Letter in disguise.

He sighed while gnawing at the feather of the quill pen. Before him stood two men clad in yellow and cobalt robes. He looked at them and back at the piece of fabric.

"So a wife of the random lord in Wahrheit gives you this to deliver it to me. How in the seven heavens am I to believe your words?" he asked them irritated.

The man clutched his striped blue and yellow chaperon hat to his fat stomach and wiped his sweat with a handkerchief.

"Well my lord of Arcea. It is the truth. My men took the trading route from the southwest borders but ended up in Stygian territory. They heard that the lord there trained soldiers so they needed guards for the caravan goods. They stayed a week until it was arranged and during their stay, they happened to meet his wife. She threatened to tell her husband that my caravan was selling defective products to him-"

"Ha? I never knew Blue Van a prestigious merchant guild such as yours sold something like that. Do you realize it is a grave crime in trade? I'm more surprised that the wife of some remote territory landlord was able to find fault in your product."

"That... Sir I-I am truly ashamed that my men caused a great deal of harm. It was not overlooked a-and we paid a hefty price for it too."

"Who was this woman you speak of?" He ignored his explanation.

"I fear it w-was one of her servants that delivered us this cloth. We were asked to return in a fortnight with both her and her husband's orders. They hold our men hostages. My Lord, I beg you. I can only seek the alchemist tower's help. I will pay twice the amount you demand. But please help me bring back my men."

"Who are they to you? You go too far for these hostages you speak of." Cornelius placed the old fabric on the study desk in his office and studied it briefly.

"One of them is my son. And the other is my nephew whom I raised as my own lad. They are all I have now."

He paused his study and turned to look at the old merchant master's grievous face.

He pulled back his wavy blue hair with his hand and did not respond to his plea.

Feeling dejected the old man could no longer wait for the response and bowed slowly turning towards the door.

"I will help you bring your sons back." he finally agreed.

The old man hopefully turned back to give his thanks.

"On a condition." he pointed out.

"A condition? What might it be my lord?"

"If you agree to it only then will I assist you. After all, it involves saving your sons."

"A-anything! I will do my best to fulfill your requests," he replied desperately.

"You will be helping me to connect to the demon realm." he proposed.

"Connecting the demon realm?" he asked flabbergasted by his request.

"Yes, I need information about every possible route you use. Be it the ancient passageways or portals. All of them."

"But the route map is top secret my Lord." he protested against his idea.

"What's wrong with putting it to a better use? Don't tell me you do something else through those routes. You're fearing I might discover something shady in your business?" he narrowed his eyes raising suspicion.

"No... Of course not my lord." he bowed and left the office escorted by a novice alchemist.

He resumed his attention to study the fabric. It was an ordinary-looking fabric. He untied the knot and unrolled it.

"Strange? Why would a stranger send this to the tower?" he pondered.

A slid his hand across its course surface. He stopped midway and repeated twice.

He found a knot tied with barely noticeable and very thin threads. It was expertly tied he noticed.

He managed to loosen it up and the cloth became double in size.

Analyzing the cloth a paper was neatly stitched to it.

"This is getting interesting." he grinned.

He felt something enclosed within the paper and the cloth.

He carefully tore it and found a small earring. He picked it up and looked at the paper. It had something written on it.

"Ancient Demonic Runes." he realized. He hurried out of the office pushing away people and rushed towards the library.

"Isn't it the second young Lord of Arcea?" someone whispered.

"What's the ruckus about here?" they heard a stern voice call from behind.

A fairly good-looking youth with deep blue hair reaching his lower back and sharp turquoise eyes appeared. He wore the alchemist uniform which consisted of black and white robes and a galaxy-themed cloak.

"First Master Arcea!" they greeted him in unison.

"Get back to work," he commanded them yet his gaze was fixated on the careless Cornelius.

Cornelius frantically searched through the ancient records that were deciphered from ancient demonic runes.

-"They should've been around here. I borrowed them from the imperial library."

"Looking for these?" asked someone near him.

"Oh, there they are! Thank you, brother." he grabbed the scrolls and opened them.

"As usual my little brother is as hard-working as ever." he ruffled his hair.

"Grow up already Canute," he grumbled.

"Oh my! To think you abandoned me for something else. I'm heartbroken." he dramatically placed his hand over his forehead and wiped his eyes with his handkerchief. Cornelius was done with his rash behavior sometimes wondering who was supposed to be the elder brother.

"Stop it already it's embarrassing." he hissed.

"So what has made you so worked up?"

Cornelius showed him the letter without looking up.

"Where did you get this?" he took the letter from his hand and studied it.

" Dear Cornelius," he whistled making him startled.

"Would you shut up?" he begged Canute who was older than him by five years.

"What? It says so in here." he waved the yellow paper in his hand.

Cornelius was dumbfounded.

"What's with the reaction?" Canute stared at him uneasily.

"You! You never told me you could decipher it?" he barked out loud.

"You never asked. And pipe it down. We're in a library."

"Read it for me!" he asked him ignoring every other thing Canute said so far.

"This? Hmm~" he scratched his head and continued.

" Dear Cornelius, Hopefully, the letter has arrived to you if you're reading this. It is me, Luciana writing to you. I don't know what could I have done if the letter hadn't reached you. Please let my father know I am alive. However, the circumstances have changed. I am not wedded to the crown prince of Wahrheit. I was abducted-"

"ABDUCTED!" Cornelius shouted out loud in disbelief.

"What does she mean by abducted?" he was lost in shock.

"Princess Luciana was... Abducted?" Canute frowned upon repeating the sentence. She had been his unrequited love in the past. But she only acknowledged him as an older brother.

"Hurry up and read what's next." Cornelius urged him.

" I have sent you one earring from the pair I wore on the day I left Amanécer as evidence. I'm now married to the lord of the Stygian territory of Wahrheit. Please create for me a communication device and cast it with a spell that can allow a person to change their appearance. I need your help to get me out of here. PS Don't tell the details to my family. I need this to be done undercover. Send it via blue van. I'm sure the master of the merchant guild must have met you by now. Luciana Mircea De Amanécer."

He paused where the letter ended. There was silence in the library.

"It is the earring I have." he looked darkly at the white diamond earring that reflected the golden lights in the library. Canute picked the earring from his hand and closed it in his fist. After a moment of silence, he spoke up.

"It's faintly giving off her divine power. No doubt the princess is in trouble."