Chapter 57

My lungs burned as sucked in another deep breath of air, hands pressing against my knees as I attempted to catch my breath. Camilla stood in front of me, looking ready to pounce on whatever caused me to burst through the door as I had. I’d become so out of breath in my frantic rush over that I was struggling to form words between the heavy gulps of air.

After another deep exhale, I tried again. “Rosetta…she…someone…took her.”

“‘Took’ her?” the sorceress prodded.

“Abducted,” I clarified, my lungs finally beginning to calm. “Someone grabbed her in the hall.”

Camilla’s eyes narrowed. “Show me.”

With a frantic nod, I scurried back out of the room, Camilla on my heels. It took her no time at all to sweep me up off my feet, carrying me through the halls at a pace I couldn’t hope to manage. My mind raced, thoughts in a repeating spiral. What were we going to do? Would Camilla be able to do anything? What if we couldn’t find her or if the Praevus had taken her? What if she was injured, or worse?

“Over there!” I shouted, as we turned down the hall, pointing toward the room she’d disappeared into. “They went in there, and then I think I spotted them out the window.”

The sorceress placed me back on my feet a few meters from the door. Fierce red eyes met my own. “Who were they? What did they look like?”

“I—I didn’t really get a good look. I don’t know.”

She went right into the next question. “What do you remember about them? Anything that you saw that stood out?”

“Umm.” I bit my lip, trying hard to remember anything at all. The whole thing felt like a blur in my mind, much to my frustration. “It was definitely a man, I’m fairly sure. In a dark cloak. And he—I think he had, umm, dirty hands?”

She nodded. “Good enough. Which direction did you say you saw them go?”

“To the right, I think. Down the alley. I’m not entirely certain it was them, though.” I was terrified that we’d search in the entirely wrong direction if I was wrong. “What are we going to do?” I crumpled and pulled at the dress around my waist with fidgeting fingers.

“Don’t worry. I’ll find her,” she assured me with a surprising amount of confidence. A hand absently brushed the top of my head. My lips parted to respond, but she cut me off. “Don’t follow me. Go find Lena and be ready to leave in a hurry. Alright?” Her eyes met mine, an untamed fire burning within. From her fierce gaze, I knew that disobeying her on this would entail consequences.

I gave a single, hesitant nod, and she didn’t wait for anything more, instead sliding in through the door before I could blink. Fidgeting, I stepped forward to peer into the dark room, only to find it already empty, window open. A sigh slipped from my lips. The deep yearning in my gut urged me to rush forward, to chase after her. I desperately wanted to, but I was also slowly accepting how little sense it made for me to do so. Even were I to catch up to her, I would just slow her down and possibly even get in the way. No matter how much I wished it were so, I wasn’t the hero I imagined.

Sighing once more, I turned away, walking toward Lena’s room at a quickened pace. It took little time at all to get there, being only a few rooms away, and I desperately hoped she was actually inside. A lingering unease made me nervous to be alone. As I stepped up to her door, my knuckles tapped against the wood just loud enough to be heard, though I had no intention of waiting. Opening it, I scurried in.

“Too early, Rosie,” I heard Lena grumble out as I nudged the door shut behind me.

Eyeing the room, I noticed a shifting bundle of blankets on the bed. The girl murmured something else as she covered her head with a large pillow. I hadn’t really considered it, but it was quite early still. It made sense that Lena would still be asleep. Rosetta probably woke her each morning, much as I had with Camilla.

I couldn't help but feel relieved. Lena was safe, and neither of us were alone now. The only thing left was to wake her up and tell her what happened in a way that didn’t make her altogether panic... I bit my lip.

Just what was I planning to say to her? ‘Good morning, Lena. Hope you slept well. By the way, Rosetta just got abducted a few minutes ago.’

I slapped my forehead, trying to put together anything better than that. This was something I could have thought up before getting here.

“Rosie?” she mumbled once more, causing me to wince.

It was at that moment, unfortunately, that Lena pried the pillow slowly off her face, turning my way. Her eyes blinked open, and she frowned in confusion as she met my hesitant stare. I was out of time.

“Umm,” I explained with clear elegance.

“Pearl?” she questioned with a yawn. “What are you doing in here? I’m trying to sleep.”

Think of something, Pearl. Come on. Literally anything.

Oh, gods damn us all, this was wasting too much time. “Rosetta’s been abducted!” I winced. Good job, me. How calmly and gently stated.

“Huh?” she muttered with a frown, sitting up.

It took a moment before my words fully clicked together, and her eyes widened. Lena scrambled out of bed with the elegance of a clumsy fawn, somehow still landing on her feet.

“You—she’s what?!” The girl marched toward me, her hair a tangled mess and in a nightgown so sheer that it might as well have not been there.

But what made me stutter was the glare piercing into me out of a gaze that promised violence if I didn’t give her what she wanted. “I, umm, I saw her down the hall. Near one of the guest rooms. We’d just put out laundry.” I explained, as though the laundry would somehow redeem me. “C-Camilla is out looking for her.”

Lena continued to stare, but from the look in her eyes, I could tell that she was looking past me, rather than properly at me, her mind off somewhere else as her pale face made subtle shifts somewhere between terror and horror.

Then she blinked and refocused. Her hands balled into fists, and she locked onto my gaze with a look of determination.

“Why are we standing around here for, then? Let’s go!”

I opened my mouth as she strode past me, the red-headed fury ready to stop at nothing to save her Rosie.

“L-Lena!” I grabbed her arm, panicking slightly as she thrust the door wide open.

She took a step out of the room, and my feet slid along the floor with her as I struggled to hold  the grip on her arm. Then she turned and scowled, ready to chew me out.

“Lena, you’re completely naked!” I spluttered.

The girl looked down at the thin nightgown only vaguely covering her body, despite it nearly touching the floor.

“I’m not ‘naked,’” she insisted, crossing her arms and covering her chest. “I’m in my nightgown.”

Despite that, the girl stepped back into the room with an annoyed huff. With a determined haste, she moved to her wardrobe.

“I can see your nipples and your, umm,” I stared for a moment, before shifting my gaze away from her. “Your nightgown doesn’t cover anything at all!” My cheeks felt so warm that I feared they might begin to melt.

Lena grumbled something back as she tossed several dresses to the floor, before finally finding one to put on.

“Yes, yes, I got it,” she muttered as she slipped it over her head, not even bothering to take off the gown. Swifter than the wind, she pulled it on, and just as quickly grabbed a pair of boots. The girl growled something else under her breath, before saying, “Now stop getting in my way!”

‘Clothed’ and with boots in hand, she started toward the hall once more, only for me to step in her path, despite the glare piercing into me. “We should—we should stay here and, umm, stay safe. Camilla is looking for her.”

Lena gave me a look as though I’d lost my mind. “You expect me to—to just sit here and do nothing?”

“Lena, I’d love nothing more than to go looking for her as well—”

“Then let’s do that!” she interrupted, taking another step forward.

“What if they’re looking for you as well?” I argued, causing the girl to mutter something about ‘them trying.’ “Plus, we’ll just get in the way! I know you’re worried, Lena, but Camilla knows what she’s doing. She’s a sorceress. She’ll find her,” I said with a fair bit more confidence than I felt.

Please, please find her, Camilla. If I was wrong, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to forgive myself, and I was certain Lena never would. Still, this seemed like the right thing to do, at least. I gripped the fabric of my dress with pale knuckles as Lena continued her glare. Somehow, I held my ground, not budging.

“Fine,” she growled. “As much as I hate to admit it, you have a point.” My shoulders slumped in relief as I let out a sigh, though I didn’t dare move. Part of me was still a bit terrified she might still rush out the door. “Do we know who took her or why?”

I shook my head. “No. I didn’t really get a good look at them.”

The redhead paced back and forth before plopping down on her bed. It took mere moments for her bearing to shift from the burning confidence to more of a defeated anguish as she rubbed her face in her hands, shoulders falling.

“What am I supposed to do now?” she said.

I stepped over to the bed, gently sitting at her side. How had I become the ‘reasonable’ one in all this? Usually, it was just the opposite.

“We prepare and then wait. I’ve got a small bag in my wardrobe to grab, but,” I bit my lip, glancing over at her. “We should stick together, I think.” She lifted her head, looking over at me, and I asked, “Will you come with me?”

“Yes. Anything is better than sitting here doing nothing.”

I nodded my agreement and followed her to my feet.

“Do you have something prepared?” I asked.

“Rosetta had things all together for us both.” The lingering misery in her voice was thicker than soup. “It’s over in her room, I believe.”

I winced. “Oh. Makes sense. Let’s get that first, then, and we’ll grab mine after.”

Lena slipped the boots and some socks properly on her feet, and together, we moved out into the hall. All the while, I continued to agonize over whether we’d made the right decision. Should we go searching? What if Camilla didn’t find her?

— — —

Emver rocked back in his chair, his feet lazily resting atop his desk as he slowly turned the page of the book in hand. His lips quirked up into a smile at the antics of the characters within, and the man pondered what sort of disaster they’d stumble into next.

A heavy knock interrupted his focus only briefly, and the Praevus continued his read as he called out, “Come in.”

The door opened, and a familiar man entered the room, saluting him. Emver turned the next page.

“Praevus, 3rd Squadron of Heln has reported in. They are due to arrive in the hour,” the sentinel said.

Emver continued his read as he replied, “Only slightly late then. Did they report anything of note?”

“No, Sir. It seems their journey was uneventful.”

The Praevus nodded, and silence briefly took the room. Then he turned another page.

“And our little snare?” Emver asked, finally glancing up to meet Gavin’s eyes.

“Set and waiting, Sir. We believe they’ll make their move before noon.”

“Good, good. Have the squadron stay just out of sight, and ready our fireteams. It’s about time we clean things up here.” He closed his book and shifted his feet back to the floor.

“Shall I gather the sorceress, Sir?”

Emver paused, staring at the door to his small office space within the newly constructed barracks. For a long moment, he pondered in silence.

“No. That won’t be necessary, Gavin.”

Emver gathered his things from the room, and together, the two made their way out of the empty barracks and into the cool morning breeze. He took a deep breath. There was always a subtle difference to the air on days like today. A sort of sharpness to it that made him wonder if the gods, too, were leaning forward in anticipation of what was to come.