The following day passed as painfully boring, lacking of any major events. The dignitaries from the remaining city-states had arrived by afternoon, and all the visitors, including the Veridians, were treated to an extensive tour of Valoria. A grand feast followed, filled with rich meats and fine wines, leading into an evening program designed to impress and indoctrinate.
The centerpiece was a play depicting the legendary victory of Vultar over the corruption of Phoros-Than. It was a heavy-handed display of Valorian ideology, watched by a crowd that cheered every time the 'Gilded Liar' was struck down. Dinner continued till late into the night, and by the time the weary dignitaries returned to their quarters, the moon was high, and midnight was only an hour or two away.
Inside the Veridian guest wing, the atmosphere was suffocating. Count Leo, Baron Torin, and Master Alsnow were deeply troubled, unable to find joy in the festivities they attended a while ago, or the delicacies which were prepared for them. An agonizing worry was gnawing at them like a worm in a tree. Midnight was fast approaching, yet the maid had not returned with the items Ariana had demanded. To make matters worse, the Ariana girl herself remained motionless, expressionless, worriless; staring out the window at the dark expanse of the sea. Her unnerving calm was beginning to get on the nerves of the three men.
Suddenly, the door creaked open. As they had anticipated, the maid slipped through the opening. On her face, she was wearing the wide, triumphant grin of someone who had succeeded against all odds. It was the signal they had been waiting for. She walked straight to Ariana and handed over a letter bearing the heavy wax seal of Mordan Terance.
"Good grief!" Alsnow exclaimed, snatching the forged document to inspect it, "This looks more authentic than the Regen's own seal. The one who forged this is a true artist; I would dearly love to recruit them personally."
"Oh, I doubt you could recruit him... yet," Ariana chimed in softly. Alsnow shot her an infuriated glance but chose not to retort. The maid, failing to understand the hidden meaning, ignored the exchange as a Veridian inside joke. She then handed the official Justicar's uniform to Leo, as Ariana had requested.
The maid looked at the group expectantly. "Yes?" Torin asked, noticing her hesitation. "Is there anything else you wish to share?"
The girl started slightly, "Yes... I mean, shall we go now?"
The question was simple, but it cast a heavy, awkward silence over the room. Torin, Leo, and Alsnow had all mentally postponed the actual doing of the deed until the items arrived. They were administrators and politicians, not infiltrators or spies. While they had taken on the mission to impress their Lord, the reality of the action made them feel like they were drowning in deep water.
The awkward tension was broken only by Ariana's command- "Thank you. Now, hurry to the escape path, keep watch. We leave shortly after. Large group draws attention. We'll rescue the Princess and meet you there."
The maid looked puzzled by Ariana's sudden, clipped way of speaking, turning to the men for an explanation. But the clueless expressions on their faces told her she would find no answers there. With a brief nod, she vanished back through the narrow opening of the door.
As soon as she was gone, Jax took his position by the door, guarding it against any potential eavesdroppers. Alsnow, Torin, and Leo turned their gaze to Ariana. They were visibly uncomfortable; relying on an unknown girl for such a high-stakes task rubbed against their pride. Yet, it was clear that she was the only one in the room with a plan. Ariana ignored their silent stares, giving them a brief nod as she prepared to depart.
"Excuse me, Miss," Leo cut in, there was strange urgency in his voice, "You said you would tell us everything by midnight..."
Ariana smirked; a sharp glint played in her eyes. "Curiosity killed the cat," she said, patting his shoulder before stepping toward the exit. Before leaving, she produced two pairs of earrings that seemed to appear out of thin air. She tossed one to Jax, who caught it and quickly fastened it into his right ear. She gave another earring from the second pair to Zara. Zara also put it on her left ear. Ariana placed the remaining two of both pair in her each ear.
As she stepped through the door, Jax bowed deeply to her. After she left, Zara quickly nodded to Kaelen and Jax, and darted out of the room. In that moment, a revelation hit Leo like a physical blow. It was unbelievable, impossible- and yet, it was the only explanation for everything that had happened since they arrived. He dropped on bed dumbfounded. Alsnow and Torin rushed to him, repeatedly asking what happened. But he kept mum, for he knew he had to!
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Ariana walked through the hallway with a confident gait. To her surprise, there were very few guards posted along the route. In the dead of night, walking through the dimly lit, empty corridors felt like exploring a haunted castle. The silence was deafening.
On her way to the prison block, she encountered only four guards- three were dozing in their chairs while the fourth paid her no mind. During their earlier planning session with the map, the maid had given them clear directions to the cell, so it was not difficult to find its location. Ariana, without any difficulties arrived at her destination. Surprisingly, there was only one guard in the entire alley, and he was standing directly in front of the heavy metal doors of Selena's cell.
Ariana, however, did not approach him immediately. Instead, she slipped into the prison's restroom area. It was dimly lit and empty. There, she quickly shed her maid's attire and donned the high-ranking Justicar official's uniform that the girl had smuggled in. She hid her former clothes in a dark dry corner.
Now disguised as a Justicar, Ariana approached the guard with an air of authority. She displayed the forged transfer order signed and sealed by Mordan Terance, and demanded the immediate release of the prisoner into her custody. In the flickering torchlight of the alley, the guard could not clearly recognize face of the Justicar, but he instantly recognized the unmistakable signature and seal of Mordan Terance. Without a word of argument, he stood up, requested that the Justicar wait outside, and went into the cell to fetch Selena.
The clanking sounds chains and faint whimpers echoed from within as the guard unshackled Selena's hands and feet. After a short while, he emerged with Selena, or rather, a broken version of her. The poor girl was barely recognizable at the moment. She had nothing but a rag of coarse threads on her, that too was torn to such extent that it could barely cover the girl. She seemed to be limping a bit, her eyes were blank and hollow; it seemed she would collapse the moment the guard let go of her arm.
The guard handed her over and kept the letter as his record. Selena did not even look up at her new captor. It appeared she had entirely surrendered to her fate. She merely murmured, "I am guilty... I am a witch."
"We know that. Now, move," Ariana commanded, in a perfect male voice.
This voice of her seemed to jolt Selena back to her senses. The princess quickly looked up at the face of her captor. Ariana held a smirk, placing an index finger to her lips in a silent command for silence, and began walking out.
As they turned to leave, the guard said cryptically, "Please... take care of the child."