taken in this royal carriage, I felt like royalty and I know Finn and Jay did too. While we were on the road, I looked outside, we entered the capital of Regalia, Athemore. The city was beautiful. There were lots of amazing and tall structures and it was really crowded. I had never been to the capital city of Regalia before, I only heard stories from Austin. 
We arrived at the royal palace. It was very big and fancy. We got out of the carriage. We went inside and there were a lot of people. Everyone who was there was wearing fancy royal clothing. We were wearing the NGO soldier clothing. We had on the North colors, Blue and Black. 
We sat down in the first row where the NGO soldiers had to sit. There we sat, in front of a large throne. I looked around and saw the other division captains and their squads. I saw Austin. He was wearing a captain's cloak. I was surprised that he was a captain and never told me. 
The queen entered the room escorted by her guards. She walked towards the throne and sat there. She looked pretty old and drained out. I heard that she was like 98 years old, but she was still alive and kicking. 
Everyone bowed down. At first I didn't bow down but I saw everyone bow down including my group members and I quickly bowed down. 
"You may raise your heads" the queen said in an old tired out voice. There was a guy who was standing right next to the queen, and he started talking. "Thank you, Regalia officials and elders, NGO commanders and captains, for attending this emergency briefing. As you already know my name is Philp and this is our beloved queen. Now let this emergency briefing begin!"
The NGO commissioner stood up and bowed down before speaking. "Your majesty, we have been doing our best in the search for the ring. We've sent most of our forces to the United States of America to search for it. Our East division is conducting a mass investigation, we also plan on sending the North's best to America to join the search." 
"Very good," the queen said. As the commissioner sat back down some dude burst into the room. "Your majesty, Regalia officials, I have news!!!" he said while trying to catch his breath.
"You fool! Do you have no manners?" Philip said. "No, it is quite alright. Speak young one." 
"The United States, their classified documents have been stolen! And they're suspecting Regalia to be the one who stole them." Silence befell the room, everyone was shocked at what had just been said. "The United States sent a message to the East Division HQ saying that if their classified documents are not returned in 5 days they will declare war on us" 
"Have you told them that we didn't steal it?" "Yes sir, we contacted them and said we did not steal it, but they still do not believe us." "Those fools just want a reason to get mad at us because they stole our ring!!!" an elder said from the audience. "Yes! The United States has no dignity! They're just a bunch of hypocrites" another elder said. 
I was confused on what was happening. Regalia had just accused the United States of stealing a ring, and the United States had accused Regalia of stealing top secret classified documents.
There was confusion going throughout the room. "What the hell is happening," Finn whispered to me" "I have no idea, I whispered back" "Your majesty, if I may?" Luke said while standing up. The whole room got quiet again. "Yes, what do you have to say." 
"Perhaps we will just have to find both. Find the ring, and find the classified documents. And I know just the right people who are fit for this job." Luke turned and looked at me, he gestured me and the others to stand up. I was a little shy but I eventually stood up and Finn, Ariana, Jay, and Anna stood up along with me. 
I saw that Austin looked at me with a huge smile. 
"These five kids are the future of Regalia. I believe that they are more than capable of retrieving the ring and finding the stolen documents." I really didn't think that we were cut out for this mission, and I knew they others were thinking the exact same. 
"So, you're saying that these five children can retrieve the stolen ring, find the stolen documents and return it to America and prevent war from waging?" The queen asked that question as if she saw that we were not suited for this mission at all. "Yes, your majesty. I know they can" 
"Very well," the queen said. "The North has taken it upon them to retrieve the ring and find the stolen documents. The other divisions may help however it is the main job of these four young ones to find these stolen items within 5 days. Or else war will be waged" When she got done saying that my heart dropped. The future of this country depended on me and my friends. There was a lot of pressure on us. 
"This emergency briefing is officially over!" The queen said.
I walked out of the room nervous and scared; I was almost sure that we wouldn't be able to complete this mission and war would happen because of our failure. 
Austin came up from behind me. "How's life in the NGO, Ezra?" "It's pretty good." I replied. I didn't even look at him, this issue was really bothering me. "Don't let the pressure get to you. And don't think that you can do all of this by yourself, that's why you have others to help you, and plus the whole NGO is on this investigation as well." "Yeah but we're tasked with finding the ring and the documents." 
"I know you guys can do it, everyone does. If your commander didn't think that you would be able to pull this off, he wouldn't have said what he said in there." I tried my best to get encouraged by Austin's words but I was still worried. 
"Thanks for the advice bro" I said not trying to sound sad or stressed. "Don't mention it, and good luck" 
My friends were waiting for me outside of the carriage, and I couldn't keep them waiting for any longer. We all went into the carriage. 
"I can't believe those guys are expecting us to find a ring and find stolen classified documents, who do they think we are" Ariana said expressing her frustration. "Yeah, this is quite a difficult task they're giving us" Jay followed up. Captain Hannah was sitting there too, her eyes were closed but I had a feeling she was hearing what we were saying, because she later on opened her eyes and started to speak. "Yeah, I know how you guys feel. When I was just 15, I was entrusted with the task of leading a whole army in a 3-way war. I was scared and didn't know what to do." I saw that she was getting a little bit emotional. "Hey you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to" Jay said. But she continued anyway. "I failed to protect what was most important to me and I had to be saved by someone at the cost of their arm." When she said that my mind went to Ezekiel's missing left arm, then I connected the two together. Ezekiel must have sacrificed his left arm for Hannah's sake during the war. I didn't say it aloud though.
"But I believe you guys are better. You guys can actually do it. I know you can. That's why Commander Luke said what he said." That was the exact same thing Austin said to me. 
These guys had a lot of faith in us, too much faith I thought. When we arrived at HQ we went to our unit. We would have to prepare for tomorrow. We were going to retrieve the ring and the stolen documents. 
But I was thinking, if the US didn't steal the ring and Regalia didn't steal those documents then who did? And how could they have pulled it off. The answer would await me in this quest.