16 The Search For Austin

In the Royal Palace, one month had passed since Austin was last seen. And during the past week, life for everyone was a total nightmare. From the servants to the heads of the Family, no one was spared by the demoness that was Queen Elizabeth. Most of the people in the Palace did not even know who the Queen was until a week ago. But if they did not know then, then they most definitely did now.

Sleepless nights and silent conversations. Everyone was on alert at all times as a heavy undercurrent constantly loomed over their heads. Thick, Dark, grey clouds sat in the sky from day to night. No one could remember the last time sunlight had pierced through. It was cold, suffocating and downright scary.

At first, the residents did not know what was going on, thinking the oppressive air was due to the threat of an enemy. However, weeks passed and the atmosphere remained deadly. It wasn't until the Queen personally showed up did everyone liken the sudden changes to her. Everyone without exception was summoned to the Royal Courtyard. A place that was reserved for war meetings and grand ceremonies.

When the Queen presented herself, all the men gasped and their hearts skipped a beat, even the women were stunned by her beauty. After a moment of a dazed silence, heavy breathing and murmurs began spreading through the crowd.

"Th-th-thats the Queen!?"

"Oh my god! She is too beautiful!"

"Wooooo!!!"

"Long live Your Majesty!"

The men were whistling in passionate admiration and the women showed her with praises like a Goddess had descended. Elizabeth's face stayed expressionless the entire time and the air increasingly rose in pressure until the crowd was no longer able to speak.

With pale faces, they all quickly realized the time was not for celebration from Elizabeth's bloodthirsty aura. Among the hundreds of onlookers, all felt the Queen's piercing gaze on them. Only after a minute under this oppressive torment did she open her mouth to speak.

"A seven  year old boy has gone missing in the Palace. I don't care what you all have to do. Find him at all costs."

Elizabeth offered no explanation for who this boy was and simply departed them with these words as she prepared to leave. Of course, this was not well received by everyone in the crowd as there were individuals mixed in that have never been treated in such a way. Being part of the Royal Nation, they were at the top of the food chain of the Western Region and were seldom subject to disrespect.

A chubby man shouted out loud after Elizabeth's hearing. "What is the meaning of this! You are disrupting the Royal Palace operations for such a dumb reason?"

Francis was dressed in the most expensive clothes out of the crowd and looked like he held a high-up position. He was already infuriated from being bunched up with the lowly servants in the courtyard with no one telling him why. The Queen appearing before them for the first time and acting so unreasonably was his final straw. The others may not have the courage to refute her, but he would not take it lying down!

Panting with anger and grinding his teeth, Francis was about to continue expressing his disapproval. Some of the more important members in the crowd also got riled up, seeing Francis take the initiative and speak what was on their minds. A boy going missing in the Palace and you want us to drop everything just to search for him? If he was the Prince that would be logical but who doesn't know we only have a Royal Princess? This is outrageous!

Francis barked, "How can yo-".

Before he could finish, Elizabeth shot out a projectile that was too fast for anyone's eye to see.

Hearing the voice turn silent, people turned around to see why the pretentious-sounding man had stopped talking.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!"

Deafening screams sounded out through the large courtyard.

Francis was lying headless on the floor, blood spurting out from the top of the neck and forming a large pool of red on the ground. It was far too gruesome. The servants next to him had fainted in terror. They had never been exposed to any kind of violence before, let alone such a ghastly death right beside them.

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Before the courtyard could descend into mayhem, a melodious but deathly cold voice rang in their ears. Elizabeth left them all star-struck.

No one dared to speak, paranoid that the frightening ordeal was not yet over. Gulps could be heard of nervousness or swallowing vomit. It was only a long time later did the crowd regain their bearings and started leaving in a hurry. People started chattering after making sure they walked a long way away from the courtyard.

"That was the Queen...?"

"She's too terrifying..."

"What do we do now? There's important business to tend to in these few days..."

"How unlucky! We can't ignore her orders unless you want to end up like Francis?"

"God no! But we were give no leeway at all... what status does that boy hold to make such a big deal out of him going missing? The recent heavy air in the Palace must be due to him as well..."

...

After Elizabeth delivered her speech, she returned to her room in the residence with a downcast expression. Truthfully, she felt very helpless about the situation. Despite using the full extent of her powers to search the entire Palace and even the surrounding area outside of it, she still could not find Austin. After three weeks of unfruitful efforts, she resorted to mobilizing everyone in the Palace. But having already conducted her own searches, she was not hopeful about anyone else being able to locate Austin.

Looking at her untidied room, Elizabeth let out a depressing sigh. In the past weeks, Elena had not come over and completely given up on her duties. After Austin was not found on the second day, she had dissapeared from the residence to search for him on her own. As for Laura... after recovering from her initial rampage, she had locked herself in her room the entire time. Elizabeth went to talk to her everyday to try and comfort her but Laura never responded and was always out of it. Seeing how she was not getting better, Elizabeth was becoming more and more worried...