♠️ Exceptis Centrum ♠️ ✔︎

Chapter 30

The moment Alfred suddenly disappeared before their eyes, everyone in the Gathering hall went into a small panic. One second the Spade King was standing before them and in the next second he was gone. It happened so suddenly that everyone almost believed that something otherworldly had spirited him away. At first they believed that Gilbert had something to do with it, but the Joker merely stated that Alfred was now in the Elder Tree garden. Before Yao could even attempt to get any answers, Gilbert suddenly told him,

“If I were you I’d go check on him before he throws a fit.”

Yao was keen to snap at the Joker for daring to suggest such a thing but they couldn’t continue without Alfred. Plus Yao had a strange suspicion that something bad was about to happen. With Ludwig’s permission they went on a quick ten minute break so Yao could locate his King and do that they all could get their heads wrapped around all this chaos.

With that all sorted Yao left the Gathering Hall and briskly made his way to the Elder Tree garden, wondering how Alfred got there in the first place. He would never use his powers to warp out of such an important meeting, he would’ve noticed straight away if he did. It worried him that something like that could happen right before their eyes. Whatever the reason he had to get to Alfred fast as something was urging him to be quick.

Within minutes he was in the Elder Tree garden, noticing already that something was amiss. A couple of gardeners were standing near what appeared to be a hole in the wall, the pile of rubble thankfully no where near the Elder Tree itself. It was painfully obvious who caused such a mess and where he could be, at least he didn’t have to look too far now. As he approached the ruins of the wall the gardeners noticed him and stepped out the way, their faces full of concern as well as confusion.

“My lord Jack,” started one of the gardeners, fiddling with one of his tools, “the King... he just punched a hole in the wall and-...”

“I’ll deal with this,” declared Yao, “return to your duties, but before that would you kindly send some guards this way. We need to sort this mess out.”

The gardener nodded and trotted off. After he left Yao studied the mess and the hole in the wall. It was a peculiar sight as the hole shouldn’t be that deep. In fact it looked like there was a passageway inside and when he squinted he could just make out a stone staircase near the back. The only logical sense was that it was indeed a passage of some sort, but according to the palace floor plans such a thing should not exist around here. He knew stories of secret passages floated about, even Alfred as a child fantasied about looking for such a thing, but Yao had no idea there was one right here, in the Elder Tree garden of all places. Heck, how did Alfred know where to find it? It was obvious that given this was the only part of the wall damaged, he knew exactly where to strike to reveal the hidden passage.

Stepping inside, minding his feet as he entered, he gazed about to study it some more. It appeared that no one had been in here in a long time, the amount of spiderwebs and dusts was a clear sign. Why would someone seal a place up, and what purpose did it serve? It didn’t look like a place to store tools nor did it appear to lead anywhere else. After this whole mess was sorted he was going to have to consult the Palace plans a few times. He ventured further in and took care as he walked up the steps, they looked a little unstable and some of the slabs were loose. It was getting harder to see, but his eyes quickly adjusted to the dimness and there was some light though not a great deal. When he eventually reached the top of the staircase he found a set of doors that had been forced open, a rusty chain broken upon the floor. He walked through and found himself in what appeared to be some sort of ancient living room. Rotten bookcases surrounded him with books than might as well as be dust at this point. The furniture was barely standing and looked like it would crumble the moment he touched it. A fancy looking antique tea set caught his attention, and he wondered who used it. In fact what on Earth was this room used for? Was someone living here a long time ago? Was it a guest room of some sorts? Why was it hidden away?