Chapitre 22: Leaving is Better than Dyeing

When Luhikemees Pudustjalaga and Karmja Pikmees entered the dining area of the inn, they easily caught Zenia's attention. It was not because of their "fancy" suits, but she was certain that they were the ones that were hiding behind the tree. Their height and built gave them away.

Although they did not seem to have killing intent, they looked suspicious. Could they be the ones who stole Noir from the Crown Prince's stable? But, they did not seem to have such an ability. Was there another person? Could it be the man who got involved with Merina?

Zenia was not trying to mock Luhikemees Pudustjalaga and Karmja Pikmees, but Merina was someone who values aesthetics and Zenia was certain of it. Merina's lover was definitely neither of the two men. Her years of training taught her how to read people and use intelligent deductions to predict their next move. They should have another accomplice, but where was he?

Vaughn noticed that his wife was looking intensely at the two men. 'Does she fancy such types of men?' He continued eating his meal even though he was starting to get annoyed at Zenia's seemingly lack of interest on him at the moment.

"Big Brother Vaughn, see those men?" She used her mouth to point at the two men, who were already enjoying their meals.

Zenia did not notice how she addressed Vaughn, who was startled when she called him.

Vaughn pretended to look at the men when he already took notice of them from the moment Zenia laid her eyes on them.

"What about them?" Vaughn fished out some meat from the large bowl and put it in Zenia's plate along with some vegetables.

Zenia lowered her voice, almost whispering. "They were the ones hiding behind the tree that night. I think they are responsible for stealing Noir."

Vaughn looked at Zenia with eyes wide opened.

"Are you sure?"

Zenia nodded, and they both looked intensely at the men who looked so happy while eating their food.

They quickly finished their meals, and quietly observed the two men. Luhikemees Pudustjalaga and Karmja Pikmees were still oblivious that they were being watched.

When the two men were about to finish eating, Vaughn got up and paid the meals that he and Zenia ate. He intended to follow the duo. Zenia saw his intentions and grabbed him by the arm.

"I think it's best if I follow them."

Vaughn removed Zenia's hand and was firm in his decision. "I know the ins and outs of this place better than you. I know where to go in case they have other accomplices."

Zenia thought for a moment. She never expected Vaughn to reject her proposal.

"Good point, I will wait for your return then Shadow 1." Zenia knew that what Vaughn had pointed out was correct, but she still felt annoyed.

She turned around and trod the path to her room. She was a prideful person and did not want to hear that she lacked the ability to deal with certain matters.

Vaughn shook his head. He thought that she no longer mind what happened. 'It's better this way than giving me cold shoulders.'

Luhikemees Pudustjalaga and Karmja Pikmees paid up and left the dining area. Vaughn followed them at a safe distance. A moment later, he saw Damien walked out of the inn. The two men immediately dropped to their knees and hid behind the bushes when they saw the Ninth Prince. Vaughn was certain that the two men had some connections with Damien.

Zenia's hunch may have been true after all. It was possible that the one who hired the robbers was Damien's group. Since Zenia was able to buy Noir from the mother and daughter, someone surely betrayed them.

Vaughn clearly saw that the two men sighed when they saw Damien walked away without noticing anything. They quickly got up and ran to the direction of the stable.

The hostler stopped them before they could enter the stable.

"Wait, sir, you can't possibly enter the stable without permission."

"I just want to see the black stallion there." Luhikemees Pudustjalaga pointed to the direction where Noir was being kept.

"You're not the owner of that horse, why would you go and see it?" The hostler was an old and wise man who could very well remember the names and faces at first meeting.

"My friend wanted me to check on it." Luhikemees Pudustjalaga flashed an awkward smile.

"Granting that what you're saying is true, but it is our inn's policy not to allow anyone inside the stable. Not even the owners of the horses."

"Then can you just bring the horse here so I can check?"

"My apologies sir, we can only entrust the horse to the real owner regardless of what you're saying. You can tell your friend that he needs to check his horse himself. If he wants to complain, he can talk to the manager."

Luhikemees Pudustjalaga could do nothing. "Come on." He pulled Karmja Pikmees along while grumbling to himself as they left.

Vaughn knew that they would come back. He did not waste another minute and he went to Zenia's room.

He was about to knock when Zenia suddenly opened the door.

"Oh, Shadow 1, you're back." She greeted him with a smirk.

Vaughn felt like losing his patience. He was a Crown Prince for crying out loud. But then again, Zenia was not aware of it. He felt so helpless. He remembered that he was facing Zenia Anisen, the fearless woman. A royalty was nothing in her eyes. She did not fear King Jarod or Ovid Anisen. She could control the great Zander Anisen.

'Does she fear anyone at all?'

Zenia went in and sat on the chair. Vaughn locked the door behind him and walked to where Zenia was. He pulled a chair and sat.

"Stop doing that."

"Stop doing what Shadow 1?"

"Stop calling me Shadow 1!"

"But you are Shadow 1, I must call you Shadow 1 since it's your name. You told me your name is Shadow 1, or you lied to me again?"

"Fine, call me whatever name you want." Vaughn never felt so helpless and thought that Zander must've been as helpless as he was at that moment when having an argument with Zenia.

"So Redivo, what did you find out?"

"Redivo?" Vaughn wanted to protest because it was the name of his most trusted retainer. "Do you know who Redivo is?"

"It's you! Who else?"

Vaughn was about to speak when he remembered that Zenia never had any interaction with Redivo before. There was no way that she could know or even heard about Redivo.

"Fine, suit yourself!" Zenia could clearly see that Vaughn was sulking.

'What's wrong with the name Redivo? You're so… geez."

"So, what did you find out?" Zenia had decided to drop the name calling. She also thought that she was being childish already.

"The two men that we saw earlier are indeed the horse thieves. But from the looks of it, they did not do the job. Maybe a third member did it."

"Could it be Merina's lover?"

"Perhaps, but where is he now?"

Zenia sighed. She came to Tissuria at an earlier time to avoid possible mishaps on her wedding day. She also wanted to study Tissuria's topography. She never thought that the things that had happened would happen to her.

"I don't think Merina knew where he is. My guess is he left the horse under Merina's care without telling her anything. Who knows how long he had been missing that the mother decided to sell Noir to me."

Vaughn knew how much Zenia loved that horse, but they should not take him with them.

"Zenzen, we should leave Noir here. It's dangerous to ride him. The men earlier knew the Ninth Prince. They avoided him when they saw him. My guess is they promised to deliver Noir to the Ninth Prince but Merina's lover betrayed them."

Zenia was in deep thought. She didn't want to leave Noir behind, but she was also aware that it was dangerous.

"Hmm, let me think about it. I want to make sure that Noir will be safe if I leave him here."

"I can arrange for that. This inn keeps a private stable that we can rent. You can get Noir back after the wedding."

Zenia shook her head. "I just want him to be safe until we capture everyone involved in this matter. They will go after Noir, they might even resort to killing him to cover up their tracks."

"I understand what you mean. I can arrange for Noir's indefinite stay here and make sure that no one will know that he's here."

Zenia nodded in agreement. She was impressed at the capabilities of Prince Vaughn's trusted aide.

"Is there a message from the Crown Prince?"

Vaughn was caught unprepared. He did not think that Zenia would ask for him.

"Prince Vaughn he…" Vaughn hesitated and tried to find the proper words to say.

Zenia did not give him a hard time and finished his sentence for him.

"I guess there's none since there's no way that you will be able to inform him of my whereabouts." Zenia paused for a while and looked at Vaughn. "Come to think of it, you used the name of your Crown Prince as your own. Is Redivo perhaps his top retainer and your rival? No wonder you were upset."

Vaughn remained silent and just let Zenia's imagination run wild. Each time he lied, he ended up digging his own grave.

Fortunately, Zenia seemed not interested to find out. Vaughn was half-relieved and half-upset. He was relieved that Zenia did not ask anything anymore. He was half-upset because Zenia did not show any interest to get to know him better.

Suddenly, Vaughn had thought of something. "We can dye Noir's mane if you want. I know someone who can do that." Vaughn's eyes sparkled and felt proud that he thought of it.

Zenia looked at him in disbelief.

"Dyeing a horse's mane could affect his health, didn't you know that? Leaving Noir here is still better than dyeing his mane. Please tell Noir's caretaker to attend to him carefully."

"Don't worry I will do that."

"How much do you think it would cost? I don't have much since I did not expect that these things would happen."

"You don't need to worry about anything. Let me take care of it."

"You need to do it now. If my calculations are correct, those men will return at night. The Ninth Prince may have already known they are here. He may have his men follow them secretly. We need to hide Noir and make those two men believe that they missed the time when the owner of the horse has left."

Zenia got up and headed toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Vaughn was puzzled by Zenia's action.

"We need new clothes. We never know what we might encounter along the way. We need something to disguise ourselves."

Suddenly, Vaughn felt an eerie chill down his spine. He looked at the departing back of Zenia and saw a premonition of his impending doom. He somewhat felt Zekiah's sufferings under the caring hands of his beloved sister Zenia.

* * * * *

"What should we do now, boss." Karmja Pikmees asked Luhikemees Pudustjalaga as they walked away from the stable where the black stallion was held.

"I don't know, but we need to get that horse so we can collect the rest of the money."

"Are you sure that it is the same horse that we've been looking for?"

The boss stopped walking and looked at his subordinate in disbelief.

"No." He then turned around and continued walking in the opposite direction. Karmja Pikmees followed his boss. "But even if it isn't, it will have to do. I have never seen another black stallion like that around here."

They continued walking. Little did they know that the Ninth Prince's shadow guard had already spotted them, and began tailing them ever since they left the stable. The Ninth Prince had already suspected that they were in the Principality of Ismund, and his shadow guards were already scattered everywhere in the principality.

Zenia spotted the eye-catching duo and watched where they were going. She also felt the presence of the shadow guard. She witnessed how the shadow guard made his move and tailed the two men closely. She smirked when she saw that scene.

'Looks like we really need to get moving too.' She continued walking and visited the shop for women's clothing.