"What do you mean he's gone?"
It would have been a less terrifying statement if he had yelled, but he didn't. His voice was even and calm. He sat outside the palace in the gardens waiting for his lunch to be served and sipping tea.
Next to him, Akir sat rigidly, his hands clenched on his knees underneath the table.
"How long has he been gone?" The Emperor asked.
"We don't know exactly, sometime between yesterday and three days ago. He was at work three days ago but no one has heard from him since."
The Emperor was silent and everyone around him, servants, attendants, and Lork Akir were trying not to breathe.
When the silence prevailed the Emperor turned and looked at his friend, his expression was nonchalant. "Surely, there's more to it. Tell me the rest."
Akir swallowed hard. "There's really not much more to say, Your Highness. After your dinner that night Tate returned to his home and was fevered and bedridden for three days due to catching cold in the rain. He returned to work that one day, but when he did not return the headmaster assumed that he was still unwell. I myself did not find out that he had not gone to work until last night. I felt something was strange, even if it turned out he was sick I wanted to check for myself. When I got there the servants informed me that they had not seen him in three days. They had received a note from him that he had returned to my household for a visit."
"Did you see this note?"
"Yes,"
"And..."
"It's hard to say, it could have been written by him or it might not have been. It's not like I'm very familiar with my child's penmanship since I've seldom been allowed the privilege of receiving a letter from him." His last words were waspish and he knew he should apologize but he was beyond that point today even if he was afraid of the Emperor's responses.
The Emperor actually smirked at him. "Was that a dig at me?" He chuckled. "Akir, you're awfully bold for a man who is delivering bad news."
The Emperor turned to the captain of his guard, a man named Locklan. "Captain, bring me the people I asked you to gather earlier."
The captain bowed and walked back towards the palace. As soon as he left the Emperor dismissed all his other servants and attendants but the guards stayed.
"Who have you summoned and what do they have to do with this?
"The Emperor gave him a look. "Do you really think I don't know what goes on in my own empire?"
A young man was escorted towards them. Akir recognized him as Lord Kiln's son, what was his name again?
"Young Lord Gillies." The Emperor greeted regally from his seat. He held out his hand to the young man. Lord Gillies snapped to attention and bowed over the Emperor's hand.
"Greetings to the sun of the Empire." He stood and beamed at the Emperor. "How can I serve you, your highness?"
The Emperor lazily at a biscuit and didn't answer the young man right away making him start to fidget.
"I would like to hear what you saw in the tavern, young Gillies. I've heard from my inspector that it is a riveting story."
Lord Gillies glanced at Lord Akir and Akir could tell he wanted to smile. He bowed again instead to compose his face. "Of course your Highness, it's the least this humble servant can do."
"'Go ahead then."
"I was in 'The Golden Ring' three nights ago when I saw Lord Tate."
Akir couldn't help but interject, "My son doesn't frequent taverns."
Lord Gillies shrugged a small smirk starting to appear around his mouth. "Well, that is where he was, my Lord. I don't know what to tell you there are other witnesses that can come forward and attest to this."
Akir opened his mouth to say more when the Emperor held up a hand for him to be silent, he closed his mouth.
"He was drinking heavily, a few people approached him but he sent them all away. The barman even tried to cut him off but was rebuked by Lord Tate. He was very drunk when he started talking to himself at the bar. I think he thought he was whispering but he was in fact speaking in a loud volume. He stated that he hated the Emperor and that he had no intentions of marrying such a rough lady as Lady Jillian. Then he started saying that he was planning to leave the realm."
He looked down. "I thought it was just the drink talking or I would have reported such treasonous talk sooner. Forgive me, Your Highness, I know no one should speak ill of you but I really did think it was just the liquor warping his mind. As to the truth of my statements as I said earlier there are many witnesses." He bowed elegantly.
"Hummm." The Emperor didn't give any other reaction and the smile fell off Lord Gillies's face.
"What about after?"
"I beg your pardon, what do you mean, your majesty?"
"The tavern you took him to after 'The Golden Ring.' You took him to the 'Black Swan,' am I correct?"
The blood had drained from Lord Gillies's face. He stammered but nothing coherent came out.
The Emperor, at last, abandoned his careless posture. "Young man, do you really think that I don't know everything that goes on in my Empire?"
The young man trembled all over. "Do you have more to say?"
Lord Gillies shook his head.
"Was your father involved?"
"No!" He burst out. He tried to calm himself, "I mean it was all me. I did it all."
The Emperor looked at him thoughtfully and coldly. "Well, we'll see if that statement remains true after some time in the South Dungeon."
Lord Gillies fell to his knees. He clasped his hands. "Please, Your Highness, mercy. It was my idea I swear."
"Take him away." He said to Captain Locklan. The captain motioned to two of his subordinates and the sobbing young lord was hauled off.
"What is happening?" Akir said feeling very confused.
"It's very simple, Akir, three nights ago Tate was kidnapped by our political adversaries."
Akir stood abruptly. "How long have you known this!"
The Emperor shrugged. "I knew almost the moment it happened. I have someone assigned to Tate after all."
"Assigned to him? Why!"
"You may not believe me, old friend, but your son means a lot to me. I didn't want any harm to come to him by his own hand or anyone else's."
"Since when do you care…"
"Stop right there, Akir, of course, I care. I also know that I've pushed him into a bit of a corner lately so I have been having an eye kept on him."
Akir couldn't believe what he was hearing. "A bit…?" He was stunned at the Emperor's actions. "Then how was he taken if you had someone following him?"
"Yes, it's regrettable. That person was unavoidably delayed while following Lord Gillies leading Tate to the 'Black Swan.' It couldn't have been helped." He took another sip of tea.
"So you're telling me my son has been missing for three days and you've known this whole time! Why haven't you done anything!"
He gave him a droll look. "This has to do with the noble families. I had to verify a few things first. It's not something I could pursue recklessly even for Tate Delmont."
"What if they hurt him, what if he's…." He couldn't finish that sentence.
"I don't think that was the case. Don't you think Lord Gillies was too interested in convincing us that Tate committed treason by blaspheming me? Instead of killing your enemy outright and opening a murder case wouldn't it be far better to spread rumors of a runaway, treasonous national hero? They probably dumped him in a remote location where the elements and perhaps drugs would do the rest for them. When we found him, if we find a body that is, what have we found but a defector?"
Akir was boiling with rage and it took everything he had not to explode at his "friend." Through clenched teeth, he asked. "so you have an idea of where he is now then?"
The Emperor nodded calmly. "A fair guess I'd say. I've already dispatched a unit to retrieve him. Don't worry too much Akir, I'm sure he's fine. He's been in much more dangerous situations in his life."
Akir swallowed hard, his throat working over and over. He didn't notice his friend glancing at him from the corner of his eye. His friend who for just the barest of moments looked nervous. Such an emotion was but a ghost when Akir looked at his Emperor and with a hard, tight voice asked. "Who did you send?"
"People he knows, I'm sure he'll be relieved to see them and hurry back. He won't want to worry your wife or that young girl, Aliya, by staying away longer than necessary."
"Who did you send?" He asked again, not giving an inch.
The Emperor sighed at being questioned twice. "The Shadows."
Akir's heart dropped and he tried cold all over. He looked at the man before him, his best friend? Was this what they had come to? The highly intelligent Ruler of the realm. The man with a thousand plots, possessions, and ambitions had made such an oversight.
Consequences be damned. For the first time since Kiy Ishna had ascended the throne Akir Delmont grabbed him by the collar and dragged the "great one" close until they were nose to nose.
"Are you out of your mind! The Shadows? You sent his old unit which specializes in assassination to 'bring him home?' What if he thinks you've condemned him?"
Kiy looked stunned and the emotions he never showed anyone broke through their mask as he watched blood start to drip from Amir's throat from where Captain Locklan was pressing his sword.
"Calm down, Akir. Nothing will happen. They are not going there to kill him. He will return soon. What could happen?"
Akir threw the other man back in his chair.
Captain Locklan didn't remove his blade. "Your Highness, what should I do?" He whispered so only the three of them heard. Disheveled, the Emperor did not look like an Emperor in that moment, he was trembling and looking at Lord Delmont with uncertainty.
"For now take him to the South Dungeon. Discreetly! Put him in isolation and I will figure it out later."
Akir Delmont didn't protest he didn't say anything. He didn't even look at the Emperor as he was led away.
Kiy felt strange, he straitened his clothes and ordered the guards to turn away. He was shaken and he did not dare leave this garden until he was himself again.