Chapter 9 - Reunion

William turns to the blunt end of his blade and smacks the intruder's head, leaving him unconscious. John also engaged with his intruder and quickly disarmed him without any effort. William's Sense picked up another person walking towards them. He hears footsteps underneath his room. Then a trap door underneath his bed opened and crawled a woman. A familiar scent of flowers and lavender fills his nose. He put down his sword and knelt to the ground; it was the Princess.

The Princess held a finger to her lips and pointed two dimly lit lanterns outside William's window. William took a peek, and with his Sense, he could hear bowstrings pulled with the coughs from their archers. 

John entered the room slowly and dragged his unconscious intruder to their room. John was surprised to see the Princess but was well aware of keeping their silence. William immediately ran outside while John stayed behind with the Princess, grabbed his bow to support from afar if things got messy.

Assassins from a rival family. It was always have been like this within the Kingdom. Every political aspirant, barons, duke, or even the royal family will always have their lives dancing with the mercenaries of death. The Princess is known for her secrecy and careful ways to travel across the Kingdom. The boys pain them seeing her panting and coughing to catching her breath.

William stealthfully runs across the misty streets of Tarwood and into the trees where the assassins hide. As he grew closer to the archers, he noticed theirs shortens of breaths and mud-covered boots. William cannot see the sigil of any known houses on them. William seized the opportunity and attacked one of the archers. Unfortunately, the other archer heard William's attack. Before the other archer can turn and lose his arrow at William, John's arrow hits him in the eye, killing him instantly.

William then dragged the two bodies to the forest and began to inspect their pockets. As he expected, William found no notes or letters of the Princess assassination plot with them. He then returned to his room and finally formally greeted the Princess. The boys welcomed her back and asked how she knew they were back.

"I have eyes and ears everywhere," she answered with her usual cold demeanor, but the two could detect a smile hidden under it. They know she missed them, but they knew her well enough not to push it. The Princess then asked the boys to open the mouth of the two and began to smell their breath.

"Stinks of garlic!" John said after he smelled the two unconscious men in William's room.

"What of it?" William asked the Princess. And she replied that early today, the Royal Court held its meeting of the leaders that will run for office. The Lancaster, Einherjar, Corvus, and many other families gathered there. The Princess served each family a specific meal. Lancaster had the opinion soup, Einherjar ate sweet rolls, and Corvus happily had the garlic bread. 

The two was yet again, stunned by the Princess's ingenuity. Her intelligence was always an inspiration to them, but sometimes, it scares them. Who knows what kind of intrigue made her think of this way. She continues that after their meeting, she got word that they returned to Tarwood and hastily returned here. While they were gone, she made underground tunnels for her to move between their house and the stables. 

She did admit that she wasn't careful to cover her tracks due to her excitement to see them, and thus, the assassins managed to track her to Tarwood.

The Princess sat down on the chair and began to ask the boys about their adventure. William expected her to be mad since he left without saying goodbye, but her expressions, she sees to know that it was bound to happen. The two relay all of the things that went down in the mountains and why they returned. The Princess ponder for a moment. When William told her about the pagan runes reading for the Pentalium, her face showed her disbelief, but it was undoubtedly strange; it was still a lead that they could use. 

"So the Pentalium has found their way to the tribes too?" she says as she holds the paper for Eldric's death. She began to tell the boys of her findings. Over the months, she began investigating the Pentalium. She found none of that links it to any known members of the Kingdom, especially the Lenato Einherjar. She kept a close eye on him and his son, but none of their actions led to arouse any suspicion. 

"While you are gone, Duke Lenato and his son, Rolfe, frequently visited Tarwood. He provided them more than I have given your people. His actions were pure at the surface, but I know he is giving it all to ensure the people of Tarwood will gain his trust, especially since the elections are almost here. Despite the King and his monarchy still trumps every ruling within the Kingdom, he allows other families to exercise freedom and give some of the power back to his people." the Princess said.

Then Princess turns to the paper in her hand. "The handwriting of this doesn't match any of those within the Royal Court. It might be that whoever wrote this was once a rival of Eldric. A knight or else was once a fried within the Order of the Knights."

"Then we will begin our search there," William says with passion for justice burns in his eyes.

As the new day dawns, The Princess uses the secret passage underneath William's bed to ask the boys to carry the two unconscious assassins back to her carriage. "They will squeal in no time and expose everything before the Royal Court." the Princess says. The assassin was tied up while sleeping like babies, not knowing that the Princess was about to handle them to the most ruthless integrator of the land, the Inquisitor. One of the most powerful and trusted advisers of King. 

Before leaving, she then asked the boys to buy some fancy clothes and meet her at the Royal Court in three days. She will invite the knights of new and old to attend her 'special meeting.'

As she rode off, the boys felt amiss with the Princess. They noticed she was always short on breath and became slower when speaking. William pointed out that she exhibits the same cough and shortness of breath as those assassins he dealt with, and John brushes it off and says that maybe she is just tired from that chase from the killers. Whatever the reason is, William and John will know soon enough.

------------------------------------

As instructed, the boys have arrived with a new set of fancy clothes at the Royal Court. They never thought they would see something so majestic in their life—a building filled with blue-painted columns and littered with golden leaves. Purple mats and red carpets lay with the softest chairs and sofa in the Kingdom. Before they could explore the place, a massive roar of crowd and boing began to fill the halls.

John and William hurried to the source of the sound and found themselves in a courtroom overflowing with knights of the Kingdom throwing their apples and stones at the two accused men. Then a tall, imposing man with a pale face and angry expression raised his hand to silence the room.

"We have heard their confession, Sirs and Lords of the realm. These are not only assassins but traitors too! The house Corvus has attempted to kill the life of the Princess!"

Rolfe Einherjar entered the center of the courtroom and dragged Norwell Corvus, the head of their family. The Princess stands from her seat from the jurors' side and points her to him. "Inquisitor, before you pass your judgment, I would like to ask all of the realm knights to remember the oath they took: to protect this realm. And yet I almost died. Ensure that what happened to me will never happen to anyone again. Use any power you have to keep this campaign sorted without any bloodshed! Sign the papers and seal them with your house's sigil if you approve. If not, then God may have mercy on your soul."

The crowd yelled back with approval. The boys were left speechless as they had never heard the Princess talk this way before. Seeing her being a teacher to them is now less scary than being an active member of the Royal Court.

The Princess nods, and the Inquisitor waves his hand. Rolfe swung his sword and beheaded the three men in front of the knights. The knights clamored and yelled for the Corvus family to pay for their crimes.

As the knights of the realm began to clear the room, a servant of the Princess spotted the two boys and invited them to follow her to the Princess's office. The two cautiously entered a messy office full of books and the papers lying everywhere. William expected an elegant and organized room, like the Princess, but he never expected that it would be like this. John thinks the same and feels that maybe she is just a busy person who does have the time to clean.

"Welcome to the Royal Court." The Princess says as she enters the room. She ordered her guards to stand guard outside and asked the servants to leave them for a bit. The boys then notice the Princess's coughing got more frequent than before. The boys were about to ask about it but were interrupted as she John them an invitation to a ball.

The Princess will attend a ball later at the Palace but have received two more invitations. Since she could not participate in the other balls, she instructed them to go in her stead. The Princess believes that the rune prediction of Pentalium might be correct. If her assassination attempt signals what is to come, the Penetalium will surely strike. 

John is to attend the Golden Garden, just at the east of the Royal Court.

Since John is a better smooth talker than William, his wits and charm surely woo over the gullible merchants, bankers, and other wealthy families. 

"It did work on Ingrid," William whispered. John didn't take this lightly and punched William's shoulder. The Princess' brow frowned and reminded John that he was to take this matter seriously. She wanted him to exhume all facets of his charms to gather info. "Be attentive and keep your ears sharp. Those loose lips should and reveal something interesting," she says.

John agrees and begins to internalize the inner prince he demonstrated before to the tribe at the mountain. He did it back with Ingrid's tribe to gain their trust easier. This time he must use it to gather more info.

The Princess massage her temples to relax the pain. There it is again, that cough. The boys cannot hold it any longer. William asked the Princess about her condition and pointed out that she and her assassin had the same state as her. 

The Princess claims that it is the common cold, and many Kingdom citizens have it right now due to the seasonal flu. All infected need is a lot of tea and honey to calm their throats from too much coughing, and they should be fine within a week or two.

"Why don't you take one to cure your cold?" John asked.

"That's where William will come in." she handed William his invitation. "Lenato Einherjar is the largest tea producer in the Kingdom and is now in a bind. The prices of the teas are at an all-time high due to shortage. Bandits repeatedly stole his shipment on the road. Even with extra security from Rolfe's knights, the bandits always manage to steal a create or more." 

William's curiosity has now shifted to something more sinister. Wicked thoughts to freely investigate the Einherjar's place to find any clue for Eldric's death weighs heavy in his mind. The Princess knows William's impulse but demands that he not cause any trouble and keep his mission clean.

"It's hard to believe that a handful of thieves manage to best their men, especially Rolfe's knights. I suspect that the Pentalium has gathered bandits under their cause and now is attacking the Kingdom's most needed remedy." These words from the Princess sent a chill on both of the boys' spines. William is still suspicious of Lenato, but her logic seems sound. 

"Now, William, the tea warehouse is also located at the same place where the ball will take place. Find their shipment logs and get the next schedule of their shipment. We will intercept the bandits next time." 

William understood why the Princess picked him. His skill with stealth and his Sense will be essential in the night. He promises the Princess to do his best to stay out of trouble. 

William hopes that the bandits are with the Pentalium. He hopes the next shipment is soon. This time, William will be ready. He will get his answer and his revenge. Like the Inquisitor before the Royal Court, he will make them reveal their secrets before getting his revenge.

Servants of the Royal Court entered the office with the papers that the knights signed earlier. The Princes began the arduous task of comparing their signature against the one that William got the assassin of Eldric. The boys were stunned once again by her genius. She waved at the two and reminded them to remember that they were her representative at those parties. One wrong move, and it will be all traced back to her.

John bade his leave with a majestic bow. He exhumed with grace in every move of his body, "My Lady, I shall take my leave." His words ring with such conviction and beauty that the Princess smirked. 

"Spoken like a true prince," she replied.

Not wanting to be outshined by his friend, William winked at the Princess and began to run outside her office. Neither his footstep nor his body made any noise when he escaped her vicinity.

The Princess is restless about William's hastily attitude. She hopes William will act responsibly and take Eldric's word to heart.

"Focus, William," she ponders as the two leaves.

As the servants left her office, the Princess stood up and looked at the mirror. She rolled her sleeve up to massage the swollen red rashes scattered across her arm. The Princess applied for ointment and medicine, but none could relieve its irritation. She looked at the window to see fat rats festering below the gutter of the Royal Court.

Unbeknownst to her, Pentalium's attack has begun; none is the wiser to understand the danger the Kingdom is about to experience. William, John, and the Princess must brave this storm if they are to stand against their invisible enemy.