The Thread Of Fate

Chapter 8

"Go to sleep. I've some work to finish." Dominic said to me.

"We're sharing the bed?"

"Yes." He answered, "Unless you want to sleep on the chair?"

"I'll take the chair."

No! No! No! The bed is so nice!

"Whatever you're comfortable with." Dominic shrugged.

"What're you working on?" I looked at the scrolls and letters that were piled up on his desk.

"Information from spies." He sighed, "I need to go through everything and tell them what to do next."

"Spies? In your own kingdom?"

He didn't answer and just stared at me, contemplating what to tell me.

"When I took back this castle...which was mine by right, my Uncle escaped, along with his son and wife." He said, "They still have allies in the capital. I need eyes and ears all around. Not just in my kingdom but in all kingdoms around. That's how I managed to conquer 19 kingdoms and merge them in my own. Isolde wasn't always this big. Now it consists of 20 states."

"This is the capital?"

"Yes. It is called Chant."

"Why did you conquer Beate?" I asked since he was in the mood to chat.

"3 years ago, I received information that they had run off somewhere east. I came to Beate to try and find him and saw how Nish treated his subjects." Dominic said, "He reminded me of my Uncle in many ways. While I didn't find any trace of him, I decided to take over Beate when I had the chance. The last kingdom I conquered was towards the south of Beate."

"Delentia."

"Yes." He had a faraway look on his face, "once I conquered Delentia, Beate was surrounded by my territory from 3 sides. All but east. I knew it was time then."

"Do you think they went to Ralia?"

"I don't think so." He sighed, "they have no allies in Ralia. It makes more sense to go south. Which is why I'm going to attack south next."

"Can I help?"

Once more, he gazed at me. Perhaps he was deciding whether or not to trust me with sensitive information. Then he handed me a scroll.

"Let me know if you find anything relevant." He got back to work.

I read the scroll carefully. It was mostly just general information on Ralia. The king had died 4 months ago, leaving his older son John to rule. John was three years older than Jace. Their mother had died giving birth to Jace. Other information included how well John was treating his subjects.

"It's just basic information about Ralia." I shrugged. He didn't even look up and pointed towards the pile of scrolls. I put the one I'd read on a chair nearby and picked up another one.

This one had the same content as before for the most part. It did have more information on the royal family though. Apparently, princess Jenna had been 10 when John was born and 13 during Jace. Even though she was their aunt, she was the closest thing to a mother figure the boys had. Both the princes had been very close to her.

"The princes were very close to their Aunt Jenna." I said.

"I don't understand where she ran off to." Dominic sounded frustrated, "I know they must've searched Ralia. Since she was never found, I've to assume she went somewhere else."

"She could've run to your territory" I suggested.

"It wasn't mine all those years ago." He said, still not looking up from what he was reading. "But asking around won't hurt. It might offer us a clue as to what Blondie wants from you."