I was woken by tumultuous clamour outside the bedroom the next morning. The sun was still low in the sky and birds were only started to sing indicating that I had slept for only a couple of hours.
Shaph knocked on the door repetitively. I knew it was him because he was shouting, "Princess! Princess!"
"What's the matter?" I rubbed my eyes and suppressed my yawn as Shaph entered.
"Prince Jared has disappeared!"
I couldn't hold the yawn any longer. "It's alright. He'll be back. He's an adult."
"No, princess!" Shaph said. "This is bad! If King Julien found out his brother's gone, the relationship between us will become bad!"
And that was why I hated being a princess, a queen, a king, a president, or whatever!
"Okay. I'll go and see." I said and got up making my bed.
"Oh, you don't have to do that Princess!" Shaph stopped me from folding the blanket. "I'll get the maid."
It was useless to resist, so I let him deal with the tangled cloth and went into the bathroom. Two minutes later, I was sitting before dressing table, seeing my face turned kind of younger and feeling totally hair-raising, ready to have my hair do by Sharon, but it was Sharon's assistance, Ensa—I thought that was her name—who walked in.
"Sharon's still not back?" I asked her.
Ensa shook her head. "Not yet, your Highness. I heard her son got even worse."
"What's the illness?" I bended my head to one side as she pulled.
"Many, ma'am." Ensa picked out a purple ribbon. "The child's very weak. He's got many diseases."
The dressing and make up went very fast today. And after a few minutes, I was rushing out on the corridor to the Princes' residence. Prince Valentine was leaning on the doorframe of Jared's room. Everybody else was frantic in there. I bobbed slightly at him and, not waiting for his greet, stepped into the room.
Shaph came up to me looking desperate. "Nothing Princess! No letter, or notes! He must be kidnapped!"
"I doubt that." Prince Valentine said. He appeared beside me without a sound. "He's a big boy, you know." And he smiled wickedly which reminded me of the talk I had with King of Bila last night. Could this possibly be about the war? Could Prince Valentine was the one kidnapping Jared?
I could not let Prince of Keon knew my suspicion so I announced. "Search the castle!"
Everyone scattered in all direction per my order as Prince Valentine approached me. "Welcome back Princess. I missed you so much." He said with such sweetness.
"Thank you Prince Valentine." I promptly put on my act. "It's only been two days."
"Two days is almost like two years for me. How about we spend some time together? Me teaching magic to you or maybe some other stuff you'd like to do?" he said suggestively. "Oh, we still have the romantic dinner, right? Have you fully recover."
I went limp at the spot, "Thank you," and coughed trying to look ill, "but I am so tired after the journey," I rubbed at my shoulder as if it was still hurt from Leon's bite, "and I have a lot to tend to today. Let's resume our magic lesson and the dinner some other day." And I flew off to my workroom meeting Sir Liam and dealt with the pile of work on my table. Looking at the mound of paper, thinking about all the troubles happening, I felt despair from the bottom of my heart.
By lunchtime, all searching parties reported to me there was not a single trail of Prince Jared anywhere in the castle and even a few kilometers surrounded. Shaph and Sir Liam looked worried. I did not really know what to do but looked out the window to the blue sky ahead thinking hard of an excuse to give to King Julien of Cimon.
The sky was cloudless and bright. There was nothing but the sun and...hmm?...a pigeon against the azure backdrop. The pigeon was in irregular fly-path. It was as if the bird was flying toward here.
"The carrier pigeon!" Shaph cried out and ran to the balcony. He brought the pigeon back in with an excited face. "It's from King Julien of Cimon!"
His hand was fumbling at the little message-containing rod around the bird's neck and, when he got the small piece of paper out, handed it to me.
I read the alien language on the paper with ease and sat back. Sir Liam asked me what it said. I was not sure if I should tell him with a smile or a worry look.
"King Julien says Prince Jared's with him."
"What?" The steward and the chancellor chorused.
"And he asks me to go and bring him back to Coronale." I continued with the rest of the message.
"What?!" They went up a note higher.
"Apparently, there's a war between Cimon and Keon." I said handing the note to Sir Liam. "I think the King wants his brother safe."
"I understand." Sir Liam read through the message one more time. "But your Highness, it will risk us going against Keon. And we can't afford to be both Queen Silvia and Queen Roseheart's enemy at the same time."
I looked at Sir Liam questioningly. "Why is that?"
"They are allied in trying to take over Magic." Sir Liam adopted an even more serious face. "If it was not for Queen Nara, they would have started war all over this world long ago."
The room fell under the heaviness of silence. I ran a company handling all kind of discord and disparaging troubles, but not a single experience in my working life could hint me what to do with this mayhem. Or maybe it did, but I was too scared to decide as the consequence was not just an organization shut-down—it's the whole nation we're talking about, damn it!
All four eyes were on me without any more suggestion from two mouths below them. I stuck in a breath and decided. "I will go pick up Prince Jared." Pick him up, I snorted lightly to myself. Am I a babysitter or something? I finally came to the only moral resolve I could think of and before Sir Liam started his protest, I said, "But, not to provoke both Queens, I will go secretly and take only Shaph, a maid, and two soldiers dressing up as stable boys."
"But that's dangerous Princess! You could let other people do it!" Sir Liam finally got his protest out.
It's not. I thought. I was not the real Princess so it was perfectly alright if I die. Shaph could explain everything and the country could regain its relationship and plan what to do next.
"Not to worry Sir Liam. And it would be unrespectable to King Julien if I don't go myself, wouldn't it?" I said. "Shaph, please prepare for me immediately and inform Jed that I'll be away for a few days." I gave him a meaningful look and my steward nodded understandingly. Sir Liam started complaining about Jes being a steward trainee but doing nothing but staying in the cellar all day. I told him it was for my work and quickly left before more questions bulleted at me.
As Shaph hopped away giving orders, I went to change for a more casual cloth in my bedroom where someone I had not seen in a while was there looking impatience.
"Sharon!" I sprinted toward her with glee. "Haven't seen you for a while! How's your son? Is everything okay now?"
Sharon dared not look at me. "P—princess, I—I heard you're back so—so I come—"
She did not look like her usual self. I realized there must be something wrong.
"to ask for an indefinite leave." She finished.
"Is you son—" I could not find words that would not upset her to say.
Sharon nodded sadly, and I could not help giving her an encouraging smile. "Leave as long as you like Sharon. Do not worry about here. And if there's anything else I can help, just tell me. You can take royal doctors with you. Get as much medicine form here as you like."
Sharon's eyes were swimming. "Th—thank you Princess."
Shaph bustled in at this moment noticing Sharon, face in both hands. I told him the story and asked the rabbit steward to take the head maid to the royal doctors and arranged what was needed for her. In less than ten minutes, Shaph was back and I was ready for our departure to Kingdom of Cimon.
"Princess," Shaph started when I was getting onto a duller carriage parking near the back door of the castle. His ears flopped and sadness clouded his red eyes. "I don't think Sharon's son is going to make it."
"What do you mean?" I was shocked to hear such a hopeless remark.
"The boy's very weak. He couldn't eat for weeks now. And there's infection in his blood, he's got rashes all over his body." Shaph said sorrowfully. "Oh, if only we have the light of Bila."
"Light of Bila? But Sharon has that!" I pointed out.
Shaph made a face as if he should not have talked about it. He tried to avoid my persistent eyes and finally gave in. "She only had one. And...she used it on you."
I did not think it was guilt. It was the sort of feeling you get when you spend more money than needed on a worthless thing. I was the worthless thing. My eyes were perfectly functioning with glasses. Sharon should not have wasted such precious stuff on me.
I got into the carriage quietly. The best thing I could do was to return the Light of Bila, and in doing that, I had to get Princess Carla back ASAP.
Okay, I have a plan, get Jared back, helped Jes and gone for good. And hope—
"Where do you think you're going, Princess?"
My shoulders dropped as I finished my thought—that no more problem interfere, sigh!
Prince Valentine was the problem that interfered, and, weird enough, Prince Eldrin and Princess Elise were with him. They stood in line like the three musketeers waiting for my answer.
"I have urgent business." I said indirectly. "I'll be back in a few days." —I hoped.
"But you just came back!" Elise said. "If you're going away, we're going home too! There's nothing else to do here."
"You can't!" I almost raised my voice at the young Princess remembering her father's request. I couldn't afford letting Prince Valentine go too. He would be thetrouble in the war. "All three of you must remain here. I'll be back as soon as possible, I promise!"
"And why must we listen to you?" Prince Valentine smirked.
"I implore you." My head made fast an excuse. "M—magic has become unstable again. It's dangerous outside."
"How come?" Prince Valentine's bicolored eyes sparked a surprise. "You're already here!"
"I don't know." I said and looked away. "We're going out to examine the cause now. Please stay here, I'll be back." Shutting all the questions from the princes and princess and the door of the carriage, the carriage was drawn away in a rush.