Kitanna
Chapter 145: MISSION FAILED

Chapter 145: MISSION FAILED

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: CAN’T TAME HER ~ ZARA LARSSON]

Axilla touched the face of Lady Larel, who was still fast asleep. How did they make such a mistake of bringing in someone else other than the princess? Even though she was glad that the princess was safe back at the palace, it still worried her that she and Lady Larel were now in danger. If the prince who abducted them thinks they played with his intelligence, he might not let them out alive.

Knock....knock.....

Axilla’s attention snapped from Lady Larel’s body to look at the door; her heart raced faster than the cheetah chasing its prey. She gulped nervously; she needed to stall time until someone came for them, but would anyone notice they were missing? Maybe the princess or the Young master, but she needed to let them know where they were, and she had no idea where.

"I’m coming in," the voice of the prince was heard at the other side of the door.

Axilla rushed to the door, missing a step that almost twisted her ankle, as she wanted to reach for the door before it was opened. The responsibility of keeping the lady and herself safe now weighed heavily on her shoulders. She needed to act smart; reaching for the door handle, she composed her expression.

"Greetings Prince...." She trailed as she didn’t get his name earlier.

"Your royal highness," the man said, making Axilla tilt her head to a side looking confused.

"You refer me as Royal highness; I’m the crown prince I will be ascending the throne after my wedding with the princess." He completed.

Axilla nodded immediately, smiling like the news was good. "May your reign be long Your royal highness....." She bowed sweetly; she needed to be on the good side of this man for the time being.

"Thank you, I want to see my bride-to-be, is she awake yet?" The young crown prince asked, trying to peek inside the room, but the maid quickly stepped in front blocking his view.

"Your royal highness!.. T-that, um..the princess she’s very tired and stressed after the long journey. I just finished bathing her, so she slept off. She will see you tomorrow." Axilla answered, blinking her eyes continuously as she tried to think up anything if the crown prince popped any question again.

The crown prince scratched his brows, thinking for some time, then he said, "Did you tell her? About her wedding?" He asked, looking at the tiny-looking maid.

Axilla rubbed her hair gently; she needed to make the crown prince happy. So all she had to do was say things that would please him. "I did, the princess is so excited to get married to you." She replied, biting her lower lips.

The crown prince narrowed his eyes looking at the girl suspiciously; he didn’t talk for a moment, and this caused Axilla to grip her gown. Did she go too far with the lies? She just wanted to keep them alive until someone came for them. As the man continued to stare at her, she felt her hands turn cold with every passing second.

The frown on the crown prince’s face finally disappeared, showing a small smile on his lips. "That’s nice; I guess the rumors I heard about the princess being very stubborn is a lie. I will come back in the morning, let me know if you need anything." The man turned and left the room.

Axilla exhaled the breath she had been holding. She could swear that streaks of grey hair were now forming on her hair; it felt like she lost a few years of her life in that moment. She closed the door, and went back to sit close to Lady Larel.

"Please wake up Lady Larel; I’m scared." Axilla held the woman’s hands into hers. Then a thought crossed her mind. If they had taken Lady Larel instead of the princess, then where was princess Kitanna? How did this mix up start?

Back inside the palace of Morado, it was already getting late as every room and quarters were being searched. Bareea was already locked up in another room; she wasn’t allowed to stay close to her child because of her exposure to the stinger nightworm which was unsafe for the baby. And as luck may have it, she had stopped breastfeeding Labre for a while now with her thoughts focused on getting Khelan out of prison.

The little boy who was still growing healthily despite everything was kept under the care of the most trusted eunuchs in the palace, Severus and Clephas.

"How is the high priestess?" Nix asked the royal physician who was done checking the woman’s pulse.

"She’s still unconscious; the antidote would help her recover faster." The man said, wrapping the high priestess’ forehead with something warm.

Nix rubbed his temple; it was only the high priestess who had seen the princess in the morning. He needed her awake to know where Kitanna was. Nix turned to look at Cortez, who also worried about his missing sister and the young maid.

"When is the woman you spoke about coming to Morado?" He asked.

"I have sent a letter to Lady Hash; she would be here by tomorrow evening or later." Cortez replied, more than anyone he was anxious. His sister had no slightest idea about the outside world, and then there was the young maid who always stepped into trouble in his absence. The two women in his life gave him nothing but worry.

The feeling was mutual as Nix too was worried; it was as if the two men were stuck with women who attracted trouble. They couldn’t live past two full moons without one of the three finding their way into trouble. Right now, the three were missing, and nobody knew who and who was abducted, as there was no news about anything.

Away from where the two men were thinking deeply about the trouble-attracting women. Panha sat in her room, cleaning the box she used to pack the stinger nightworm. She smiled, thinking of Bareea’s face when she was accused of everything; finally, the woman was out of the picture. She told Khelan she would get Bareea to be silenced, and that was her plan to make her take the fall for the high priestess ailment, also that of Lady Larel, but something worried her; someone had the princess abducted. That was not part of her plan, but it still tallied; it would even make it easier for Lady Almaria and Deonisia to get rid of the princess once she finds out which person abducted the princess. Their only suspect was the crown prince of Avon, but the man said it was not him.

Panha picked up her quill and ink; she needed to let the women in on what was happening in the palace. She pushed the candle closer to her table when someone knocked on her door.

"Lady Panha, is me Catja, can I come in?" The maid whispered, trying not to draw attention as the palace was now under strict surveillance. Anyone found being suspicious would be immediately locked up.

Panha dropped the ink she was holding, "Come in," she said looking at the door.

Catja stepped inside the room, closing the door behind her. She bowed deeply. "Greetings Lady Panha."

Panha acknowledged the greeting with a slight nod. "How is everything in the palace?"

Catja started talking, "No news yet about who abducted the princess. Lady Bareea has been locked up, but her son is being taken care of by the eunuchs, one of them used to serve the princess directly." The maid reported.

Panga nodded at the information. She wanted the boy to be kept in her custody; that way, Almaria won’t have any weakness when she arrives here in the palace. "Find out everything about who was abducted and get back to me. And make sure you’re careful not to be caught."

Catja nodded her head, "I will be careful Lady Panha." She bowed her head to leave when she heard the lady speak.

"What about Lady Larel?" Panha asked, speaking in a very low voice.

Catja walked closer to avoid being heard by anyone, and she said. "I haven’t gone to check on her since. You know Lord Nix’s sharp eyes are on everyone. But I made sure the tea I served her was heavily induced with the sleeping herb; by tomorrow, she would be awake, but I told the men who work for you to tie her up and lock the place she’s being held."

Panha nodded her head gently, "You can go now" she waved off the maid, to continue with her writing. Everything was going according to her plans; she wanted to keep Bareea locked up so she would stop causing trouble for them. Poisoning the high priestess was not enough insurance; adding her cowife Lady Larel was enough, especially after the small issue they both had in the morning.

What Panha didn’t know was not everything was working according to her plan. Inside the tight room, which was also in the palace, Kitanna was lying with her hands tied and her mouth sealed; she was in a deep sleep, but at that moment, her leg moved a little.

The men who worked for Panha and the crown prince had mixed up the two women they wanted to abduct for different reasons. While the crown prince held Lady Larel in place of the princess, Panha’s men locked up the princess in place of Lady Larel.