THE THUMPING of our boots echoed down the west wing staircase. The syndicate, as well as my fellow soldiers, Arley and Prince Evander all jogged down to the underground tavern, where Aislin had first introduced herself to the army.

When we reached the bottom of the stairwell, the breath in my lungs seemed to escape me with ease. I hadn't come down here since she so nicely embarrassed me in front of my men. The underground tavern for the soldiers hadn't changed at all, the only thing different was that it seemed to have lost its spirit.

The light coming off the candles on the candle drum chandelier was burning out, and the candles on the walls and tables seemed to be hanging onto their flame with the last bit of strength they had. The steel beer mugs that hung in place off one of the lower support beams were losing their shine. The large beer barrels that lined the back wall sat there patiently, waiting to be opened and drained.

There was only a handful of soldiers down in the Tavern that sat scattered across the room, seeming to enjoy their silence.

"When Kingsley said we were going to meet at a tavern underneath the castle, I truly didn't know what I was expecting," Méabh confessed, letting her eyes sweep over the room.

Arius took steps forward to an empty table and ran two fingers along it, "Is it just me or is it dustier in here than usual?" A light coat of dust collected on his fingertips. Slightly disgusted, he wiped them off on the side of his pants.

"Where's Quinn?" I asked. Quinn was considered the owner of this place. He ran the bar, hired his employees, and even kept this place clean and up to code. He was quite a clean freak. He always got on our case if we left a mess. More than once he made all the soldiers clean the place while he watched to make sure we were doing it right and to his liking.

"Quinn left a while ago," August responded. He walked over to the bar and reached for a rag that had been sitting to the side, "We all got so busy with training and finding the King, and now Aisin, we were rarely down here like we used to be." August grabbed a bowl full of diary water and then dunked the rage inside, "He didn't have much to do anymore, and then his wife Lake found out she was with child, so he left to spend time with her. The little cleaning that gets done is by the soldiers that still hang out down here." He wrung out the rag and began to wipe the dust away from the table that Arius had inspected.

"As a tavern owner myself, I respect why he left. I also am fascinated by his layout. I am going to use some of these ideas for my own." Arley said aloud, clearly deep in thought as he took in every corner of the place.

"I don't like children," Kingsley began, "but I find what that man did as honorable. Family is always more important."

"Agreed," Willow said, throwing an arm around Blakely-Rose.

"Well, now that we are all here, let's get down to business," Evander said, taking the first seat at the table. Everyone else seemed to follow suit, leaving Kingsley and me to stand at the head of the table. Eight pairs of eyes landed on Kingsley and me in expectation. I glanced at Kingsley to gauge her mood, yet she was completely calm and waiting for me to speak.

I cleared my throat awkwardly before starting, "It hasn't been but a few hours since we got off the ship, and in that time, Kingsley and I were able to find substantial information that needs to be shared with everyone. The only way we can find Aislin is if we are honest with everyone at this table." The group seemed to nod in agreement and Kingsley picked up where I stopped.

"Now before I say this, I need you all to keep an open mind. Remember that not everything or everyone is as they seem." Kingsley said before taking a deep breath in, "We have reason to believe that Prince Koa is involved in suspicious activity. Whether he's involved in the kidnapping of Aislin or King Kole, we can't confirm, nor deny."

"Are you seriously accusing my brother of treason?" Evander barked. Méabh placed a firm hand on his arm in warning.

"That is not what I said. I said-"

"I know what you said. But you implied it. What proof do you have to even have such a thought?!" Evander cursed.

Méabh tighten her grip on his arm which caused him to flinch and try to pull away, "You better calm down, gargoyle. Or you and I will be having a very different conversation outside. Do you understand me?" she leered.

Evander glared at her for a while before he eventually gave up, mumbling his compliance under his breath. Méabh passed him a glare and hummed in a 'Yeah, I thought so' tone. All he did was roll his eyes in return.

"Anyway," Kingsley began, "With the permission of Aislin, I kept watch of Prince Koa and made sure that I had tabs on him at all times. With the help of the maids and other castle servants, they were able to help me make that possible. I followed Prince Koa through the hallways when we first arrived back in Kavan, only to see him sneaking around."

"When Kingsley brought that to my attention, it was clear he was hiding something. The two of us followed his path and it lead us to the underground chambers." I explained.

"Wait... aren't those supposed to be collapsed?" Arius asked. "All the entryways were ordered to be blocked off."

"That's what I thought, but it was clear to us that Prince Koa had been going inside. For what reasons we do not know, however, it was clearly in use. And we found a woman."

"A woman?" Blakely-Rose questioned.

"The woman was of Middle Eastern descent, or so I believe. It was hard to tell in the lantern lighting. It seemed she lived down there. She had a bucket of bloody water and she seemed to be cleaning." Kingsley recalled.

"I do live down there." A voice echoed.

The group stilled for a moment before turning our heads over to the base of the stairwell. There stood the woman we had been talking about. She stood with feigned confidence, but it was clear she was here for a purpose. I watched as she approached us with caution, her hands were slightly raised, hoping to not pose any threat.

The entire atmosphere changed in seconds, and suddenly everyone was standing up, startled. Prince Evander, Zion, and Willow all pulled their swords and were ready for anything. Kingsley had placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, ready to pull it out of its sheath, Méabh hand had her arms lifted and her mini bow on her wrist was ready to shoot, and Blakely-Rose had pulled two daggers out of her boots. Arius and August also pulled out their daggers.

Arley looked around slowly, then at his empty hands, and sighed. "I'm just gonna sit down now."

The woman stopped walking forward and stood still. Fear glazed over her eyes but was gone in an instant. She stood up a bit straighter and dropped her hands to her side.

"I'm not a threat. I will not hurt you." The woman said, "My name is Divya. I've been living in the chambers of the castle for a couple of months now. I was put there by Prince Koa."

"Koa?" Evander questioned. "Why on earth would he do that?"

"He needed someone who could take care of his messes," Divya said. "My only job was to stay down there, clean up after him, and if I did so he'd leave my family alone."

"He threatened your family?" Willow asked.

"Yes sir."

"What messes did you have to clean?" Zion asked, slowly putting his sword away.

Divya sighed, "He brings people down to the chambers to torture them or kill them if he sees fit. I am there to clean the person's wounds and any evidence that they were down in the chambers."

"Hence the bloody water," Kingsley said, connecting the dots. Divya nodded.

"If you had a bucket of bloody water that means that someone is or was, in those chambers," Blakely-Rose predicted.

"Yes, and that's why I'm here," Divya then eyed all the weapons still out. Everyone understood that they made her uncomfortable and hesitantly put them away, some even sitting back down. She sighed in relief and then continued, "Aislin is the one in the chambers."

×××××××××××××

Author Note!

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