“What the hell were you laughing at?” Elijah hissed. Sahab put his hand to his mouth to stop him from starting again.
“It was your face when she came out, you opened your eyes really wide to hide the fact you had been sleeping!” His voice was wheezing as he spoke.
“Shut up.” Elijah turned his back on his friend as he tried to ignore the deep breaths he was taking. His face couldn’t have been that funny. “Seriously,” Eli spun back around, “stop laughing, for god’s sake.”
“Okay,” Sahab said with deep breaths. “I should be alright now,” he nodded his head as he spoke. “Where are we escorting her anyway?”
“Have you been asleep too? To breakfast with her parents.” Elijah tapped his palm to his head.
The door opened, and the princess emerged from her room behind two of her ladies. Elijah stepped to the side and took a bow, Sahab followed his actions. The ladies giggled, which didn’t make a difference to Elijah, but it made him look up, catching Sienna’s eye. He watched her cheeks flush a light shade of pink and smiled as he looked back down.
“You may rise,” Princess Sienna said once her bedroom door was closed. “We are eating breakfast in the gardens today, please escort me there.”
“Of course, Your Highness. Which garden is it?” Sahab asked.
“The one in the middle of the castle grounds. Father has already planned to have extra guards on each of the doors.”
He breathed out a breath of relief. “I’ll take the lead.” He nodded to Sahab.
The five of them walked with a quick pace to the gardens. After the attack in the village, Elijah thought it would be best if they did not see Princess Sienna through the glass windows that spanned most of the front face of the castle. He felt a lot more confident with Sienna’s safety by taking the scenic route to breakfast, despite the constant whispers from the maids.
Once they reached the inner gardens, the ones where Sienna had been poisoned, Elijah and Sahab stood either side of the door and bowed. Princess Sienna thanked them both, and she went inside to take her seat. As he watched her enter, Elijah noticed Jaxon and Merrick were sitting at the table with King Roderick and Queen Valerie.
“You better go in,” a familiar voice said from behind. Elijah turned to see Besk and a guard Elijah had recently come to know as Erleon.
“I’m supposed to guard the door?” Elijah said, questioning orders. “Princess Sienna said we were to stay here.”
“Be that as it may, King Roderick will call you in. There has been a development with an Agent of Cyran. We actually have one on our side now,” Besk said. Erleon nodded in agreement and stood in Sahab’s place.
“Am I required inside as well?” Elijah’s friend asked.
“I am not sure,” Besk admitted. “We were asked to replace you both…”
Before Besk could say any more, Merrick opened the door. “You two, get in here.”
Elijah swallowed hard. Something was wrong. He could see it written all over Merrick’s stony face.
“Ah Elijah, thank you for escorting Princess Sienna in. Take a seat, your friend as well,” King Roderick said. “There has been a development, and they have informed me of some news that I believe we should share only with the people in this room.”
Elijah looked around. All the doors were closed, guards faced away from the gardens, and the only people sitting inside were either people he had to protect, or people he trusted. Something was very wrong.
“What’s happened?” He asked.
“His Royal Highness, Prince Oliver of Galaun has been murdered.”
There was a clatter of metal on metal. Sienna had dropped her spoon.
“Did this really need to be said over breakfast?” The queen scolded. “You know Sienna has a delicate stomach. Especially when it comes to family.”
“I’m fine mother, I just wasn’t expecting that.”
The king cleared his throat and sighed. “Since this news arrived last night, we are having to move up our plans. Merrick and I have agreed that everyone in this room needs to know, the boy we are bringing here is a fake.”
Sienna’s eyes were fixed on her father. She hung on his every word and Elijah’s mouth dried up.
“A fake?” Queen Valerie’s eyes flickered to Elijah. “Are you sure you want everyone here to know this?”
King Roderick looked around the room. Apart from a few guards and Sienna, everyone in the room already knew his secret. “Yes, I am sure. We can’t hide him forever, Valerie. We’ve done it for long enough.”
“What are you talking about?” Sienna asked.
“The real prince is alive, he’s sitting right there.” King Roderick pointed directly at him. Elijah’s stomach turned, and he felt sick.
He avoided looking up from the table. The feeling of eyes all over him made him shiver.
“Wait, what?” He took a deep breath as she spoke. “This isn’t real… it can’t be. Can it?” No-one answered. The silence rang in Elijah’s ears until she spoke again. “How long have you known?”
“Now, Sienna.”
“No,” she snapped, clearly frustrated. “You’re lying. He’s not.” Elijah forced himself to look at her and she stopped her words.
Merrick cleared his throat, “He is, Sienna. My nephew from my wife’s side. My wife, Ysabel, was Rhohesia’s sister.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but Roderick continued. “You are to be suspended from duty until further notice, please do not leave the castle unless instructed or escorted,” King Roderick said. “These are dark times, and we must make sure you are protected.” The king raised an eyebrow and Eli nodded in agreement.
“What? You can’t just take someone off the Elite guard? Even if he is who you say he is.”
“Yes, we can, Sienna,” cooed her mother.
“He is a danger to you and himself without even trying,” King Roderick said. The princess sighed but said no more. “I’ll assign two of my guards as replacements and Sahab can watch Elijah.” He held up his hand to stop Sienna’s returning protests. “My decision is final.”
She stood up. “You’re right. He needs to be protected, but I don’t need to listen to this,” she said before she turned and stormed out of the room. Not knowing what to say or do, Elijah sat still and waited to be told.
“I’ll go after her, she needs an explanation. This was a lot for her,” the queen said, leaving after her daughter.
After a few moments of silence, the doors closed again and Merrick spoke. “We are wondering,” Merrick started, turning the conversation from the pouting princess. “Have you found out any more information that could help us?”
Elijah sat still for a moment, wondering if he should tell them about the riddle on his parent’s portraits. “No,” he finally said. “Osmar was who I was going to get information from, but they got to him first.”
“What information were you going to get from him?” Merrick asked.
“I was trying to find out how he was getting information in and out of the castle,” answered Eli, fiddling with his fingers. “Then I was going to ask about this Master person they all talk about, but I never got the chance. He requested a hot meal, which is what I was going to ask for, but then Jaxon told me he was dead.”
“Along with any chance of answers,” King Roderick finished. He sighed and fiddled with some food on his plate... Now would be the time to tell him about the riddle. Something inside his head was still telling Elijah not to. Deep down he knew he had to figure it out on his own first, and he knew just the place to start.
“A shame, but not the end of the world. We can find other people to give us information.”
“What about the Agent of Cyran on our side? Besk mentioned it in the hallway.”
Roderick and Merrick exchanged glances. “I will speak to him. You tell Elijah the rules.”
The king left and Merrick advised him he would have free rein of the castle while they suspended him from duty, but he was to stick to places well-guarded.
There would also be a guard at his door every night. Afterwards he left to train some of the guards, while Sahab went to the infirmary to see Gianna and Leon.
Through his aimless wandering of the castle corridors, Elijah found himself outside of the library. His mind fixated on the riddle around his empty portrait. Deciding to take one more look, he headed to the table Lilliana had been sitting at. The books were still laid out on the table.
He took a seat and flicked through the pages until he found the one; he was looking for. Elijah had never noticed how blue his mother’s eyes were before.
“Master Eli,” Buisan said, making him jump. “Apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“That’s okay, Buisan, are you alright?”
“Yes, thank you for asking. I have been meaning to catch up with you,” Buisan sat down at the table with him. “You should follow the riddle and then come back and see me. I am here to serve you.”
“Um, thank you.” Elijah frowned, unsure how to respond.
“Follow the words, you’ll understand.” Buisan stood up, bowed his head and walked away. Elijah watched until the Librarian had disappeared.
Ancestral Knowledge lies, where the drapery resides. North West then North again, your answers hidden behind the glen.
Another glance at the words and something clicked in his head. Pain spread across his forehead as a vision showed him something from his past. The North Tower had a tapestry of the Galaun Royal Fields. His mother had been part of the neighbouring realm’s noble family. Not wanting to waste any time debating in his head whether or not he was right, Elijah dashed from the library to the North Tower.
It was easy enough to find. Once he passed through the archway to the west wing and headed towards the back of the castle, he came to a barred door covered in cobwebs. As he reached forward to grab hold of the barrier, he noticed a handprint in the dust.
Someone else had been here. Someone else was trying to figure out the riddle. He would have to be careful. The barrier clattered to the floor louder than Eli had intended, and he turned to watch the door he had come through.
With no sounds showing he was followed, Elijah pushed open the door to the tower and went inside. The stairs leading up to the corridor were filled with light, which Eli didn’t expect. The windows all around the stairs were open, their covers broken, and lots of debris littered the floor.
Up the stairs, Elijah came to a corridor with deep blue walls. The wooden floor echoed every step, and the gold inlays in the wall sometimes caught the light, giving him a fright and making him reach for his sword. There were only two rooms in the North Tower, one had a few bookshelves and a bed inside, while the other had a table and chairs. Eli couldn’t remember what this section of the castle was ever used for.
Everything hanging on the walls was covered in a thick layer of dust. Elijah reached up to a few of them and rubbed away to see who was in the portraits. Much to Elijah’s surprise, there was no-one he recognised until he reached the last portrait. It was of his mother. She was a lot younger, but her blue eyes gave her away.
Studying the painting, Elijah concluded this was the picture sent to his father. The one he would have been sent to decide if she was the one he wanted to court. As Eli looked up, he couldn’t help but smile. His mother looked so innocent. It was then he noticed her eyes were facing out of the portrait, painted to be looking to the right.
Glancing over his shoulder, Eli noticed something moving at the end of the corridor. A small breeze must be getting through one of the broken windows, as from where he was standing it looked like the corner of a tapestry. As he moved, the floor creaked with every step.
He grabbed the bottom of it and shook. Turning his head and shutting his eyes to avoid getting the dust in them. As he opened his eyes Elijah saw the tapestry, although still covered in some dust, was of the Royal Fields in Galaun. He had found it. Lifting it up, he noticed the wall was lighter behind the tapestry. At first, Eli thought this was discolouration because the tapestry had been there so long, until he saw the handle embedded into the stone.
Nerves and excitement took over as he reached for it. He struggled to push it open, but with one more shove it released, and he stepped inside.
“Holy…” Elijah was at a loss for words. He was standing inside a room that hadn’t been touched in years.
It was a circular room with red curtains hanging down over the three windows. Between each of the windows were bookcases stacked with papers and books. In the middle of the room was a desk. He stepped further into the room and looked around. Whoever this belonged to, they left in a hurry. There were documents all left open for any passing eyes to read. Some were still sealed shut.
There was a tray on the desk containing sealed letters addressed to ‘The King’. Curious, Elijah leaned over the desk for a closer look. Ruffling through the documents, he found that some of them had been sent directly to his father, Hector Kane, while others simply started ‘Your Majesty’.
A noise outside startled him, and he ducked down. Crawling over to the open window, he lifted himself up to peek out. Down below on the ground there was a patrol. Three guards walking around the tower. None of them Elijah recognised.
“Are you sure this is the right tower?” the tallest one asked, pointing up to where Eli was hiding.
“I only know what the crazy fool told me in the dungeon before I strung him up,” the middle one snapped. His helmet almost fell from atop his head. “The North Tower holds secrets. That’s all he said.”
“Well, how do we get in then? The Master won’t be happy if we can’t find anything.”
“Give me a boost.”
Panic flooded Elijah. They couldn’t find this place. All the documents and secrets they could uncover. Returning his gaze back inside the room, Eli noticed a trunk on the other side by the door. It was large, brown and had two locks on it. He prayed it had some kind of weapon inside it. Preferably a bow. Staying low, he moved over to the trunk, and opened it slowly, to not make any noise.
Inside, it disappointed him to find more paperwork. Trying to move some of it around, he discovered some throwing knives. They looked like they hadn’t ever been sharpened, but it was all Eli had right now. In a few swift, silent moments he grabbed the knives and moved the paperwork off the desk that looked important, including the sealed letters to the King, and threw them into the trunk. He snuck up to the window and looked out. They were getting closer.
“Surely there is a better way to get inside? Didn’t you ask him?”
“Someone was too eager to kill him before I could ask him anything more.”
“And whose fault is it that we killed him before we asked him questions?” They questioned the shortest one. Maybe these agents weren’t so blindly led after all.
Elijah took aim at him. The three of them stopped for just a moment, giving Elijah a chance to throw. His mind screamed at him to stop. This was a dangerous situation. If he fired and hit one of them, the other two would know he was up there. They could alert more guards and gain access, which meant he had no choice but to sit and wait them out.
Elijah dropped back to the floor and started looking around the desk. He heard them rambling to each other as they continued to walk away. There must be other secret rooms in this castle, not just this one. All four towers were hardly used. King Roderick had built an extension to the main body of the castle to hold more guest rooms, not that he ever used them either.
As they got closer, Elijah moved back inside and looked for a place to hide. With little options, his heart raced. There was nowhere to hide except out of the room, or under the desk. With time running out, he shoved the knives in his pocket and climbed under the desk, pulling the chair back to cover the spots on the floor where the dust had settled around the legs.
A few moments later, one guard entered through the window. “What is it we are looking for again?”
“A letter. King Hector was a secretive man and built hidden rooms all over the castl
e.” I wonder how they know so much about the Royal Family. Elijah’s ears pricked with the possibility of information. “There are rumours about deals he made with people, and Master wants to know what they were. Apparently, it has something to do with the Old Gods.”
Old Gods?
“They never existed.” The man inside the room huffed and walked around. From the sounds, Elijah assumed he was picking stuff up and putting it back down. A clink above him made Eli look up. “I found some keys, not sure what they do,” said the guard, calling out the window.
“No, we want letters, portraits, anything that will tell the master where the son of King Hector is.”
“I don’t know why that boy is so important. So far, all the marked boys haven’t been the right one. What makes him think this one will be?”
“What did you say?” The guard outside called. “Ramsey! Speak to us.”
Ramsey shuffled around the desk until he stopped to Elijah’s left. The draws of the desk were opened and closed but the bottom one caught on Elijah’s hand, stopping Ramsey from having full access.
“Ramsey!” The guard called again.
“What?” He stepped away and walked to the window. “I’m looking around, will you shut up before someone hears you?” He hissed out the window. “I’m just going through the desk. I think I found something, one of the drawers won’t open properly.”
“Yeah, that’ll have something interesting in it.”
“Be quick, someone’s coming.”
Elijah watched as Ramsey’s feet turned back to the desk, opened the drawer and took out everything he could stuff in his pockets. He slammed the drawer shut, knocking the desk, the dust falling on him. Elijah clamped a hand over his nose to stop the sneeze that threatened to give him away.
Once Ramsey had finished, he went back to the window and climbed back down. Elijah couldn’t hear what they were saying as they walked away but he waited holding his breath hoping by the time he needed more air they would be gone.
Sneezing, Elijah got up from under the desk and moved to the window. Thankfully, the three guards were in the distance and no-one else was around.
Kingdom of Lies (The Kane Saga Book 1) Page 20
