past fragments

Vladis came back to the castle very late, so he slept in his room that was specially chosen by Arthur. His room was just two-rooms before Arthur's.

He laid on his large fluffy bed submerged in deep thoughts when suddenly, dark clouds started gathering, and soon a heavy downpour started. He went up to the large window and closed it to stop the wind. After doing so, he thought of sleeping but a dusty letter on the table caught his attention. This letter was the same letter which he had shown to Arthur. He had wanted to investigate this letter, so he sent this letter to the Alchemy department and soon he got the results.

The result was simple, but he knew that this letter was not simple, and was probably the key to their lock.

He intended to tell Arthur about it, but he had been so busy with the matter regarding Taylor's daughters that it slipped from his mind. Vladis opened the letter and once again read the whole content, but unfortunately, it did not make any sense to him.

No matter how hard he tried or what approach he used, he failed every time. It irked him and he became frustrated. Not able to make any head or tail from it, he tossed the letter back to the table and went to sleep.

He was a light sleeper but today, either from tiredness or because he was in a dream, he did not even wake up when Cheshire attempted to wake him. In the end, it was Arthur who used his magic to kick Vladis off from the bed.

He instantly jolted up when he hit the cold ground.

When he saw Arthur and Cheshire in front of him he gave them a confused look.

"Were you dreaming?" Arthur asked.

Vladis nodded his head in agreement.

"I knew it. You always sleep like a pig when you have a dream. Care to tell us about your dream?"

Vladis knew that something was off when he saw both Arthur and Cheshire in his room, that too, late at night.

"Well, it was not like I didn't want to tell you, but I have been so busy these days. All thanks to your majesty." Vladis commented sarcastically.

Arthur didn't react but gave him a nod to continue and went ahead to sit on Vladis' bed. Cheshire sat beside his master's leg.

"You remember about the letter that I'd mentioned?" Vladis asked.

"I do," Arthur answered.

"The alchemy department mentioned that according to the ink and paper composition, the letter had been written about 18-20 years back."

"So?"

"It's nothing important. It's a simple letter that could have been written by anyone to anyone. They can be slaves, workers, maids, guards, or more, but if we look at it from another perspective, it also matches the timeline when your father, Ex-Lord Elric Ewan was crowned as a king. After your father became the king, he fell in love with your mother, and they got married within a year. Then, they had you, and the rest, we know." Vladis said softly.

He knew that Arthur always had a knot in his heart about this incident so he always tried to avoid this topic, but today was a necessity.

Arthur remained silent.

"And?" He asked with a scrutinizing gaze.

Vladis blushed, he knew that Arthur knew what he was thinking about but this bastard friend wanted him to confess. It was not a shameful thing to admit. But he knew that as soon as he admitted, he would be done for good by Arthur.

Vladis gritted his teeth and gave a solemn look to Arthur.

"As your lord, I order you to speak your mind," Arthur said with a grin.

Vladis sighed and wished he could just disappear into thin air.

"Lord, there is nothing important in my mind just some random thoughts which I believe lord wouldn't be interested in," He tried to back out.

"No, I am your lord and I care for everyone in my empire. Moreover, you are the Knight Commander of my army and as well as my best friend so I care very much for you. I do want to listen to your random thoughts."

"How considerate of you, my lord," Vladis spoke with a sigh, "Well lord I just thought that if I ever wanted to write a letter to my beloved, I think I would write something similar to this letter."

Arthur's eyes gleamed with mischief whereas Cheshire started laughing hysterically, rolling all over the bed.

Vladis was a shy and soft guy but his anger wasn't a joke. He wasn't a Knight Commander for nothing.

Arthur caressed Cheshire in an attempt to calm him down. "Okay, that's enough Cheshire. Vladis tell me about your dream." Arthur asked with a solemn look.

"Well, in my dream, I saw Vladella, ex-Lord Elric, and a blurry image of a man dressed in Parson clothes. It was a scene of a simple conversation between Vladella and lord Elric, regarding state affairs. Suddenly the scene shifted, and I saw Vladella in a black gown with a hood, walking towards a strange building. There was a dilapidated building and from its infrastructure. it seemed like an old church. There, Vladella was talking to that man hidden by the shadows. He gave a letter to Vladella and she in return, whispered something in the man's ears. I wasn't able to listen to what they talked about nor I was able to see the man's face. I used my powers, but they were of no use."

"A master level spell was used on this letter," Arthur said quietly.

"What do you mean? "Vladis enquired.

"There is someone who doesn't want anyone to find out about their secret," Arthur had a grim look on his face.

"Do you mean Vladella?" Vladis asked.

"Maybe, I am not sure."

"I thought we solved a mystery. Great, now we have one more case to solve on our plate." Vladis spat out frustratedly.

"It's okay, this isn't our priority for now. Just sleep." And with that, Arthur got up from the bed and went outside with Cheshire, slamming the door behind him.