***

Lady Raine could not sleep all night. She sat and waited for news the entire night. The king had tried to calm her down but she wanted none of it. She left him in bed and returned to her chambers to continue waiting. Soon, shadows arrived before her. Looking at their sullen faces, she felt the need to scream.

“What happened?” she asked in a dangerously low tone.

“We found the king, but no Lady Teel. There were a lot of women with her dimensions, dressed all the same, in the building; but none was Lady Teel,” the man in charge addressed her. Lady Raine flung out her hand in anger and cleared a nearby table onto the floor, sounds of her angry scream following the crash. The crash was sharp to the ears of the men garbed in black.

The feeling of her disappointment seeded in their minds. They had one task, the most important for a long time, and they failed.

“Tell me, does that king know you were there?” Lady Raine asked.

“No. He was in outrage by the time we arrived; throwing fits and killing guards,” Ria answered.

“Outraged?” Lady Raine asked.

“There is still hope, my lady. That man was angry because a maid escaped with one of the women he had there,” Ria answered.

“How angry?” she asked curiously.

“He kept throwing orders. He sent men to carry out a blockade hundred kilometres from the capital and another in two hundred kilometres. He had said; 'now that she's out there, we must not let them get here before we find her.'” Ria reported.

“So it is possible its mother. This maid, did you hear of her specifications? If she was the one that helped mother escape, we should be looking for her,” Lady Raine saw a chance. Relief and anticipation washed through her mind. Her mother was in the capital, but they didn't have her.

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“Even if we know her appearance, day will arrive in a few hours. We can't control the capital,” Ria said.

“Worry not, I will speak to the king,” Lady Raine said, before leaving in haste. It was a ten minutes walk to the king's palace. She arrived and was let in without question. The king was already fast asleep. She got into his bed and woke him slowly.

King Larken opened his eyes to see a frowning Lady Raine.

“What is the matter?” he asked groggily.

“Your Majesty, I request the capital be put under curfew for a few days, starting tomorrow,” she said and sleep vanished from the king's eyes.

“Why?” he frowned. Closing the capital, was that even possible? It was not as though this was a store on the street or something.

“We restrict movement. Everyone stays home and prepares for a search. I want to search every home,” she said.

“Do you know what you are asking of me? Restricting movement; that could probably work for a day at most, but searching homes? The citizens, sure. On what grounds do we search the noble houses? Noble houses have rights above others, rights I cannot take away without consulting with the court. If I take this away, I’m allowing others to look down on the power of a title. That can't be done!” the king rejected.

“I know you have misgivings, but my mother must appear for our wedding; only then can no one be capable of questioning our union. No one would believe that the Teel heir was married out without the presence of the family head. The leader of the Jade Hand is already here, the president of the Mercenary Alliance is already in the capital; the head of the Teel family must be there on that day! My mother is in the capital; I just need to find her. I cannot announce that I am the one you are marrying at the moment, so we must use unhanded means. This is for us!” Lady Raine explained.

“What are the possibilities of her being in the noble houses?” the king asked. He had already killed off many of his officials without a trial; he could not raid the noble houses. It was not possible. There had to be a way around it.

“As a maid probably. What are the odds of the noble houses accepting a maid tonight?” Lady Raine asked.

“Low. Almost impossible. The noble houses are cautious about such things. Even if possible, they don't hold maids in high regard. You could have them surrender all of them for checking. I can declare the person you want to find guilty of crimes and ask the noble houses to cooperate. As for the other citizens, you can search the entire capital. I may not be able to close down the capital for long. One day is all I can give you. Everyone stays home tomorrow,” the king promised.