"Where did you get that information?" Claude asked Tayne
"It-It's from one of the bandits' but he died in the explosion" she lied
"Hmmm... are you sure he said Victoria?"
"Victoria knows everything that's going on in this kingdom" Tayne repeated what Beck said to her "I'm sure your majesty, that's what he said, do you know who's Victoria?"
"It's impossible..."
"What?"
"Come with me..."
Tseng stops Claude "Your Majesty, are you sure about this?"
"She's gotta see it firsthand so she'll understand how impossible it is, now let me through"
Tseng didn't say a word and they go in a different direction.
"Wait! Where are we going?"
"To meet Victoria"
----
They went into the deepest part of the palace, unknown to everybody. Tayne memorized every blueprint of the palace up to the latest building because Caleb wanted her to but the place they were walking right now was not present to anything she had studied.
"Are we still inside the palace?" she asked Claude
"Now don't go telling people about this place because only the royal family and a few people we trust knew"
"Is Victoria here?"
They stop walking and in front of them, a big black door stands tall and mighty. Tayne got an eerie feeling and her head starts to hurt as if her body doesn't want to go in.
"She's here,"
The black door slowly opens and inside was a dome-like laboratory, no one was present but the one that caught Tayne's attention was the light that consistently emerges at the center, it was barricaded with a glass wall.
"I-Is that?"
"Etheria, this is where Etheria was extracted and spread across the Kingdom"
"Wow, it's beautiful"
"It is"
"My ancestors were the first one to discover how this machinery works and it has been passed down to Saveria heirs"
"How is this connected to Victoria?"
"Because what you see in front of you right now is Victoria, she's the AI system that my ancestors created to extract Etheria"
Tayne was awestruck "She's an AI system?"
"That's why she can't know what's going on because she's just a mindless machine"
"But..."
"It's the truth, the system is named after the daughter of the first King of Saveria"
Tayne was disappointed [Did Beck lied to me? Well, considering I'm no longer part of them, maybe he just said it to get away from the situation he was into back then] she thought
"Were back to square one, huh?" Claude said
"First the slums next was the City of Starria, two opposite places. I can't think of anything common that links to them"
"Common?"
"Right, there's a reason why those two places were attacked, let's go back and you should take some rest, you were fighting the whole night"
Tayne smiled "Yeah, you're right"
When they turn back to the exit, Tayne suddenly drops down on her knees and her head feels like breaking.
"Uuuaahhhh!" she cries
"Hey! Brat, are you okay?" Claude runs to her
"My- my head hurts"
[Stop them. Stop them. Stop them] she heard a voice repeating inside her head and flashes of memory inside the hospital starts appearing again but this time the images were clearer. She sees herself inside a hospital room, she also saw King Blythe talking to her as she lay on the bed. When his majesty left her another person comes in and this time he was blurry, the only thing Tayne could recall was that person's blue eyes and he was smiling.
"Aaaah! Stop!" She screams and collapses on the floor.
"Oy! Brat!" Claude shakes her and with no hesitation carries her on his arms.
"Your Majesty, let me be the one to carry her"
"No, let's go to my room"
"Yes, your majesty"
---
Tayne slept until evening arrives, Caleb was looking for her the whole day to fill him in about what happened in Starria but Tayne was nowhere to be found. She was sleeping inside Claude's room and because he felt embarrassed telling Caleb about it he kept it hidden from the people outside, only Tseng knows where she was and Claude ordered him not to tell everyone one word about it.
He was not in his right mind he thought when he saw her collapsed and in pain, he couldn't do anything about it. He saw a similar situation when she was with Vincent. Now, looking at her sleeping soundly on his bed irritated him a bit.
"She's the first girl I brought here," he said to himself
"Uuhhhn" Tayne finally starts waking up
"Oy, brat.."
"Your Majesty? Why are you in my room?"
"You better get your eyes check"
Tayne looks around the room.
"Oh My Gosh! Am I in your room??"
Claude sighs, "What happened to you back there?"
He notices the change in Tayne's face, she was worried about something.
"The hospital incident, I'm starting to remember what happened bit by bit"
"What do you remember?"
There it is again, she's hesitant to tell him about it.
"I'm sorry, I'm not sure yet"
"It's fine, if you do want to tell me I'll be in my studies"
"Okay" Tayne gets out of his bed "Thank you for letting me sleep here, your majesty"
"I didn't have a choice, no one knows you are here got that?"
Tayne nods.
When she left the room Claude calls Tseng in.
"Follow her, but don't get notice"
"Yes, your majesty"
He knew Tayne was hiding something and he can't help but get pissed she's keeping it from him.
"What's going on?"
---
Tseng exerted so much effort tailing Tayne because he knew that woman got senses, she was walking towards the previous king's studies and suddenly disappeared when he turns to an intersection Tayne greeted him.
"Heya!"
Tseng was caught off guard and straightened his dark glasses. "I really can't keep myself hidden long if I'm tailing you Miss Tayne" he commended
"Did Claude sent you?"
"Yes"
"He has strong senses as well, he must have felt I was hesitant back there"
"Were you?"
Tayne nodded "I needed to confirm something first before telling him anything, I don't want to misunderstand"
"Does that relate to the previous King?"
"I'm not sure but I saw him Tseng, he was with me that day inside the hospital, please keep this from Claude, I promise once I got the pieces right I will be the one to tell him, please Tseng?"
"You know I only listen to his majesty"
"I know, but I don't want to judge anyone yet, I don't want to give him any false information, I beg of you Tseng"
Tseng sighed "Fine, but I'm not leaving you"
"That's alright"
Tayne knocks on King Blythe's door, "Come in" he answered.
His Majesty was standing near the windows "Tayne, and you brought Tseng with you, to what do I owe the privilege of your visit tonight?"
"I apologize for disturbing you, your majesty, but I just want to tell you, I'm starting to regain my memories inside the hospital"
King Blythe was surprised, "You did?"
"Yes, it's still a bit blurry but I remember the two of us talking"
"Tayne, do you remember how you broke your arm?"
"Of course, some guys pranked me when I arrived here in the capital. They tried to steal my bag but I followed after them and - and -" She paused
"I bumped into someone in the alleys wearing a cloak, I couldn't see his face but he has beautiful silver eyes" Tayne gasped "I - I met him, that browned-haired man, we engaged into a brawl that's why my arm got broken, your majesty, he's in --"
"I met him as well, at Mary's birthday party, he's name was Rell"
"What?" Tayne and Tseng were surprised
"He was with someone I know dearly, I'm worried he might be controlling him" he looks at Tayne "The day I visited you inside the hospital, no one knew I was there, I was just trying to check on how were you doing and left after talking for a short time, Imagine how surprised I was when I heard you jumped off the building when I returned home, but I knew you Tayne, there must be a reason you jumped and couldn't remember anything that day"
"You mean?"
"Someone wanted you dead and they failed"
The two guards were quiet, "Someone came in after you," Tayne continued talking to him
"Really? Who?"
"I-I don't know, his face was blurry but he has blue eyes"
"Blue Eyes? Are you sure?"
"Why?"
"Only the Royal family and the Ainsworth produces blue eyes in the family" Tseng explains
"Eh? Really?"
"It's kind of a symbol of the oath we had between families, the first king and the first duke made it genetically possible through the use Etheria, you can't find blue eyes like ours, it mostly passes on to the heirs"
"If it's not the Royal family then the Ainsworth's again?"
"Again?"
Tayne explained to King Blythe about the brooch they found and how she met and fought Rell in the slums. His majesty was quiet through their conversation and his face began to look bleak.
"Your Majesty? Are you okay?" Tseng approaches him, he guides the old man to his seat
"I told Claude they're moving but he didn't believe me"
"They?"
"The people who believed in the true king"
"The True King, Saveria?"
"No, you don't know this story because it was kept a secret by our family for thousands of years, the First King of Saveria was not really the true heir, he has an older brother, because of his discovery on how to use Etheria he was chosen by the Angels of the Abyss to rule over Saveria in hopes he will help the Kingdom prosper and it did, his reign was as what legends now were told, but his brother, the true heir was forgotten. That's all I know but some people followed him and for generations, our family always fought these people, Claude was not the type of person to believe such stories, he's always stubborn and arrogant"
"Tell me about it" grunts Tayne, Tseng elbowed her.
"You're right Miss Tayne but I believe the son I knew who was kind and gentle is still there, he just needs a push."
"That Rell guy mentioned something that someone wants Claude, do you know what they were talking about?"
"Claude is special Miss Tayne, that's why I want you to protect him, he doesn't know how special he is but you guys will understand soon"
King Blythe sighs "It's already late, Tayne, please, please try to remember who was the man who visited you, I'm sure he's making this chaos inside the Kingdom involving with the black flags because he wanted your attention, he's trying to lure you in hopes to end your life"
"What does he want from me too?"
King Blythe did not answer "We had enough information now let's call this a night"
"But your majesty, this is a ---"
Tseng grabs her arms.
"We'll do just that, your majesty"
It's clear to see Tayne wanted to ask more but seeing the old man sitting on his chair tired, Tseng decided to continue the topic outside,.
"What does Victoria got to do with this?"
"The System?"
"Yes, Tseng, it's not adding up"
Tayne was confused but it is only natural, loaded with so much information from his majesty must have put a toll on her.
"Rell, his name is Rell, I must tell Claude about that guy, he might have an idea how to go through him since he's the King right?"
"Probably but it's getting late Miss Tayne, the King must have been asleep by now"
"Right, I apologize, maybe I'm getting hyped up because of this, you should go to Claude"
The two separated when they reached the main hall. Because she slept the entire day, she was still not tired so she decides to take a walk around the palace. She met a few guards in duty along the way and when she reached the entrance of the garden she sees a shadow lurking in the bushes.
Thinking that it might be a thief, she slowly creeps behind the figure and grabs him by the neck.
"Ow! Watch it!" A familiar voice whisper
When Tayne got a clearer look at the person she was surprised to see it was Beck.
"Beck? What are you doing here?"
Beck was more surprised to see her "Tayne? Never expect we'd meet sooner!"
---- End Of The Chapter.