Tie It With a Ribbon

“I hear quite the uproar has started.”

“Yes, it has. I will not be one to tell you that you have driven Zanzibar to insanity.”

“This seems to be the general consensus of the entire country. Though it is only a whisper, for they all fear he should hear them and throw them in the cell beside me.”

I nodded, letting out a quiet breath. “I know this is what you wanted, but you are destroying both kingdoms.”

“I’ve done nothing to the Aquilans.”

“You’ve terrified everyone over the disappearance of Nadia.”

“I had nothing to do with that.”

I stared at him carefully. “And why would I believe you?”

“Why would I cause any harm to Nadia?”

“Why did you harm Reginald’s betrothed?”

He scoffed. “That sorry excuse of a bird was studying under Chastity. She wanted to know the culture of lions. She was not loyal to us. Nadia, however, has done nothing wrong.”

“I wish to believe you, but I know I cannot trust you.”

“I would never harm the woman who gave me everything!” he snapped, suddenly so enraged. “I would personally skin the person responsible for her disappearance, but I am not allowed outside of this cell!”

“Where is William, Alexandros?”

“I already told you. You did not check, did you?”

I looked to the door, not wishing to answer that question. “I am not answering your questions, because I am the only one entitled to asking the questions, Alex,” I told him cordially.

“Wow. That was the most unenthusiastic thing I have ever heard you say. Lena, are you as happy as you had thought you would be?

I cringed at the use of the nickname, which threw me back into times of friendship. Those times had been more peaceful than these, it seemed.

“I have business to which I must tend,” I muttered, heading for the dungeon door.

“I didn’t think so,” he breathed, returning to his corner.

I closed the door carefully behind me, sighing regretfully.

“Just what were you doing in there?”

I jumped in my skin, my hand clutching at my heart. “Oh, Zanzibar. You scared me.” I smiled, looking into his eyes.

That smile vanished.

“Answer me.”

“I was trying to gather information.”

“I am going to handle this. I told you to stay put, did I not?”

I shook my head. “I don’t have time for this. I need to find William. Once I do, the guards can finally begin searching for my mother. She has more of a chance of still being alive, and we are wasting time.”

“Your father is missing, and you are more concerned of the woman who lied to your for so many years?”

“Funny that you would speak ill of an Aquilan before a Leonian, my love,” I told him, throwing his suspicious glare back at him.

“Funny that you would point that out, darling.”

I watched him, not daring to turn my back to him as I carefully walked to the Leonian graveyard. He also kept his eyes on me at all times, though he was walking towards the opposite direction.

As expected, I was not the only one visiting the departed. Everyone looked at me, emotionless masks thrown onto their faces. I sighed, looking straight ahead as I tried to be as far as possible from them.

“Alena, what are you doing here?” Salina asked, standing carefully and smoothing her dresses.

“Oh, Salina… Everyone hates me.”

She shook her head. “They’re all just scared… I’m scared. Why is Zanzibar doing this?”

“He wants to stop this, and he’s afraid if he does not push the limits, then Alexandros will continue to hurt us... Well, that is a noble reason, and I hope that it is true. But I think he is just too suspicious of everyone.”

“We didn’t do anything!” she insisted, tears brimming her eyes. “This wasn’t supposed to happen! Someone just broke into someone’s home, and now he is gone! Who is it? We haven’t been told anything!”

Zanzibar was becoming quite the dictator, controlling the aspects of everyone’s lives. Perhaps he was more Aquilan than I had thought.

“Salina, I am looking for the grave of a William Summons.”

She gasped. “Oh, no! No! He is not dead! Please, tell me it’s not…” She closed her eyes, causing the tears to spill down her cheeks. “He was such a nice man, Alena.”

“I know,” I murmured, placing my hands on her shoulders. “I know he was, and Alexandros will pay for this, I swear to you.”

“I don’t understand. How can he still be killing if he is locked away?” she whispered, glancing around, paranoid.

“He has clearly gained followers along the way. Salina, I cannot tell you much right now. I need to solve this problem before he gains even more support, and Zanzibar is certainly not helping at this point.”

She nodded, letting out a shaky breath as she composed herself. “A word of advice, then. Alexandros would never have buried a Leonian with such proper manners. I would not search for a legit gravestone; I would search for a smaller, less noble resting place. But if he has so boldly said to check the graveyard, then I can almost guarantee it is not as it seems.”

Her hand brushed my shoulder as she stepped past me, hurrying to the safety of her home. I turned to my task at hand, beginning such a tedious and unpleasant search for the body of yet another fallen.

There were rows upon rows of gravestones, but I could not waste my time on them. Salina was right in the sense that Alex would not dare order such a proper burial for a man he did not see fit of his time, so I searched along the outer edges for a small stone or any other form of a marker. But I could not find anything.

A thought occurred. The message, which had been perfectly legible, had spoken of another lost father of mine. If he was truly my father, would Alexandros have gone to such lengths to torment me as to bury him in the Aquilan graveyard?

The answer was obvious. He would, and he had.

I hurried through the panicked crowd, shooting for the sky and again flying much faster than I had ever dared. I landed within feet of the resting place, though my feet never stopped moving.

I passed Cain’s grave and past the graves of my other lost ones, though nothing seemed out of place just yet.

Until I came to Reginald’s wife’s grave. She had been moved! I narrowed my eyes, staring at the new tombstone, which was but a rock with her name on it. I looked to the grave beside it, knowing full well the name I would read.

The only Leonian to ever remain on Aquilan soil, and yet it was clear that he had belonged here ever since my birth.