Soul Scale

Chapter 6: Broken Bonds

As soon as Cadence had awoken, she turned to where Forte normally was, but no one was there.

"Forte!" She yelled. There was no answer. Without wasting a second more, she sprang from the bed and ran to their bathroom and banged on the door.

"Forte, are you in there!?" Again, there was no answer. Her panic continued to grow with each passing moment.

"Where the hell is he!? I must find him!"

Cadence grabbed a robe off the large gold embossed chair in front of their vanity and ran towards the bedroom door. Normally, Cadence had some trouble opening the thick and heavy wooden door, but the adrenalin rush she was feeling made it a trivial matter.

As she ran out into the large and long hallway, Cadence collided with great force into one of the handmaidens, bringing clean towels to their room. The sound reverberated throughout the halls, and a sea of crisp, white towels went flying into the air.

"Oh my god, are you ok?? I'm so sorry, m'lady!"

Cadence stuck out her hand and helped Adelaide up from the floor.

"Are you ok? You're not hurt, are you?"

Tears started to fill Adelaide's eyes. "Yes. I'm fine. Thank you for helping me up off the floor. I feel so stupid for running into you... I'm so sorry!"

Cadence smiled. "It's ok. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I ran into the hall without looking where I was going. Normally, I'd be happy to help you pick up the towels, but I must find Forte as quickly as possible. Have you seen him?"

"When I was heading to your room, I passed him in the hall. He was heading toward the throne room. I'll be sure to get some fresh towels after I gather these up."

Cadence let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Adelaide!"

Before Adelaide could speak, Cadence had already sprinted down the hall. While she knew that any kind of fast or strenuous activity could hurt the baby in the final month of her pregnancy, she couldn't afford to waste any time.

After what felt like forever, she finally made it to the throne room. As she opened the giant wooden door, she saw Forte and his advisors sitting at their table.

"I'm too late," she thought. Verdant had already entered the room. Before she had the chance to speak, Forte stood up.

"Brother?? Where have you been?? What is the meaning of your absence??"

Verdant slid his seat back from the table and sat down. As he kicked up his feet on the table and crossed his hands on his waist, a grin appeared on his face. Arrogance filled his voice.

"Oh, come now. Is that any way to talk to your dear brother? There's no need for theatrics. You're always blowing up over the smallest things. You really should be more careful. It's bad for your health."

Forte's nostrils started to flair, and his eyebrow began to twitch.

"But I digress. How are you, brother? Are you sleeping? Are you eating well? You're looking rather pale and tired. But I suppose when one runs a kingdom poorly, it would cause one to be tired." He chuckled.

Forte's fists began to clinch, and veins began to appear on the sides of his forehead. His voice became intense.

"Enough of this nonsense, brother! I will not tolerate this kind of behavior or attitude in my throne room. I asked you a ques..."

Verdant cut Forte off.

"Now you see... that's where the problem is. 'Your... throne room'. You're always on about 'Your duty' or 'Your people'. But I must say, my personal favorite is... Oh, what is it again?... Ah, yes. 'Your kingdom'."