CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
“Someone’s here”, Alyssa quickly said as she arranged her cloth and searched around for a place to hide Liam.
“Alyssa?” She heard Tiffany’s voice from the other side of the door and immediately, her heart dropped.
“Hide behind the door!” She commanded Liam who was still looking at her in amusement.
She hurriedly pushed him behind the door after which she cleared her throat and placed a fake smile that didn’t get to her eyes.
“Alyssa! Open the door”, Tiffany called out again, this time, louder than she was at first.
Alyssa quickly turned the door knob and opened the door, trying so hard to conceal how nervous she felt at the moment.
Tiffany walked into the room, looking around as though she had something in mind.
“Are you searching for something?” Alyssa asked, still with her fake smile on her lips.
Tiffany brushed Alyssa again for the hundredth time since she walked into the room and Alyssa couldn’t help but wish that she would leave already.
“Who is in here with you?” Tiffany finally asked and Alyssa’s heart dropped.
She quickly switched her look to extreme shock and surprise.
“I’m here with me? There is no one here. Are you trying to sound ridiculous?” Alyssa said and chuckled calmly.
“I heard a voice earlier. It sounded so loud that I concluded he was here”, Tiffany explained, but Alyssa gaped at her as though she were a ghost.
“Well, this palace is so huge! Different voices can be heard across various rooms. You probably heard a voice from another room and mistook it to be in this room”, Alyssa explained, silently hoping that she sounded convincing enough.
Tiffany took in a deep breath and peered piercingly into her eyes. Alyssa fidgeted for a moment and Tiffany caught that right before she knew. Tiffany had only known Alyssa for sometime, but she was certain that all she uttered was blunt lies.
“Okay”, she finally said in conclusion, even though she didn’t believe Alyssa. She only believed that even though she was lying at the moment, she would come clean in no time.
“Did you miss me? Was that why you went in search of me?” Alyssa said and hit her on the shoulders playfully.
Tiffany smiled and nodded. Indeed, she missed Alyssa in the room. Actually, she came out in search for her because she was starting to feel that something was wrong with her recent behavior.
She took silly walks at odd hours of the night and she seemed to have become more disoriented and distracted by something she couldn’t place her hands on.
“I missed you too!” Alyssa said and hugged her firmly.
She was only doing so to make Tiffany forget about anything that may have been suspicious. And with their hands wrapped around each other’s, they walked out of the room and back to their own room.
In no time, they were done with their duties in the palace and in their free time, they decided to take a stroll and spend some time with the commoners.
Tiffany made the suggestion. She had been so bored from staying in the room all day the moment she got done with her chores. According to her, you can learn from people everyday and mostly, the commoners.
Alyssa on the other hand jumped on the offer the moment it came because she wanted to use that as an opportunity to get some information about the artifact.
***
The sun was scorching and the dry wind blew flickers of dust across Alyssa’s face. She wore a face filled with smiles, because for some reasons she couldn’t decipher, she was going to get a tangible information about the artifact.
“Oh my God!” Alyssa apologized the moment she bumped into a commoner, causing the water he carried to fall on the ground.
“Sorry?” The man scoffed as he picked up his barrel to observe that it had just gotten broken.
Alyssa was shocked to her bones. She had been so excited about today, and she had no idea that there would be chaos along the way.
“You broke my barrel! Do you know that even the golf artifact in the kings possession would never be able to buy this again?” The man cried out in pains while Alyssa stared at him in remorse.
Wait! Golden artifact?
She recalled that he had just blurted the words that were of utmost interest to her at the moment.
“This man might have an idea”, she thought silently as she smiled and counted some coins.
She handed them over to him, with a wide smile on her face.
“I know that the barrel is expensive. I wish I could get you the golden artifact as a means to say how sorry I truly am”, she said to the man who rolled his eyes at her and snatched the money.
“The golden artifact is there at the King’s palace! You can always lay your hands on it if you want to”, he hissed and walked away.This is the property of Nô-velDrama.Org.
Alyssa was in awe and without waiting to have any more thoughts, she followed him.
“Do you know the particular place where it is hidden?” She asked with the most innocent voice she could find.
She sounded like someone in need of a particular knowledge, rather than someone who had a motive of laying hands on it.
“It’s someone in the palace. A place where no one would ever think of…”, the man said and started walking.
Alyssa followed again, but this time, the man gave her a dead glare that caused her to stop in her tracks.
“Really?” Tiffany asked while Alyssa turned to look at her.
She had totally forgotten that Tiffany was there with her.
“I just needed some knowledge from that man”, Alyssa said with a wide smile.
“You don’t talk to strangers in such manner. What if he wants to harm you?” She questioned while Alyssa hugged her and patted her back.
“No one would harm me”, she said with every conviction she could find inside of her.
The walked across the street, smiling at each commoner they came across and dropping some coins to people who needed it most.
Tiffany was enjoying every bit of it. She was able to relate to the commoners. Since she had lived like one all her life, she considered herself to be part of them.
“The golden artifact?” A commoner who sold a street and traditional food asked Alyssa who was already munching on it.
Alyssa nodded.
“There was a time someone came for it”, The woman explained and Alyssa’s eyes opened in shock.
“What?” She asked again, turning restless in a split of a second.
Fresh sweats broke on her forehead as she thought of how possible it would be to regain her freedom if she doesn’t lay her hands on it.
“The person died!” The woman said with a sad voice while Alyssa gasped in horror.
“It is a fearful thing and I would advise who I come in contact with to flee from anything that concerns the golden artifact”, the woman continued while Alyssa nodded her head in approval.
“The moment they know that someone has come for it, that person would be unable to escape their wrath!” The woman added and Alyssa’s heart skipped a beat.
Tiffany had no option other than dragging Alyssa away from the scene. She had no idea of why Alyssa was asking each and everyone about an artifact that might not be in existence.
The rest of the people kept mute and denied them information. At this, they headed back to the palace.
Just at the palace, a guard was waiting for Alyssa.
She had been summoned by the queen…