In the grand royal palace belonging to the noble family of Wycliffe, the young man sitting on his throne narrowed his eyes dubiously at the coachman who trembled in front of him, and his green eyes sparked with interest after listening to what the old coachman had to say to him.
"Kidnap, you say?" He leaned back into his throne, crossing his leg over the other, "what sort of hooligans will venture into my land and abduct my people? This is the first time my ears are open to such damnation, did you see what they look like?"
"N- no Your Highness," he shook his head regrettably, "it was dark, but there were four of them, and all dressed in black. They moved like assassins, your Highness. I've never seen anyone's footsteps so silent on the ground before, it was unreal, and they moved fast. They took the girl with them into the woods, your Highness."
"And this girl, isn't she the one charged for associating with the gambling business, and many other activities I'd rather not speak of?"
"Yes, your Highness." replied the coachman.
The young king, who was named Sebastian, contemplated on the words of the coachman. From how his guards received the frightened coachman, it was impossible to detect any lie, and he was bound to believe, since the coachman returned without his guards, nor the girl they had gone to get.
He glanced briefly at the minister who stood beside his throne, observing, and when their eyes met, a silent communication was exchanged between the two of them.
Sebastian was told the girl was not to be trusted, and he shouldn't tread lightly with her. She had gotten away with many illegal activities in the past, and there was a chance she was trying to get out of this one too in order to avoid trial.
Could she have orchestrated her kidnap to get away? He didn't know for sure, but he needed to find more answers concerning these four assassin's who dared to enter his land. This matter will be thoroughly dealt with before the situation gets out of hand, and before more news about his people getting abducted heightens.
"Where exactly did you say you were passing when this happened?"
"The Groveland, your Highness."
"You can leave." He dismissed the coachman with a wave of his hand.
Left alone, Sebastian pondered deeply on the path the coachman mentioned, and his eyebrows drew together to form a curious frown.
"The Groveland... isn't that the spot where the line of the Ancesgon capital was drawn?" He questioned the minister who nodded his head politely in response.
The line separating the Ancesgon capital from his kingdom hasn't been breached for five hundred years now, no one goes there, and no one comes out of there – that's what the separation of borders meant, but from how the coachman detailed what he saw, Sebastian couldn't help but wonder if the line separating the two realms had finally been breached by those unwanted inhabitants.
"What are you going to do, your Highness?" inquired the minister, and Sebastian exhaled wearily before maintaining his kingly composure.
"For now, send a few guards to retrieve the bodies, the rest shall be decided on tomorrow."
"As you wish, your Highness." The minister bowed his head politely.
✿
The next day was quick to arrive for a certain someone. Valda, who was sleeping to her heart's content on a big plush bed, had to wake up from her slumbers to face the world again. Her slightly opened eyes drifted to where the filtering sunlight was coming from, and her blurry vision gradually turned vivid.
She frowned subconsciously the more she gazed at the window draped with a transparent violet curtain, and her eyebrows furrowed pensively.
For a moment, Valda could tell something was not right, even in her subconscious state. She couldn't detect why her nerves felt alarmed all of a sudden, especially after waking up from such a heavenly nap – it felt wrong, because when was the last time she slept so well?
Instantly, the events of last night rushed back into her head like a tidal wave crashing over, sweeping away the tranquility of the present moment, and her eyes snapped wide at the realization. She was sitting up on the big plush bed, reflecting over everything that happened, but she couldn't remember the further details since she fell asleep on her way to the palace.
The hell happened last night?! She didn't know.
Valda glanced around the room she was in, presently wondering if she was at the royal palace already or somewhere else – but this environment looked way too majestic to belong to the King's palace! No offense to His Highness but this is practically the most beautiful chamber she has seen, but then why is she in a place like this?
Still in the process of trying to make sense of her unusual surroundings, a sudden knock echoed through the room. The door creaked open afterwards, revealing an extremely pretty lady with topaz eyes and a determined presence. Her light-blonde hair was neatly tied in a ponytail, and she wore a black warrior's outfit.
Valda knew she wasn't smart, but if there is one thing she's noticed, it is that the lady's outfit bore no resemblance to the ones at the palace. No worker in the royal palace has ever dressed like this before, and it brought a sense of novelty to Valda who continued to stare with unhidden curiosity.
The lady's ears were similar to that of a cat, or a fox. Was it a costume? No human can have such ears right?
"Get ready," was all the lady said before she turned to leave, then paused at the door. "My master wants to see you, so don't keep him waiting." And she left.
"Master?" Valda wasn't even spared a chance to respond before the lady closed the door in her face, startling her to a pause.
Well that was rude, what's with the attitude?
Valda was a little pained by it, but she shrugged it off since it was the least of her worries. She got out of bed and approached the window to have a look, and the surrounding outside was still very unfamiliar to her, yet familiar in another inexplicable way.
Maybe she should just leave. This certainly wasn't the King's palace, but how did she end up here in the first place, and will they let her leave?
Another knock on the door grasped her attention, and when it opened, a beautiful lady walked in with a smile. In her hand was a neatly folded dress, and there was an instant look of relief in the lady's crystal-colored eyes when she saw that Valda was awake, standing confusedly by the window.
Valda on the other hand, remained frozen, and her gaze darted to the two pointy ears peeking out from the lady's iridescent hair. Just like the other lady, she was wearing the same black warrior outfit that made her wonder if they were assassins or something within that range.
"I brought you some clothes to wear." The lady enunciated softly and dropped it on the bed. "Did you get the message? The young master requests to see you once you are ready, and I'll be here to take you to him."
Valda arched one of her eyebrows at the lady who smiled amicably, but at least she was much nicer in comparison to the other one who didn't even wait for her to say something.
"Uhmm…. This isn't the royal palace of Wycliff is it?" She inquired, "where am I? And was I asked to be brought here by his Highness?"
The lady she was speaking to shook her head with a nervous smile, "this has nothing to do with the lord's from the other realms. You're in Ancesgon capital, and the young master is waiting to receive you once you get ready to meet with him."