Quest of the Bounty Hunter: Kidnapped

Klieria

"Your Highness?" Klieria asked as she knocked on the door that led into Princess Marie's chambers.

"Come in, Ria."

Klieria adjusted the tray so it rested on her hip and pushed open the door with her free hand.

"I have your tea, my lady," Klieria said handing the steaming cup to Marie who sat at her desk with a closed notebook in front of her.

"Writing, my lady?" Klieria asked subtly.

"No, well, yes," Marie responds. "Just charters and documents."

"Of course, my lady," Klieria nodded. "Do you need help getting ready for bed?"

"I think I'll manage. Thank you, Ria," Marie said with a smile.

"Good night, Your Highness," Klieria said and backed out of the room again.

Quickly, but not too fast as to draw attention, she hurried down to the kitchens to drop off the tray.

It was late so she had assumed that no one would still be awake, so she was shocked when a small voice spoke up from beside her in the shadows.

"Miss Klieria? Is that you?"

Klieria almost jumped out of her skin and dropped the tray to the floor with a clatter.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to shock you!"

Klieria watched as the figure stepped out of the shadows. It was a small girl with long blonde hair, a dirty dress with apron, and a headband to keep her wavy locks tied back, and though she seemed a bit younger than Klieria she was beautiful.

"What are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be up in your sleeping quarters?" Klieria asked, unsure of who this girl was.

"I'm...I'm just cleaning up," The girl answered with a shrug and a downward glance.

Klieria looked around at the sparkling clean counters and stove tops. "Do you clean up every night?"

"Usually, yes," She said with a smile.

"Well, it looks very nice. You should go get some sleep. I'll talk to the kitchen staff and maybe I can find someone to help you clean up, so you don't have to always do it by yourself," Klieria offered.

The girls face instantly transformed into shock. "Oh! No! I mean... the help would be nice but I can handle it."

Klieria frowned. She had assumed the girl would be eager for help. Maybe she was just tired? Klieria vowed to mention the lack of cleaning help to Princess Marie.

Klieria slowly backed out to the kitchens watching the girl. "Okay then. I'll leave you be if you're positive you don't need help."

The girl slipped back into the shadows and Klieria quickly headed back up to her small rooms that were just down the hall from Princess Marie's.

Inside, she changed from her maidservant dress into trousers and a cowl. Klieria slipped a small knife into her shoe just in case. Her weapon of choice would be a sword but if she was caught wearing one, people might grow suspicious.

Her room was sparsely furnished with just a small bed covered in a woven scarlet canopy, a writing desk in the corner, and a wardrobe with her maidservant uniforms. A small chest sat hidden at the bottom of the wardrobe containing a few knives, her sword and sheath, a few pairs of peasant clothing like what she was wearing, medicines and herbs, and a few pieces of paper she had managed to snatch from the princess's desk. Klieria loved to write, but most of her stories had to take place in her head because paper was scarce and expensive.

Hanging on the wall beside her desk was a tapestry that went from the floor to the ceiling and was only a few feet wide. Hidden behind it was a secret passageway that led into Princess Marie's chambers in case of emergencies.

Tonight, however, Klieria would be using it to spy.

Pushing aside the tapestry, Klieria quietly opened the door and stepped into the tunnel. It was only five feet long but it seemed to take forever because each step was cautious and slow, so that she could test the floorboards for any small noises along the way.

Klieria reached for the doorknob of Princess Marie's secret door and turned it ever so carefully. The door slid open silently and Klieria exited, pushing the tapestry on the other side out of the way.

With the moonlight shining through the window, Klieria tiptoed over to Marie's desk. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that Princess Marie's sleeping form hadn't moved, then opened the journal that was on her desk.

Tucked inside was an envelope with a broken red wax seal and no return address.

Klieria noted the envelope's exact position before sliding the letter out of it. It was written in a quick ink scrawl.

Princess,
We have twelve that we are training right now and forty-three adults. Be cautious because they are very large and sneaking them in would be near impossible. How many would your father like?

There was no signature. With a quick breath, Klieria slid the letter back inside the envelope and placed it where she had found it.

What was being trained? What were they talking about?

Klieria quickly searched for other letters only to find none. There must be more, it was just a matter of finding them.

But it couldn't be tonight; she would need some sleep so she would be able to stay awake the whole day tomorrow.

Creeping back through the tunnel and collapsing onto her bed took almost too much effort.

Why had she agreed to spy for that bounty hunter? Klieria didn't even know her employer's name.