The Lady Justice

Chapter XXI: To Find, And Be Found

Lady Katherine Harrington of Johanne

14 October, Year 1 of Sebastian VI, Emperor of the Longbournian Nations' reign

Longbourne Military Academy For Women, Amöneburg

The Longbournian Nations

"Any luck, Mistress Harrington?"

Captain Keitel stood at the front porch of the Academy, her military attire drenched in perspiration, as she watched me ride through the gates with a group of army officers.

I shook my head at her.

Her shoulders sagged, and the dark circles around her eyes became even more pronounced. Sighing, I dismounted from my stallion, and strode towards her.

"Ma'am, we raided every inch of Prince Heinrich's Manor," I informed her, "and we found several incriminating letters that would have earned him a rendezvous with the executioner's axe, had he been alive - but none of them hold any information on where our girls are being held."

I removed the sack of letters on my back, and handed it to her.

Earlier yesterday, several teams of Corporals had been sent out to search for the kidnapped Cadets.

There was no way in hell that ten girls could have been dragged away against their will in the middle of the night by their captors unseen. Thus, the Corporals visited all the neighbouring villages and states to ask around if anyone had seen it happening, or knew anything about the kidnap.

They enlisted the help of the people living near the Academy, to trace the route of the girls' journey. They were able to confirm that they had been last seen around five miles south of Amöneburg, near the coastline. The trail from that point was cold, but Corporals were still searching around the area, combing through the woods and shores alike.

In the meanwhile, I had led a team of my colleagues to Brauchitsch. Prince Heinrich was the only known rogue in the attack on our Academy two days ago, and we had been quick to follow up on him.

We spoke to everyone he knew there, and tried to piece together his last known activities, so that we could find out the whereabouts of our Cadets – also, to no avail.

Fortunately, the search of his Manor yielded more fruitful results. He had been corresponding with rebels all over the country to plan a coup to overthrow Emperor Sebastian, and the letters we had found incriminated several men for treason.

The subject of the attack on the Academy, however, was suspiciously absent in these letters.

Captain Keitel took out these letters from the sack, and briefly read through them, before nodding. "I will send a messenger to Amöneburg Palace tonight with these letters," she decided, "the Emperor will want to see them as soon as possible."

She then looked up at me, and the rest of my team who stood with me. "Corporals, and Archery Mistresses," she raised her voice, "good work today. You may be dismissed for the rest of the evening."

My colleagues saluted her, and strode past us into the Academy. I waited for all of them to leave, before I addressed her again.

"Has there been any word from the captors, Ma'am?" I asked in a low voice.

The captors had left us a note two days ago, demanding us to close down the Academy within a week's time, and hand over this building – formerly one of the Emperor's Palaces - to them, in exchange for the safe return of our ten girls.

Sometimes, I truly wondered why men like the captors were so troubled by the notion of women learning to fight. Were they so frightened of our potential?