Chapter 20: THE INFILTRATOR 2
Tim is trying to walk away as fast as she can; she needs to go away from there before York, or somebody else notices her eves dropping. She goes out and opens the door only to come across and look straight to the eye of Amanda. They rooted to the spot for a minute or two, speechless, emotionless, just staring eye to eye towards each other.
They stayed still until York come out from the other room and notices them.
"Hey, you finally meet each other." York amble towards them.
The only moment when the two ladies stop their unpredictable gazes towards each other.
"I assume this is the girl." With a sly smile, Amanda replies.
"You're right" York moves towards Tim and put his arm around her shoulders. Pointing out towards Amanda as he announces. " And this is my best friend, a childhood friend and trusted friend, Amanda."
"Nice meeting you, Amanda, but I think York and I should go ahead." While dragging York"s arm, she leaves Amanda with a secretive and meaningful look.
York didn't resist Tim's action, although he worries about not giving ample attention to his friend Amanda. He waves her goodbye together with his apologetic look.
Amanda follows them with a gaze, with her same poker face, she tilted her head, exposing her vulnerable neck.
Walking through the hallway, while Tim's hand is tightly holding still in York's muscular arms.
"By the way, why are you there? And where's Gorva?"
Tim, look away for a moment contemplating the right alibies before saying." Gorva need to head back to my bed-chamber; I asked her to get me some cover because I want a stroll in the garden. I didn't notice that I've walked too much and got lost."
"Well, you're lucky that I found you. True, this palace is huge enough for someone new, to get familiar around the place that easily."
"Yes, and there are, maybe a lot of concealed rooms all around the castle, that for sure, none a single person knows every passage and secret cubbyholes."
York replied with a wordless snicker avoiding the topic.
By the evening, Amanda headed the preparation for a little welcoming feast for the King and Tim. She ordered fairy workers to produce brimming barrels of the most temptingly excellent wines from the most rear fruit pluck freshly from the farthest most mountain of the kingdom.
In this realm, they don't bother to store wine for years; magic makes it taste better, that nothing in the human world's most exquisite wines can compare.
York seated in the midst of the two ladies, Amanda and Tim, amused with the performing little Enkantos. As the celebration goes on high, and the wine's spirit starts to make everyone extremely euphoric and unminding, Amanda gives Tim some meaningful glance.
With her last gulp with the wine, thenceforward, Tim stands up, whispering to York that she needs to get back in her bed and need to rest. York nodded without any hesitation, then continue devouring his food and laughing at the amusing performer.
Heedful as she walks, Tim in tiptoe stride silently along the hallway to the Archive. That part of the palace is shady, and non-a-soul is usually seen around. She made it easily towards the archives entrance.
She needs to find the oldest and original map of this castle. This is the only way she can find the hidden part of the castle, the secret room, where they are hiding their most valuable crystal that continuously radiates power for all the Encantos, especially York. She starts rummaging. When...
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" It's the kingdom's archivist; he is an old Encantado, just like the rest, he has white long hair, mustache and beard, pointed ear, and wrinkled fair skin. He caught Tim throwing the files into disarray.
Tim stopped with a disappointed and sigh. She turns to look back at him; her eyes are bloodshot, annihilating, and displeased with the archivist.
The old archivist, startled and scared, shivers with cognizant that in front of him is one of the wicked witches trying to penetrate the palace or probably the infiltrator herself. He's attempting to left his hands to do some magic and defend himself from the intimidating witch. However, it's been long that he stayed in that corner of the palace and hasn't used or practiced his magic, make him move sluggishly, and it's too late for him when Tim sprints towards him and grips his neck.
"Adolebitque ton et sang auferant emporte-le eam." She chants loudly, and a red eerie light flashes between Tim's palm and the old archivist's neck as his bolted nerves run towards his face and upper torso. Slowly his eye's widened like staring blankly at nowhere. His skin turns chalky, as white as his hair that is starting to stand up and stiffen. He flops down to the floor as Tim let go of his neck, exposing the seared skin around it.
She covered the archivist's cadaver with a bunch of rolled papers in the archived before she continues her purpose, which is to have the old map in hand. She almost wants to give up when she glimpses into a chained box near the window. She finds it interesting and suspicious, so she thinks that she could find the map inside. Instantly, she goes towards it and tries to pull the chain away. Her strength without magic spells isn't capable enough to open this box and untie the bulky chain around it.
She wants to stride down the kitchen and get some ax, but she's not even sure if they actually used ax or actually cooked at all or just simply do the magic. She tried to remember or think of some magical chants that can help, but since she had been imprisoned for a long time in her twin's body, she knew mostly nothing but the only chants that she always heard every time she dreamed. That was the moment when she's asleep, and Thea is awake.
She walks to and fro, thinking about what else she can do with the box, and stumble upon a metal saw. Just like a trophy that was placed inside a glass box. She abruptly break the container and picked it up then started rasping it against the chain, consistently until it's cut.
She opens the box with no disappointment after seeing the big roll of yellowish paper, and it's the oldest palace map.
"Is anybody here?" A voice of one of the palace knight in roving. Together with the cricking sound of the archive's large door as he is about to get inside.
'He probably heard the rasping sound of the saw while I tried to open the box.' Tim Thought. Tim climbs over the window and goes out from it painstakingly without a second thought after glancing at the window nearby.
She slowly climbs, pressing herself with the wall towards another open window that leads to the library. She stops and peeks before she gets in. She heard voices from inside that turns the clamors louder. At the same time, she hears footsteps going out of the library. They seem running towards the next adjacent room, which is the archive.
Makes her aware that they already know that the archivist is dead. As much as possible, she hides behind the large shelves and, in the most, out of the beaten track part of the library. Looking around the bookshelves, she catches an eye of a book covered in gold and glittery.
She was taken aback after touching the book; the shelf wall shakes together with the rattling sound, and slowly it breaks to half and open, disclosing a long and winding stairway.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone