Chapter 2: One Last Adventure
It has been several days since King Aegeus had thrown himself from his seaside kingdom. None of the men Theseus sent could find his body for the funeral. Theseus sat at his new throne, having just come back from his own patrol. He was silently reprimanding himself when one of his soldiers burst into the room, carrying a set of familiar clothes.
He approached and gently placed the soggy bundle before Theseus, "My Lord, your Father's attire was found on the southern coast. We could not find any of his royal adornments, and this led us to assume bandits have taken them. There is a crew and ship ready to pursue the thieves."
Anger emanated from Theseus, "And what of his body? Where is my father?"
The soldier kept his head down and responded nervously, "We could not find any trace of his body. His clothes were tattered but there was little blood in the water."
Theseus swore, "And what evidence do you have of the thieves? Where will you search first?"
The soldier stuttered pathetically, "Th-the cap-captain is discussing that with-with his crew as we speak."
Theseus jumped up and the soldier flinched. "Tell him to stand down, I will lead this search."
The soldier was on the verge of collapse, "Bu-but what about the kingdom? Who will lead us?"
"Athens is filled with confident men, anyone of them ready and willing to serve their city. I will not rest until those thieves are found and what is left in this world of my father is treated with the respect he deserved in life. Athens will have to get along without me for a while." Theseus walked out of the throne room, offhandedly dismissing the soldier, who struggled out of the building and rushed to the seaport.
Nieph knew that the group of men and the straggling corpse would not satisfy her siblings for long. It was simple to deceive the men to follow her to her mother's den, and the corpse was perhaps a sign that let to more food. A wicked, toothy grin crossed her face as Nieph hypnotically swung the royal crest of Athens.
By Evan