Dark One Rising(110)
“I haven’t seen her since this afternoon when she came to me asking for someone to accompany her for a short ride.”
The king absentmindedly answered before Emerick could continue, looking down at some papers he was going over. “I suppose she’s still out then. If I know her, she wouldn’t want to waste a beautiful day such as this one inside. She’ll be along in a bit, I gather. It’s starting to get dark.”
Emerick answered with fear in his voice, “But, Sire, there was no one to take the time away to escort her. Last I saw of her was when I told her she’d have to postpone it for another day.”
Dain looked up from the papers he was going over and stared at him, fear in his eyes. “Did she leave the grounds alone?”
“I don’t think so. She wouldn’t go against your wishes,” he said it but was unsure that he was right.
“I would normally agree with you, but I haven’t been around as much lately, and I’ve been getting the feeling that she’s bored and lonely. If she felt rebellious enough, she would. Find out!”
Emerick bowed again and hurried from the room. Dain left his papers and went the opposite way down the corridor, the task he was engrossed in now forgotten.
He went down the hallway to the back stairs and up to Melenthia’s apartments. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He turned in time to see Bianca standing in the hallway, a load of linens in her arms.
“Bianca, have you seen Melenthia today?”
“Yes, I saw her this morning after breakfast. She played some rounds of lawn ball, then spent a few hours helping me with my embroidery. She said she was going for a ride.”
“Did you actually see her leave?”
“No, Sire. Is something wrong?”
“I don’t know.”
He left her and went down the stairs to the kitchen and out into the inner bailey. He entered the stables and approached a stable boy who was cleaning out one of the stalls. Dain looked around and didn’t see the bay mare that had been assigned to her since her arrival.
“Where’s Melenthia’s horse?”
“It’s been gone since early this afternoon, Your Majesty. The princess must have taken it.”
“You didn’t saddle it for her?”
“No, Sire. It was here this morning, then it was gone when I returned from the smithy.”
He stormed out of the stables and strode across the bailey to the guard tower. He stood in front of Alastair and demanded, “Where in the hell is Melenthia?”
“I haven’t seen her since this morning, Your Majesty, when she was playing lawn ball. She asked if anyone could escort her for a ride, but I had Emerick inform her that I had no one I could spare for the day. She didn’t pass this way.”
“Her horse is gone, has been since early this afternoon. Are you certain?”
Alastair shifted to the other foot but didn’t answer. He cleared his throat. “We had some commotion at the gate this afternoon with some merchants. A wagon full of supplies that were not recorded by the kitchen staff to have been ordered. She may have slipped passed when we were occupied.”
“She may have!” He was angry.
He cleared his throat again. “Yes, Your Majesty. It’s very likely she could have slipped past when we weren’t looking.”
Dain leaned in closer, his face practically touching his. “Then I suggest you send a scout to the inner border gate and find out!”
“Yes, Sire.”
He went inside the tower, and a young squire exited almost immediately, running to the stables for a mount. The king was just heading back inside when Alek galloped into the courtyard. Dain turned and saw Alek dismount and throw the reins to a waiting stable boy. “Belay that order!” he yelled to the guard. Then, “Alek, thank God you’re back. We have a problem.”
“Melenthia is missing.”
“How do you know that?”
“I got word when I passed the border. She was headed this way, and she has escort.”
“Escort? Who?”
“Sol, and an elf from Vallis?”
“What’s an elf doing this far south? They usually don’t travel into the inner kingdom.”
“No, they don’t. If he’s doing so, then there’s a reason. I suspect things are more serious than we have guessed.”
“That’s all we need, things to fall apart now, when we’re not even close to getting any answers from anyone, about anything.”
“Maybe we’ll have the answers we need when they arrive.”
“Perhaps.”
“How did Melenthia get by you?”
He frowned. “I wasn’t here. I went into town to talk with Garden. He had some information he thought I would be interested in. It turned out to be nothing. When I returned I found her gone. I was just sending out a scout to the inner border when you showed up.”