Chapter 7
Barbeau
A/N: This is a bit of a short chapter but it does move the story along. As always please review and enjoy!
The royal riding party was moving with all haste down the road with Crown Princess Bella at the head. It was exhilarating feeling the wind blowing on her face feeling the cool summer air around her. She loved riding horses; it gave her a rush that was second only to flying with Vysta around the Inigo Forest outside her home.
They had been riding for over a day now only stopping a few times in between to rest. They would be approaching Barbeau in less than one hour; A good thing since it was close to dusk. She still had no luck in contacting Samuel, and she was getting annoyed! Was this all it took for him to abandon her?! One disagreement and he decided to go silent on her for days?! Unacceptable! If she had no luck reaching him once she got to Barbeau, then she would be heading to The Rock instead of the Sky Temple to settle this once and for all.
"Princess! Look up ahead," Seth called behind her.
There it was, Barbeau. A man, dressed in a white robe was seen sweeping outside the door, looked up when he heard horses galloping. When he noticed the Royal Crest, he dropped the broom and ran inside to inform his employer. When Bella and her guards got close to the door, three women and two men came outside to greet them. Bella jumped down from her horse and removed her hood as she approached the group.
"Presenting Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess Kalina Belle Kenna," Seth presented her to the group before them.
"Your Grace, it is an honor to greet you here today," an elderly man said as he and the rest of the party bowed before her.
"It is good to see you, Mr. Lao. I know my visit was sudden, but do you have room to accommodate us for a couple of days," Bella asked her 'royalty mask' firmly in place.
While with her friends and family, she may be relaxed and informal most of the time, when she interacted with commoners, she made sure to remain true to protocol.
"Of course, Princess please follow my daughter Lin inside. She will show escort you and your men inside," he told her as Lin stepped up to gesture to Bella and the rest inside.
"Thank you, Mr. Lao," Bella told him as they made their way into the building.
Once inside Bella was greeted by the other patrons of Barbeau as she followed Lin into the back of the resort. "If it pleases you, Your Grace, the sunset room is open for your use. It has a private hot spring connected to it that way you may have some time alone if you wish" Lin told her.
"Thank you, Ms. Lin. Please ensure that my guard receives the best accommodations you can offer and that someone will tend to our horses as well," Bella requested.
Lin smiled knowingly and told Seth and Hakam to follow her. Barbeau was also known for their "special massages" as well as their hot springs. Many nobles and common folk alike have been a customer here, some even visiting regularly since this establishment prides itself on discretion and decorum.
While there were some noble families and clans who looked down on the business of pleasure, The Kenna clan wasn't one of them. It didn't matter what was done behind closed doors to them as long as it was done discreetly and didn't cause open scandal.
As Bella was left alone, she took the time to look around. The sunset room lived up to its name as she had a clear view of the sky when she opened the connecting door of the outside hot spring. She turned to the large bed in the center of the room and began to undress as she put on the white robe laid out for her and tied her hair, a bit frizzy from the wind and humidity, into a bun high up. Once she was done there was a knock on the door.
"Enter," she replied and came in a female masseur came in carrying a small basket and some towels.
"Good evening Your Grace, I brought you some towels for the hot springs and scented oils for your massage," the girl said as she dropped to her knees and bowed her head.
"Thank you, you may rise," Bella responded regally
"Would you prefer your massage first Princess," the girl asked as she stood up, keeping her eye on the ground.
"No massage tonight, however, I would like some Abellona wine and a cheese tray," she told the girl. Abellona was her favorite wine to have when she just needed to relax and clear her head. It was the perfect combination of semi-sweet and spicy taste.
"Of course, Your Grace right away," the girl said as she hurried out of the room after placing the towels on the bed.
Any other day, she wouldn't mind having the girl release some tension from her. She did occasionally crave a woman's soft touch. However, she wouldn't be able to enjoy it until she spoke with Samuel. Not that he would have cared about her being with the girl, he knew about her attraction to women as well as men and he didn't hold it against her. He knew that her heart belonged to him and no one else.
She went into her bag and pulled out the charm he gave her the night before he left and sighed. "Samuel why won't you talk to me?'' she asked out loud on the verge of tears. This was foolish! She knew that he was upset over their argument but surely it did warrant this behavior from him. She shook her head and put it back into the bag before taking the robe back off and went to the hot spring.
She stepped into the water and moaned at the temperature. The water would have been scalding to anyone else, but to a fire magician, it was heaven. One of the benefits of being born to her claim was the affinity to fire. They weren't fireproof or anything like that, but it did take a tremendous amount of heat before they burned. She relaxed into the water as it soothed her body and mind.
She heard the sliding door behind her open and said, "You can just leave the tray on the table" assuming it was the same girl who brought her the towels.
"Princess Bella" a male voice called her causing her to stiffen. She quickly turned to see a man with shabby short dark hair and dressed in what looked like attire from the shadowlands, dark shirt and trousers, knee-high boots, and a silk wrap covering his head and face leaving only his eyes exposed. What alarmed her was the tattoos on his around his eyes. The Shadowlands were south of Keegan and hosted some of the most skilled spies and assassins in the known world. They used tattoo magic to hone their skills and abilities of tracking and targeting their marks. Burning and integrated marks into their skin using ink and magic to increase their power and strength.
"Who are you? What do you want?!," she demanded.
"I am called Jared. My master sent me to retrieve you, princess. You are to come with me," he told her
"You dare to assume you can make demands of me," she asked, astonished at his audacity.
"I assume nothing, you're coming even if I have to use force," he responded taking out his knife.
This amused Bella. The man obviously didn't know what she was capable of as her eyes began to glow a bright red as she stepped out of the bath. He lunged at her, but he stopped dead in his tracks. Bella gave him a dark smile at the shocked look on his face.
"Can't move can you,'' she asked him, sarcasm laced in her voice. She scoffed at him, at the pathetic attempt. One of her specialties was illusion magic. One look into her eyes and you were caught under her spell. She could make a person hallucinate or hold them in place indefinitely.
"I would think that a man of the shadowlands would have better intel on his target. I'm almost offended," she said as she grabbed off the floor to cover herself.
As the man struggled against the invisible restraints, she approached him and asked, "Who is this master that you speak of? I will only ask you once,".
Jared didn't answer. He wasn't informed that the princess possessed such strong illusion abilities. He just knew once he got her alone and away from those guards of her, it would be an easy snatch and grab.
"Fine if you won't tell me then I guess I'll have to force it from you," she said.
Jared didn't understand what she meant until he started to sweat. He felt his body slowly getting warmer and warmer. No, it couldn't be! She couldn't!
"I see you're figuring it out, sir'' Bella said, chuckling. "You see all fire magicians can manipulate the element in one way or another. Some can manipulate it to take form, some can make steam out of the moisture in the air. But there are a few of us who can go as far as controlling a person's body heat, making your blood boil inside of you. I can keep rising it until you combine where you stand. Trust me there is no more painful death than burning alive,".
Jared began to cough and spit up blood as his body temperature rose higher and higher, feeling like those someone lit a fire inside him. The was madness! Was he to be killed by some pampered princess?
"Simply tell me who sent you and I'll stop. All you have to-
Bella felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck; her vision began to waver before everything went black.
Jared slumped forward once the spell broke, coughing and gagging on his blood. There was his partner and older brother Paul who shot a dart into Bella's neck.
"Well done little brother,'' Paul said to him as he picked Bella's fallen body up and slung her over his shoulder.
"Well done?! She was going to kill me! Why wasn't I briefed on the bitch's powers?! She could have killed me," Jared screamed at his brother. There was no way he would have approached such a powerful target.
"Calm down before someone hears you! I wouldn't have let her kill you. But you provided the distraction that I needed to make my move," Paul responded as reached down to help his brother up.
Jared swatted his hand away and got up on his own offended he was used as bait. "Let's go before someone comes in," Paul said as black smoke engulfed him Bella, and Jared until they disappeared.
Seth was sated and relaxed after his time with the beautiful masseur. It was already sundown by the time he was done, but he decided to check on his cousin before turning in for the night. He approached her door and knocked.
"Princess! Are you awake," he called when she didn't answer his knock.
"Bella," he tried again before opening the door. He looked around and realized she wasn't there. He saw the cheese and wine tray hadn't been touched and that the clothes she was wearing earlier were still on the floor. Seth ran into the connecting hot springs and found nothing but could sense traces of Bella's magic and a presence he didn't know still lingering in the air.
"Holy shit," he said as he realized what has happened. Bella didn't leave on her own; she was taken!
Seth ran from the room and ran into a young man carrying a tray of wine.
"Pardon me-
"Boy, I need you to go a summon Mr. Lao here now," Seth said to him, cutting off his apology.
"Excuse me, My Lord," the boy said confused.
"Go and find Mr. Lao and bring him here at once by order of the Royal Guard!" Seth yelled at the boy making him scramble to follow the command.
Seth made his way to where he knew Hakam's room was. He burst into the room not caring about the naked woman on top of him as she stumbled to cover herself.
"Get dressed now Hakam the Princess is missing," Seth said and Hakam quickly sprang into action and grabbed his trousers off the floor and his sword. The two made their way back to Bella's room where Mr. Lao and the boy from before approached them.
"My Lords, what is going on," Mr. Lao asked Seth.
"The Crown Princess has gone missing! We will need to speak to every speak with every person in the building! Servants, masseurs, and every patron that is here will be brought here for questioning!" Seth commanded.
"Yes, of course, My Lord whatever you need," Mr. Lao said as told the boy to follow the order and give instructions.
"No one is leaving here until we get some answers," Seth said nodding at Hakam.
Hakam understood what he meant and took his sword out and jammed it into the floor. The sword pulsed three times before light flashed upwards to the ceiling and expanded over the entire building. Hakam created a barrier trapping everyone inside. He looked at Seth silently conveying his concerns. The same concern and fear Seth was feeling. They both knew the consequences of not finding Bella. They would both be executed by the Queen!