Mist

THE ARRIVAL

He marched through the corridors with trepidation in his heart. There was an impatience about his demeanor and it was hardly unnoticeable.

Something about the grandeur of his surroundings made him nervous.

" Calm down." he chided himself.

" The Princess will see you now."

He walked in almost like a robot.

" Princess." he bowed down.

" What is it that you have to tell me ?"  she asked. Her eyes, the darkest pair he had ever seen, pierced into him.

" P..Princess, I..I have a lead on the location of the fugitives."

She leaned forward. Her eyebrows twitched slightly in surprise.

" They were in Jack Frost's Inn during the attack."

" What makes you think so ?" she asked.

" A relative of mine from the nearby area visited me, recently. He had heard some local gossip. A party of three was staying at the  inn. They were quite odd , them. Looked like royalty, had a lot of money on them too, but were worn out from travel; one of them barely conscious too. There was an attack, the next day. One of their waiters even lost his sanity permanently and a waitress, who was Jack's adopted daughter, disappeared.  No one knows exactly what happened, but they say that in the midst of the mayhem, the three ran away with their allies, three ladies posing as entertainers."

Her calculating gaze inspected him silently. " Very well. Have you spoken to anyone of this ?" she asked.

" No, not at all !" he said immediately.

Why would he tell anyone? The snobbish captain would have taken all the credit for himself, while he would get nothing. But now that he had told the Princess, he would be rewarded. Perhaps, she would recommend his name for a promotion.

" So am I the only one you have told this to ? Have you not confided in family or friends ?"

" Not a soul, Princess ! My word."

She sighed.

" You have done well, soldier. Do you believe that we all have a bigger purpose in life?" 

"Of course I do, Princess." he replied.

" So we must eradicate any obstacle in our path to achieve it, don't you agree?"  she said.

His hands started shaking nervously.

" I..I ..don't quite understand what you ..."

She grabbed hold of him all of a sudden, and leaned forward. Her soft lips gently touched his cheek.

A dark dagger pierced into him, twisting the life out of him, stealthily.

He gasped and she let go.

"Sweet dreams, soldier."

******
Hazel knelt down by the stream, picking up water to drink. As she finished and looked up, she saw Amber staring at her.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"It's nothing." Amber said.

" Well then, Amber, I think we should get going."  Hazel said, "Maybe it's time we said goodbye."

"And a good bye it will be." Ced smiled, evidently happy at the thought of getting rid of Amber.

"Are you ready, Hazel ?" Cindy asked.

" Yes, I think so. It doesn't matter even if I am not, we mustn't delay further."

" Great." said Ced, almost eagerly.