Gon squatted side by side with Killua before another enormous set of doors. All the doors in the palace were huge, but these - unlike the rest of them - were barred from the two boys' entry. This was the one place they weren't allowed to go, and of course it was the one place they absolutely had to go to solve the mystery.
After breakfast that morning Gon and Killua had acted like they were wandering around the palace, when in reality they were taking a very specific route laid out by Oito and Momoze and referred to them by Circe. The treasonous faction had quite the rhythm about them, Gon found that they were particularly efficient. All they needed was someone to execute for them, and the two Champions were the perfect pair.
Following the route, the two boys had lost Isolde and their other tails with ease, and had then made it to the forbidden part of the palace. Oito had unlocked the door and wished them luck, and from there they had crept through abandoned and dust-filled halls. The two had been exercising extreme caution, they never knew when Camilla might pop up - or any palace worker for that matter. But they had made it to their destination (Domonique's bedroom) and now all they had to do was go in.
Gon met Killua's eyes and the two nodded to each other.
The Valkyrie stood up and in a fluid motion opened the door. The two slipped inside and walked directly to the bed. Oito had told them that Camilla spent quite a bit of her free time wandering Domonique's abandoned wing of the palace, and that the operation needed to be in and out.
That didn't stop Gon from taking a quick glance around, though.
The room had the usual white marble walls and floors with assorted diamonds and crystals scattered about. However, this room was accented in a light, tea green color. It was dusty and reeked of mold, but Gon could tell that this room had once been full of life. The bed was a canopy bed, with a delicate lace curtain of tea green fabric. The bed sheets and pillows were in more tea green as well as other accenting colors, and the floor surrounding the bed was more of that dark oak wood.
The two of them knelt beside the bed, and on the count of three shoved it away from the wall. It was incredibly heavy, but not a problem for the Valkyrie and the hybrid. Especially not with all the weight lifting they had been doing lately.
"Under the third floor board against the wall?" Gon whispered.
"Yep," Killua whispered back as he reached for said floor board. The Valkyrie sharpened his nails into claws, and pried the wooden plank up with ease. A cloud of dust erupted from within, and the two boys leaned forward to peak inside. Their heads brushed together as they leaned in, and Gon felt Killua's fluffy white mane against his forehead.
His hair is so soft.
Gon leaned all the way in, though was careful not to cut Killua with his horns. The silvery strands were like silk, and tickled his skin like feathers. Gon found himself unable to focus on the contents of the floor, he was too absorbed in Killua's hair. He looked at Killua's face, those sapphire eyes trained on the hidden compartment below. His hair brushed across Gon's head as the Valkyrie reached into the compartment and took whatever it was out.
Gon still hadn't even looked at it yet, he was far too caught up in the moment.
We're sitting here so close together, our foreheads are brushing together and all I can see is Killua. We're so close, you'd think it would be awkward to be all up in someone's face like this, but it just feels so natural. Killua really is my best friend… I'm so glad I met him.
A smile dusted Gon's lips as the Valkyrie's ocean blue eyes sparkled victoriously, just seeing that glimmer in his eyes was enough for Gon to know all about the key they had just found. Sure, they had been hunting for this key for days now, most of the time not even knowing what they were looking for, but at the moment Killua was far more important to him than any solved mystery.
Those sapphire eyes tilted up to meet his, a questioning look in them. Gon grinned as the two of them sat head to head, he had the perfect view of Killua's eyes. He really didn't look at them enough, they were so incredibly beautiful.
"What's with you?" Killua asked. Being so close, Gon was able to pick up on the slight hints of self-consciousness hidden in his voice and eyes. So carefully concealed, but being so up close Gon could read the runaway prince clear as day.
The hybrid smiled wider, "Your eyes are so beautiful, Killua!"
Gon chuckled good naturedly as Killua's cheeks flushed. "G-Gon! Where the hell did that come from, ya idiot?"
He gets embarrassed so easily! But it's nice, I always know that he's heard my words and cares about them when he blushes like that.
Killua sat back, and their heads were no longer touching. Gon felt a slight sense of loss now that he was no longer in contact with Killua's silky white strands. "We got the key, let's hurry and get out of here," Killua whispered as he held the key up. Gon glanced at it, deciding he might as well check out their spoils. It was just a simple metal key. Just like I thought, the key can't begin to compare with Killua's eyes.
Gon picked up the floorboard, and moved to put it back in place. However, he noticed a creamy white something in the bottom of the hidden compartment. "What's this?" he whispered as he picked it up.
Killua, who had been bringing himself to his feet, squatted back down next to Gon to see what it was. It was a slip of paper! "What's it say?" Killua asked.
Gon unfolded it. "It says: "lock, library, look."
The tan boy looked at his pale counterpart in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It's a clue from Domonique!" Killua declared. "Hell yes! This is the first concrete clue we've found the entire time we've been here! It means that the location of the lock this key goes to is in the library, we just have to search it! We'll just ask Oito and Momoze where Domonique liked to go in the library."
"The one we were in before?" Gon asked.
"No, I'm certain the library in this clue means the palace library."
"Another library day! Yay!"
Killua snorted, "Yeah, but not if we get caught. Come on, let's get out of here before Isolde gets suspicious. We'll relay this information to Circe, and Circe will get in contact with Oito. Her and Momoze will plant us a path so we can search the library tomorrow."
With a shared nod, the boys stood up and snuck back out of Domonique's abandoned quarters, key and clue in hand.
