Bernard walked towards the junction, the place where three roads met. He wondered why the king's advisor would want to meet him outside the palace. He knew Sheer never stayed in a place, and even when he did, he always had eyes everywhere. Sometimes, Bernard wondered if the kingdom would be better off without Sheer as the king's advisor.

He was the advisor to the late king who was hated all over the kingdom. When the king died, not one citizen felt remorse. They had to act it. They had to come out for the burial of their oppressor, but it was clear that they felt nothing for him. Plans were already in place to attack the royals before the king died.

After the death of the king, the plans were put on hold as the prince was thought to be soft and cool-headed, but it seemed nothing had been done to lift the burdens of the people. The taxes were still high and everyone was expected to comply with the law of the first harvest. They had to give a large part of their produce to the royalty before they could sell the rest. From their sales, they were expected to pay taxes.

As Bernard rode his horse through the street, he thought if he could, he would have advised the king to lift the burden from the people's back. If the peasants broke, the royals would have nowhere to run to. Sadly, he was among the first line of defense against the poor peasants who only wanted to survive.

Maybe, he could talk to Sheer with this opportunity, he thought. Or perhaps fix a meeting with the king and promise the advisor one of the notorious criminals languishing away in the dungeon. He still did not know why the palace was swallowing criminals, but he knew that anyone that left the dungeon never returned.

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He turned into the little street where Sheer had asked to meet him. The advisor had specified that it was a matter of security that could very well plunge the kingdom into troubled waters. Bernard knew that Sheer could be anything, but one thing he would never be was one who hated his kingdom.

Sheer did everything for the kingdom. He would sell his soul for the kingdom, and that was what made him dangerous. He had his objectives mapped out. The police chief prayed he would never be on the wrong side of this monster.

At the end of the little street, he found a figure standing there, garbed in the advisor's favorite dark robe. He alighted from his horse and immediately regretted it. This whole meeting was suddenly beginning to look like something else.

"There you are," the advisor said, walking towards him.

The police chief paused and waited for the man to come up to him.

"Why did you send for me, sire?" Bernard asked.

His hand hung loosely by his side, but it could easily move fast to the gun in his holster.

"The boy," Sheer said. "The boy at the palace. You know him."

"What are you talking about?" Bernard asked, a note of alarm creeping into his voice. He was not ready for this game. He knew that the advisor knew something that he did not know judging by the smile on his face.

"The boy knight. You know him. Or don't you?"

"The young knight? I saw him when I went to the palace to deliver your thief."

"Funny we are talking about thieves," Sheer chuckled. "Some inherit the trait from their parents, don't they?"

"Definitely."

"Only that you do not agree, chief."

"I agree."

"You agree that you do not agree or you agree that they do?"

"They inherit it from their parents. The town's physician confirmed it."

"And it became a law to kill these evil children with their parents as well, so we can rid our society of evil vices. Is that right, Bernard?"

It was easy to see now. Bernard knew what the advisor had over him now.