“I don’t think I’m ever getting her out of that dress, Mids.”
Mids laughed lightly as Wonder re-entered the bedroom. He said, “Can’t blame her. Don’t worry, my tailor was smitten by her too, and I think Sakura will have twenty new dresses by morning.”
Wonder nodded, stretching. He walked to the window, where Scar was waiting. He picked up the birdie and carried him in. He whispered, “Anything?”
Nod.
Wonder nodded, and put the bird down. He then closed the windows and curtains. He purred, “Anyway, since the kiddos are sleepin’, we should have some fun~.”
Wonder activated the privacy spells, then waved at Scar. In a flash, the bandit was there. He rolled out his neck. He said, “You called it, Wonder. The King met with that weirdo Malchon.”
Mids froze. “Malchon? He is here?”
Wonder said, “Warping here constantly. He seems to be extra interested in me. Also gave a dangerous aura every time. I think he’s trying to scare me off.”
Scar nodded. “Yeah, he pretty much admitted as much. Apparently, he and King have a grand plan of some sort.”
Wonder blinked. “The King? Not the Queen?”
“I scoped her room first. And confirmed what you suspected. She wants Mids to be a marriage bond. Buuuut she was kinda in emotional pain about possibly needing to lose the grandkids.” He chuckled at that.
Wonder chuckled as well. He then grew serious. “Do you know what they plan to do?”
Scar said, “I don’t know, but they said they need to up the schedule. I then started getting a bad aura, so got the heck out of dodge.”
Wonder scowled. “Malchon suspects we were spying. Well, time to up our plans.”
Mids said, “There was a third?!?”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Wonder said, “Yeah… though if it helps, it was just in case your mom got rowdy, not your dad.”
Scar transformed back. Wonder let him loose in the window. He then rolled his neck. “Get dressed, Mids.”
He smirked. “It’s time to go plus chaos.”
****************
No one saw it coming, not even the King or Malchon. Possibly even Dark, though he was with Kingsley when Scar delivered the go-ahead. Obviously, Malchon had not been available for his chat.
The castle began to shake.
Staff, Guards, Royalty, Mages… everyone bounced up with the rumble. And soon the reason why became evident.
Mice.
Mice, rats, birds, hamsters, snakes, bugs, rabbits… pretty much every small animal existent was now crawling through every small space in the castle. And many were finding holes and climbing out.
Screams and panic reigned. Many tried to kill the vermin, but found they just rose as undead and continued on.
It would take a very smart and observant Mage to realize that the creatures were not out to harm anyone. They were simply searching for something.
But by then, the Royal family had evacuated, starting Stage 2 of the trap.
****************
Wonder checked his message board. Izuku and Kingsley were still having their Tamed looking for food. That was going to be the story… a group of Tamed animals escaped the Black Market, and had come to the Castle for warmth and food. Kingsley would shortly appear to “save” them all, and all Undead would go Izuku. And since most Tamers were away from the Capital, no one would be able to Appraise them and tell that the animals were simply going to their original owners.
The point had been to cause panic and force Royalty to evacuate.
Which was a success.
Wonder looked at Rosescent. She nodded. Like they guessed, the King and Queen went separate ways. Malchon probably warped the King out directly, and the Queen had to take the traditional route. Wonder and Rosescent had gotten Mids and the kids to the safety of the Adventurers’ Guild, where the Rogue Gang would watch them under Scar’s protection, and prep for Phase 3.
Now the duo shot off under the cover of panic. Rosescent knew every secret alleyway and sneaky place to get by the crowds that were forming. Rosescent asked, “Who first?”
Wonder said, “How far apart are they?”
Rosescent said, “About 20 miles, but my tracking spell said they are going farther. Malchon brought the King to the woods, understandably. The Queen is heading towards what seems to be a Safehouse.”
Wonder huffed. “Malchon’s the bigger threat, but we could be running directly into a trap if we follow him into his territory. I’ll tell Kat to follow him, and we take after the Queen.”
Rosescent nodded. Wonder sent a message to Kat, hoping Malchon would spare someone serving the same god, and they both took off towards the Safehouse.