The Quest for Normania #1: The Door of Andrios

48. Seeking Allies

15 years ago...

In all of his ten years of being a diplomat, Euri Yarkov Zanzi was unable to understand why there were rebellions popping up in pockets across Marina.

"What am I doing wrong, Nazreen?" he asked his daughter, a young child of ten years. They were both sitting inside her bedchamber of the Marina Castle, the doors and the windows all closed, making them feel suffocated. "Just yesterday, Platypus told me he had to stop an assassination attempt on me. This morning, he caught an arrow out of the air just before it hit my heart – my heart! Nazreen, do you know what that means?"

The girl's bright green eyes were rounded like the saucers in his royal kitchen. "What, Father?"

"If the arrow hit my heart, I would have died, Nazreen. You don't have a mother – only me. You'd have been orphaned."

"Then, will I still live here, Father?"

The man let out a nervous chuckle. "Oh, aren't you innocent," he muttered to himself. "That means a lot of work for me." He cleared his throat and raised his voice to a normal level again. "Whoever will snatch the throne from me will do with you as they wish. I cannot tell you what that will be." He sighed, as images of his once-closest friends came to his mind's eye. "They could be good to you. They could put you on the throne and tell you what to do. Or they could..." he swallowed, "do with you as they wish and – and kill you."

Her gaze didn't waver; but then, he didn't expect her to perceive what he did. "When they snatch the throne from you, Father, will you take me with you?"

He sighed. "Will I take you with me, you ask? Child, there is a difference between 'want' and 'will'—I want to take you and I can... but will I? Will I be allowed to take you with me?" Just as he lost all hope, a spark lit up in his mind and he paused, blinking at his daughter. "But you do give me an idea, sweet girl."

"Idea? What idea?"

He shook his head. "For your own good, I am not going to tell you." He took her tiny hands in his and looked into his eyes. "Tell me one thing, Nazreen."

She nodded, gulped, sensing her father's fear at last.

"Do you trust me?"

"Y-yes, Father."

"Do you trust Platypus like I do?"

"Y-yes, Father."

"In a few days, the castle will be raided. I cannot tell you the exact date and time, but I know it will be. At that time, I shall send Platypus with some very specific orders. He will come to you in secret and you shall do exactly as he says. You can trust him as I trust him—with your life. He will ensure your safety. Do you understand?"

She nodded. "I... I think so."

"Good. I'm not telling you now for your own good. The lesser people who know what I'm thinking now, the better. And if they catch you in the meantime, you'll know nothing to give them away—you'll be telling them the truth. Do you understand?"

She nodded, more strongly now. "Yes, Father, I do. I'll help you if you want, too."

He laughed lightly. "You're such a good kid. I hope wish your mother survived long enough to see you now."

"Thank you, Father. You're a very good man, too."

She always told him this, but just then, it touched his heart like never before.

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Present day

Yarkov Zanzi stood behind some bushes in the woods beside a deserted road, looking at the fruits on them earnestly.