Mia made her way towards the empress quaters,her candle in hand flickering in the darkness and at the same time praying she wasn't caught for the emperesses quarters was off limits to unauthorized persons.
It was almost midnight and usually the palace should be asleep but this was an entirely different,everyone was out searching for the imperial prince.
Torches and flames were lit in the distance and the smell of Semonios and sound of chatter filled the atmosphere,replacing the silent sounds of nature that every night used to lure the realm into a peaceful slumber.
On this day the waters stood still and even the night birds didn't dare sing,the gloom and fright in the atmosphere was being felt by nature itself.
Mia reached the gates of Fiona's quaters and knocked on it to be answered by the puzzled eyes of carolene.
"What are_"
"His highness..the imperial prince has gone missing"
"What!...but he was with the emperor_"
"I_heard from a knight,he just disappeared from his father's arms"Mia paused to catch her breath,her chest pounding."We have to find him".
"How do we do that".
"Tell me everything you know about them...all I have to do is to tell the scarlet prince and he gets rid of them".
Carolene eyed her doubtfully but Mia's eyes show every iota of sincerity in them.
"Ren killed her majesty the queen of Urah after I told him she was after the prince,can't you see he isn't one of them,and neither am i...tell me anything you know please."
Carolene's head fell,her lips thinned unable to voice the burden in her heart,the things Gerald had told her the night before the hunt,they weren't what she could just tell anyone.
Although Mia appeared sincere, Gerald had warned her not to trust anyone.
"You still don't trust me do you?...look you think the emperor will let you live if anything happens to his son?...you will be silenced immediately"She hissed,her brows furrowed."If he isn't already pondering on doing so even while he still lives...The earlier you let the cat out of the bag to someone you trust the better...such truth could end up saving even your worthless life"
Mia stalked away in the direction she came from.
"Wait!"Carolene called out."let me come with you".
"Why?...what good are you to me if you won't tell me?"
"I_i will speak to the emperor ".
Carolene walked out the door,her hands tightly gripping the clothing over her chest.
"Then find him yourself !"Mia snapped.
"But before that...let's help how we can"
Mia glared at her unable to hide her irritation while contemplating if she should go with her or not but before she knew it Carolene had grabbed her arm and they were racing down the hallway.
************************
The Emperor's knight had checked every place he suspected the prince was being kept in Urah before appearing at the border,his last resort.
From afar in midair,Zero had watched king Max's features come into view at the cave's entrance after which dark emerged from the shadows.
He's hunch had been right.
What better place to hide a captive if not a place where the sense of smell,the most reliable way of tracking in Delvin don't work.
As a child he had spent the most of his life hiding from the imperial family at these caves,had explored most of them and dark had made a good mistake by bringing the prince to somewhere he was very familiar with.
The knight had sat in a forest at the foot of the caves till midnight waiting for the moment his six senses would urge him in there.
And after what felt like forever, Zero's black wings spread out, lifting him to the mouth of the cave.
He sniffed but couldn't percieve anything and at that moment he cursed himself not being a high rank semonio and unable to use soul sight.Luckily,he recognized this particular cave and was familiar with it's outlaying.
It would take sometime but he was sure to get to the prince,the time he would kill Dark if he had to.
No one would get in his way.
Zero searched a few caves before he found the right one and there the imperial prince lay sleeping on the icey floor.
His eyes were shut and little round face peaceful,without a care in the world.
For a while he held his gaze,the Emperor's knight took in his strange smell and eerie yet peaceful aura.
It was just as they had said,he was different from them,a demon shouldn't emanate anything peaceful,was he really the same child they were after?He couldn't see how such creature would bring doom,not that he cared,he had a different motive for wanting to get rid of him.
Zero's eyes studied the huge chains used to bind him,why would they bother about a little child like this escaping?His little cousin....was a child they all feared that had to explain the chains they used to bind him.
He wondered why they had spared his life till now, clearly they were planning something but he couldn't risk it,he wasn't about to find out what that was.
Dark's smell was faint probably because of the cold,he was closeby and if he wasn't asleep he should have noticed him by now,so he had to make the kill snappy.
From the shadows Zero stretched out a hand and a magic circle appeared,his eyes turned black as a fiery mana of black magic burned from him.
"Decompo!... return to dust!"he muttered.
But everything was the same,he could still see the sleeping prince through the black layer of mana covering his eyes.
A bewildered Zero dispersed the magic.
The imperial family were born with high tier magic abilities that could explain why he couldnt kill him but he was born a middle tier now a upper middle tier so this child had to be a lord tier like King Maxmillian or a commander tier like his father which would be even greater bad news making him almost impossible to kill after cultivating his abilities.
He caused a magic circle to appear above the prince before muttering a spell which engulfed him in flames but he could clearly see the unfazed sleeping little figure through the flames,he wasn't affected by the fire which only burnt away his clothes and the piece of clothing lodged in his mouth.
Zero's brows furrowed deeply,he didn't know what annoyed him the most,the fact that his magic didn't work or the fact that the prince still lay asleep in the same position he hasn't even moved a muscle despite everything he did to him.
Since magic wouldn't work
The Knight drew his sword before emerging from the shadows.
He pointed the tip of the sword at the prince's neck,his eyes glistening with blood lust and resentment.
Just then he sensed Dark's presence behind him.
"Nooooo!!"The sorceror screamed but it was too late,the metal made it's downward plunge for the prince's neck.