Prophet of the Gods

Chapter 17: Valeria

When Liam said they needed to work faster than before, Gen didn't think he meant this quickly. It was only the next day and they were meeting for the third time in the library, "We need to finish this by today," he kept saying. "If we're lucky we can pull this off tomorrow and have the map back before the ransom is needed."

See, he wanted to steal the map, make a copy, and then put it back all in the span of five minutes during the change of guards. Gen and Cora had thought about making a copy, but all in the same five minutes? That was Liam's genius. 

There was also a big distraction involved and Liam said he would take care of that. It was Gen and Cora's job to infiltrate the vaults armed with passwords and knowledge of any traps, precautions, and alarms in the area courtesy of the prince. Gen was amazed but also relieved by how simple it seemed with Liam's help. She didn't like to credit him with anything- but they were never going to get the map this quickly on their own. Cora was just as thrilled as she was. 

The only thing left to work out was how to make the copy. Liam said there was a magic scanner in the offices of King Alastair. A "magic scanner" was a device Gen had never heard of, but that wasn't too surprising. The capital and the wealthier sectors had inventions, resources, and gadgets galore, none of which were available or affordable to the general public. Liam explained it sort of like creating a memory that you can store in a little pod. To make the memory, you need to activate the scanner (a sort of wand) and scan the object thoroughly and all over to get a clear picture. Then it formed as a sort of apparition that appeared at the open of the little metal pods. 

It seemed self-explanatory enough but it difficult part was getting it. Liam had already tried to borrow it from his father but his father was adamant about it never leaving his office. Since Liam and Cora were under constant surveillance by guards outside of their personal rooms- they couldn't sneak in the office and steal, so Gen would be doing that. And since King Alastair would notice if it were gone too long- it would have to be right before they went to the vaults, and then she'd have to return it right after. 

The one slight reassurance was that King Alastair and Queen Valeria would be gone to the capital for a People's House Banquet during this little adventure and he wouldn't be back for hours if all went according to plan. Cora and Liam had gotten out of the event by claiming other plans, a friend's party for Cora (she swore that her friend would vouch for her), and hunting for Liam even though, "I hate hunting," said Liam bitterly. 

Gen checked the grandfather clock in her room. She had five minutes before she had to meet them. Just enough time to write a letter, a letter more urgent than any other. 

Dear Mom and Dad and Mira,  

     I apologize for my delayed response to your last letter, I've been getting busier and busier with Cora and now, surprisingly enough, Prince Liam (who's a bit of a prat, but he's nice enough I guess). We've made plans for traveling in the near future which I am looking forward to what with time seeming to fly by so fast. 

That was the unofficial code for her parents to know that she was working on plans to get the map and that they planned to initiate them soon- she couldn't risk an unwanted person reading this letter and discovering her secrets. Or worse Elise reading it and blabbing to the king. Gen had saw her that morning for the first time in weeks. She had no idea where she had been and that had even been gone until she noticed a different maid sweeping her room a few days before. And now she was back and Gen sure as Bhas wasn't going to ask her what happened. 

Anyways, I do need a favor. I'm running out of face powder and vitamins and I was wondering if you could send me some as soon as possible. I wouldn't want my complexion to suffer from the lack of nutrients and gods know what I would do if I got a pimple!