The Bad News

Stella took Argus to a chamber that was in the dark and shabby part of the castle. That part was for servants and maids. The chamber Stella took him in was full of maids in revealing dresses.

It was the emperor's fetish for the maids to be in two-piece mostly, regardless of the weather or season.

When Stella entered, an old maid was combing the hair of a young maid who seemed to be a recruit. It was going to be her maiden experience in the emperor's bath chamber.

"You must not make him angry at you. He would not hesitate to crush your scalp," The old maid said when she combed the young maid's hair. "Something like this happened a few days ago when the emperor got the news of his loss and that he lost the fourth castle. They recruited you to fill her slot."

No one mentioned it but they all noticed the trembling body of the young maid. Her lips were dry, and her eyes looked terrified.

The old maid spotted Stella at the door. She quickly bowed her head and presented a chair for her to sit in. All the maids aligned and bowed to her.

"Commander Stella, is there an issue?" The old maid asked. Her face looked concerned as it was rare for the commander of the assassination squad to be in the maid chamber. She feared Stella because she only appeared before the people they had ordered her to kill.

They all could see the baby in her arms wondering if it was her and the emperor's illegitimate child.

Stella denied sitting and said, "I have come here on emperor's orders." The maids looked at each other with puzzled faces. "The emperor has ordered to take care of this newborn. Here, take him."

Stella handed the baby to the old maid. The old woman was already liking the adorable face of the child. "If you pardon me, can I ask whose child is this?" She asked.

"You don't need to know. All you have to do is take care of this baby. Cherish him with your life as he is valuable to the king..."

The old maid looked at the baby and nodded. They had not given her such an important task in her life. Being a maid with almost no personal life, raising a child was one of her last wishes.

"If something happens to him and you cannot carry your duty, you know what would be the consequences," Stella added and turned to walk away. "You could be the one to get your skull crushed." She walked out of the door.

The maids were envious of Stella's provocative figure that was noticeable in the fitting assassin uniform. Her measurements surpassed the hottest of women. They conceived of it as a wasted gift.

Argus was sleeping in the old maid's arms. All the other maids were adoring his cuteness and were touching his cheeks and fingers to play with him.

"Hey, you will wake him up," The old maid mentioned and took him away from them.

"Leave me alone..." Argus said in his mind with his eyes closed.

***

Meanwhile...

The Nigrosian army was deployed to take over the remaining castles Argus had conquered. The Alabusian commander at the fourth castle was stressed as there was no news of Argus and Ruther. Their army disappeared into thin air on the way to the fifth castle.

It was shocking for him when he got the news of Empress Layla's death and losing the fifth castle at the hands of the Nigrosian soldiers.

"What? How could this be? Empress Layla..." Magnus Steel Albus, the commander in charge of the fourth castle uttered in shock when a survivor soldier from the fifth castle gave him the news.

Commander Magnus Steel stood six feet tall with a noticeable jawline and a large monster-like build-up. He was a middle-aged brown-skinned man with long black hair tied behind his back and had a long and bushy beard. He had known Argus since childhood as they were childhood friends.

They considered Magnus a monster for his raw strength. However, it was not the only quality he offered. He had the battle sense that he gained through the many battles he had fought.

"Yes, commander. They brutally murdered our empress and took her newborn," The surviving soldier mentioned with a choking voice.

The soldiers and the commander cried at this news. "What were you doing when this happened?" The commander stood up from his throne and grabbed the soldier's neck. "Why didn't you save them?"

Magnus's right-hand man somehow made him leave his neck when he saw the soldier choking. "Commander, stop. You will kill one of our own."

The commander looked at him with tearful eyes and sat on his throne. He signaled the surviving soldier to go away without uttering a word. The people present there guessed that he must have choked out of agony.

When the surviving soldier went away, Damien Albus Heartstone, the second in command of the fourth castle and right-hand man of Magnus said, "What does it mean, commander? If Master Argus went to the sixth castle with the army, how did the Nigrosian soldiers and assassins reach the fifth castle? Why didn't our spies informed the people in the palace if an army was approaching them?"

It was, of course, a matter of immediate concern.

"Damien," Magnus replied, "Someone betrayed us."

"What?"

The people present in there murmured among themselves. "Who would do such a thing?"

"It means either they captured Master Argus or..." It terrified Magnus to even think about it. It was too difficult for him to accept it.

"Commander, are you saying that..."

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions yet," A soldier mentioned with a disapproving face. "I mean... it's Master Argus we are talking about."

"Considering the fact that those assassins took the newborn with them, it clearly means that..." Damien paused as he didn't want to mention it but they all understood what he was referring to.

Before they all knew it, tears poured down their cheeks.

"We have to stay strong, brave men..." Commander Magnus said when tears flowed down his cheeks. He clenched his fists when he thought about the unknown. "We must stay strong and fight. Even if what we think is true, we have to move ahead and carry on the Alabusian pride."

He stood up and wiped off his tears.

"Men! We are honorary Alabusians! Promise me today, even if we lost our morning star, we will not forget our Alabusian pride and fight till our last breath. Promise me! You will not let his sacrifice go into vain..."

All the brave men whose tears soaked the carpet below their feet spoke-

"WE PROMISE!"

A soldier entered the chamber in a hurry and shouted.

"An army is approaching us!"

Magnus took a deep breath after hearing it. "Men! It's time to show those devil worshippers what we Alabusians are made of!"

"Yeah!" They all cried in sync after they pulled out their swords.

"Pick up your weapons! Unsheathe your swords! Raise your blades! We are going to shed some blood..."