Fenyang's Pov
Funny how things happen. One day me and Zaffera wish to one another to never leave each other's side and the next I'm waking up to her disappearance, almost as though we wished such on ourselves.
The Palace is turned upside down in the search for Zaffera and the worried look on her Mother's face can only ignite utter panic. There's something they are not telling me. I can tell from the quite glances they give each other when I'm around and their constant assembling in my absence. Possibly discussing the very same enemy I've heard them speak of yesterday. The answer to my question possibly comes quicker than expected as a figure irrupts my office, held by two arrows at either side.
"Who is this man?" I ask walking towards the resounding chaos brought by them.
"A perpetrator, oh King." It's the first time I've been officially called so and a bitter feeling comes with it as I see Father walking across the door. I'm nowhwere near his caliber yet my title would suppose I do.
"Yes, we have seen him around the dungeons, oh King." Explains further the other.
I bring my hand to my chin deep in thought. The man is quite rugged in appearance, possibly no taller than 5ft 10 though its hard to tell as his bent forward because of the way he is being held. His scoffed beard tells my gut he's not the real threat itself but rather a decoy. What for I do not know.
"Was he found anywhere near The Door?" I raise my eyebrows, my hand now suspended in mid air. They nod in unison and instinctively I make a run to the dungeons. If my gut serves me right the real threat should have left hiding at the cleared pathway.
At destination I notice the open door and a voice coming from it.
"I expected you to be quite a lot less intelligent from what I heard from Zaffera."
Hesitantly I take a peek at the room and a guy not much taller and possibly similar in age is standing in the middle of it. He runs his hand over his ginger hair a few times as he looks around the room.
"How do you know Zaffera?" I frown.
"Oh I see she hasn't told you about me. Ginn, her fiancé." he gestures for me to shake his hand which I mirror confused. This must be a big twisted joke. It's the only explanation.
"You must be mistaken, for that would be me." I speak tryinv to hold my temper, "Besides what are you doing here?"
"Well, your 'Fiancé' has told me everything about the door and I plan on finishing what you two left by my request." He replies gesturing air quotes at the word fiancé which sparks a hint of anger in me as I want to punch him right across the face. I wonder if he knows it's the King that he's disrespecting. He knows too much to be making everything up and I wonder if he is one of the loose threads Zaffera hasn't mentioned to me. I know she had a past but in the little time we did have together we have not had the chance to explore it beside the stuff about her Father.
"Well you cannot be here. And I'm sure you are aware of that as you sent a decoy to distract the guards."
He shrugs with a smirk plastered on his face and proceeds to turn his back to me looking for clues around the room. Then out of anger I jump at his back and hold his arms tightly behind him.
"There is a penalty for trespassing the Palace and you aren't exempt." I speak slowly into his ears.
"Well..."he twists his around anticlockwise which painfully unravels my grip from around his hands and in seconds the roles are reversed," I'm not a rule follower, and I don't care about your penalties. Look around... without your arrows you are nothing. No authority to exert. And I'm much stronger than you could ever be so nothing is stopping me from beating you to death. Zaffera wouldn't mind!"
In a swift movement I untwist my arms from his grip and grab him by the collar and push him against the wall harshly. I'm very much aware of the fact that he is slightly wider and bigger than me in size, but I strongly belive myself to be more methodical and intelligent in my movements than he is. As expected, he tries to turn around and punch me in the face but I block his movements and twist his fist midair against its natural range of movements which makes him bend in two squealing in pain. His full body echoes in moving to the right and I take his moment of weakness to flee the scene and lock him the room using a plank of wood I find nearby and alert the others upstairs.
"We have a problem, someone has infiltrated and entered an old library in the dungeons." I hold my knees in heavy breath. To my surprise an alarmed expression is painted on Mother's face only after I mention the old library, which I specifically called so rather than The Door, and a knowing look on Zaffera's Mother's face. There is definitely something I'm not being told of.
"Are you referring to a tall man, with ginger hair and about 20 years old?" asks the latter, taking off her glasses and rubbing her arms together not looking up at me once.
I nod.
"Ginn came much earlier than I expected him to.", she simply heaves departing the room.
"Son, call in the guards to imprison him in a cell furderst away form the Old Library."
I do as I'm told and the arrows quickly rush down to the dungeons, but not long after they rise back here with a discouraged look.
"King, the prisoner has escaped!"