Damion's POV
My heart sinks as I process the news about Princess Amina's disappearance. Panic and dread grip me, threatening to consume me entirely. The weight of the eyes on me is suffocating, but my thoughts are solely focused on finding Rahua.
Without hesitation, I push through the crowd, searching desperately for any sign of her. I call out her name, my voice filled with worry and fear, but there is no response. The room seems to spin, and I can feel my breath becoming shallow.
I feel a hand pull me out of my darkness. "Damion, the Princess is gone we have to find her, or this will cause a major political problem." Ceaser was pulling towards the opposite direction, that I wanted, I needed to be to find Rahua. My eyes were focus in scanning the room looking for her.
The knights were trying to restore the order inside, ballroom. "We are searching through the Palace and the Garden for the Princess Amina, and no one leaves the ball room until further notice." Ceaser reports to me, "Damion!!!" He yells at me just like before when he was training me. "Keep your mind focus!! "
I finally managed to speak, "She's also gone. " I say.
"I know we are trying to find her."
"NO!" I yell. "Not the Princess, Rahua is also gone, she also disappeared when the lights went off. "
Ceaser finally stops, is voice lower, "Damn it!" He turns to me, his normal cool demeanor, is replaced by an angry expression. "We will find them."
"Check if anyone else's is missing. " He orders the knights, and takes one to the side. His expression was dark as he spoke to him. The knight left very fast.
I watch as Ceaser takes charge, organizing the search for both Princess Amina and Rahua. The room is in chaos, with people frantically looking around and whispering amongst themselves. The weight of responsibility rests heavily on my shoulders, and I can't help but feel a deep sense of guilt for not being able to protect them.
Two of knights return shortly after, reporting that nobody else is missing from the ballroom. I feel a glimmer of relief wash over me, but it is quickly overshadowed by the urgency of finding Rahua.
Another knight arrived shortly, while escorting Lady Vilahana outside where we were.
"Why am I brought here? What is going on?" She asks demanding.
Ceaser turns to the knight. "Take her home. And stay there until further notice."
"Wait, what? Why? I don't want to go home, I haven't seen Miss Rahua, I think she disappeared as well." Ceaser ignores her and again barked at the knight.
"What are you waiting for?" He his gaze was giving cold chills.
"No, I refuse." The knight tried to grab Lady Vilahna wrists and she grawled back. "If you dare to touch me I will have your hands on plate." Knight took a step back.
I have seen many cold expressions from Ceaser, but I haven't ever seen such defeated expression form him. He looked defeated and frustrated at same time. "Well, then stay next to me, and don't leave my sight." He says sternly.
"Lord Ceaser, I am not your knight, for you to order me around." She says that but still sits down with her arms crossed.
I watch as Lady Vilahana stubbornly takes a seat, her defiance evident in her posture. Ceaser's gaze hardens, but he doesn't argue with her further.
"We don't have time for this," I say muttering under my breath before addressing the remaining knights. "Continue searching the palace and the surrounding areas. Leave no stone unturned."
The knights nod in acknowledgement and disperse, leaving Ceaser, Lady Vilahana, and me standing in the center of the chaos.
Ceaser turns to me, his expression softening slightly. "We will find them, Damion. We won't rest until they are safe."
I nod, grateful for his reassurance. "Thank you, Ceaser. I should have been more vigilant. I didn't get to tell her the truth. She may be angry at me, I didn't have any chance to explain things to her."
Lady Vilahana scoffs from her seat, clearly unimpressed by our conversation. "If I may speak," she interjects, her tone laced with annoyance. "I saw something strange before the lights went out. It was a man, lurking in the shadows. Perhaps he had something to do with their disappearance."
Ceaser's eyes narrow. "Why didn't you mention this earlier?"
Lady Vilahana rolls her eyes. "Because no one bothered to ask, you were just ordering me to leave and then to stay."
Ceaser takes a deep breath, clearly frustrated, but he doesn't waste any more time arguing with her, I never seen Ceased accepting defeat like this so easily."Describe this man to me," he says firmly.
"He was tall, with dark hair and a cloak. I couldn't see his face, but he seemed to be watching Rahua. I found his attire strange, but before I could say anything the caos happened."
I gave new orders to the knights to be in the look out for for the man that Lady Vilahna described, and they left again.
" I don't understand why would they take both of them, I mean they have no connection with eachother."
"You are the connection Damion, maybe whoever took them is trying to target you specifically and they are just collateral."
"Maybe that's remaining of Rebel army." Lady Vilahana commented, she was somewhat lost in thought. "Now that I think about it, I remember Miss Rahua mentioning that something similar, to "real" the master mind is controlling things from the shadows. " She says as if putting together a puzzle.
Me and Ceaser exchange glances, knowing that Lady Vilahana's words held some truth. We need to find Princess Amina and Rahua before any harm can come to them. Time is of the essence, we needed to worry.
" Please let me through, I need to talk with his Highness." I could hear a commotion coming from a little a head.
The knights were hold preventing someone from coming closer to us.
"Go away! Or we will arrest you." The knights firmly say.
"You don't understand, is important, I need to see his Highness. "
I look over to the commotion, ahead of me and, is Kira. She was trying to come to me and was stopped by the knights. I walk over, my pace was faster than I anticipated.
"Let her come to me. " I order. She looked surprised to see me, I guess she is not used to see me in this kind attire. Her eyes looked swollen, as if she had been crying.
As she passes the knights, she throws herself down on her knees. "Your Highness, Prince Damion, my ... My big sister Rahua, went missing as well I have been looking for her. But I couldn't find her anywhere. She is not inside, (in the ballroom)." She says her formal tone stings my heart, I clench my fists in frustration.
I take a moment, to calm my emotions, before squatting down in front of her. "Kira, I know! We are looking for your sister as well. I promise you we will find her no matter what." She looks up at me, as I extend my hand to help her up. She cleans up her watery eyes and nods.
"Thank you, your Highness." She says.
I can't stand here waiting for information to come and find me I need look for her, even if I have do it myself.
"We found Her Highness, we found the Princess Amina." One of the younger knights came running towards us yelling in excitement.
My heart leaps at the news, a little bit of relief running through me. "Where is she?" I ask urgently.
"She was found hiding in one of the storage rooms," the knight explains. "She seems to be unharmed, but she's quite shaken."
I turn to Ceaser and Lady Vilahana, conveying the news. Ceaser's face lights up for a brief moment, but he quickly composes himself. "Good." he murmurs.
"Now we just need to find Rahua," I say, with determination. "Take the Princess, to interrogation chambers, no matter what she says "
Ceaser looks at me confused, his eyes glinting with worry. "What is on your mind Damion?" He asks.
"Is just, she was just found in the storage room? Why there? There's no one outside of the people from the Palace with access to it. I need to know how did she ended up there, if she saw Rahua. There's something strange. If anyone took her why would they take Rahua instead of her, wouldn't they think the Princess is more bargain leverage?"
"It makes sense. But don't let your emotions guide you, we don't want to cause any further political issues." Ceaser reminds me.
" If I may add," Lady Vilahana spoke up, "Your Highness, should approach this with caution, if you make her think she is suspected her, she may close up and it may cause more problems. In a more comfortable chamber would be the best place to interrogate her, I can go talk to her pretending to comfort her, and see what she says" We were both caught off guard by Lady's Vilahna suggestion. I agree with the new approach and we prepared everything for the situation.
I turn to Kira, who is visibly relieved at the news of Princess Amina's safety. "Kira, we will find Rahua, I promise," I say, my voice filled with conviction.
Kira nods, her eyes shining with hope. "Thank you, Your Highness," she whispers.
We regroup, organizing a more focused search for Rahua. The knights spread out once again, searching every nook and cranny part of the palace, searching palace grounds and questioning anyone who may have seen or heard something suspicious.
Ceaser and I lead the way, for Lady Vilahana to question the Princess Amina.
Before Lady Vilahna, went inside I whisper something in her hears, I could see her eyes widening. She firmly nods and makes her way inside.