Robbins was an interesting man.

Leon seemed fond of him, so Summer was predisposed to like him.

Summer had read tales of magic and powers in history books. But those were just that, tales. She never believed in them, and she never thought she'd meet someone who did. And to discover that rulers and kings believed in them was another surprise.

After a long talk, Robbins finally let them take a closer look at the artifact. It looked as plain and uninteresting as Summer remembered. A round pendant the size of her fist, made of bluish metal engraved in odd ruins and embedded with an opaque white gem.

"It doesn't look like something that can bring magic out of people," Summer said. Even the gem looked dull.

Robbins chuckled, his eyes twinkling when they met Summer's. "Would you like to hold it?"

"Sure," Summer said, not nearly as interested as Robbins might've thought.

Robbins and Leon carefully lifted the glass dome and set it aside. Gingerly, Robbins picked up the artifact from its cushion.

"Normally, I should be using gloves to handle such precious artifacts," Robbins said. "But this little fella has been through so much lately, so gloves are really redundant at this point."

Summer accepted the artifact in her palm. She raised it to eye-level. She was hit with a sudden out of body experience. Nothing but a split second sensation of being weightless.

Something like this had happened the first time she'd held it. She remembered now. Was she just imagining it? Odd.

"I thought it'd be colder," Summer mumbled, running her thumb over the engraved surface. "Metals usually are at first touch."

"It is cold," Robbins said.

"No, it's not," Summer said. "It's warm."

And the longer she held it, the warmer it got. She glanced up to see the two men staring at her.

"Let me see," Leon said. Summer handed him the artifact.

Leon frowned. "She's right. It's warm. Warmer than it should be."

Robbins adjusted his spectacles and took the artifact back. His eyes disappeared under his bushy eyebrows. "It is. Perhaps the heat from our hands transferred to it."

Summer cocked her head aside. Their hands' heat, huh?

"Let's return it to its spot," Robbins said, putting the pendant on its bed.

"Do you have any idea about your lineage, young lady?" Robbins asked, his back to them as he adjusted the artifact.

Her lineage? She only started learning about it lately. Did he suspect something?

"No," Leon replied first. "She grew up in an orphanage."

Leon didn't tell him about Lady Mauve, so Summer decided to keep quiet as well. Summer and Leon exchanged a look.

"Why do you ask?" Leon asked as he put the heavy glass dome back on the artifact.

"Nothing, nothing. Just a stray thought," Robbins said, waving them off . When he turned around, his grin was firmly back in place. Summer's instincts stirred. Hmm.

Interesting. Summer was beginning to reevaluate her impression of the man.

Leaving the curator and his toy in their underground fortress, Leon and Summer found themselves strolling in the gardens, Summer's two guards trailing them from a distance.

Summer took a deep breath and looked up. The clear sky peeked through the trees, sunlight and shadow alternating on her face. After a long moment of comfortable silence, Leon spoke.

"What do you think of the artifact?" He asked. "Do you think it's normal it reacted that way to you?"

Summer shrugged. "I don't know. There has to be some sort of scientific explanation. I'm more surprised by Robbins' reaction."

"Why?"

"For someone who believes in magic, he should be the first to jump at any supernatural explanation for the artifact's abnormal temperature when I held it. But he didn't. That just goes to show that no matter how open-minded people think themselves to be, when it comes down to it, they often fall back on the familiar and ordinary."

Leon hummed. "Either that, or Robbins doesn't want to entertain the thought that you, a low born thief, could be of Blessed blood."

Summer glanced over to see the humor on his face. "I thought you liked him."

"I can like someone without agreeing with their worldview," Leon said. "Robbins is... he's a fervent elitist. That's a trait that many of the older generations share, and he doesn't let his beliefs affect the way he deals with other people. That's part of the reason I've always liked him."

"You didn't tell him about my mother," Summer said.

Their steps slowed to a stop. "No." Leon sighed. "I don't know why. I know he can keep it a secret if I asked him to. And he might have an insight on your bloodline. But I...don't feel comfortable sharing that information just yet with others."

As Summer thought. His instincts caught something at the end of their meeting with Robbins. Just as Summer's instincts had.

"Alright, but what do you mean 'insight about my bloodline'?" Summer asked. "You don't actually believe I'm of Blessed blood, do you?"

"What if I do?"

"I thought you didn't believe in those things."

Leon smiled. "Unless I see proof of it."

"Where's the proof?" Summer asked.

Leon tapped Summer's nose. She wrinkled it. "Me? You're taking this out of proportions, Leon."

"Am I? You have a tendency to deprecate your abilities, Summer. Why don't you think about everything that happened to you as if it happened to someone else and tell me what you think."

Summer frowned. Alright. She could do that. It started with the artifact falling into her hands, and no one knew how that happened as of yet. The first time she held it, she felt odd, as if she had dematerialized. Then it appeared that her own long lost mother was involved in the theft of that artifact. That same mother who tried to kidnap Summer. Then the artifact reacting oddly to Summer...

Summer scowled at Leon. "Fine. I admit, when you think about it with an open mind, things do seem odd... wait, the artifact falling into my hands in the first place... do you think it might not be a coincidence?"

Leon nodded. "If we are to embrace the Blessed blood theory, that might be so. We have very little information about all this. We don't know how the artifact reacts to people of Blessed blood. It might be drawn to them."

Summer shook her head. She felt like she was in a dream. "Wait, but aren't you of a Blessed bloodline? Why doesn't the artifact react oddly to you?"

"I stand by what I told Robbins earlier. The fact that our family is of Blessed blood might just be a rumor pushed by my ancestors to secure the throne. Perhaps my bloodline is not Blessed at all. And maybe it is and certain conditions must be met for the artifact to react. Like I said, we don't know enough about the artifact at this point."

Summer blew out a heavy breath. "This is making my head hurt. Let's change the subject."

"Let's," Leon said, walking ahead. Summer fell into step beside him. They emerged out of the thick trees into a clearing drenched in sunlight: a square of white stone was cut out of the lush grass. Leon and Summer's steps echoed on the stone.

"You think the kingdom always comes first, don't you?" Summer asked. She had had that impression several times.

Leon glanced at her with a raised brow. Sunlight played in his eyes, drawing out strings of gold she'd never before noticed.

He hummed. "I believe so. You think it is wrong."

Summer shrugged. "Who am I to judge? We're not exactly from the same world, you and I."

And she meant it, too. Leon had led a different life from her. It wasn't even about being royalty. Because anyone else in this city would have a vastly different view compared to her.

She had noticed the good in the city earlier. She had walked past a massive orphanage that wasn't built out of sight. And she'd seen children, girls and boys of all ages carrying books and heading to school. So now she knew that her own experience in her old town might, as Ida and the others told her, be a one off.

Leon stopped, clasped his hands behind his back and looked skyward. "Our pasts might be different, but right now, we live in the same world."

"Except you're a prince of the kingdom and I'm a thief," Summer said. She saw his hand coming and let him rap his knuckle on her forehead.

"Stop thinking of yourself as a thief. If you are a thief, then I wish there are more thieves in the kingdom."

Something happened to her heart then, an ache that felt so good she wouldn't mind experiencing it again. There and gone. Summer opened her mouth. She didn't even know what she wanted to say.

But her stomach growled. Summer put her hand on her stomach and glanced behind her at the guards by the trees on the edge of the clearing. "I think the guards heard that."

Leon chuckled. "Come on. It's way past lunch time and you haven't had anything since breakfast, I assume."

"You assume right."

"Oh, before that," Leon crouched, rolled up his right trouser leg and untied a dagger sheath. Straightening, he gave it to her. "Keep this on you. In case something like this morning happens. I'll talk to Ida, and she can take you to the armory to choose weapons you're most comfortable with."

Summer weighed the dagger in her hand and smiled. "Chocolate and weapons, you really do know how to woo a woman."

Humor sparked in Leon's eyes, and he held out an arm. "May I escort you to your room, my lady."

Summer chuckled and accepted his offered arm. "Such a gentleman."

Leon escorted her back to her room and left. There she found her lunch covered on the table near the fireplace, but no trace of Lily. She must be busy with the ball fast approaching.

Summer had her late lunch, grateful again for being fed three full meals a day without having to steal or hunt. Waiting for the investigation meeting with the patience of a toddler, she kept replaying her mother's words in her mind, dissecting them and looking for hidden meanings where there were none. That her mother had missed her. That she regretted giving her up. That she was innocent of all the crimes.

Somewhere deep in her heart, Summer was still that lonely orphan who watched children and parents walk hand in hand and wondered what she'd done wrong to be without family.

Thoughts of her childhood made her miss Rose. She sat down, wrote Rose a letter and set it on the table. Lily or Ida would know how to reach Rose.

Then the inevitable thoughts of the artifact took over. Could there really be more to the world than she believed? The artifact certainly felt odd when she'd touched it. But that was it. It was just weird. It didn't suddenly make her develop powers or grant her magical abilities. Maybe that was all there was to it. Maybe once, a very long time ago, it had been magical and now all that was left was an echo of that magic.

*** **** ***

When Lily didn't appear by sunset, Summer grew worried. Logan, Lily's crush and Leon's valet, came to personally escort her to Leon's office, where they would hold the investigation meeting.

That's where she found Lily.

Summer opened the door as Logan and her guards stood outside. She paused at the doorway.

Leon's office was exactly as she'd remembered from sneaking through the maze in the wall. Utilitarian and spare. A dark wooden desk. Green curtains. A long table with chairs. Bookshelves. A roaring fireplace.

The twilit sky was a painting of purple and blue and orange through the window, casting the buildings of the city below, beyond the castle walls, in dark shadows dotted with pinpricks of light as people lit up lanterns to chase away the darkness.

Summer would've loved to relish the view, except her attention was focused on the three people standing in the office.

In front of the desk, facing her, was a man she now recognized. The first time she'd seen him was on the trip over to the capital. Wolfe, Ida had called him.

His features seemed to be set in a permanent scowl, its lines engraved in his skin despite his young age. His prominent nose looked as if it had been broken and mended one too many times. And he looked like he liked her even less than Al did, which she didn't think was possible.

Summer gave him a saccharine smile and stepped fully into the office. As she closed the door, she recognized the set of shoulders and the head of brown curls as Lily.

"Lily?"

Lily stood in the middle of the office next to another man, her hands clasped tightly in front of her and shoulders hunched. As Summer walked over, the girl looked like she had been crying and was ready to cry some more. Her nose and cheeks were red and her eyes bloodshot.

"Hey," Summer touched her shoulder. Lily sniffed, imploring her with her eyes.

"Don't talk to her. She's still a suspect," Wolfe spoke, his voice jarring her ears.

"A suspect in what exactly?" Summer asked, standing between Lily and the Guard.

He put his hand on the sword sheathed at his hip and stepped forward. The golden buttons of his uniform caught the orange glow of the fireplace and winked.

"The note found in your room," he said. "But then again, you're also a suspect and yet here you are."

Summer stepped forward as well. If he thought he would intimidate her, he would be in for a surprise. Summer offered another sweet smile. It served its purpose, as expected, and a vein pulsed in Wolfe's temple.

"Oh, so you're the judge around here? I wasn't aware," Summer said. "Apologies, my Lord. Maybe I should just go lock myself and Lily up. Anyone else you'd like to see incarcerated? Without proper trial or proof?"

He took another step and reached for Summer. Summer let him grab her wrist. Lily gasped. "Now listen here-what the hell?!"

He snatched his hand back, looking at the line of red on his knuckles. Summer's new dagger was quite sharp.

Wolfe glared, holding his hand on top of the other to staunch the bleeding. What a baby. She hadn't even cut that deep.

Summer twirled the dagger between her fingers. Her wrist throbbed from his hold. "Next time you put your hand on me, I'll make sure the cut counts."

Wolfe sneered, the need to retaliate written all over his face. The door opened.

"What's happening here?"

Wolfe stepped back and stood to attention. Leon's presence filled the office before he came to stand between her and Wolfe.

His eyes zeroed in on the dagger playing between Summer's fingers, then on her right wrist. She followed his gaze. Summer's skin always bruised easily.

The look Leon gave Wolfe had the young Guard frozen in place.

"What's wrong?" Al said, his voice followed by footsteps as people filed into the office.

"Let's start," Leon said, finally tearing his gaze away from Wolfe. He walked past him toward the long table. Summer sheathed her dagger and returned it to her pocket. Whoever designed her dresses needed a trophy. The pockets were easily accessible and concealed by the light folds of the skirt.

Captain Holloway went to stand next to Leon's chair. Al and Ida remained in front of the desk next to Wolfe. They all looked bemused.

Ida noticed the cut on Wolfe's hand before he hid it. She raised her brows at Summer. Summer raised hers back.

"Wolfe," Captain Holloway nodded at Lily and the young man who'd been standing quietly next to her all this time.

Wolfe cleared his throat. "They're the only two people who have been seen come in or out of her quarters."

"Her" being Summer. Oh, no. He couldn't even say her name. Summer was heartbroken.

"Lily is my maid," Summer said, still standing between Lily and the others. "Of course she'd be there."

"The man?" Leon asked. Summer finally looked at the guy. He was dressed in a brown and gray uniform she'd seen around the castle on occasion. One of the castle staff.

Perspiration shimmered on the man's forehead. He looked around the same age as Summer, and his light eyes were firmly on the ground. He looked properly petrified.

"A couple of maids saw him leaving her quarters yesterday morning," Wolfe said. "It matches the timeline. And he has no reason to be there. He's assigned to the guest wing in the west tower."

Summer turned fully to face the servant.

"So it's between the two," Wolfe continued. "They both deny it."

"It's not Lily," Summer said.

"Just because you don't want her to be involved doesn't absolve her of the crime," Wolfe said, his tone making it clear he thought Summer was daft.

Summer spared him a glance before addressing Leon. "I felt the room was disturbed when I got back to it yesterday morning," she explained. "Lily's presence is familiar. She always comes and goes through my room. If it was her, I wouldn't have felt anything odd. Besides, she's a very obvious suspect, don't you think?"

Leon leaned back in his chair and rubbed his jaw. It was covered with a slight stubble that was a far cry from the heavy beard he'd had during travel. Summer decided she liked him better like this. And when that thought registered, she almost slapped herself. Lily was a suspect for treason and Summer was admiring Leon's good looks. Was she growing insane?

"How sure are you?" Leon asked.

Summer shrugged. "I'd bet my life on it."

Wolfe's scoff wasn't quiet enough. Summer gave him another smile. Perfect. He was even easier to rile up than Al.

But Summer's attention was on the servant. If he believed he was the only suspect, then he was most likely to start speaking out of fear and self-preservation.

"Which leaves us with..." Al trailed off. "What's your name, young man?"

"O-Oliver, sir," the young man stuttered.

"Oliver, why don't you tell us who gave you that note?" Al asked with an easy smile. "As you can see, you're our only suspect right now, and things don't look very good for you."

Oliver's hands fisted together in front of him. He swallowed convulsively. "I-I don't-"

"Think very carefully, Oliver," Ida said in a soft voice. "It's only a note. But if you lie now, it's going to become a different matter."

Oliver's face crumpled. He opened his mouth, and a deluge of words spilled forth. "I-I was paid. He told me I only have to sneak the note in. He told me it's from the lady's lover and that she can't meet him right now so he sent a note."

"Who told you that?"

"O-Oakley," he said. "He works in the stables. And I sometimes run errands between him and the kitchen staff. I really thought it was harmless, your highness."

He bowed his head, his entire body shaking like a leaf.

Leon nodded at Al, who then left the office, no doubt to get Oakley. After a few more questions, it seemed like Oliver was telling the truth. He'd received payment for putting the note in Summer's room. A considerable sum that was found in his pocket.

A guard escorted him out of the room.

Throughout, Lily's tears didn't stop. She was quiet, her head lowered, yet tears kept spilling on her cheeks. An infinite waterfall. The sight made Summer furious. Obviously, Ida as well.

"Lily, you may go," Ida said. Summer squeezed the girl's hand before she left. As soon as she closed the door, Ida turned to face Wolfe, who stood like he'd done something worthwhile.

"Do you think you deserve to call yourself a Guard?" Ida asked.

Wolfe startled. "Excuse me?"

Ida pointed to the office door. "That was a simple case. You could've gotten Oliver to confess without having to terrorize the girl. She's only seventeen."

"With all due respect, ma'am, he denied it."

"Well of course he's going to deny it at first; but you could've gotten him to confess some way. It only took us minutes to get an answer out of him."

"How do you propose I do that?" Wolfe asked. "I couldn't exactly beat it out of him."

I snorted. I couldn't help myself. He was just digging himself deeper the more he talked. What an idiot.

"And violence is the very first thing you think of." Ida shook her head. She pointed at me. "She doesn't have neither your training nor your education, but she was sharp enough to find a way to get the boy to speak without breaking a sweat. I think that Guard uniform will suit her more than on you, right now."

Wolfe opened his mouth. But Captain Holloway spoke first, "Wolfe. Ida is right."

Wolfe snapped his mouth shut.

"Why don't you go take care of the servant's situation?" Captain Holloway said. "I'll find you later."

"Yes, sir." Wolfe bowed to Leon and stalked out of the office.

That went well. Ida shook her head. "How long has he left in his trial period?"

"A few months," Captain Holloway said. "He's smart enough, but mostly lazy when he can get away with it."

Leon was looking at Summer's wrist, his fingers tapping on the desk's surface, when he asked, "How's Wolfe with other women?"

Captain Holloway glanced at him. "I don't know. Ida is the only woman in the Royal Guard, so I haven't witnessed any interactions. Would you like me to inquire?"

"Yes. Do that." Leon turned his attention to the map spread on the desk.

Summer approached, now seeing the map for the first time. When she'd sneaked through the maze with the boy, she'd heard everything that was said, but didn't have a visual of the map. She glanced around the room in the direction she thought the hidden wall was, but try as she might, she couldn't spot any openings in the wall. So she focused on the map.

It depicted the entire continent, with the Snowridge kingdom in the North, Springwood in the middle, and the Flatlands on the south. On either side, the Eastern sea and the Western sea.

The river where she'd found the Artifact was traced in red. Its source was somewhere from the mountains in the east of the country, but it passed close to several towns and settlements. The river was just too long to try and trace the artifact through it effectively. So no help there.

Right then, Al walked through the door, his scowl firmly in place. "The bastard is gone. I sent some Guards in his trail, but he was gone when Wolfe got the servant. Wolfe wasn't exactly discreet about it."

Leon sighed and rubbed his temple. "Whose idea was it to include Wolfe in the investigation?"

Captain Holloway bowed. "I apologize, your highness. I thought the investigation would be a good way for him to gain some experience."

"You should've kept a closer eye on him," Leon said. "Who else is working on it?"

Holloway stated a few more names that Leon nodded to. "Good. They're experienced and sharp enough. Let's keep them as is. For now, I want the guards around the museum and the underground safe doubled."

"Do you think they might come for it again?" Holloway asked. "It's been months since the heist."

"From what Summer said, they believe it's theirs," Ida said. "I bet they'll come after it again."

"Agreed. And Ida, I want you to shadow Summer," Leon said.

Ida raised her eyebrows.

"Why?" Summer asked. "You already have guards following me around."

"Your mother wanted you, for some reason," Leon frowned, tapping his fingers again. "And she's involved in the heist. We still don't know why, but there must be a link between that and you."

Leon gave her a long, meaningful look. Right. The Artifact. There had to be a link between the artifact and Summer, and that was why her mother wanted her. But that was only conjecture.

"I'd like to be safe," Leon told her, correctly reading her thoughts. She shrugged. That was fine with her. She enjoyed Ida's company.

"Captain, have you spoken to the Ripper?" Leon asked.

"I have. He refuses to work with us," Holloway said. "I tried all possible venues of bribery and threats, but he's not interested."

Al shook his head. "Even if you threaten him enough to agree, we can't risk him being out in the open. Bribes will be more safe."

"Conan the Ripper is an infamous thug," Ida explained for Summer's sake, though Summer already knew from eavesdropping. "He's very known for being a mercenary. His success rate is also exceptional, so if someone is trying to get the artifact, the Ripper would be a great candidate for hire."

"Still no witnesses, I assume," Leon said.

"Nothing. We've been through all rentals and lodges. Nothing comes up. We're still waiting to hear from the owner of the house where Lady Summer met the woman who claims to be her mother. If we'd had been informed earlier, we might have had her in custody."

Yes, yes, Summer knew she screwed up. She gave Holloway a smile. "Next time I'm having a family reunion, I'll be sure to invite you, Captain."

Holloway's jaw clenched.

"Summer," Leon admonished softly. She blinked innocently. Leon looked at Holloway. "Summer knows she made a mistake. Let's move on. Any news on Lady Mauve, Ida?"

"I received a letter earlier," Ida said, taking an envelope from her pocket, she handed it to Leon. "Mother knows a diplomat from the East who'd been stationed in the Northern court some years ago. Lady Mauve is a court lady. In Snowridge that means a woman of noble birth who is a lady-in-waiting for a Royal. Lady Mauve, from what the letter said, is in service of the current princess of the kingdom."

"The princess..." Al frowned. "She's the oldest daughter of the current king, right?"

"Yes. Right now, the king has three children. Two males and one female. The oldest prince is the heir, but rumors are wild about a possible fight for the throne. The Diplomat will attend the yearly assembly of lords, I was thinking I should have another talk then."

Leon sighed. "The last thing we want is to get in the middle of a fight for the throne of a neighboring kingdom. But let's see where that takes us."

Court intrigue. In her entire life, Summer never thought she'd ever be discussing such matters with a prince. She couldn't help her chuckle.

"What's funny?" Al asked.

Your face, Summer wanted to say. But she resisted the childish urge and shrugged. "So that's the only lead we have?"

"Currently, that's the most prominent."

Leon pushed his chair back and stood up. "I'm going to see the Ripper. He's our fastest route if we want a direct link to the thieves."

"With all due respect, your highness, I don't think that's a good idea. He's not the biggest ally of Royalty."

Leon's lips twitched. "I know. But I've already gained the loyalty of a person who wasn't a big admirer of royals and authority. I think Conan will not be as difficult."

Summer snorted. "You think too highly of yourself, your highness."

"A lousy trait you will have to endure, my Lady," Leon stood up. "Come along, Summer. I might need your help."

*** **** ***

Thoughts?

I hope you guys are enjoying the story! What do you think of the artifact?

If you notice any mistakes, please let me know. I appreciate it!

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Much love <3 <3 <3

M.B.