The rogue managed to round up his partner and found the tracks with exceptional speed. Luckily they were still visibly there in the soft soil. Without the hunter’s keen eye they would have gone unnoticed. After that, both hunter and rogue helped each other sniff out the trail and they continued to follow it, not caring for how dangerous their final destination might be...

Of course they left William behind, as to not hinder them any further. William decided to go back and report to the lord their progress. The lord was quite pleased to find that the young girl spoke the truth. They ended up waiting inside the council chamber the whole night with drowsy eyes and dry throats.

At dawn the pair came back to report. Mattis’ otherwise rugged face had gained new lines to deepen his expression. They had found something that agitated him deeply. Mattis explained, “We found their trail and followed it as far as it took us… They must have allied themselves with superior scouts… For there were no signs of life when we arrived...”.

Lord Blaise raised his eyebrow and said, “So you mean to say that they managed to flee?.. Where to?”.

Mattis was troubled by what he was about to spout. He gulped before saying, “We assume that they must have fled into the Talcan’s territory…”. The lord played with his flaming beard, as he thought aloud, “That is troublesome indeed… What else did you find at their camp? Any signs of what their intentions might have been?”.

The rogue clenched his fist. For the sight of that rotten camp, had left both him and the hunter speechless. The hunter, seeing that his friend didn’t utter a word, took over for him and said, “We suspect them to be responsible for the recent disappearing children… For there were clear signs of kids being sold off. Have a look... We found this hidden in the mud. A small branding tool that bears their mark”. The huntsman handed over the iron tool to the lord. The sight of it made him grimace. He didn’t hold it for long before a servant overtook it. They were given the task of informing the families with missing children, to keep an eye out for slaves bearing this mark.

The hunter continued without encouragement, “There were worse signs my lord… Rotting limbs and half-chopped up robes hanging loosely around trees… They tell a story that some of these kids might not have been sold as merchandise… Some of them were likely… Butchered alive... Probably for fun?.. It’s not the first time these kind of tasteless entertainment methods have been used… But to use them on children… That is...”.

The hunter couldn’t bear to talk of this topic anymore. He felt attacked. Beyond worried for his own children and what fate might await others. Hearing of these insane activities made the lord hammer his fist into his chair, making a deep dent for all of his frustrations to pool in.

There wasn’t any timing that could be worse. For in that instance William’s father announced his presence in the room. Lord Blaise glared at the man and said with an eerie calm voice, “Why good morning Sir Castonale… Glad to see that you could finally arrive. Now tell me…”.

The lord heaved in a large breath before he stood up and shouted, “You useless, nut-brained, flap-assed giant turd! Are your eyes merely for decoration!? How come I gave you one singular duty and you managed to screw it up!? Our people’s children have been butchered or sold into slavery, while you have done nothing other than abuse our honorable uniform with booze and snot!? Tell me! Should I have your head now!? Or serve it to the angry mob that could be gathering any day now!?”.

The father stood flabbergasted with wet eyes and a stiff back. There were many important people gathered in the council chamber. People who was now unintentionally spectators to his public humiliation. They would probably spread the news of how incompetent he was, while smearing his name in additional swearwords...

Confusion was all that filled the father’s mind. For he had not heard of their new findings.

After lord Blaise had huffed his anger out he turned to William and declared, “As for you young lady… You deserve the highest of praise… If it weren’t for your unfortunate encounter and sharp perception, we would have stayed unwise to their crimes for far too long… For this you deserve a reward!.. For now, please head back and rest... One of the head servants will give you the good tidings tomorrow”. Eagerness and lack of sleep blinded William. Which was why he didn’t notice the burning gaze that lingered on his back.

As Remony and William left the room, sharp words and orders were flung at his former father. He was getting slaughtered in there, with no chance to rebuke their accusations.

****

“Mirabelle, you should wake up now… The head servant is waiting for you”. William slapped away the annoying hand that tried to rip his dreams apart. This action made Remony use her ultimate move.

“!?!”, William sprang up and wiped his cheek using his chemise, “Ew! Don’t lick my face whenever you feel like it!”. Remony laughed with squinted eyes, “Then maybe you should get up, when I ask you to?”. William felt his morning grumpiness set in. To make it worse, Remony slid up beside his ear with a wide smirk and breathed into it, “...Go on… Get your reward… SPLpshhhh”. Remony blowed a raspberry in his face.

She found it hilarious. William on the other hand grumbled and swatted at her, “Okay, okay! Stop torturing me will you!?”.

That morning, William wandered along the stone walls lost in thought. He was so dazed that he barely got to react, when a tight grip caught his arm and forced him into a dark corner. “WHA!?”. A pale face wrought with anger shut him off from the outside world. William shuttered, “F-father!?”.

This person that now called out to William’s most primal instincts, spat in his face, “Don’t think that I haven’t figured you out! You little backstabbing traitor!... To think that I helped create you!?.. This whole charade today, Oh! How you must have loved it! Was it worth it?.. Going to the lord first instead of contacting me?..”.

William would pop an eye if he was to widen them any further. He froze in place not digesting what was said to him. The father saw this as the child playing coy. So he flexed his fingers to better squeeze the flesh underneath, “Little shrew! You left no space for me to redeem myself and made me appear like a fool in front of lord Blaise! Now he wants my neck and I can only blame you for that!.. So, take heed!... Next time if you dare do such a stunt again the lake will be your new bed!..”. To cement this fact, his father shook him violently, “Understood!?”. William unwillingly nodded as his body shook back and forth.

This was enough for his father to satisfy his warped take on reality. He didn’t want to attract any unwelcome attention to further ruin his image. So to keep this meeting short and sweet he bashed William into the wall. Then he hurried away…

William was still confused as to what had just happened. His father had come and left in a flash. So there was really nothing William could do but to stand up and continue his day. That was what he thought, until he felt something wet trickle down his neck. He muttered to himself, “What th-”. His hand took a swipe at the area. Only to find blood spilled from a fresh wound.

“...”. He stood for a while and glared at the blood. Wondering when he would stop ‘randomly’ bleeding like this...