Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 85: Change of Plans

Chapter 85: Change of Plans

Atticus had a hand slapped right onto his forehead immediately, sighing heavily. First the carriage, now the horses. There were definitely more than a few ruffians around last night for sure.

At this point, he wouldn’t even be surprised if it was an active sabotage!

"How did that happen?" Jonah groaned, his expression very much matching what Atticus felt. "Did no one check the stables last night?"

"The stableboy should’ve been present the entire night!" The innkeeper looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Obviously not." Atticus scoffed. "Or are you trying to say that there was indeed staff here at the stables but they were slacking off on the job, thus causing all of these events to happen?"

"That is not possible!" the innkeeper cried out. "Our stableboy has been working here for years. I have watched him grow up since his early teenage years and he has never slacked off ever since he started working for us."

"Then where is he now?" Jonah asked, folding his arms across his chest. "If the stables are under his watch, he should be here now that the horses and the carriage are ruined. Shouldn’t he own up to his mistakes?"

"Sir!"

Another knight joined the conversation. He still had fresh wounds from the previous day, his leg heavily bandaged at the knee. Yet, despite his injuries, he rushed over without a care. When he closed in, the knight shot a conflicted look at the innkeeper before bowing quickly to Atticus, Jonah, and Daphne.

"What now?" Atticus gritted his teeth in irritation, his expression darkening. Judging by the expression on the knight’s face, it wasn’t good news for sure.

"We found the stableboy,"

"Bring him here then," Jonah urged. "How are we supposed to treat the horses like this? And can someone please call in a horse doctor?"

"The stableboy is dead," the knight reported. The innkeeper’s face turned as pale as a sheet. She stumbled back a little, quickly caught by another staff member nearby before she could trip and fall. "We’ve found a dead body in the alley two blocks down. A different member of staff has confirmed his identity."

"Adrian..." The innkeeper muttered under her breath. "Oh, my poor boy..."

Jonah scratched the back of his neck. "I... We apologize for your loss," he said to the innkeeper. Then, turning to the two knights that had reported in, he said, "Send a third of our men to look into this issue. This is definitely not petty theft of a few jewels any longer."

"It might be better for you to return to our room," Atticus said to Daphne as Jonah proceeded to bark out orders to his men. "We will be stuck here for a while. At least until we get the carriage fixed and find horses to replace the ones we brought, if they can’t be treated fast enough."

The innkeeper, on the other hand, had been led back into the building, supported by one person on each side. The poor woman could barely even stand straight any longer.

"Actually, if it’s alright with you," Daphne said, "I would like to walk around town for a bit."

Atticus frowned. "Is this about who you might’ve seen yesterday?"

"I am sure I saw her, Atticus," Daphne firmly insisted. "I know you said that people that look like Maisie are plenty but I have been in close contact with her ever since I’ve arrived in Vramid." The look in Daphne’s eyes was determined. "I know it’s her."

"No," Atticus shot back. "It was late, the streets were dark, and you didn’t even get a clear look at her face from where we were. Not to mention, this," he gestured to the broken carriage, "is definitely not an accident. I can’t have you running around like that chasing after a ghost that might not exist. I don’t have the time to babysit you."

The term ’babysit’ pricked Daphne. Was she really that incompetent in Atticus’s eyes that she was the equivalent of an infant that needed constant care? For goodness sake, she was a fully grown woman that could make her own decisions and look after herself!

Sure, she had just been kidnapped, but didn’t everything turn out pretty okay in the end? If anything, she had finished off the kidnappers pretty alright by herself― albeit a little more gruesomely than what she would’ve liked.

"I have these," Daphne rebutted, lightly touching her earrings. "This isn’t like last time, when I didn’t have magic or anything else to protect myself with."

"In case you don’t remember, you can’t command your powers as and when you like," Atticus reminded. "What if your powers don’t answer your call when you need them?"

"Please, Atticus," Daphne begged. "I know she’s here. Isn’t there a way I can go?" Something clicked in her head. "Do you have a piece of clear quartz with you that I can bring with me? I’ll only be gone for a few hours, and if I don’t return by then, charm the crystal to send out a signal. Make it send an alert if it’s damaged too."

Atticus sighed.

He was conflicted, knowing very well that it was not and can never be a good decision to let Daphne go out alone to look for a person that might not even be in this town. He wasn’t sure what the motive of the attacker was or if Daphne was what he was targeting. Even if he did, Atticus didn’t have men to spare― a lot of them were injured from the thornhounds’ attack and he needed the others to investigate the situation.

On the other hand, he knew that even if he had disallowed Daphne to go out and hunt for Maisie, she would still do it anyway. Just only without his knowledge and without taking necessary precautions.

"Take this."

Digging through his pockets, Atticus brought out a piece of clear quartz. He placed it in Daphne’s outstretched hand, already regretting his decision as he did so. It softly glowed white when it made contact with Daphne’s skin, pulsing for a couple of seconds before dimming completely.

He explained, "It will release a flare if you don’t return by sundown even if you’re in a building or underground. If it’s smashed, it will do the same, no matter the time and its size. So if it is somehow broken, make sure to take a piece with you."

Daphne eagerly nodded, carefully pocketing the piece of clear quartz.

Atticus continued, "I’ll send a guard to follow you, just in case. Remember, sunshine. Come back before sunset, got it?"

"Thank you, Atticus." Some of her light returned to her eyes as Daphne spoke. "I’ll be back before then, I promise."

"Good," Atticus said. "Make sure you don’t break that promise."

Atticus had a bad feeling about this.