Chapter Eight

A young man with pale skin and long ebony hair rests his head in his arms atop his desk. His eyes are closed, his breathing is systematic, and his office is dark and silent.

His desk is as dark as his hair, made of ebony wood. His chair is as crimson as the blood that runs through his veins: genuine but elegantly dyed leather. If his blood is red like the rest of those being that dwell on the surface, of course.

The walls of his office are black, with intricate vermillion designs spanning the entire room. Though the floor of the office is black hardwood, there is a dark red rug with golden designs across it at the foot of the man's desk.

The lights in the room are golden wall scones, that flicker alight with dark purple flames at the young man's will.

There is a knock outside of the black door leading into the man's office, prompting him to slowly raise his head, blink, and call out for the person to enter.

"Come inside."

The scones light up as soon as the man finishes his inviting statement, and the door opens, revealing a young girl, no more than thirteen, holding a white folder in her hands.

"Good evening, Mister Cyfrin," the girl bows and walks into the room once the man gestures with his right hand that it is alright for her to do so.

"Please, Angelica, do feel free to call me Mykel. I did raise you and Ludwig together, after all. What's in the folder?" Mykel's eyes track the girl as she walks up to his desk and puts the folder on top of the wood.

"Finn wouldn't disclose the contents to me. He said it was too complicated for me to understand," Angelica crosses her arms over her chest and pouts after her statement, and Mykel lets out a short laugh.

He brings the folder closer to him and opens it. On the left side lays a note, and the right bears some pictures. Mykel's eyes scan over the letter first.

The Kingdom of Aegia has discovered Crown Prince Theo Veles of Luimesha has escaped the castle with the help of none other than Ludwig Casimir, an ace spy from Chidora.

The kingdom will send out patrols to scout all of the kingdoms and capture Theo to bring him back alive. If he is not found within two weeks, bounty hunters will be notified of a bounty placed on the Crown Prince's head, and he will be hunted down, killed, and given back to the Kingdom of Aegia.

For Ludwig Casimir, he should be killed as soon as someone- scout or bounty hunter- finds him. He will serve as a major hindrance in delivering the Crown Prince back to his rightful kingdom and should be dealt with accordingly.

"Fools," Mykel mutters, before looking over at the pictures.

As expected, the first is of Prince Veles' assassin, who was suspected to be his servant, Miss Kali. She is lying dead on the prince's bedroom floor, blood pooled around her body.

From a glance, it is not evident how she died. But, Mykel knows Ludwig's unique killing blow. A simple, small pierce to the left carotid artery. With the special dagger he uses, the wound heals within fifteen minutes of the puncture being made.

He was consistent and clever, Mykel could give him that. The only thing that concerned Mykel was Ludwig's friendliness and ability to remain somewhat in a cheerful mood despite any type of situation, life-threatening or otherwise. There were only a few times in which Ludwig grew serious, and it did set Mykel on edge.

He flips the next page and sees five bodies, cloaked in black but also covered in blood, partially concealed by the bushes they fell within. Assassins. Were they sent to kill Ludwig or Prince Veles? They were dead, so Mykel did not need to have the question stay on his mind.

The next picture depicts a fallen creature, with four heads like that of a dog and the large body of a horse. The fifth head lay severed. There were odd crimson etchings on the creature's body, and Mykel instantly knows what weapon created those symbols.

"Rowan Tirlus' Veri... Is he still alive? Or, perhaps, his son?" Mykel closes the folder and opens a drawer at the bottom of his desk, putting the folder inside.

He closes the drawer and looks back up at Angelica, who is fiddling with a silver watch on her right wrist. She looks up, catches Mykel staring at her, and quickly returns her arms to her sides. All Mykel does is put on an amused smile.

"How is Ludwig?"

"A-ah, he's alright. Says he was knocked out by a 'tree that wouldn't move out of my way' but he's recovered and is hovering over Prince Veles who is still passed out, probably from exhaustion," Angelica replies, but does not look at the young man in the eyes.

"Don't worry about him. Despite how reckless he may be, he is perfectly capable of bringing Prince Veles back to Luimesha. He wouldn't have insisted on going if he wasn't prepared," Mykel calmly soothes the girl's nerves, if only for a few moments.

"Why couldn't I go with him?"

"Iserin is a dangerous continent. Ludwig and Prince Veles may have run-ins with the Etaithen Empire or the Grand Duchy of Zador while trying to make it to the Carovell Sea. I don't want you to be put in danger trying to protect Ludwig," Mykel takes out a small golden sphere from a pocket of his outfit, and sets it on his desk, flicking it with his fingers to make it spin in place.

"Will I ever be able to travel with him?" Angelica meets the man's gaze with fragile eyes, to which he offers a small, gentle smile.

"Patience, Angelica. When you have more control of your ability, I will feel more confident sending you with Ludwig. I know how much you two mean to one another, and I have no intention of separating you two forever. I can assure you, he will do everything in his power to return to you after he has completed his current mission," Mykel watches as Angelica acknowledges his words with a nod, then turns around and exits his office, leaving the young man alone once again.

***

A male servant comes rushing into the dining hall, where a collection of people are sitting down at the long table, eating and chatting with those next to or across from them. Nobles, princesses, princes, and even kings and queens from nearby kingdoms enjoy the feast prepared by Aegia's best chefs.

The young boy stops beside Aegia's king and waits for his presence to be acknowledged. The king looks over his right shoulder, where the young boy stands, silent.

"Yes, Arthur?"

"The staff and the dragon plush are both gone. It is suspected Ludwig Casimir took both of them in an attempt to lure Crown Prince Veles from his bedroom and outside the castle, Your Majesty."

"Tell the scouting parties to search the forest to the east of the castle. Tell them to bring at least one soldier with them so Ludwig can be dealt with, and Theo can be rescued. Chidora will not have their way with us by taking the prince hostage. Thank you, Arthur. You are dismissed."

The young boy bows and exits the dining hall. He leans to his left and whispers what Arthur told him into his wife- the queen's- ear, to which she purses her lips and sighs.

"Oh, Theo... Please don't let the man from Chidora hurt you. We will rescue you and bring you home, where you truly belong, soon."

Arthur waits until he is alone and the chatter from the dining hall has faded before slipping around the corner of a hallway leading to a second storage room. He lifts his left watch, where a gold watch reflects what little light there is from the dim lights lining the walls.

He fiddles with the small wheel that controls the two hands behind the glass, not stopping until the glass becomes black, and a small hologram of a man shows up.

"Where did you say Ludwig and Theo went to get to the Carovell Sea the fastest?" Arthur whispers, not wanting to attract any unnecessary attention to himself, though he checked to see that no one was anywhere near him before contracting his superior.

"Through the Cineian Forest, to the east of the castle. Don't tell me..."

Arthur nods, and Mykel briefly closes his eyes and lets out a frustrated sigh.

"Damn. I'm going to have to contact Ludwig and tell him to change course."

"Where will they be going instead?"

"If the Cineain Forest isn't our safest bet by what you've told me, then they'll need to go through Zador."

"Zador!? But didn't-"

"Hopefully time is on their side, and they won't take note of him. I just pray Ludwig won't decide to travel underground like last time..." Mykel closes his eyes and can not help but shiver at Ludwig's lastest casual retelling of when he almost died transversing Zador's underground expanse.

"Alright. Do you wish for me to continue my duties here?"

"No, you are free to return. Please spend some time with Angelica when you find the time to. She is growing anxious about Ludwig's well-being, and I don't want her wandering outside pointlessly in an attempt to find him."

"Very well. Thank you, sir."

"Thank you, Arthur. You have been a terrific help to not just me, but Ludwig and Prince Veles as well. I pray they remain safe. May your return be peaceful."

The hologram disappears, and the glass of the watch reverts to being transparent. Arthur takes a moment to recollect himself before stepping out from behind the wall and starting towards the elaborate grand doors marking the entrance to the castle.