My jaw clenched as my hands curled into fists.
The letter, now but a crumpled ball, encased within my hands.
Whoever did this, whoever took Laura by force, they would regret the very day they plotted against me.
“Your Highness,” one of the servants groaned.
His call pulled me out of my dark thoughts and made me rush back to him. As I arrived before him, he tried to sit properly but his body was too weak from all the beatings that they received.
“Please… Your Highness,” his teeth gritted as he tried to speak through his groans, “Forgive me.”
“Forgive you? For what?” I asked. He attempted to speak once again. But he stopped as soon as the pain caught up with him. “Good sir,” I put my hand behind his back, my other hand by his arm, “You mustn’t try to stand. You are badly wounded.”
“Your Highness… we tried… to protect her,” he continued to struggle as he spoke. “But… before we could get to her… we were… surrounded… by the masked men,” he explained.
Masked men? This could only mean that Laura’s abduction was planned thoroughly. Whoever wanted to take Laura ensured that no tracks of any sort would be left behind.
“If… you want… to punish us… we will… humbly accept it,” the servant added.
My eyes widened as I looked back at him. “Why would you think that I will punish you and your fellow servant? You have done nothing wrong,” I replied.
“But… Your Highness… the lady–”
“Nobody wanted for this to happen, especially you,” I immediately blocked his protest. I continued, “And you have said it yourself: you were surrounded, immensely overpowered by masked men. Unless you and your friend were incredibly skilled or had a muscular build, two are easily overthrown by a group.”
For a moment, the servant stared at me in disbelief. Slowly, he turned over, got down on his knees and knelt before me. His hands were outstretched to touch my feet. “Your Highness… we don’t deserve… any amount of grace. Your heart… is too kind. We don’t deserve it,” he cried. “I do not know… how I can… ever… repay your kindness. However… the very least… that I can do… is to kiss your shoe.” As soon as he moved closer to my foot, I stepped back and stopped him.
“Good sir, I understand that you are grateful. But there is no need for such actions,” I said as I laid his back on the wall. I continued, “For you to express your gratitude is enough.”
He raised his head, shocked. He bowed once more and sobbed onto the ground. His hand still touched my boot. “Thank you… young prince. We are… forever… in your debt.”
“Please, there is no need for that,” I consoled him before the other servant ran over to us. He went into the same position. “Gentlemen, please,” I said.
“Should you need… our help… in any manner… we are… at your beck and call,” the other servant added.
I turned to Lord Cyrus and asked for his assistance.
After our eyes met, Lord Cyrus approached us. “Young ones,” he spoke as he walked towards us,” His Highness insists that you do not owe him any favours.”
“But, master–” the other servant tried to reason as he looked up to Lord Cyrus.
“Gentlemen, please,” Lord Cyrus politely replied.
The servants slowly sat up and composed themselves. They wiped their tears dry with their sleeves.
I didn’t have time for this. I should get to the bottom of Laura’s disappearance. I walked over to Lord Cyrus and said, “My lord, thank you for your assistance and for having kind-hearted men.” I continued, “However, they are in such a fragile state. I shall send for the Medicine King once I return to the castle.”
I opened my hand and out sprung a flower that bore my seal in its centre. I handed it over to him and instructed, “Show this to him. He will know what to do.”
Lord Cyrus nodded as he carefully accepted the flower. “As you wish, Your Highness.”
I nodded and returned to the servants. “I will have someone attend to you. And you must follow whatever instructions he will tell you,” I said.
The servants nodded in response.
I stood and looked at Lord Cyrus one last time. I jumped onto Wonder and made my way to the bakery.
Grandpa Ben should be made aware of the situation.
~*~*~*~
Upon arriving at the bakery, I settled Wonder by the window and rushed into the bakery.
A few customers crossed my path as I entered. Each of them had something to carry. I looked around and the bakery was filled to the point that I was unable to move. The smell of freshly-baked bread and sweat greeted me, along with the mixture of different conversations.
I tipped my toe in order to get a better view of the entire room. Grandpa Ben was nowhere to be found. I then moved to the side as I tried to make my way through the crowd. Gently, I pushed myself closer to the bakery.
“Grandpa Ben?” I called out in the hopes that he would hear me. “Grandpa Ben?!” I raised my voice along with my head. As I got closer to the counter, the harder it was to move. The people around me complained as they told me to wait for my turn.
My eyes landed on a small stool in the corner. I quickly stood on it and called out once more, “Grandpa Ben!”
Someone tugged on the hem of my shirt. I looked down and a worker finally approached me. “Is there something wrong, good sir?”
I stepped down and replied, “Is Grandpa Ben here? I need to speak with him.”
She looked around before she returned to me. “Perhaps, he is still in the marketplace. He went to get some ingredients.”
A frustrated sigh came out of me. I looked around again as I made sure that my eyes covered every space of this room.
“Is there a problem, sir?” the worker asked once again.
I swept my hand across my face as I grew desperate. I was running out of time. I couldn’t afford to waste any second. I turned to her and replied, “I must speak to him. It is absolutely urgent.”
“I can deliver your message to him if you want, good sir,” the worker smiled. She continued, “Just leave your message to me and I will relay it to Grandpa Ben once he returns.”
“I appreciate that. However, this matter must only be between him and me,” I politely declined the worker’s offer.
She nodded. “I understand, good sir. But aside from that suggestion, I cannot help you further. I am not quite sure of his return.”
I sweated quicker as my heart raced even more. On the inside, I was in utter panic. But, I couldn’t let the workers know that one of them had been taken. It would cause even more panic. And I knew that Grandpa Ben would not be happy about this news.
But, he has to know.
In the midst of my growing panic, someone called out my name. “Robert?”
I turned to the door and Grandpa Ben arrived with a basket on one arm. His cane was on the other one as it supported his weight.
“Grandpa Ben,” I approached him along with the worker.
“Finally, you returned,” Grandpa Ben smiled as he met us. He handed the basket over to the woman and instructed, “Here you are, Susan. My apologies if it took so long. The merchant tried to squeeze so much more from me. It took a bit of convincing.”
“That is understandable, Grandpa Ben,” Susan smiled as she hung the basket on her arm. She then gestured towards me and added, “Also, this young man has been looking for you.”
“Thank you for keeping him company, Susan. I will take care of everything from here,” Grandpa Ben answered.
Susan nodded at us and proceeded into the kitchen.
“As I was saying,” Grandpa Ben turned completely to me, “I am happy that you have returned. How was the process?” he asked.
I moved closer to Grandpa Ben and lowered my voice, “Grandpa Ben, I have something to tell you.”
Grandpa Ben’s brows furrowed. “This conversation seems to be… too serious. I will have Laura prepare something for us,” he said before he looked around the bakery.
My eyes widened as I knew he was searching for her.
“Hm, I do not see Laura anywhere,” Grandpa Ben remarked as he continued to scan the room.
“Grandpa Ben–”
“Where is Laura?” Grandpa Ben asked as his eyes met mine. “Didn’t you return with her?”
“What I have to tell you is about her,” I replied.
“What do you mean? Where is she?” Grandpa Ben repeated his question. Panic grew in his tone.
“It would be best if we discussed this outside.”
Grandpa Ben remained silent, unmoved. His eyes searched mine as he waited for answers.
Gently, I held onto his arms in an attempt to calm him down. “I will explain everything outside, Grandpa Ben,” I reassured him. Not once did I remove my gaze upon him.
Hesitation remained on Grandpa Ben’s face.
I would gladly explain everything right here at where we currently stood. But, I didn’t want a possible outburst from Grandpa Ben. I didn’t want anyone else to know about my current dilemma.
And I didn’t need too much attention on me right now.
The last thing that I would want to happen was for Laura’s abduction to be the source of gossip within the bakery.
Grandpa Ben shrugged as he gave in to my request. I was relieved for a moment as he headed for the door. As I supported him whilst we walked, we headed for the bench where Wonder stayed.
“Ah, this is your new champion?” Grandpa Ben smiled as he pointed at Wonder.
“Oh, uh, yes,” I said as we approached the bench. I stuttered for a bit as my mind was overwhelmed with thoughts. I didn’t know how to control my emotions at this point. I assisted him down on the bench and added, “We named her Wonder.”
“I can say that you made a good choice, son.” Grandpa Ben marvelled at Wonder as he continued to stare at her. “Anyways,” he turned to my direction, “What is it that you wanted to talk about? And where is Laura?”