Mausinger looked up at a knock on the door to his study. "Come in?" Mrs Tibbs, the Housekeeper entered looking troubled. "Mrs Tibbs. Good morning."

"Good morning, Your Majesty," she replied. "Forgive me for asking but… but was Ratja with you last night?"

Mausinger stiffened and gave her a reproachful look. "I hardly think that is any of your business, Mrs Tibbs."

"I don't mean to pry, Your Majesty. It's just that… well she hasn't come to work today. And Cally said she didn't come back to their room all last night either."

Mausinger frowned. "You mean to say she is missing?"

"If she wasn't with you, and if you haven't asked her to run an errand for you, then… Then I'm afraid so, Your Majesty. Although I haven't had the opportunity to ask around the castle yet; I wanted to check in with you, first."

Mausinger's frown deepened. "I am afraid the last time I saw her was yesterday evening."

Mrs Tibbs sighed. "I know it hasn't been very long, but still I'm worried. This is most irregular for Ratja, Your Majesty."

"Yes. I would agree." He rose from his chair. "Please return to your duties, Mrs Tibbs. I will investigate the matter myself."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Questioning various people around the castle revealed that no one had seen her this morning. The guards stationed by the main entrance and exit swore they had not seen her leave, and even if she had, she had told no one that she was leaving, or where she was going. On the chance that she had somehow managed to slip away, he had gone into Dell. But questioning friends and family, and various people around the city yielded the same results. And the guards stationed at the gates also swore they had not seen her leave. He had even asked Evan if he had seen her in case she had gone to Evermore, but Evan hadn't seen her either. A knot of anxiety was beginning to settle in the pit of his stomach. No one simply vanished from the castle. Knocking drew him from his musings; He had returned to his study in order to decide upon the next course of action. "Come in."

Captain Buck entered and bowed. "You summoned me, Your Majesty."

"Ah, Captain Buck. Thank you for responding so promptly."

"Is this about Rodellia, Your Majesty? Word in the castle is that she has gone missing."

His expression became pained. "Yes… It would appear that she has."

"What are you orders?"

"I need you and your men to conduct a full sweep of the castle. In addition I will also need you to take a register of the staff to determine if anyone else has gone missing."

"Understood. We'll find her, Your Majesty."

"I pray that you do. And I will be awaiting your report in the throne room."

Mausinger paced before his throne. Search parties scouring the castle and its grounds had been checking in to report their findings. Or rather their lack of findings. With each report the knot of anxiety grew, until it felt like a leaden weight was rolling around in his stomach. He just wanted her back safe and sound but more than that, he wanted her back in his arms. Captain Buck and his party had yet to check in. In fact they were now the last, as well as being his last hope. He paced before his throne and ran a hand through his hair.

Footsteps heralded Captain Buck and his search party's approach. Mausinger stopped pacing and awaited their arrival. "Please, tell me you have found her, Captain," he said before they'd given him their customary bow.

Captain Buck hung his head. "I'm afraid not, Your Majesty. We searched the entire castle, top to bottom, grounds and all but found no sign of her."

Mausinger sank into his throne. "Is there… is there any good news, Captain?"

"We took a register of the staff as you requested and all but Rodellia are accounted for. Seems she's the only who's gone missing."

"… I see…"

"However there is one place we haven't searched, Your Majesty."

He blinked. "Where?"

"The sewers."

"The sewers?" He repeated.

"It's the only place she could've gone."

He frowned, as Captain Buck was right. But what in the world was she doing in there? He rose. "Then we will search the sewers." Captain Buck and his men fell in behind him as he marched ahead. He lead them to the room that concealed the entrance to the sewers behind a bookcase. From a cursory examination of the room, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The soldiers clustered around him as the bookcase slid aside and a chilling breeze wafted up from the depths. Captain Buck pulled a lantern from his arms band, lit it and held it a loft. "Allow me to go first, Your Majesty."

He wanted to say no. He wanted to charge ahead so he could find her all the sooner and hold her close. Instead he said, "As you wish, Captain."

Captain Buck lead the way, his lantern casting a soft, warm glow on the walls. A dank, wet smell began to permeate the air the closer they got to Ding Dong Well. Eventually they came to the end of the corridor. Captain Buck pressed a hand to the large stone door blocking the way and it moved aside with the grinding of stone against stone. Now they could hear the sound of running water. As they continued down the main pathway, Captain Buck would send a soldier off down one of the side passages to investigate, but everytime they would report back. "No sign of her, Captain."

As they headed further and further into the Well, it became more and more apparent that something wasn't right.

"Where are all the monsters?" A soldier asked.

"I've never seen the place so barren," another commented.

"What do you make of this, Your Majesty?" Captain Buck asked.

"If you are asking me if I can sense some magical disturbance in the air, Captain, then I am afraid I cannot. It is not an ability of mine, nor a function of Oakenhart's kingsbond. If it was, then…" He trailed off and dropped his gaze.

"Say no more, Your Majesty. Let's stay alert, everyone."

By now they were crossing the bridge into the second part of the Well. If they did not find her here, then he did not know where else to look. One of the grimalkin soldiers yowled suddenly and everyone whipped around to face him.

"Ah, my-my apologies…" He mumbled sheepishly. "A drop of water ran down my neck." His mousekind friend applied the back-of-head smack of chastisement. "What?" He objected. "It was cold."

"Let us press on," Mausinger said simply. He had no time for this. They kept walking and his hopes of ever seeing her again diminished with each step. Then the corridors opened out into a large cavern and Captain Buck came to a halt. "Your Majesty!"

He looked ahead. A figure dressed in a yellow maid's outfit lay crumpled on the cold, hard ground. "Ratja!" He teleported across the distance without a second thought. "Ratja?" He asked as he cradled her in his arms. She did not respond. Gods, please, let them not be too late! He gently lifted her hand and pressed his fingers to her wrist. For a moment he felt nothing and his heart plummeted all the way to his feet. But then! There! The veins in her wrist throbbed. And then again. And again. Her pulse was slow, but steady. She was alive! "Thank goodness," he breathed and pulled her into a relieved hug.

"Your Majesty," said Captain Buck. "We should get her back to the castle and get her warmed up. She'll be cold from lying on the floor for so long."

"Yes. Of-of course." He gently laid her back down so that he could remove his sleeveless overcoat and wrap it around her. He was just about to attempt to pick her up when one of the burlier mousekind soldiers dropped to one knee beside them. "Allow me, Your Majesty." He scooped her up and lifted her easily.

Captain Buck looked ahead. "We're near enough to the exit that I would suggest we continue that way. It'll be warmer heading back to Dell surface side than backtracking through the Well."

"Yes. I would agree," Mausinger replied. As they walked, he began to get the distinct impression that everything about this situation was all too easy. They had moved through the sewers with no opposition, had located Ratja with no difficulty and now they were about to just leave. And the mystery of who or what was responsible still remained. Mausinger stopped walking and looked back.

"Something wrong, Your Majesty?"

"Truthfully I was expecting someone else to be here… but… it would appear he is not."

"You mean the Black Knight? Wasn't he taken care of by King Evan and his party?"

"It would appear so." He turned away and was about to continue.

"Mau…sing…er…"

Mausinger's fur bristled and everyone whipped around, weapons materialising in their hands. He was not surprised to find the Black Knight had made an appearance after all.

His armour clinked as he stalked forward. "Mau…sing…er…"

Mausinger smiled sadly. "Hello, old friend."

Captain Buck tensed beside him, sword clasped firmly in his hands. "Your Majesty, what-what should we do?"

"See Ratja safely back to Dell. I will deal with him myself."

He stiffened. "But, Your Majesty-"

"This foe is beyond any of you. You must go now. And Captain? See that Ratja is taken care of."

Captain Buck nodded but reluctantly. "As you wish… Your Majesty." He turned to his men. "Follow me all of you." The soldiers hesitated before following his lead.

Mausinger turned back to the Black Knight. "Tell me something. Did you bring Ratja here?"

"I called… she came…"

"But why? She has nothing to do with this."

"You… love her… don't you?"

"Yes I do. Very much so."

"Got your… attention… didn't it?"

He shut his eyes and sighed. "Yes. It did. So, what now?"

"What… else?" The Black Knight rasped as he raised his sword.

"What else indeed," he replied as he called forth his own sword in return. "Well old friend? Shall we duel one last time?"

"This time… to the death…"

"So be it."

Ratja hauled her eyes open and looked around blinking in confusion. Where… where was she? She was in a room filled with many beds and it took her a moment to realise that this was the castle's infirmary. What was she doing here? The last thing she remembered was cleaning the bookshelves. Things got a bit foggy after that, although she vaguely recalled hearing a voice calling her name. Well whatever the case, if she was in the infirmary then there was obviously a reason for her to be here. Someone would be round to check on her, so she could find out then, but until that happened, Ratja decided that she may as well make herself comfortable. So she rolled over onto her side and gasped. In the bed next to her was Mausinger. He was about the last person she expected to see in the infirmary especially as a patient. What in the world had happened? Her concern overrode her desire to let him continue snoozing and since someone had thoughtfully moved their beds together all she had to do was reach out a hand and gently shake him.

His eyes fluttered open and upon seeing her conscious, he smiled. "Ratja. You are awake."

"Otto, what… what happened?"

"I had an encounter with the Black Knight. He was a formidable opponent in life so I am afraid that I took quite a beating."

"The Black Knight?" She repeated. "I thought he… I thought he'd been dealt with."

"Unfortunately his restless soul remained."

"Is he going to keep coming back then?"

"I have made arrangements for a purification so I would hope not. But I suppose we shall see."

"Oh, Matthias," she uttered sadly. Then she sighed. "I knew he was walking down a dark path, but I never did anything to stop him. I never even tried."

"Do not blame yourself for that, Ratja. I am the one who set him down that path in the first place."

She reached out and squeezed his hand. "Are you all right, Otto? He was your friend as much as mine."

His expression became pained. "I must confess it was difficult... to see him like that. Seeing what I had turned him into. I am glad that you were not there to see for yourself, because he reminded me of the man that I used to be."

"Oh, Otto," she sighed. "I would hug you but I don't want to hurt you."

"Well, actually…" He looked around then shuffled closer and whispered, "I am not as injured as I am claiming to be. They would not let me stay otherwise."

"Otto…"

"I know, I know. But in my defence, King Leonhard would have done the same in my position."

"He would," she agreed. "He was clearly a bad influence on you." He chuckled. Then she smiled and cupped his cheek. "I'm glad you're here, Otto."

He smiled back. "Happy to be here, Ratja."

A/N: Not the most original plot point but Ratja going missing ended up coming together better than the reverse. Although I may attempt that version later.

Edit: Minor edit after the Tale of a Timeless Tome DLC revealed that Ratja and the Black Knight were old friends.