Locked Legacies

Chapter VIII: Servant with a name

 The Exspidraco Kingdom was widely known for its love for peace. Don't be mistaken, their army general was extremely strategic, the warriors talented, and the king rational, but they were outstanding at signing peace treaties. It was common for their ruler to travel to other kingdoms and join parties to maintain friendships. Unluckily, calmness can't last forever. Occasionally, ambition and arrogance can make a bond start to slowly deteriorate until it is hanging by a thread. It occurs periodically and goes through stages before it all falls apart.

King Aldrich had been informed of the cracks that had started showing up in the peace between them and the neighboring kingdom, Phobrakha. "Your Grace," Mylo, the 7-year-old page, entered breathlessly into the room, bowing from the door, "King Merek II claims that there is a portion of land that belongs to him, that he wishes to take it without causing conflict, but is willing to attack if it is necessary... He wants to meet you in person in a month for an official meeting."

While the king had that new worry on his mind, Augustus returned to his room, rubbing his face with his hands in an overwhelmed manner. He wasn't sure if he could take it for much longer, his younger brother taking everything personally and snapping at whoever crossed his path, Rainer's memories once again bleeding into his everyday life, and the responsibilities of a Crown Prince finally starting to feel heavy on his shoulders. But all those thoughts stopped running for an instant... along with his heart. "Well, well, well..." A voice sounded from the corner of the room, making the royal instinctively form a fist.

When he saw who it was coming from, a sigh escaped his lips. "For god's nails, don't do that to me ever again."

While he clutched his chest, she was cockily sitting against the wall, right by the door, one leg stretched and the other one crossed over it. "That's what you get for not taking care of your things." His notebook was in her hand, and she was holding it as if she were baiting fish.

He was nailed to the ground, muscles tense as he saw all the sensitive information his brother had gathered in the palm of her hand. His erratic heartbeat wasn't a sign of distrust but he had just met her; Rainer hadn't even trusted him with that knowledge, so it was essential that no one found out. Yet there he was, praying to the Heavens and the Earth that she hadn't read it.

"How- Uh... How did you get that?"

But it was Faylinn; she had probably even memorized the contents. 

"I feel like you keep forgetting my mother's in charge of clothing..." She chuckled, going through the pages again teasingly; she was enjoying his panic a tad more than she probably should have.

Augustus's mind took a second to click, being followed by a contained huff; "Ugh, the clothes I asked Clarice to get fixed." For a second, his gaze softened to make a genuine petition: "Look, can you just give it back?" He leaned downwards, failing to take ahold of it; his fingers had got to touch the leather, but they slipped away as she snatched it back quickly.

The click of her tongue, accompanied by the shaking of her head made him understand he would not get away with his mistake so easily. "Not so fast, Crown Prince. You have some suspicious information stored in here..." She had this villain-like tone of voice as she spoke, and Augustus could have sworn he had gotten into a mess by getting involved with this girl.

He did get into a mess, for sure, but not because she was the enemy.

It was undeniable that she was enjoying the situation; the nervous looks of the boy had her laughing like a drain internally. With that spark of playful devilry, she continued: "... The king would care to know what you are hiding here..." Her back was now laying against the wall, a smirk plastered on her features while she showed him the drawing of the mysterious egg.