Chapter 52 - The Emperor's Rage

"What is this!?" bellowed the Emperor as he thrust the letter at the guard and stomped out of the conservatory. "Absolutely absurd! I've never heard of it!"

The Emperor yanked open the door of his office and walked out swiftly and into the corridor. From the opposite side, Sir Gradral was walking towards the Emperor, probably for his own affairs but the Emperor beckoned to him as he kept walking.

"Gradral. Have you heard?"

Sir Gradral shook his head as he followed the Emperor to somewhere only he knew best. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, has something happened? You seem enraged."

"You bet I am!" the Emperor bellowed and started walking faster, making it hard for Sir Gradral to follow his pace. "Some wretched fool claims that they've killed Cynthia."

Sir Gradral stopped short. "What…?" He started walking again when he realized the Emperor wasn't going to stop for him. "How's that possible?"

The Emperor seethed but didn't answer. With a flourish of his robes, he trotted out of the palace's back entrance and walked straight for the barracks.

"Your Majesty, do calm your rage," Sir Gradral said worriedly as he caught a glimpse of the fury in the Emperor's eyes.

"Don't tell me what to do, Simon," the Emperor yelled angrily as clenched his fists and kept walking.

Shocked, Sir Gradral slowed down but picked up his pace again, for he knew that if he didn't accompany His Majesty, he would kill all the guards for not doing a proper job.

"She's just a puny brat…." the Emperor was muttering furiously, sweat drops flying out blindly. "How could someone kidnap her?  How, against all the watchful eyes of my so-called vigilant guards who claim they were on the lookout 24/7. How, I ask...."

"Your Majesty-"

But it was too late for Sir Gradral to calm his Master.

The Emperor stormed on the training grounds where many guards and knights were practicing and some sat around on benches gulping water. As they noticed the Emperor approach them, they stood up and bowed, joining the guards in training who were already on their knees.

"Your Majesty!" someone exclaimed from the crowd. "What brings you here?"

Everyone dispersed like a shoal of fishes as the man who had spoken made his way to the Emperor, obviously oblivious of his fury. It was Commander Derik Sage, belonging to the 1st Quadrant of the special armed forces. He was in a happy mood at the moment, for he always was after a good spar with his mean which was exactly what he had been doing before the Emperor made a visit. He was shirtless and glistening with sweat, all of his war scars visible clearly on his chest and back.

He was an old man, but quite active for his age and a great military commander as well. The Emperor was very proud of him, in fact, but right now… he was plain mad.

"Sage!" the Emperor snapped and the Commander flinched, for the Emperor was rarely in a foul mood. "How incapable did your men have to be to not have noticed some wretched men taking the puny brat out of the palace unnoticed?"

"Your Majesty-"

"Silence!" he seethed. "I've just received the news that Cynthia is dead. Dead, do you hear me!?"

The Emperor was all up in Commander Sage's face, effing and blinding. Sage pursed his lips as the enormity of the Emperor's words started to settle in. All the knights and guards had likewise gone silent at the outburst and were exchanging nervous glances amongst themselves. 

"How absolutely morbid..."

Commander Sage decided to shoot his shot. "Has the body been found, Your Majesty?"

The Emperor's eyes widened. He stood back and gaped at Commander Sage as he tried to compose himself. He exhaled slowly and shook his head, chuckling to himself. 

"No, because guess what, Sage?" the Emperor uttered as he leaned forward. "THEY BURNED THE BODY!"

Everyone started murmuring as Commander Sage stood there, shocked. "What…?"

"You heard it, Sage," the Emperor hissed. "Is this how capable your guards are? Is this what you train them for!?"

Commander Sage hung his head. "No, Your Majesty."

The Emperor sighed as he massaged his temple. "I want you and your men to scatter out. Apparently, the letter was found in a hay storage somewhere in the middle of Eyress. Go there and check for clues. He's written that he fled to a neighboring Empire. See if you can find any way to track the kidnapper. Bring. Him. To. Me. At any cost! Get out of my sight now, go."

Commander Sage bowed low and then bellowed to his men to prepare the horses.

"I need each and one of you to prepare for the hunt. Search around the city, hell, search the whole Empire, I say! Check with the men at the border crossings and seize anyone that seems suspicious. Do you understand my word?"

A cry of 'Yes, Commander' rang out in the training grounds and men hurried around to gather their uniform and weapons. Horses were brought out of the stables and were mounted each by a magnificent guard and soon, and by the time the Emperor was back in his office, the training grounds were left behind quite desolate.

✿

[Back at what once was Ogden Cove]

I found the key!

And not just any key, but a key to the closed door. This must be it! 

As soon as I was out of Mama's room, I glanced to my left and right before dashing upstairs and approaching the 5th room.

One thing that I didn't understand was why Mama Ruth chose to close the 5th room only? Why not the first? Or the three after that…?

Anyways, I checked in Sven's room once again and from the way he was breathing, slow and shallow, he was likely fast asleep. I trotted back to Room#5 once again and slipped the key into the keyhole. With a soft click, it fixed into place like a puzzle piece.

A part of me was worried that it wouldn't twist. Slowly, I turned the key around and at first, it didn't budge. I sighed and looked around me once again, looking if Sven had woken up or not. But I could still hear his slow breathing from down the corridor, so I turned back to the door and gave the key another twist with more force this time. 

Slowly but surely, the key started turning to its left. 

My eyes lit up and I turned the key around once again, watching with mild satisfaction as it turned a whole 180 degrees till it was completely upside down.

"Right..." I whispered to myself. "It should open now."

I don't know. Maybe at the moment, my inner consciousness was screaming at me to not be nosy, not meddle with other people's business. 'Don't snoop around, don't snoop around, please don't snoop around…' my mind kept saying but I ignored it all. Now, when I was so close to discovering what was in the locked room, how could I ever give up?

And then again, I knew that there could be absolutely nothing to it at all. What if Mama locked the door because this was a storage room now? What if I don't find anything inside at all. but the usual dust and dirt balls? 

I gulped and with a gentle hand, I pushed at the door.

Nothing happened.

Gathering my composure, I pushed again and the door gave way just less than an inch. It was probably because of senescence that the hinges had aged rather badly, much to the point that they were proving difficult for the door to open. 

"Open up," I willed with mind as I stared intently at the door knob. "Open up, you old thing."

And with a last push, the door really did creak all the way open. It was such a loud, old creak, just like an old hag, that for a second I was afraid that I'd be caught. But it seemed that Sven was a heavy sleeper and Mama didn't hear anything because her door was shut, so I turned my head back towards the room and shivered.

It was as if I stood at the entrance of a mine.

It reeked, was the first thing I noticed. The room transmitted some sort of a musty smell, indicating that it hadn't been cleaned in years. Carefully, I took a step forward and the floorboards groaned under my weight. Another step and another one… I kept moving forward till I was in the heart of the room.

Now I was definitely convinced when Mama had said that all rooms were the same. There really was nothing different about this room than mine and Sven's. I ticked off the tacky bed, rug and nightstand on my mental list because that's all there was.

"That's strange..." I muttered.

Why had the room been locked then? I didn't see anything worth hiding in here, after all, it was just a bare room stripped of all comfort. I scrunched my nose up as I eyed every corner vigilantly, wondering if there was anything hiding in the nooks and crannies and as expected, there was nothing. 

But the thought never left my mind: Why lock the door then?

I was studying the walls which were in such a bad shape because water has seeped in through the cracks when I heard a creak from outside. Mama's door was opening.

Quickly, I exited the room and knocked it in haste, trying to make as little sound as possible. 

"Lassie?" Mama called from downstairs. "You there? Sven?"

"Y-yes, just a moment!" I called as I pulled the key out of the hole and clenched it in my palms as I looked down from the banister.

"What happened?" I asked as I innocently tilted my head. Mama narrowed her eyes up at me and placed her palms on her hips.

"What's Sven doing?"

I turned the key around in my hand. "I'm sure he's asleep. Why? If you need him to do something, I'll do it!"

Mama nodded. "Alright, go wipe the kitchen counters and mop the floor. I'll be in my room."

She turned around and went back to her room, shutting herself in once again.

I sighed with relief. I went to my room and hid the key under the flimsy mattress and then skipped downstairs. Cleaning kitchens was nothing new for me, but if I was the real princess, I'd be appalled at Mama Ruth ordering me around.

"But I'm not the princess, am I?" I smirked as I entered the kitchen and looked for a rag.