by Brandon Chen
The prince’s looks fit royalty. His curly, brown hair was without doubt perfection, and he won the hearts of fair maidens with his looks alone. His royal blue eyes could seduce the strongest of women, but they could also be filled with such intensity that he made his enemies feel as if they were naked before him. At the age of only twenty-four, he had claimed many achievements as prince of Faar. His skin was tan from the many days that he spent in the sun fighting beside his men and working with them. Unlike his father, he didn’t believe in forcing all of the work upon his subjects. He contributed his amount to help his men and therefore was treated as a brother amongst his soldiers as well as their superior.
“Darius,” the prince’s squire announced, walking forward with two guard escorts at his side as well as a small messenger boy that stumbled behind them, “a letter has been delivered from your father.”
The prince raised an eyebrow, not expecting to hear so soon from his father. Was it time for his father to pass, leaving the throne to him? He chuckled at the thought and nodded, grasping the letter in his hands and seeing the royal seal. Still alive then, old man?
He ripped off the seal and flipped open the letter, reading it swiftly. He frowned the more that he read. “My father is drawing me back from the frontier of the Spartan-Faar war in order to deal with a group of bandits within our capital? What am I, a law enforcer?” he snarled, tossing the letter onto the ground in annoyance. “A single boy is threatening his throne, and he needs to call me back in order to deal with the issue? How frightening is this teenage boy?” he demanded as he looked at the messenger.
“W-Well, milord…,” the messenger stammered, “the boy isn’t quite ordinary. He has acquired magic, but it isn’t like other magic that we’ve seen, sire. The magic that he has never tires him, and he can keep using it! It also looks as if it’s a part of him. I’m not an expert on artificial magic, milord, but this doesn’t look like it. I haven’t seen much myself, but….”
“You think that his magic is real?” Darius scoffed as he looked the messenger up and down and smiled. “Is that so? A boy comes into the city, shooting flames about and kills a few of my father’s men and the king has already wet his pants? How like him. Fine then, I’ll destroy my father’s opposition within the empire and then finish the job here. Tell General Killen to assume control over our forces until my return. Push toward the capital, but make sure that he doesn’t rush toward the victory without me. I’ll be back within the month after I eradicate this threat within our walls.” He walked past the messenger and his squire, calling over his shoulder, “Fetch me my horse and a squadron of men. We will deal with this quickly.”
***
“Ugh,” Keimaro muttered as he walked outside of the castle after having spent the majority of the day exploring it with Judal. Well, he supposed he had to be familiar with where everything was if he was going to be living here. He sighed, scratching the back of his neck as he saw the smile on Judal’s face. “What are you so happy about?” he muttered, exhausted.
“The new guys always have a hard time at first trying to comprehend how many rooms there are to memorize in this entire place. Don’t worry, the hardest part about this job is knowing where everything is,” Judal said with a chuckle. “But with all of the new threats appearing all of a sudden, things could change quickly.”
Keimaro nodded as he turned and saw the sun setting over the horizon, vanishing over the edge of Bassada’s wall. The bright orange and red dispersed into the skies, filling the clouds with light. His eyes twinkled as he stared with amazement at the breathtaking view before turning to his captain. He hit his fist to his chest and bowed his head slightly. “I’ll be heading to meet with Lord Aladdin now, if that’s all right with you, Captain Judal,” he said, using the same title that everyone else used when regarding nobles.
The Captain seemed rather surprised at the respect that came from Keimaro and grinned, giving the recruit a nod. “As you were, soldier. Go on. You wouldn’t want to keep him waiting. Make sure to be back here tomorrow morning. I want to see if we can get some more information out of the prisoner. See ya, Riku,” he said, giving a small wave.
Keimaro turned and felt a chill shiver down his spine as he walked along the cobblestone path, making his way toward Aladdin’s house. If he was correct, it should be the first house in the noble district. Once there, he should feel safe. But, the thought of Lena being tortured once more was disconcerting. The very thought that he would have to beat his friend again made his stomach churn.
He blinked as he saw Aladdin’s house, a flashy mansion with spiraling marble pillars that somehow managed to support the red tiled rooftop. The building itself wasn’t as big as some of the other mansions but was without a doubt still a reasonable enough size to leave the boy in awe. Interestingly enough, he recognized this house. He had walked past it his first time in the noble district. Keimaro walked up to the door, which was made of some type of quality wood that gave it a hazel color. He grasped the golden knocker and was about to hit the door with it when he heard the door click.
“Hmm?” he murmured as the door opened and an old, bald man with squinted eyes poked his head through the opening.
The man had a face of wrinkles, and small clumps of gray hair were formed just above his ears. Keimaro could hardly even see the color of his irises for his eyes were so small. He was wearing a black suit with a red tie and was clearly a servant of the house. “How may I help you, sir?” the old man said with a raised eyebrow, holding the open door with his white-gloved hand.
“I’m here for Aladdin.”
“His sire doesn’t see common soldiers just upon request. You need approval from the house as well as some type of an appointment if it’s on working terms. You cannot just come—”
“It’s all right,” Aladdin said with a warm laugh as he walked from behind the butler and opened the door wide. He was wearing a blue robe that was tied with a small white sash. His blonde hair was wet, indicating that he had just gotten out of a bath. “Make yourself at home, Riku. Yuri is in my room. My butler will show you there. Just make sure to take off your shoes when you walk in, okay?” he said, walking away from the door to go get dressed.
Keimaro blinked a few times and nodded, taking off his boots and putting them on a mat beside the door where other shoes were being displayed. He walked inside, and the door was closed behind him. The butler didn’t seem surprised that Aladdin had just let someone into the house without proper identification. He simply sighed and motioned for Keimaro to follow him.
The entrance to the house was topped by a high ceiling that seemed to stretch at least four stories tall. A shining chandelier that emitted an array of various crystalline lights upon the walls hung from the ceiling. A long pair of marble stairs climbed to the next floor. The butler led Keimaro up the stairs and through a large hallway, filled with candles within some type of transparent delicate paper bags that allowed for the light to be distributed more vastly. He was led into a rather large room where Yuri was sitting on the edge of the neatly made king-sized bed.
Yuri turned his head, his eyes lighting up when he saw Keimaro. He waited until the butler had closed the door behind Keimaro before he began to speak. “Did you find her? Is she all right?” he asked quickly, getting up from the bed and walking to Keimaro.
The boy blinked a few times and nodded. “Yeah, I found out her location. They intend on torturing her more than they already have. It looks like she’s already at her limit, though,” he said with a sigh. “At this rate, she will crack. I know that you think she’s tough enough that she wouldn’t, but the things that they could do to her in that cell are endless, and there don’t seem to be any laws that protect her against being tortured. We’re going to need to get her out soon. They’re planning a public execution. I think our only chance may be to rescue her on her execution day. Trying to get her out of jail while this area is under such heavy lockdown will be near impossible without getting caught. Even if we fought
our way out using force, there would be no way to escape without the guards eventually keeping up with us since carrying Lena would weigh us down. She is in no position to move on her own right now.”
Yuri’s fists were shaking, and his eyes were red with rage. “So, what do we do? We can’t just let her get tortured until the execution day! She could die by accident, and the pain that she’s going through…”
“Not to mention the fact that she could spill important information regarding the location of our base, which would lead to the deaths of more than just a dozen. It would be hundreds,” Keimaro said, rubbing his chin. “I don’t know a good—”
“We can break her out,” Yuri said confidently, looking Keimaro in the eyes. “Tonight!”
Keimaro blinked. “Eh? Tonight? That’s not a good plan! She just got in there! The security is tight and—”
“Who cares? They can’t be much worse than a Bount! I’ll wear the mask, and I’ll get away. I’ll even enter werewolf form if I have to,” Yuri said, closing his eyes. “I can’t stand the thought of Lena being in a cold, dark cell, suffering. I know what it’s like. I don’t want her to endure that hell! I’ll break her out; you won’t have to worry about a single thing. All I’ll need is her location.”
“I can’t give you the location,” Keimaro said, and he felt a pang of heat between the two of them as Yuri glared at him. “You’ll get both of you captured or, even worse, killed. I won’t let you run off to your—”
“Stop underestimating me!” Yuri boomed, grabbing Keimaro by the collar of his shirt. He lifted him off of the ground by an inch and brought their faces close together, glaring into the dark pools of Keimaro’s eyes. “I am much more capable than you are. I don’t know why I ever decided to put my trust into you on that mission last night. You almost got us all killed. Lena is behind bars and is being tortured because of your mistake!” he growled, shaking Keimaro roughly. “And you’re reluctant to giving me her location so that I can save her from that pain? Are you kidding me?”
Keimaro’s lips were quivering, and he just wanted to cry. But if I give you the location … both of you will be….
“The true reason that Keimaro is incapable of giving you her location,” Aladdin said, stepping through the doorway behind them with a smile. He wore a fresh blue tunic and long, baggy, white pants that looked like pajamas, “is because he isn’t sure whether or not he can put his trust into you. I spent today researching the Hayashi clan background and looked over some of the intel that Zylon has on you,” he said to Keimaro with a wink. “In fact, he’s got quite a bit. Keimaro has trouble trusting people and depending on them to get the job done. It isn’t because someone has let him down before. It’s because he’s let down someone before.”
“What?” Yuri muttered.
“Stop talking,” Keimaro growled.
“He let down his little sister when he was powerless to save her.”
Keimaro was silent and gulped, feeling anger swelling up inside of him. Though, he had no idea what he was mad at. He closed his eyes as he felt Yuri’s hand release the hem of his shirt. He stepped away from his two companions. “I don’t intend to let down anyone ever again,” Keimaro said, “and living my whole life in regret … I don’t want anyone else to go through that. Especially you, Yuri. If you fail in saving Lena, and she is killed, you won’t be able to forgive yourself. But that’s not all. I won’t forgive you either. The risk is not one I am willing to take.”
Yuri stared at Keimaro for a moment, his clenched fists dropping limp at his side. He was speechless. Keimaro sighed. He understood the way Yuri was feeling more than anything. Yuri would keep persisting until he found out. It was better off if Keimaro just told Yuri where Lena was rather than forcing Yuri to have to go search for himself. In the end, the werewolf was going to risk his life anyway.
“She’s in an underground facility beneath the castle. There’s an entrance on the side of the castle; it’ll be easy to miss because it doesn’t seem like it has high security. But trust me, once you trigger their alarm, you’ll be surrounded within minutes,” Keimaro let out without thinking. “Don’t expect me to come and save your life either. If I blow my cover, the entire plan with overthrowing the kingdom will be finished. By doing this, you’ll be doing it on your own accord. Don’t act today. Give it a few days.”
Yuri raised an eyebrow and put his hands on his hips. “Huh? Why should I wait a few days?” he muttered, trying to keep poised, his eyes on Keimaro. “I don’t have any intention of letting Lena suffer more than she already has.”
“By going now, you’re increasing the risk that you’ll get captured,” Keimaro exclaimed. “At any rate, you’ll only get yourself killed. Besides, don’t you want to rest a bit before you sweep in and save the damsel in distress? After all, we just performed a bunch of operations in the past few days. I don’t know about you, but I’m really sore from fighting so much,” he said, reaching up and stretching his arms. “I don’t intend to get involved with your suicidal plan to save Lena.”
The werewolf rolled his eyes and walked out of the room, eager to be alone. As he started to close the door behind him, Keimaro saw a resplendent blue band around Yuri’s wrist. He vanished through the door without a single word spoken, and Aladdin sighed.
“Yuri isn’t exactly the most diplomatic person around. He’s near impossible to convince,” the noble said. “Once he’s got his mind set on something, he’s going after it. There’s no stopping him. Anyway, we should talk about the task at hand. I did some research today. I went through the paperwork that they did on recent government prisoners, and there was nothing recorded about even obtaining Noah.” He rubbed his chin as he walked over to his bed and sat down. “I knew something was off. I even searched through the secret files, which is illegal by the way, and still didn’t find anything.”
“That’s odd.”
“What’s even more strange is that there isn’t any record of the entire existence of the underground lab. It’s as if it never existed. Perhaps the king doesn’t know about the lab…. At least, that’s my theory.”
Keimaro frowned. “That means….”
“That there’s an outside force within the government that has obtained some power. My thought is that it’s the Bount organization, trying to maintain some influence in the city. Undoubtedly, they’ll try to push their way to the throne eventually, which is why we should take it first. However, I don’t suspect that there’s a large Bount force in the government; otherwise, it would’ve been noticeable before now. Z hasn’t sensed any abnormal activity or auras from the Bounts, so it must be a subordinate.”
“Didn’t Yata and Gavin see the person who attacked them underground? Whoever was underground must’ve been with the Bounts. Wouldn’t they be able to identify who was down there?” Keimaro said.
Aladdin grinned at Keimaro and gave him a nod, patting him on the back. “Looks like we’ve got a lead! I’ll go ask them tonight, and I’ll get back to you tomorrow after duty again. Hopefully Yuri will stay out of trouble tonight. Do you need somewhere to stay?”
“I suppose,” Keimaro said. “I’m off duty, and I’m supposed to return to my room with the captain. But I don’t think he’ll have any objection if I was ordered to spend the night. After all, you’re my superior now, I guess,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Why, you have an extra room?”
“I have dozens.”
“Makes sense, in a place this big.”
“I thought your job was to protect the princess, but it looks like you’ve got plenty of free time on your hands,” Aladdin said, walking to a mirror and examining himself. He rubbed his chin and sighed, turning to glance at Keimaro over his shoulder. “Don’t tell me you’re—” He blinked when he saw that Keimaro wasn’t there anymore and that the window was open. A light, nighttime breeze blew into the room, and he heard nothing but the chirps of crickets. He walked over to the window, leaning on the sill as he looked up at the moon and smiled. “What a sn
eaky bastard. I just hope he doesn’t do something stupid.”
***
Keimaro knew that it wasn’t right for him to just leave Aladdin with Yuri in the mansion, especially if Yuri tried to save Lena tonight. Aladdin wouldn’t be able to stop him alone. In fact, Keimaro wasn’t even sure if the noble was capable of combat. He had never gotten to see Aladdin in action before. Still, something drew him from the noble’s house and toward the castle. He wanted to see the princess again. Why? He had no idea. He could name no specific reason, other than wanting to see her face and maybe even talk to her. Before he knew it, he was walking up a narrow stairway toward the princess’s tower. When he found the door, it was heavily guarded with five strong, burly men who stood tall with thick metallic armor covering every possible inch of their body. That must’ve been extremely uncomfortable.
“What is your business here, guard?” one of the soldiers said.
“I’m the princess’s bodyguard, so I’m here to—”
“The king’s orders are not to let anyone in. Anyone. That includes you, rookie,” the soldier stated. “These orders will be followed until further notice. If you want authorization, you’ll have to get some from the higher-ups. Until then, we can’t let you pass. Please turn around.”