An hour later, they were all gathered in one of the smaller dining rooms in the Royal Hall when the guard entered. "My Lord. I apologize, but I have not been able to find her."

"I assume you checked her room in the barracks?" Kahal responded.

"Yes, of course my lord."

"The training grounds?" The garden nodded. "The exercise room?"

"Yes, and I checked the barrack dining hall, the common rooms, anything I could think of for a guard. And I checked with commander Dran, the commander said she has not been given any assignments."

Kahal nodded. Of course, the commander hadn't given her an assignment, she was still working directly for him, in secret.

The guard nodded again. "Yes, anyone I asked either didn't know who she was or the only thing they seemed to know about her was that she liked to run and exercise, and that she mostly kept to herself. I'm afraid I do not know where else to look."

Kahal nodded. "Perhaps she has gone on an unknown trail for her run today, or is gone to the market or something. Take a midday meal break for yourself and then look for her again. Report to me if you do not find her."

The guard nodded and then swiftly left the room.

Kahal joined his brothers and their partners that sat at the table. The meal was served, but his mind stayed on the female guard. A knot was forming and he got a bad feeling.

"Kahal, did Rahn decline our invitation?" Kietnan asked.

Kahal looked up to see who was speaking to him, too distracted to take in what was said.

"I was asking about Rahn. Where is she?" Kietnan asked again.

"The guard wasn't able to find her."

"Oh?" Ashima asked from beside Kietnan.

"Has she ever mentioned anything to you about anything that would give you an idea where she might be?" Kahal asked her.

Ashima thought for a moment, and then shook her head. "She never really shared any personal details."

Kahal nodded, not surprised. "I'm sure she's just out for a bit, and will return later." The words were logical yet he didn't feel any comfort. He spent most of the meal pushing the food around on his plate with his fork. Rahn had rushed off almost as soon as they had returned. He had planned to speak with her about his concerns and work together to come up with next steps.

Later that evening, when his duties were complete and he was finally alone, the guard showed up in his study. He still found no signs of Rahn. It was as if she had disappeared. In fact, no one had recalled seeing her since that afternoon they returned, two days ago.

At the news, he had walked down to the guards barracks himself and looked for her. Her dwelling was unlocked for him with a master key and he dismissed the guards around him so he could take a moment to look in it alone. Only there was nothing to look through. She had no personal effects, no family mementos, nothing. It was as if the room had been empty and was prepared for a new recruit. The only evidence that she actually lived here was the paperwork in her desk along with the uniforms and weapons stored in her closet. This place was more like an office than a home. A mix of sadness and longing filled him.

Back in his own dwelling, Kahal changed into his dark clothes and mask, looking at himself in the mirror. His mind returned to the time Rahn had peeled away his mask and touched his face. Her hands had been so confident, so sure. Her eyes held no question of her desires or her strength. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, pushing the memory from his mind.

Rahn may know who he was behind the mask, but he still needed to disguise himself in public. When people saw their future king walking the streets, it caught too much attention. He quickly fled down the back stairs and out of the grand hall, going to where he knew he should have started the search in the first place. She wouldn't have considered this entire ordeal as finished anymore than he did.



~~~~~~~~~~~

"Any news?" Kietnan asked him the following morning, finding Kahal in his study when he didn't show up for the morning meal.

"No, it is as if she has vanished." Kahal stated.

"Any idea what might have happened?"

"I'm sure I know what happened."

"Oh?" Kietnan cocked his head, waiting for Kahal to explain.

"She knows there was something off about that whole ordeal, just as we do. I'm confident she took it upon herself to go investigate."

"You checked the dwelling she was assigned?"

"Yes, no sign of her. All of her food and nourishment supplies have been taken. No one in the market or her usual routes over the last few months has seen her since before the production."

"You think someone has taken her?"

Kahal nodded. "Maybe. If she got close to something. Our guards are still combing through the underground facility and the factory in the woods. They must have taken her somewhere else." Kahal stood and looked out his window as he rubbed the top of his head. "We all owe a great deal to her service. She has taken part in saving our entire family twice now. We must find her."

"We both know that's not the only reason you are anxious to find her." Kietnan said calmly as he came to stand beside his older brother.

Kahal glanced at his brother before looking back out the window for a long moment.

"I have come to know her and care for her, yes. If that's what you're implying."

"Enough to make her our queen?"

When Kahal didn't answer, Kietnan continued. "Do you remember when Ashima ran away and we sat and spoke about her being my life partner? You told me to make sure you weren't acting blind when it came to your love being right in front of you."

Kahal nodded and turned to face his youngest brother. "I remember. You think she is meant to be my life partner?"

"I know you feel more seriously for her than any other female I've ever seen you interact with."

"And when did you come to that conclusion?" Kahal turned and looked at his brother. "The few hours we were all stuck in that room together?"

"Oh I only needed the first five minutes, the rest of the time just confirmed it. You may not yet be as unhinged as I was when Ashima went missing, maybe your relationship isn't quite as far along, I'm not the one to say. But it's there. The question is, are you going to pursue the only female who has ever been able to match you, or are you going to continue to skirt around it until it's too late?"

"Too late?"

"You've said it yourself, you need to name a queen. Sooner than later. Who better than Rahn?"

Kahal thought for a long moment, the tips of his lips turning up. "You agree she would be a good queen?"

"Of course. She isn't intimidated by you or the rest of us. She was taking charge and bossing us around within minutes." Kahal chuckled. "Yet she also isn't afraid to step back and listen to others, she doesn't seem to crave power and attention. She obviously cares for the homeland, she has devoted her entire life to it. And it's clear she cares for all of your brother's partners, and they care for her. They seem to have created quite a bond."

"Yes I noticed that as well."

"So why are you even questioning what you already know?"

"It's not the kind of life she wants. She doesn't like to be in the spotlight, she likes to blend in. She likes her privacy. Being with me would strip all of that away from her. She wouldn't want it."

"How do you know she wouldn't? Have you asked her?"

Kahal gave his brother an annoyed look. "No matter, she was obviously pushing me away in that room. She doesn't want me."

Kietnan chuckled. "I quite enjoy being the brother looking at the relationship from the outside, it's much more fun to be the one seeing things clearly instead of the one in denial."

"This is no joking matter." Kahal scowled.

"Of course it's not, brother. I'm just happy for you, that is all."

"There is nothing to be happy about."

"She obviously cares for you too, and you two are obviously attracted to each other. She just doesn't know how you feel. Can you imagine being in love with the future king and telling him how you feel only to have him reject you? Especially when she works for you. She's probably just waiting for you to make your intentions clear."

"I have definitely not done that." Kahal agreed.

"Want to tell me what happened?"

"Not particularly." Kahal chuckled but after a moment he confessed. "We kissed."

"And?"

"And it was amazing, what do you want me to say?"

"I mean, what happened?" Kietnan rolled his eyes.

"I pulled away and told her it was a mistake."

Kietnan exhaled and rubbed his hand over his face.

"It was weeks ago, it was too soon. It was a purely physical attraction at that point. And as far as I knew, she thought I was someone else and had no idea I was Prince Kahal, future king. I couldn't have her getting involved with someone who wasn't who she thought they were. It would have been wrong."

"So you need to make it clear to her how you, Prince Kahal, the future king, feel now."

"There's more." Kahal placed his hands in his face.

"Of course there is. Do tell, dear brother."

"Weeks later we had another... moment. I knew I was in trouble then."

"I'll say." Kietnan smirked.

"Right. Now we just need to find her so I can tell her how I feel and ask her if she's interested in moving from a guard who specializes in inconspicuous undercover work to being a queen who an entire planet will recognize." Kahal grimaced.

"Exactly."



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note:

Super short chapter, but I had to cut it off to lead into the next chapter. You will finally get insight as to the origins behind the secret organization and what's going on with them now!