Chapter 26:
Familiar Faces
The decorative doors to the brothel were slammed open heavily with a loud bang, and the entrance was flooded with Yursinean royal knights, all dressed in their light, navy blue uniforms. For the infiltration, they were dressed quite sparingly, not wearing their heavy steel armor plates, which made sure they would easily capture the intruders and apprehend them before they were able to escape.
"Welcome!" The room, having been filled to the brim with the excited female workers, was like a chicken pen during mealtime. There were bodies everywhere, and it was difficult to move through the two separate crowds, but the women bowed their heads and smiled playfully, all attempting to catch the eyes of the strong knights. Dressed and primmed, they appeared as if they had prepared for their arrival.
Captain Beau Laurent, having walked into the crowd of knights, stepped forward to the front of his men and looked forward at Theresa with a stern glare, highlighting his overbearing presence more than before. His eyes were fierce, and seeing him look so heavily at Theresa, Silas felt a cold shiver run down his back from his position in the middle of the crowd. He and Meredith had been separated when they entered the room, but fortunately the girls were quick to act and hid them in the middle of the large group, not far from each other. When the guards left, they would be able to regroup and quickly escape, making Silas feel a little more at ease with their plan.
"Miss Theresa, owner of the brothel Theresa's?" Beau's voice dropped low as he read the parchment in his hands with a formal tone, sounding cold as he read the contents of the imperial edict.
Theresa nodded her head, looking calm. "I am." She answered with a calm voice, seemingly unbothered by their disruptive appearance. "Why are you here, Captain Laurent?" Though Theresa's face was calm, her voice leaked frustration.
Captain Laurent smiled as he rolled the parchment and handed it to the knight to his left. "We have heard from trustworthy sources that you are hiding elven fugitives in your brothel. We will be thoroughly searching the premises. If the presumed fugitives are found, you will be taken and charged with treason against the Yursear Kingdom." He then looked at all of the women standing near the entrance, "Were you expecting company?"
Theresa laughed haughtily, "Captain Laurent, I'm sure you are aware we will be opening soon. We were simply preparing to welcome our first customers."
All of the women looked tense, staring at Theresa with mixed expressions of fear and confusion. They all knew Miss Theresa was a good woman, and none of them had seen an elf enter or leave the brothel since it had been opened this morning. Thinking this, many of the women shook their heads and frowned at Beau's words, ready to protect Theresa's reputation.
As the girls began to grumble, Theresa lifted her hand and responded. "Quiet, girls. I will handle this." Their voices fell as Theresa turned her face back to Beau and his men and said, "I will permit a search of the premises, however if any product is so much as scratched by your men, I will seek compensation for the items lost. If so much as one hair has been harmed on my girls' heads," Theresa made stern eye contact with the captain, "You understand what will happen."
Captain Laurent chuckled aloud, smiling at Theresa with a snide grin. "I could say the same for you, Madame, if those fugitives are found."
Theresa's lips never moved from a straight line, but her eyes darkened in challenge, ready for the captain's next move. Having been given the word, the captain waved his left hand and the men scattered to search the inside of the brothel. The sound of heavy footsteps flooded the building and the sound of wood creaking rang out as the knights searched the building with skilled movements, many of them even moving materials and other objects to search more obscure areas in the rooms.
Wordlessly, Captain Laurent walked past Theresa and through the room towards a small hallway to the right, where a small door rested against the side of the wall. Theresa's body stiffened as Beau grasped the doorknob and pushed open the door, making his way inside with heavy footsteps. Silas looked to Theresa, whose body froze as Laurent walked around the small room. Silas could only be happy that Theresa had them dress in disguise rather than hide somewhere in the brothel. Otherwise the dog-like captain would have sniffed them out, turning the brothel inside out to find even a trace of an elf.
Rumors had been buzzing for years that Captain Beau Laurent, one of the best elf trackers in the Yursear kingdom, used a special method to locate elves. It was through his ability that he was able to move up the ranks so rapidly and become captain of the royal knights within ten years of his training. If Silas and Meredith were caught by him now, Theresa knew she and her girls would be put in danger. Her eyes drifted over the crowd to Meredith as she shot him a look, he looked back with the same stare.
Theresa watched carefully as the captain moved around the room, lifting the protective fabric sheets and checking some of the boxes before he was satisfied and left the area, closing the door behind him. It was only after this that Theresa let out an inaudible sigh of relief.
As the dressing room was being searched by the other knights, Captain Laurent walked down the hallway, next to the stairs. His brown eyes scanned over the landing of the stairs and drifted to the handrail. With a sweep of his fingers, Beau brushed his gloved hand against the handrail and brought his fingers to his eyes, where he looked at the gloves with a hint of curiosity, like he was inspecting for dust. But, before Silas could relax, the man brought his fingers to his nose and sniffed the gloves, his expression tightening.
The veins in Theresa's forehead bulged as she said, "Could you refrain from doing that, Captain?"
Captain Laurent turned his head and fixed his eyes on Theresa. "You might want to fire whoever you have clean here. This is awfully dusty."
As Theresa's eyebrow raised in annoyance, Beau made his way up the stairs with quick footsteps, as if he were chasing a lead. Sighing in short-lived relief, Silas and Meredith looked at each other discreetly as the rest of the knights that had been placed to search downstairs made their way around the girls to different parts of the building. Theresa obviously was unhappy with the arrangement, but no one could tell how anxious she was feeling inside at the captain's appearance.
As Theresa and Meredith made eye contact, some of the knights that had been searching the downstairs moved upstairs, seeming to have been called by the captain. Meredith clenched his fists tightly and sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm the welling stress in his chest as he looked down at his feet.
"Miss Theresa, what's going on?" One of the brave girls in the back of the crowd of women asked in a small voice.
Theresa, having been standing close to the doorway facing the stairwell, stared up at the top of the stairs with her stern expression before she moved her eyes back to the girls and said calmly, "The captain is searching the upstairs. Let's hope he does not make a mess." Theresa was impatient. If it were anyone else, she would have immediately removed them from the building, but the royal knights were practically untouchable. She would not dare try to stop their investigation, as it would be seen as a slight directly on the king and queen. Theresa clenched her hands in frustration as she thought of how much risk the women who worked for her were in, as well as how bad for business this would be. Theresa promised herself that Captain Laurent would pay dearly one day for this embarrassment.
The sound of footsteps making their way downstairs rang out loud in the hall, and soon the girls were faced with a quick-moving Captain Laurent. His shoes loudly clanked against the hardwood floor as he walked slowly past the nervous women. His eyes flashed, and the smile on his face was predatory, as if he had found the prey he had been looking for and was beginning to toy with it before he consumed it whole, in a single piece. In his navy uniform, the man looked well over six feet tall, and his arms rested behind him as he surveyed the girls with the dangerous glint in his eyes.
"What do you think you are doing?" Theresa snapped from her position, her tone one of the harshest the women had ever heard, making them jump.
"I'm continuing my investigation. Do you have a problem with that?" Beau said back coolly, moving his eyes for a moment to Theresa. She angrily grimaced before shaking her head. With a smirk, Beau snapped his eyes back to the women.
We've searched everywhere, and we still haven't found them. Beau thought to himself as he scanned the crowd of nervous women, Yet the magic residue is here. Maybe then they're hiding in plain sight?
As Silas watched Beau analyze each woman's face, Silas wanted to shrink back into the depths of the crowd. Silas held still though, because he knew any movement now would attract the captain's attention. Following Meredith's lead, Silas fell into the actions of the other women and began to act afraid, bringing his hands to his chest with a nervous expression resting on his face. With the makeup on his face, he looked almost sweet, like an innocent lamb.
Captain Laurent backed away from the women and stepped closer to Theresa before turning on his heel and asking, "I am going to check the girls. Is that possible, Miss Theresa?"
Theresa's brows knitted as she responded tightly, "It's not like you haven't seen these women before, Captain Laurent."
The surrounding knights fell quiet as they lowered their gazes, some sneaking a quick gaze between Theresa and the captain before the man became angry. Instead of becoming angry, Beau's face changed from a questioning look to one of laughter. He laughed aloud, filling the room with his bark-like laugh as he laughed alone, startling the girls inside the room and Theresa, who crossed her arms in front of her waist, her expression dark as the bottom of a kitchen kettle.
"My, Theresa, you're quite funny." Captain Laurent smiled at Theresa before he turned back to the women, standing in the middle of the room, grouped together. "Alright, ladies, I hope you don't mind if I inspect you."
The women in the front of the group giggled, fluffing their dresses. The girls directly in front of Silas and Meredith moved closer together to block them from view with their dresses and decorated hair. One of the bravest girls spoke up, teasing Beau in a sweet voice, "If you inspect us like that, you'll have to pay us for our time at least."
The captain laughed again and replied, "Not today, ladies. I'll only need a quick look, that's all." Saying this, he stepped forward and began to walk in front of the women, occasionally sniffing the air around them like a dog searching for a morsel of food. The women in the group raised their eyebrow at this, some even sniffing the collars of their dresses quizzically to find what he was sniffing for in particular. The fragrance of the incense drowned out almost any and all smells in the brothel. Anything he would be attempting to sniff for would be lost in the air.
Silas felt droplets of cold sweat forming on his forehead, and his hands trembled as he clenched them at his sides to keep them as still as possible. Having been hidden in the middle of the crowd, Silas felt some sense of security, but he still felt an undercurrent of fear and anxiety eating at the bottom of his heart, like something had been clawing its way into his mind. Each sniff Beau took in, the more Silas's anxiety built. The captain was like a bloodhound, sniffing to find the trail of the so-called criminal, an elf. What if he were able to find that elf? Those elves?
The captain's footsteps echoed against the hardwood floors, and Silas held his breath as the man walked past where he stood in the group, feeling his heart stop momentarily as the tall man's eyes passed over the group, the man's eyes passing over Silas without a second glance. He took a second step, and a third, and Silas did not dare to look up, worried the man would turn back on his heel and face him directly if he did something or even possibly moved out of line while the man was within arm's reach of him. Soon Beau passed him, and Silas let out a shaky breath.
It was when Silas released his breath that Beau turned suddenly on his heel and stepped forward, walking into some of the girls without so much as a word, reaching his hand out and grabbing towards a person in the crowd. Silas looked up and suddenly, he made eye contact with the captain. The man's eyes were full of interest, bright, as his dark brown hair fell into his face while his hands were occupied with reaching out towards a particular woman in the crowd. As soon as Silas felt the rough, large hand grasp his chin, he unconsciously squeaked aloud in a high pitched voice, much unlike his own, and stood frozen in place, restraining himself from trying to shake off the overbearing man's hand.
If he were to try to fight Beau and his knights now, without his weapon and with little mana left, it would be a certain loss for him and Meredith both. They both knew this.
"You." Captain Laurent brushed his fingers across Silas's pale chin, the tips of his fingers almost brushing against Silas's painted lips. "I haven't seen you here before, but you look awfully familiar."
Silas felt disgust welling up in his chest, which began to overtake the fear he was feeling. "I came here last week, but I've been elsewhere before this. Maybe you've met me at another establishment?" Silas maintained a high pitch for his voice as naturally as he could, which appeared passable enough to trick even the perceptive captain. As soon as Silas said this, Beau hummed to himself and looked at Silas's face one more time before he leaned closer to his neck and sniffed by his collarbone, allowing the tip of his nose to graze the bare skin of Silas's chest.
"There's a faint trace of it on you…" Beau said into Silas's chest, as if he were thinking to himself, before he pulled his head back and pushed back his hair out of his face with his hand. "You don't look like it though." The second half of his sentence was so quiet, Silas had to strain to hear what he had said.
What is it? Silas was unable to think of what the man was referring to.
As Meredith watched all this happen with a cold, nervous gaze, he relaxed his body and flexed his hand, ready to attack at any time. Silas was trapped, and if anything were to happen, Meredith would have only a moment to act before he would lose his chance to fight back. As Beau leaned closer into Silas, Meredith's eyes widened, and his hand clenched tightly. He began to mumble a spell under his breath, preparing to strike. As he began to move towards Silas and Beau, Beau took a step back and smirked, which caused Meredith to turn and move to the side, stopping his strike for now. As Beau moved back, Meredith felt the tension in the air fall, as if the threat had been eliminated for the moment, though he still kept his eyes on his enemy.
The captain stood back and stared at Silas again with a curious stare, taking in his appearance with a lecherous look before he smiled towards him, "I apologize for the discourtesy, Miss-?"
Having to think of a name without prior notice, Silas was a bit lost. Staring blankly forward, adrenaline and anxiety coursing through his body, he could only stutter before the name, "Serafina." was uttered by his cold, stiff lips. Saying it aloud, it sounded shaky, as if Beau's actions before had scared the poor girl into silence. This, however, did not push away the captain. Instead, it seemed to intrigue him more.
"Captain Laurent! How can you scare Serafina like that, huh? She's only been here a short time.��� One of the women said, pushing herself in front of Silas with a pout.
"Don't scare her away now~!" The girls began to quickly protect Silas from Beau's curious eyes. They coquettishly called out to the captain while lightly pushing Silas back behind them, acting as if they wanted his attention. As the two girls next to Silas stepped forward, another girl near Silas joined in, joined by another woman, until Captain Laurent was surrounded by the young women, all looking at him expectantly, like puppies looking for attention.
"Ladies, please." Beau said, stepping back as the women began to surround him, "I'm trying to conduct an investigation."
"You know we're innocent!" One of them whined, which caused all of the women to nod, "Maybe you just wanted an excuse to visit us?"
Beau took another step back as he became flustered, "Ladies, please. I need to finish this investigation."
"You already checked all of us!" One of the other women said, stepping forward and leaning into Beau's muscular frame, "Instead of doing a silly investigation, why don't you have some fun with us? You haven't visited in forever!"
Beau cleared his throat and looked up as he quickly thought, "Alright, men. In formation."
"Sir?" One of the soldiers said as they snapped to attention.
"We're pulling out." Beau said as he shifted away from the expectant women, who cried and shouted in protest. Beau hurried over to the front door, readjusting his military jacket that the women had disheveled in their attempts to grab Beau. The soldiers resheathed their weapons and briskly followed their leader, who was hurrying to the entrance. But before Beau completely left, he turned a cold eye to Theresa and said,
"We'll be watching." He then hurried down the front stairs and hurried away, holding his head high as he tried to wipe the makeup he had gotten on his collar away.
Theresa watched with a sharp eye before she sighed in relief and turned towards the large group of women, "Excellent work, ladies. That should keep that nosy captain away for awhile." The women all cheered and sighed in relief while others turned towards Silas and Meredith.
The women then turned to Silas, many of them approaching him to make sure he was alright."You poor thing." One of the women said as she grabbed Silas's face, "That nasty captain was practically mauling you!"
"Thankfully we always see his type." Another woman said with a laugh, "Likes to put up a tough act, but melts like butter as soon as he's put on the spot." The women all began to laugh as one of them impersonated Beau's fleeing figure.
"Thank you so much." Meredith said sincerely to all of the women, "Without you, our heads would definitely be removed from our bodies right now." Silas nodded in agreement, absentmindedly rubbing his collarbone where Beau had sniffed, trying to get rid of the sensation of the captain's nose rubbing against his skin. The women all smiled and nodded, glad they could help, no matter who Silas and Meredith really were.
Theresa stepped forward and everyone became quiet, waiting for Theresa to speak, "Thank you for your quick wit, ladies. Without you, my guests would have definitely been caught." Theresa then turned her gaze specifically to Silas and Meredith, "The way looks clear, but I'm going to ask you to remove your outfits before you leave."
"Gladly." Silas said, the tiredness in his voice no longer hidden. Theresa looked at Silas for a moment before looking to the side at a door.
"I have some pressing matters I must attend to. I am sure you can make your way from here?"
"We can. Thank you, Theresa." Meredith said with an appreciative smile before he grabbed Silas and started to make his way up the stairs to the dressing room. Theresa nodded and quickly turned, clapping her hands at the women,
"Alright, ladies. We're still opening as planned. Please take a moment to ready yourselves, because we'll open soon.��� Theresa turned to one of the front women and whispered, "Go and check the rooms. See which ones are usable."
"Of course, ma'am!" She said with a nod before hurrying over to the stairs and quickly marching up.
Theresa then turned back to the women, "Get to it!" Which caused the women to quickly scatter, some still laughing as they hurried off. As the main room began to clear, Theresa hurried over to a door on the side and quickly opened it. She slipped in and closed it behind her. To even a suspicion eye, the room looked like a regular storage room, full of crates and dusty cloths covering unused furniture. With a stare, she hurried over to the rolled-up rugs and pushed them over with a small grunt. Below was slightly disturbed wood flooring. Theresa put her foot down on the wood, the side of foot scraping against the wall as she pushed down hard on the floor. After a few moments, the wood floor on the other end lifted, revealing a secret tunnel. She pulled the false wood panelling up with a grunt, then called out to her two guests that were hidden away in the tunnel, only to have her voice echo back to her.
"Alywin!" She said into the tunnel, waiting for a reply, which never came. Theresa's heart began to sink as she climbed into the tunnel, "Alywin! Clarence!" She grabbed a match from a matchbox in her dress pocket, then lit it. The tunnel illuminated in a small light, showing an empty tunnel.
Did they go further in the tunnel? Theresa thought to herself as she held her burning match, They definitely didn't get caught. The captain would have said something, or I would have seen something. So where did they go?
Theresa emerged from the tunnel and readjusted everything back to how it was before she disturbed it. She then turned back to the door and began walking over to it.
I doubt they left, so where are they?
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First, fun announcements! Hunny and I have tested and completed two compatibility quizzes for five boys and five girls from the main cast! Please see the google doc to take those for fun! Just a warning, you will have to tally your answers~
https://bit.ly/38vTwC6 = boys
https://bit.ly/3nJOuZf = girls
In other news, Hunny and I are shooting to post something a little special on Christmas day. We'll have a special announcement then about something we've been working on, as well as something for you all ♥ If it's done in time, that is ;; I'll be working hard for you all~! Thanks always for reading ♥♥