Cristo sat on the bench, hardly moving as he gazed upon the carving of Master Dragon. Helping Garrett clean the temple had proved to be a relaxing distraction from his inner turmoil but, free of any immediate responsibility, Cristo's mind once again became a whirlpool of emotion. All he could do was stare at the carving, hoping the Master would give him a sign of what his course of action should be. After minutes of waiting, the silence was broken by a loud moan from the entrance.
The bodyguard quickly turned around and saw a guardsman helping an elderly man into the temple. From the wild, white hair, Cristo immediately recognized the old man as Brey, Alena's tutor.
"Call the priest!" the guardsman called out to Cristo. "I think he has a heart attack!"
Cristo nodded quickly and rushed to Garrett's dorm. "Father!" he called out. "Come quickly! Brey's having a heart attack!" Seconds later, the priest came rushing out of his dorm, wearing nothing more than under garments. In any other situation, Cristo probably would have chuckled but this was no laughing situation. Brey needed help fast.
The bodyguard led Garrett to Brey, who was laid out on a bench. The old tutor's eyes were tightly shut as he was clutching his chest with a knarled hand. Tiny moans escaped his lips every so often.
Garrett quickly looked over Brey, judging the severity of the stress. He nodded once and turned to Cristo. "Now pay attention, apprentice," he said, his voice strangely calm for the situation. "It is best to slowly relieve the pressure inflicted on the heart. Quick healing can cause the heart to beat much too rapidly after being repaired and we'd be back to where we started. Understand?" Cristo nodded.
Garrett nodded in approval and turned back to Brey. The priest waved his hands above Brey's chest and gently said to the old man, "I am going to relieve your pain before actually repairing the heart. Understand?" All Brey could muster was a slight moan. Garrett shrugged. It did not really matter whether he understood or not. The priest just found it necessary to inform his patients of his actions so they would not antagonize him into quick healing instead of proper treatment.
He gave a quick silent prayer to Master Dragon to aid him if He could, then chanted, "Heal!" His magical will left his hands and white streams of energy left his fingertips, falling onto Brey's chest like smoke from incense. The white streams seeped into Brey's skin and began enhancing Brey's own healing process, speeding the repair to any damaged portion of his body.
A healing spell of this level was only meant to repair a localized injury such as scratches or bruises. Thus, it was with great surprise to Garrett and Cristo when Brey suddenly sat up as the spell had finished healing the heart. "My stars!" the old man exclaimed, looking over his chest. "It's like it had never been there."
He turned to an astonished Garrett and said, "Thank you, my boy. You have skills that even a bishop couldn't match." Brey then patted the priest on the shoulder before easily standing up.
The tutor started to walk away when Garrett suddenly stood up and said, "Wait a minute! There's no possible way a heart attack could have been cured that fast." He pointed a finger accusingly at Brey. "Just what is your game?"
"Game?" Brey asked, raising a bushy, white eyebrow. "Why, you didn't think that I had a heart attack, did you?"
"The guardsman said you did," Cristo said, supporting his priest.
"Only because Princess Alena said you did!" the guardsman quickly said to Brey, fearing he would be blamed in something he was innocent for.
Brey's eyes suddenly widened at the guardsman but only for a second. However, Cristo noticed Brey's reaction to the guardsman's statement and wondered why the old tutor had reacted. Alena would not lie about such a thing as Brey suffering a heart attack.
It may have been Brey was suffering from something less severe than a heart attack but just as painful. Anyone watching the old tutor would have thought so. Alena mistaking for a heart attack would only be natural, and surely Brey knew it.
Something suddenly dawned upon Cristo. The Princess had seen Brey suffer from his heart attack (or whatever it was), but had not brought him down to the temple herself. Cristo knew her quite well and she would not abandon a close friend like Brey in his time of need. At least, not unless there was something even more important to her at the time.
As Brey and the guardsman were leaving the temple, Cristo looked up and asked, "Where did you see the Princess last?"
The guardsman was quick to respond, much quicker than Brey could have interrupted. "We left her in the study," he replied.
Cristo's stomach suddenly sank. "By herself?" he cried.
Before the guardsman had a chance to reply, Cristo ran out of the temple, his thoughts already fearing the worst. He ran as fast as he could, hardly noticing the curious glances of passing people. He hardly noticed the flickering torchlight in the empty castle halls and he hardly noticed the cold draft in the empty study.
The first thing he saw upon leaving the temple was a gaping hole in the stone wall.
Cristo stood still, staring at the hole in disbelief. He kept seeing Alena, standing at the wall, punching through it as though it were no more than a wall of glass. He kept seeing the Princess leap from the hole as gracefully as a floating specter. He kept hoping she would suddenly appear from a dark corner, yelling out, "Fooled you!", as if she was just playing another trick on his fragile senses. Cristo knew this was a futile hope, though. He had spent enough time with her to come to understand how rebellious she had become. If she saw an opportunity to escape from her father's overbearing hands, she would use it.
Running to the gaping hole in the wall, Cristo shouted her name repeatedly. It was silly to assume she would come running back upon hearing his voice but he had to try something. Tears began to form, clouding his vision. He tried to scan the night but was yet another futile action. He collapsed at the edge of the wall, tears spilling uncontrollably into the night air.
I've failed, he thought, his mind at utter chaos. In my own folly of caring about my own feelings, I've failed in my duty to protect her. He looked up to the sky, his gaze falling upon the constellation of Master Dragon. I'm...sorry, Master. Please forgive my sins.
Cristo felt a gentle hand touch his shoulder and he flinched, not expecting it. Turning, he found Garrett leaning over him, a sympathetic look on his face. "It wasn't your fault," he said, smiling. "You did not fail in your duty, as you were seeking guidance from the Master."
Cristo looked at Garrett, confused. Had the priest just read his thoughts? Or had he become that predictable?
By now, the guardsman and Brey had arrived at the study. The guardsman's face was in shock, probably amazed at his own stupidity for leaving the Princess unguarded. Brey's face, however, was devoid of emotion. This confused Cristo. He expected Brey to show some sort of concern, especially since he had earlier thwarted Alena's escape.
Cristo slowly stood up, his knees still a bit weak from his turmoil. "How long ago did you two leave her?" he asked, still looking out the hole in hopes of spotting her.
"Not even an hour ago, sir," the guardsman replied automatically.
"Then she couldn't have gotten far," Cristo muttered thoughtfully.
The guardsman overheard and said, "I'll send for a search party right away, sir, and raise the alarm!"
He started to rush out when Cristo suddenly held up a hand. "Wait!" he shouted without looking. The guardsman paused, confused. The bodyguard faced him and calmly explained. "If we raise an alarm," he said, "then far too many people will know of the Princess' disappearance. Panic and chaos could ensue. And then there's the King. He'd have our heads if he found out we failed our duty.
"No, it is best that we form a very small search party and keep it very quiet. That way, very little information will leak out and, if we're lucky, the Princess will have been found before morning and no one will be the wiser."
"I understand, sir," the guardsman said, nodding. "I'll send for our best scouts. How many, sir?"
After a moment of thought, Cristo replied, "No more than half a dozen." He nodded and rushed out.
Once the guardsman left, Brey took a step forward. "I feel responsible for her disappearance," he said, somewhat suddenly.
Cristo turned to face the old tutor, confused. Brey's face seemed to be contorted in deep thought, which made Cristo just a little curious. The old tutor looked up at Cristo and added, "I'd like to join you, as well."
"How can I put this politely, Brey?" Cristo said, rubbing his chin. "I don't think you could handle an outing like this. We're going to be moving very swiftly and I doubt you will be able to keep up."
Brey's face contorted. "Are you insinuating that I'm 'old and useless'?" he said, his voice sounding agitated. Before anyone could reply, he said, "I have just as much vitality as any one of you. And I know a few magic spells that might come in handy out in the wilderness."
"I didn't know you knew magic, Brey," Cristo said, feigning surprise. It was relatively common knowledge throughout the castle that the old tutor had recently begun learning how to perform magical incantations, mainly out of the fact he wanted to prove he still had some usefulness as an old man.
Brey saw through Cristo's sarcasm, though, and quickly put his knarled hands together, doing a quick chant. Before anyone could react, he spoke, "Icebolt!" Water vapor in the air rapidly condensed to form a four-foot long shaft of ice at Brey's clasped hands. He flung his arms out at Cristo and the large icicle flew forth, grazing by the bodyguard's clothes before shattering against the stone wall behind him. Brey had acted in less than five seconds.
Everyone stood still, amazed at the tutor's quickness at casting the spell and accuracy of his aim. The old tutor looked at Garret, his eyes daring him to mock his magic abilities.
After Cristo had regained his composure, the bodyguard said, "I... guess it would be all right if you came." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "If you're up to it," he added cautiously, not wanting to invite the old tutor's wrath again.
"Of course I'm up to it!" Brey exclaimed, thumping a hand on his chest. Brey went to the study's entrance and added, "I'm just going to get a few things from my room. Meet back here?"
"Of course," Cristo replied. "The scouts will have to study the area in order to find the path the Princess took." Brey nodded and left.
Once the tutor was out of sight, Garrett walked up to Cristo and said, "He really is a strange, old man, isn't he."
"He's been around a lot longer than I have," Cristo said, watching the door. He then turned around and noticed that the shattered remains of the large icicle were already melting into a small pool of water. "I'm sure of at least one thing about him, though," he muttered.
"And what's that?" Garrett asked.
"There's more than guilt on his mind," Cristo replied, and he walked over to the hole in the wall, again hoping to see the Princess' silhouette against the night sky.