Anarameha

Chapter 31

Garlet stood at the window, looking out at the rising sun. Hidden in the darkness was Keoni. He'd told Garlet what happened, and so far, he'd gotten nothing out of the man.

Keoni knew that he had officially run out of time. He was in a safe place but not the kind that he'd like to have at this time of the day. He'd also been awake for many hours now, and the weight of lethargy was hitting him. There was no way that he'd go to sleep now that Pierre Normace had his vile hands on Ana.

With a sigh, Garlet pressed the button to lower the shutters. All he'd have was artificial light, something that he was not used to during the day. Garlet didn't care, not when there were so many other things that were more important. The most prominent was Ana.

"It is not surprising," Garlet said as he sat down.

He gestured to the chair opposite but noted that Keoni did not move until the sunlight was completely shut out.

"Normace approached Ana before I arrived at the place. He said that he will be king."

"And that is just as unsurprising. While he is a leader, the coup is not really enough. His leadership is shaky at best, but if he marries Ana, it creates a stronger position for him. She would be the leader, but I'm sure that once the marriage is legal, she would be locked away somewhere. Marriage is not the issue here. Ana being locked in a room is."

Keoni agreed but questioned if one was worse than the other. He was worried that if Ana was forced to marry Pierre and then tried to divorce him, there might be issues. Keoni believed that Pierre would bribe or threaten as many officials as he had to in order to keep Ana tied to him. Either that or he'd change the laws to suit his dark and twisted needs.

"At any rate, you can't do much until dusk. Plan it now if you like, do it before we go near the place. Either way, it doesn't matter so long as you plan it right."

Garlet gave Keoni a sympathetic smile.

"I know that you're struggling, but think about this without your emotions affecting your mind. Normace is not going to harm Ana. He wants her to agree to this marriage. That is the ultimate goal for him. If she protests, it's going to be obvious to the world that something is wrong. I can guarantee you that he will not rush into this. Normace will try to win Ana over so that she willingly walks down the aisle in a lavish ceremony, one that can be televised across the city."

Keoni nodded reluctantly and stood from the chair.

"There is an internal staircase that you can use. Ask one of the staff that's been here a while. They will show you to it."

"Thanks."

Garlet watched Keoni walk out of the room, looking dejected. He knew it wasn't the answer that Keoni wanted, but he needed to understand that rushing into this was not the wisest idea. Thoughtful planning would mean that they would be successful in accessing the royal residence and finding Ana.

Keoni walked through the kitchen. He looked at the few members of staff who were wandering around in preparation for the breakfast service. Near the doors was the outgoing staff. They'd done the midnight to dawn shift.

"Hey, Garlet said that one of you could show me where the internal staircase is."

"Yeah, over here."

A young man led Keoni through to the staff quarters. To one side was the door to their area. The other door was where he pointed.

"Up goes to the apartments, obviously. Not sure if you knew, but we also have access to the tunnels."

"Why?"

The man shrugged.

"Dunno. I think that there was a time when the boss used to hire a lot of vamps because no one liked doing the night shifts. Anyway, go down if you want the tunnels. Later."

"Yeah, later."

Keoni pushed the door open, turning to watch the man walk out of the staff area. For a moment, he thought about Garlet. This strange revelation about the stairs and the dreadful feeling that was building inside of him.

Garlet said to wait until dusk and that Normace would not do anything to harm Ana, but that didn't mean that they had to sit around and do nothing.

Letting the door close, Keoni looked at his watch. The gates shut at five, and it was almost six am. Would they let him in? He wasn't sure, but Keoni was determined to find out.

This was going to be a long shot, and Keoni wondered if this would work out or if he would be left to fry in the morning sun.

Emerging through the door, Keoni looked around at the tunnel. He had a vague recollection of this area, and if he was right, there would be no sun entering this area.

Moving quickly, he hoped that it wasn't too late. Glancing at his watch, Keoni knew that time was evaporating. There was a lot to be done and so little time to do it.

His mind kept turning back to Ana, hoping that she was alright. Keoni's stomach turned at the horrid thoughts of what Normace would do to her. Fear filled him that he might rush through the process, finding a priest to marry them today rather than waiting for another day. If that happened, it was guaranteed that Normace would declare himself king even though he was not permitted to use the title. There was a queen. She was the leader. The most that her partner could ever attain is prince consort.

Keoni reached the crossroads, a path that he'd frequently walked. Taking in a deep breath, he crossed to the large iron door and banged on it. There was hope in him, and Keoni wondered if it was foolish. There was also another thought that he might be wasting his time. Keoni tried not to be pessimistic, but this was a bridge that he'd only just burned and trying to cross it might see him fall into the wasteland.