CHAPTER 7
As with the rest of Cenaria, the Royal Palace was a sight to behold. Even though it was not the biggest building, it was definitely the most popular. The stairs leading to the wooden-barred entrance doors were made of marble. Two guards standing on either side were immaculate armour and they stayed so still, any enemy would consider them statues instead of soldiers. Beyond the entrance lied a great hall with a patterned circle painted on the floor. The eight pillars supporting the massive room were fashioned in marble as well. To add to the royalty impression, there were twelve chairs made in silver for the twelve members of the Council. In the middle of them, a bigger chair made in gold was fixed in place. The sunshine through the elegantly glazed windows of angels beamed on the golden chair, as if highlighting it to anyone's attention. No doubt who sat in that in place.
Moving on from the great hall, the upper floors contained various rooms such as an armoury, (which was practically overflowing with weapons) and bedrooms for the forty royal guards. There was even a briefing room filled with various maps and strategy plans. Basically, the Royal Palace was simultaneously the Cenarian Army Headquarters. The members of the Council each had their own respective duties to fulfil. For example, Lady Graesin had taken care of tax income. Duke Gyre took command of the city's main defences. A young, dark duke by the name of Tayib Hussain was in charge of upholding the law with an assigned police force. With the order authorising the purge of criminals, he was quickly promoted to Sergeant and given the honour of carrying it out. So far, he and his police had closed down two brothels that were strongly suspected by Duke Gyre to be fronts of the Sa'kage. Little did Regnus know that Tayib was with the crime syndicate. It was only on the Shinga's orders that he 'closed down' the brothels. Furthermore, King Alexis constantly demanded a brief report on his progress with the purge. This enabled him to stay close and listen in on conversations between the king and the other members of the Council. This was Tayib's main job. Once a week, a messenger in robes came to take any new information from Tayib. The duke knew that the messenger would report back to the Shinga. From hearing rumours, how he wished to meet him! Tayib would love to at least see the great man, whose power was currently rivalling the King's!
Tayib Hussain was sitting in one of the private chambers inside the Palace, gazing out of the window at the sleeping city, expecting the messenger to arrive. Sure enough, a knock came from the door. Tayib got up from his chair.
"You may enter," he said. The door opened revealing a man in robes. That was how this business was done. A messenger entered and would either give him orders from the Shinga, take information or both. However, the messenger asked a new question.
"How do you meet King Gunder, Hussain?" the robed man enquired. Tayib then noticed the vocal change and the build of the messenger. He was different. The duke moved to unsheathe his blade when suddenly another was touching his throat. Tayib's eyes widened in shock and surprise. By the night angels, this messenger was fast!
"Easy Hussain, I don't have the authority to kill you… unless you become uncooperative!" the man spoke as he eased the dagger away from the duke's vital area. Tayib gulped quietly knowing it was useless to fight this intruder. But why did he say he didn't have authority? Was it because he was sent by the Sa'kage?
"I must know who I am passing the information to!" Tayib managed to muster. Beneath the hood, he saw the man smile. "I am with the organisation you are with," he said simply. Tayib hesitantly stared at him. Was he with the Sa'kage or was he with the King? Tayib thought to himself for a moment.
"You are a member of the Sa'kage?" the duke asked nervously. The robed man's smile did not falter. What does that mean? Tayib thought. His body began to shiver.
"Good guess," the robed man replied. Tayib sighed with relief.
"Well what do you wish to know messenger?" the duke said. At last, the robed man took down his hood and his expression had turned instantly serious.
"How do you meet the King?" the man repeated.
"The King holds a military meeting every week with Ceneria's generals, council members and police officers. However, this week's meeting has already passed and the next one will be held in six days." Tayib finished. After hearing this, the messenger's face returned to smile.
"That will do." he replied. "How many guards are there during the meeting?" The duke's face distorted in confusion. The messengers never asked for that kind of information.
"You are not a messenger!" Tayib exclaimed. Already his mind was working out the real answer. The speed at which the man had pinned him, his handsome looks, his clothing attire, all of which meant only one thing. "You are one of the wetboys!" and as he spoke his eyes widened with reaisation that he had tried to threaten one. Durzo's expression remained unfazed.
"Another good guess," he answered. "One more question." Durzo took a silent step forward as Tayib took one back to the wall. "How well connected are you with the King?"
"I don't understand," the duke answered. The wetboy took another step as Tayib's back became well compressed against the wall.
"What I mean is how much authority does he grant you and how much clearance do you have, etc." Durzo rephrased. Tayib's forehead began breaking into a small sweat.
"I-I am the leader of Cenaria's police and I have regular contact with the King and he allows his dukes and ladies to enter his private chambers!" Durzo glared at him.
"Including you?" he asked.
"Well of course!" Tayib proudly stated.
"Perfect!" Durzo remarked. With that, he pulled out a dagger from within his mottled grey robes. Tayib immediately tensed up. This was getting very awkward.
"How so?" he asked. Again, there was no answer on the wetboy's face.
"Because in six days, the people's duke, Tayib Hussain is going to kill the King!" he replied. Tayib finally cracked.
"WHAT?" he shouted. Realising their surrounding, he lowered his voice. "The Shinga surely cannot expect me to do that!" Durzo smiled once more.
"No that's just the public story. You're not the one who's going to kill him." he explained. The sweat on the duke's face had now made it shine like the sun.
"Then wh-" Tayib said as the dagger plunged into his chest. Durzo just looked at him at him as if he was an idiot, which he was. The duke died before he even managed to figure it out. As the body slumped on the floor, two men wearing similiar clothes to Durzo walked in. One had blond, messy hair with a medium build and a bony face. The other had long, black hair with a lage build and a horribly scarred face. Out in the corridor, laid two dead men in uniforms.
"Take the duke's body to the Sa'kage Headquarters and bury it somehere in the snow." Durzo ordered...