To Catch a King

9.

The mayor of Challus was supposedly cruel, a merciless man who had no qualms about using deadly force to get what he wanted. The mayor of Challus was also supposedly rather good, much too good to be running a corrupt place such as Challus. The elderly said that he was a visionary while the young people deemed the man a tyrant.

Jask wasn’t sure which one the man was, and neither was Andreas. To Andreas, the man looked shifty. From going to the large, impressive brick building that was his home to the pristine white waiting room that was his office, Andreas had a bad feeling.

The man himself wasn’t horrible: he was of average build and height, with medium-sized brown eyes and balding. His skin was the color of old paper and his voice was gravelly, as if he’d been smoking pipes since he was a young boy.

What got Jask was the suit the mayor wore. Mayor Talondale was his name. When Andreas and Jask were summoned into the man’s office, Jask expected to see an average suit for the average man. Not one of the finest thread money could buy, not one with a golden lapel and was matched with the most expensive of shoes. That’s what tipped her off.

She narrowed her eyes as Mayor Talondale greeted the two as if they were old friends. They weren’t and the amount of money spent to buy that stupidly expensive suit was obscene. Inwardly, it distressed her. Challus was a clean city, it was a big city. But there was no money in that city. The people were poor, the money run by selfish aristocrats, and their “police force” were power-hungry, corrupted beasts.

“Welcome,” Talondale announced. He looked first and Andreas, and then to Jask, looking her up and down. The two young adults felt anger and disgust churning in the pit of their stomachs. “Please, sit.”

The both of them sat and glanced at each other, suspicious. Talondale folded his fingers together and smiled, taking his seat at his overly large desk.

“I understand you have some questions,” he started. “Concerning an associate of mine. Seras was his name.”

Andreas nodded. “Correct. We’re just a bit curious—we know that he arrived with three of the Elite Soldiers of his country. The thing is, when we met him, they seemed to be missing.”

Talondale nodded, eyeing Jask. His gaze felt slimy, and she fought the urge to squirm until he looked back and Andreas.

“Yes, he did,” answered the mayor. “The thing is, I don’t know where they went. We met once, and then they disappeared and never came back.” Talondale looked curious. “If I may ask—”

“You may not.”

“—but why are you asking about Seras’ companions?”

Andreas stood and Jask followed, along with Talondale. He bowed toward them. The Elite badge glinted in the light and Jask saw the flicker of a grimace. It was gone quickly, so she pretended not to notice, instead focusing on the shadows that had appeared under the door.

“Royal business,” Andreas answered shortly. He turned to Jask and raised an eyebrow when he noticed the somewhat stricken look on her face.

“Everything alright?” he asked, confused.

Jask glanced at Talondale and smiled. He was looking intently at her. She looked back at Andreas.

“You know about dramatic irony, yes?”

Andreas looked confused for a moment, and then Jask’s eyes flickered to the bottom of the door and his followed. The shadows of feet under the door made him glare at Talondale. Apparently thinking the same thing, they headed ran.

The door burst open as soon as they started, but the two were already gaining momentum as they headed in Talondale’s direction. When arriving in the office, the two of them had noticed that Talondale sat in front of a window, and beyond that window was the rooftop of a building. A perfect place to escape if need be.

And the need was dire. The feet that had been outside the door were the feet of Enforcers, most likely called by Talondale when he had arranged for the three of them to meet. The man in question looked terrified as the two Elite Soldiers ran toward him, and then shrieked as they burst through the window.

Rolling when they landed, neither of the two looked back as they ran. All they needed to do was get away from the Enforcers that seemed to be chasing them and back to see Alice and get their things.

Jask knew that neither of them could split up ad meet together later. It was nearly mid-day, and at this time of day Enforcers were bound to be out in full force. And if they caught a look at her partner’s face, then he was practically doomed. Gossip traveled through Challus quickly and everyone would be on the lookout for him.

They jumped into the open window of an abandoned building and quickly headed for the stairs. Andreas, not as nimble-footed as Jask, tripped going down and Jask jumped over him before turning back to help him. She heard the shouts of the Enforcers as they clamored into the building.

One appeared at the head of the stairs and pointed at them. “Found them!” A horde of others, with their mandatory swords swinging about, appeared behind the one that had found the two.

Jask cursed. They would probably have to fight. When Andreas was upright, she pulled him along and tried to go as fast as she could to the exit, as the building was only two stories. She could hear the Enforcers stumbling down the stairs behind them and cursed again.

When they finally finished going down the seemingly endless stairs, they stopped. The two of them were tired, and they were not ready to see the three black-cloaked figures in front of them. The clothing they wore was much like Jask’s, but instead of a hood there was a wrap-around cloth that only left their eyes visible. Each of their eyes widened when they saw the two figures stumble down the stairs in front of them. On each of their masks was a white symbol, that of a circle with the number three on the inside of them.

A memory wiggled at the back of Jask’s mind and she fought back a gasp. These three people must have been the ones that came with Seras right before the Prince was kidnapped, and they must also have been the three people that Nil had seen on that night nearly three weeks ago, the three people that he had known were weird.

The trio must have realized that she recognized, because two of them narrowed their eyes. The third one only flicked his head back, as if motioning for Jask and Andreas to get behind them. Belatedly, Jask remembered that they were, in fact, being chased by Enforcers.

She pulled Andreas behind the three figures and the Enforcers came almost immediately after.

“Move,” one said. It was the same Enforcer that had spotted Jask and Andreas. Jask noticed that he was young, just a bit older than she was. It was pitiful, one to be corrupted by the Enforcers at such a young age. The same could’ve been said about her, since she grew up a thief. “There is a warrant out for these two.”

The trio didn’t move and the Enforcers attacked. Jask widened her eyes. They had no provocation at all, and she knew that if they were in Hena, these Enforcers would immediately be stripped of their rank and left blacklisted by the Royal Family.

The two Elite Soldiers watched as two of the black-cloaked men fought off the Enforcers, which must have been numbered at ten or a bit less. The cloaked men were fighting the Enforcers with no problem at all.

“Come.” Jask tore her gaze away from the fight to the one cloaked figure that had stayed behind. “We were instructed to help you by our boss, just in case he was killed.” The masked figured cocked his head. “Especially the woman.”

Jask’s eyes widened and Andreas took a step back, obviously figuring out the same thing she did: that these men were the same ones who kidnapped the prince. There was no other chance to get away, though, Jask realized, and she pulled her reluctant partner with her as she followed behind the masked man.

Once they got outside, the man led them into an alleyway and stopped. He bowed. Jask was confused. She had belatedly realized what the man had said before they followed him, and she stepped forward.

“What do you mean, especially me?” she demanded. The masked man looked at Andreas, who gave his head a small shake. “What are you talking about?”

The masked figured bowed again and ignored what Jask said. She huffed and crossed her arms. Andreas fought the urge to chuckle.

“All will be revealed in due time,” the masked man said, and he started walking away. Jask turned to look at Andreas, her face exasperated, and then followed the man.

“So this masked man basically pulled the two of you from being attacked by Enforcers and you don’t say thank you?” Alice asked, deadpan. “Are you an idiot?”

Andreas chuckled and Jask glared at him. Because of the statement that man had said just a few hours before, she was now wracking her brain, trying to figure out what the man had been talking about. She had no inkling of even a possibility of what the man could even be talking about.

Andreas did, though, and she was going to confront him about it. Just as soon as they were on the road to Talehaven, though.

Talehaven.

It was a place she’d heard of, but never had the desire to go to. Most rumors said that Talehaven was full of criminal Natives who raped and pillaged, but that was something she’d never believed. The Natives that she had met—and she had met quite a few in her line of work—had been sweet to the core and had taken care of her. The Natives weren’t a malicious people. They spoke of Talehaven with fondness; in that city, there was a low crime rate, everyone stuck together, and they were all one big, happy family.

It made Jask sick. As a person who’d lost the only family she had and didn’t know who her parents were, the idea of people celebrating the family life with others had started to disgust her. She wished for it sometimes, but she saw the hassle that went with it and wanted to avoid that.

Alice had finished talking and dismissed the two. Jask went to the room that Andreas had forced her to take and grabbed her things. Compared to Andreas, she didn’t have a lot. Just two tunics, a couple of breeches, her weapons, and her thieving outfit. Andreas had plenty: plenty of herbs from when they were in the forest and Amersen Fields, three changes of clothing, an abundance of hairties, his sword, bow and arrows, books, parchment, and quills, and a host of other things that may or may not help them on their journey.

Jask had thought that soldiers were minimalists, but clearly she’d been wrong.

Within the hour, they had been ready to go. While Jask and Andreas had gone to meet the mayor (Jask was still stinging from the fact that he had called Enforcers on them although she and her companion were Elite Soldiers), Alice had gone out to the market to get them more supplies. Those supplies (food, a couple of water pouches already filled with water, and matches) went into Jask’s half-full bag.

Jask gave Alice a long hug goodbye, promising to visit again, and Andreas gave a reluctant hug as well. They made their way out of the city and then they were back on their journey.

For a few hours, neither of them spoke and just rode their horses, deep in thought. Then, as the sun started to set and they set up camp at the base of a hill, Jask was the first to speak.

“You know who my parents are,” she deadpanned.

Andreas dropped the sticks that he was holding for their fire and gaped. “What?”

“My parents,” Jask repeated. “You know about them.”

Andreas rubbed his arm, nervous. That was a telltale sign that he knew something, and Jask narrowed her eyes. It would be nice to push him into telling her what he knew, but she knew that he’d push right back. And they had to stay focused on the mission. They’d been off-track for a while, and Andreas had sent Lukas a letter telling of the information they’d found nearly two days ago.

“I’m not telling you yet,” Andreas said, sitting. “When we get to Talehaven, I will, but we need to focus on Victor. Want to compile the information that we have?”

So Andreas was thinking the same thing that half of her brain was: Victor. They needed to keep watch for him. Jask heard soft footfalls and low breathing and turned. The three men that they had encountered earlier had just walked up. She narrowed her eyes. Were they following her?

“We have the information that you inquire of,” one said. Jask raised an eyebrow. “But your friend is right in not telling you. We shall, however, tell you of your prince.”

Andreas looked at Jask and she nodded. She was fine with these people; she seemed to trust them not to kill them. Warily, he started making the fire before going off to hunt. He brought back five birds, and the masked figures helped de-feather and cook them while Jask ventured off, away from the blood and guts. He smiled at the memory of her watching him gut a deer—though he was used to the smell and nastiness of it, it was easy to tell that she wasn’t.

When it was time to eat, the men finally took off their masks. Andreas wasn’t surprised to see that they had pale skin; the assassin that had stabbed Jask was the same. Two of the masked figures had been men, and the third was a woman. They introduced themselves: the first speaker was brown haired with brown eyes, and he was Way.

The second speaker was the other man, the one who had usually spoken to the both of them. This man was also pale, but he had black hair and blue eyes instead. His name was Wick.

The third speaker was a woman. She called herself Red, and Andreas could see how: she had long strawberry blonde hair that tumbled from her helmet, and dark brown eyes.

“Now that introductions are over,” Wick said, “let us explain ourselves.” He gestured to his companions. “We work for an underground organization that…influences countries. We start wars and we do things that go around legal parameters.”

Andreas raised an eyebrow. He’d figured as much. These people didn’t look like the type to willingly follow laws. Even still, they had information that the two of them needed.

The next morning, the three figures were gone. Jask was rather glad for that, because they made her uncomfortable. While she liked Wick, the information gathered from last night worried her. According to the man, there was a reason Victor was kidnapped. It wasn’t for ransom—no, the ransom would have been paid when he was first kidnapped and there would be absolutely no need for her and Andreas to get bumped up to Elite Soldiers and find him.

By midday, Talehaven was in their view. Jask was kind of apprehensive about entering the city. Sure, it was Andreas’ home, but she’d never been in an area that she didn’t know the schematics of—she’d felt the same apprehension in Daemis and Challus. If something happened, she wouldn’t know how to successfully escape or get to safety. A quick glance at Andreas showed her nothing: his face held mild excitement, happiness, and a bit of fear. She didn’t know why; he lived there for most of his life.

Before they reached the gate, Andreas stopped the horses. He took a breath before turning to look at Jask.

“Before we enter, let me say that I hope you enjoy this place,” he gave a small smile. “We’re very welcoming, though no one tend to welcome us in any other place.”

“You’re not that welcoming,” Jask said. Andreas shrugged and fought a smile. She turned back toward the gate. She knew that these people would be welcoming, but she just didn’t want to go.

Her mind went back to why Prince Victor was kidnapped. The most likely reason, if not ransom, was to start a war. It was the simplest solution, after all. The death of the king should be announced soon, if it hadn’t been already. Though if the king’s death had been announced, then news would have reached Talehaven by now and they would be seeing a tense atmosphere.

Even though they were outside the city, Jask could already tell that it was lively and happy in Andreas’ home, even if the people were forced out of previous homes.

“And don’t mind my sisters,” he finished. “They like drama, and they may think that we are, in fact, together. In a different kind of partnership.”

Jask nodded, her mind snapping back to the situation at hand. Andreas’s home. His family. His entire city, which her country—their country—oppressed and forced into near hiding. Her stomach dropped as she imagined the looks that she would get.