Baylou's characters

Chapter thirteen: Mystery led by a pack of cards

The day after Sylvesters' kiss, Harth was as predicted, nowhere to be seen. However saying she disappeared without a trace wouldn't be justice, a familiar knight would come to announce Harth's leave and give a few more pointers of information, this was in fact the very same guard that was doubting Sylvester's role the first time Harth and Sylvester had met. "Hello your majesty, I'm here to deliver a message from the royal knight Harth, she will be taking some leave to find her love. If she is not back in-" the guard checks the paper to get the timing spot on "Four days, she will file him as a missing person". The worried look on everyone's faces did not seem to give the guard anxiety, "Harth has appointed me, Stephen, as her replacement and has also asked to give some of you a note". He hands ferns perfectly pristine note to them with love and care, however Sylvester's note was crumpled into a ball and almost thrown at him. "Is Harth ok?" Halobean begged Stephen with longing faces from everyone else in the room wanting to understand the same question, "As far as we know Harth is in no danger". Fern and Sylvester sighed with the underwhelming response and opened their notes:

Ferns note read as follows,

"Dear Fern,

Sylvester has unfortunately lost his memory, please look after him.

Make sure he doesn't get hurt, I couldn't bear to see him struggle like this. I believe in you –HARTH"

Fern quickly glued the note to their journal and started to annotate it. Fern was barely getting used to interacting with Harth and now they have to do it with everyone, but they believed in themself and toughened up not just for themselves but for Sylvester and Harth as well, they would finally get the chance to use their new rapier they had been practicing with.

Sylvester note was written with shaken hand writing,

"My dear Sylvester

I apologize for having to leave to find my love. When I do bring Lone back please do not mention this to him, for mine and your own good. I will try forgetting about it yet-"

The rest was scribbled out beyond legibility only leaving her name

"- a grateful royal knight, Harth."

He was quite put out by the note, after all they've been through together, you would be, wouldn't you? To see the note tossed about by a clearly jealous Stephen hurt him even more.

He had no time to cry, when an already grieving Halobean was begging Stephen for her note, Sylvester ran over and gave Halobean a huge hug. It was either Sylvester's new childlike personality or perhaps something else that made Stephen look at Sylvester with hatred "Mrs Harth did not give me a note for you, however she did ask me to give you a pack of cards." Stephen was quite confused but still handed it to halobean, it was half open and had an ink stain on the bottom. "I thought you were supposed to be, close friends- with Harth" Stephen crouched down to look at Sylvesters short frame trying to hug halobean, "Harth is my closest friend, but I can hug halobean too" Sylvester emphasised friend perhaps to try riling up an already upset Stephen.

Itto came in finally awoken, Sylvester detached from Halobean at once and made his way over to him, "Make up your mind, I know what happened yesterday" Stephen judged him, as if maybe Sylvester was playing trickery on Harth.
"Harth shouldn't have left for that guy Lone" Halobean mentioned while searching through her cards, "Why does everyone hate him? He seems nice" Sylvester's new dementia had taken a hit on how he viewed Lone "I agree, master Lone seems brilliant" Stephen added. Halobean was close to reminding Sylvester about the "misunderstandings" however something more noticeable caught her eye, one of the jokers had a pattern written in ink and a note with it "The dead man's desk..." Halobean read to herself, "Pardon?" Fern asked not quite sure of what Halobean was on about "The dead man's desk, look here" she handed the card to Fern, "Were looking for a ghost, who's a man, and has a desk" Halobean wasn't the brightest of minds as she thought to herself, "Didn't Coleman have a desk right at the front of the library?" Stephen suggested.