"Elan, why are you turning the capital in and out? Did you lose your crown?" a man said, striding into the throne room.
"You are here, Archduke. You sure took your time," Eldric the emperor said, smiling wearily.
"Yes, I am not one of your consorts to drop everything and run to your arms whenever you call," Eldric said and then laughed at the emperor's disapproving look.
"Why are you going to demand my head? Do you really want a collection of your cousin's heads?" Eldric laughed. "Besides, that used to scare me as a kid, not anymore. Now I will gladly offer it to you. So tell me, to what do I owe the grand pleasure of your invitation?" he added, taking a seat on the steps beneath the throne.
"How is my aunt? I haven't seen her in a while," Reign said, changing the subject.
"She is doing well. She was looking forward to coming to the cancelled party today. She was pestering me to come and know what was wrong before I received your invite," Eldric said, making Reign break into a genuine smile.
"What has she been doing nowadays?" Reign asked.
"Oh, she has been trying to get my father to respond on command for some snacks," Eldric said, his expression not changing, like that was a normal thing in the Archduke's household.
Reign laughed. "I need to invite her to the palace so that she can stay with me for a while."
"I wouldn't advise that if you don't want my father joining the opposing factions. Also, I know you are her favourite despite me being her son. Neither of you needs to rub it in my face.
Anyway, Catherine came to see me today, so I know everything," Eldric said. "So tell me, what do you need me to do for you?" he added, looking at Reign.
"Yes, I promoted a new consort and she ran away," the emperor said. "Now I need you to find out every bit of information about her, since you are the most travelled one with a lot of connections across the continent."
"If she left on her own terms, why don't you just let her go?" Eldric asked, and the emperor's face grew dark and the air in the throne room turned chilly.
"Did I ask you for advice, Archduke Eldric?" the emperor asked, as Eldric closed his eyes, sighing.
"Apologies, Your Majesty. I will do a deep search," he said, trying to soothe the wrong nerve he had poked.
"Here is the information on her, on how she came about in the palace, and also her portrait. Leave no stone unturned," the emperor said, handing him a rolled scroll.
Eldric took it, unrolled it to look at the audacious maid, and his brows furrowed as he looked at the portrait. "Your Highness, why does she look so familiar? Where have I seen her before?" Eldric asked.
"She was a maid at Lady Isabella's side. Maybe that is why she looks familiar," Reign said, looking at Eldric confused, wondering why he had never noticed her before, although it showed in the records that she had been in the palace for months. He only noticed her the day he was punishing her, despite spending most of his evenings at Lady Isabella's pavilion.
"No, I swear I saw her somewhere before," he said, looking at the scroll closely, and Reign squirmed in his throne.
"You know, Duke Alves was here some days ago asking when the Black Moors would be visiting him to ask for his daughter's hand," and just as he thought, Eldric rushed to his feet, rolling the portrait up fast. "I will go start my investigation, Your Highness," he said, bowing and turning to leave.
"Wait," Reign called, stopping him in his tracks. "Give me back the portrait," he said, extending his hand.
"But, Your Highness, I need it to find information."
"No, you do not. Give it back," Reign replied.
"Okay," Eldric said, turning back and handing over the portrait.
"I need information by the next two days. Now off you go," the emperor said, flicking his hand to dismiss Eldric.
In the almshouse, Helga was seated on the bed, a bit dazed, while Max sat next to her, hiccupping after every few seconds.
"You did so well, my dear," Evie said, patting Helga's hand.
"I don't know what came over me," she replied.
"You lied so well," Evie said. "You were so confident it sounded like the truth."
"Well, most of it was true," Helga replied. "The count I mentioned as my father was the one my stepmother sold me to. His first wife, who passed away, was from Starian and was the viscount's daughter."
"Excellent," Evie said, her face now beaming. "And that is the identity we are going to use moving forward," she added, overjoyed. "When all this is over, I will reward you for this," she told Helga.
"Max, do you know the black-market?"
"I .. don't .... know... Brother Thorian can take us," he finished.
"Who is Brother Thorian?" Evie asked.
"He is on the street and knows everyone and everything," Max said, jumping to his feet, his hiccup gone.
"Let's go now," Evie said. "We need to prepare for our journey."
They exited their room, and their feet paused at the gate as they came face-to-face with a poster bearing their portrait.
"Seriously, is this the best they could do? They made me look so ugly," Evie said, touching her face.
"But, sister, you are ugly," Max said, running across the compound the moment the words left his mouth with a giggle, as if he wasn't sobbing a minute ago.
Evie and Helga smiled as the child's laughter elevated the dark energy surrounding them.
They walked outside, and instead of the bustling street they had seen yesterday, today it was different. The mood was grey; soldiers and guards were everywhere. It felt suffocating.
"Is this all necessary? Oh, what a man's ego can do," Evie murmured. It's not that he loved and cared about her enough to dispatch all these guards, but his fragile ego couldn't handle a mere maid escaping him." She shook her head as she felt Max's hand holding her finger tightly.