To Spy on a "Noble"

MEANWHILE - AT THE KNAGSTUN ESTATE:

The group consisting of Amilia, Kyuala, John, Lani, Naura and Sydna are currently moving through the trees as they head toward their goal.

They get to the last line of trees before Amilia says, "That... is a slightly smaller fucking house."

"That is is," Sydna says. "Kyarl Knagstun and his rotten family have been living in this eye-sore for generations."

"So, what's the plan? This place is too large to simply stroll around looking for a piece of parchment that states 'we've kidnapped Terra Tarron,' just laying on a bedside table." Lani says.

"We can split up once inside," Naura answers. She then grabs a stick before drawing in the ground, "John, the fairy and I will take the left side of the house. Sydna and Amilia will take the right. The best places to search will be the bedrooms, offices, studies, anything like that. Kyarl isn't exactly an intelligent man, so he will be sure to have something to suggest the location of Terra if she really isn't in Yakeston."

"My name is Lani," Lani mutters to herself.

Sydna then starts to dig into her satchel whilst saying, "Before we go, I have something to make Kyuala's job easier."

She then pulls out a telescope before handing it over to Kyuala, "Should be able to see a flea on the back of a dog with that."

Kyuala takes the telescope in her hand and extends it before looking through the glass, "Holy Mother of the Hunt. This is like looking with ten eyes."

"Then search for the fleas upon this dog."

Kyuala begins scanning the manor as the others ready themselves.

"Okay, when we're down there, we won't have long to get to the wall. Once we get there, we'll have to get inside as quietly as possible. So, you think you can keep up, cat?" Sydna asks.

"Let's just get what we need and get going," Amilia says with an unfamiliar seriousness that stuns Kyuala, John and Lani.

Amilia then creeps forward with Sydna saying, "I liked her better when she was a perverted joker."

"Trust me, if Amilia is serious about something, she'll be like this until we get Terra back," Kyuala comments. She then looks around the grounds of the manor before saying, "After those three guards walk past the hedge on the far left, you'll have about a minute to get to the wall before they come back. Be ready."

The five ready themselves with Lani gripping onto John's shirt as tightly as she can. The guards are soon within a few feet from the nearly trimmed hedge, and so, after a few breaths, the five bolt forward.

Naura, John, and Lani, bank left whilst trying to stay out of sight of the still patrolling guards. Sydna and Amilia however, head to the right and make their way to their wall without an issue.

Sydna then puts her back to the wall, "I'll boost you up."

Amilia is a little sceptical, but knows she doesn't have much choice. She then puts her right foot on the readied hands of Sydna. Amilia is then lifted up, placing her left foot on Sydna's shoulder before leaping up to the top of the wall.

Once Amilia is on top of said wall, she quickly looks around, making sure they won't be spotted. After confirming that they're safe, Amilia leans down with an extended hand toward Sydna. As Sydna takes Amilia's hand, the cat begins to quickly pull her up.

As the duo are now perched on top of the wall, they make their way over to the nearby window. Unfortunately for them however, the window is completely closed.

"You'd think their windows would be better protected," Sydna cockily says.

Sydna then pulls out a thin piece of metal that looks similar to a nail file. She then slides it into the teeny gap between the window itself and the frame before slowly sliding the file upwards. A second later, a small click is heard and Sydna retracts the file before lifting the window up, "After you."

Amilia climbs inside, quickly scanning the hallway for any guards with Sydna joining her just a moment later.

"Alright, let's try and find this fucking office and get out of here quickly," Amilia says.

"Got it."

---

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BUILDING:

Naura, John and Lani have got around to the left side of the estate undetected, which surprises John.

They come across a trellis panel against a wall which lines up with the closest window which is slightly ajar.
"Well, I guess we're climbing," John says.

John goes to grab the trellis, but is stopped by Naura, "I'll go first. You just watch my behind."

"Don't you mean 'watch your back?'"

"Nope," Naura responds before carefully climbing the panel.

John and Lani look at each other with annoyed looks before John says, "Make sure no one's in there."
"Got it."

Lani then flies up to the ajar window, scouting ahead before the other two get up there.

Lani gives the all-clear, and so, Naura climbs in with John soon following behind. They quietly move around, trying to get their bearings and learn their surroundings before quickly hearing two sets of footsteps coming their way.

John is unsure of what to do, but Naura does some quick thinking and drags John into a nearby broom closet before quickly and quietly closing the door. Lani however, quickly hides up on a shelf behind a jar.

They hear the steps get closer, and both get incredibly nervous. John is nervous about what happens if they were to get sound by said guards. However, Naura is nervous for another reason, and that reason is...

The broom closet isn't exactly spacious.

There's maybe a few inches of separation between John and Naura's bodies.

Naura feels the warm breath escaping from John who is looking at the door he waits for the guards to move on. She revels in the feeling as it tickles her neck, and the intimacy of the situation is filling her with an almost overwhelming feeling of ecstasy.

John on the other hand, is feeling extremely uncomfortable. The combination of waiting for the guards to pass and being stuck in a broom closet with Naura isn't exactly great. He listens carefully, catching a muffled conversation between the two as they stop just in front of the room.

A muffled but seemingly friendly back-and-forth is exchanged betwixt the two. A few chuckles can be heard, but more footsteps follow.

Closer and closer they get until... they eventually reach the door. Both Naura and John hold their breaths, but John readies his sword in case they open the door.

A few intense moments pass with both hearts beating as fast as they can without literally beating out of their chests. The floor boards then begin to creak as the guards finally move. John reaffirms his grip on his sword, ready to strike at the first person he sees, but suddenly...

The guards start walking away.

They continue their conversation whilst their voices get fainter as they head back down the corridor.

Both Naura and John let out relieved breaths followed by John sheathing his sword. Just as John goes to open the door, Naura asks, "So, was that your sword poking me the entire time? Or was that another type of weapon?"

John looks right Naura dead in her eyes and responds, "Sorry about that. Kyuala gave me a dagger to keep on me at all times."

John then opens the door, leaving a flustered, and somewhat annoyed, Naura in the closet as he heads into the room.

"Lani, where are you?"

"Up here," Lani responds before flying down to John as Naura slowly slinks out of the broom closet behind him.

"Did you overhear anything important from the guards?" John asks.

"No. They were just talking about some girls they were planning on meeting at the tavern after their shifts were over."

John sighs, "Great... I guess we better get moving then. Let's just hope the girls find something quick."

---

BACK WITH THE OTHERS:

Sydna and Amilia have snuck into a room, narrowly dodging another patrol. They look around, finding themselves to be in some sort of art studio. The room has a bunch of paintings on the walls with some depicting mountains, others of lakes, but there's one in particular that is quite... weird to say the least.

The piece in question is smack dab in the middle of the room, still placed upon the easel. It depicts a man and woman standing in front of what appears to be a wedding altar. The couple are painted with smiles on their faces like two true lovers. The problem with said piece however, is that the woman in question is Terra.

"What the fuck?!" The duo exclaim in a whispered unison.

Amilia looks at the painting, specifically at the man in said "art," yet she can't place who exactly it is. Sydna however, knows exactly who it is.

"Nartho fucking Knagstun."

"What?"

"The asshat in the painting. It's Nartho fucking Knagstun, the dickhead that Terra was getting forced to marry."

Amilia is immediately filled with a mixture of shock, confusion and rage as the identity of the man is revealed to her. Her claws extend by themselves, her ears tense up, and her pupils constrict as she stares at the disgusting "work of art" in front of her.

Sydna sees this change in Amilia, but stays her tongue. Amilia doesn't do the same however, as she says, "We have to kill Kyarl."

Synda is shocked, "Woah, we can't do something like that right now. We don't know if he even painted this."

"So we kill Nartho then! Then we get Terra back!"

"Almost as impossible. Nartho hasn't been seen in months, maybe even a year or two. Last I heard, the egotistical bastard was down in Drownsvoyle, which is more than fifty days travel from here."

Amilia hisses, not at Sydna though, just simply out of frustration. Sydna then says, "Listen, even if we don't get something more concrete, this is still something huge. We tell Father about this, he'll have no choice but to get the Truth Seekers to question Kyarl."

Amilia just grunts before saying, "Let's just find this office and ransack the fucker."

The two then head to the door, but are stopped as Amilia hears Kyuala through the ear piece, "Guys, a carriage has just pulled up to the front of the manor. Kyarl has just gotten out of it. I couldn't exactly hear everything they were saying, but I heard Kyarl say something about an 'important meeting.' He's got more guards out here now, so you better make it quick in there."

John responds, "Got it. We're searching the ground floor now."

Amilia takes a second, but eventually responds, "We're looking for the office right now."

"Understood. Stay safe. All of you."

Amilia then turns to Sydna, "Kyarl just showed up with more of his loyal fuckwits. We'll need to be quick."

"Then let's get going."

Sydna then slowly opens the door, making as little noise as possible before the two leave the room and rush away.

---

DOWNSTAIRS:

Naura easily sneaks past a guard who is currently devoting all of his attention into a book, joining John and Lani in a small dining room.

"What are we going to do? Kyarl and his guards are sure to come in here soon," Naura says with a bit of panic in her voice.

"We'll be fine, we just have to be careful when we search the other rooms."

John then looks around for a few moments before sporting a small vent up in a high corner, "Hey Lani, can you check and see if there's an office in the hallway or anything similar? We can't risk it with those new guards coming in."

"Got it. If anything changes, let me know. I'll be back in a flash."

Lani then takes off, heading through the air vent, leaving both Naura and John alone.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Try not to get caught," John bluntly states as he walks over to the other door, slightly opening it up to peek inside. John then looks for a good few seconds before saying, "It's some sort of hallway that seems to lead to the kitchen, but no one's inside. We'll go through here when Lani gets back or if they come in here."

Naura then nods before heading to the door, putting her ear to it as they wait for Lani. As she takes her new post, she begins to think about her plan to seduce John.

She knows that using her regular tactics won't be enough on this man. He already has Kyuala and some other woman, so she'll have to resort to some other means to get through to him.

On the other hand, she knows that Terra is the priority here. Surprisingly, Naura does actually love her sister, but she can't help but feel some... resentment.

For years, Terra always seemed to be the glint in Mother's eyes. She had been the only one strong enough to get the training of the Emberskiln. Mother would always spend time with Terra even outside of training, and hell, they even arranged a goddamn marriage for her. Everything seemed to be for her benefit... but why should it be? Why does it always have to be about Terra? For years, it was all Terra this, and Terra that, even after she had run away, although, the words about her weren't always kind.

Plus, Naura wouldn't have married that rodent, Nartho either, but that isn't the point.

Naura always felt like the others got special treatment in some way or another. It didn't matter if Naura had a good score on a test or mastered a difficult skill, one of her sisters always had a better score or she was made to share praise with one of the others when they done something.

That jealousy, anger, resentment she had... it has become even more prominent in her mind, and to be truthful... it has never left.

Naura then thinks about the real reason why she wanted to take John so bad, and it was very simply.

Naura wanted to finally fucking win for once.

Terra had run away from her responsibilities and managed to snag herself the title of a hero. She managed to get some friends that seemed to really like her, but most of all... she had John alongside her. He may be with Kyuala, but from what Naura overheard, she knows that Kyuala's heart seemingly wasn't enough for him, and Naura knows it probably wouldn't be long before his charm worked on Terra, or she'd end up falling for him anyway. Either way, Naura wanted to make sure that she won his heart and replaced her so-called "perfect" sister.

As she continues doting on her plan, a group of footsteps start getting closer and closer as they walk through the hallway. The sudden steps knock Naura out of her thinking as she rushes over to John, "We have to go! They're coming!"

Without giving John a second to respond, Naura has a grip of his shirt and is pulling him into the hall between the dining room they were in and the kitchen. The door is closed swiftly but silently behind them as they begin to head through the hall as they have no other choice.

As that is happening, Lani is still moving through the vents, wiping the cobwebs from her dress and wings as she does. Suddenly, she hears some movement in a nearby room, so she stops and peaks out the vent. Lani sees that the room in question is some sort of break room. She then looks down and sees two guards beneath her.

The first man has just entered the room while the second guard is at the table, and luckily for her, the vent is up by the darkened corner of the ceiling, barely touched by the flicking candles below.

"Hey, you hear about the boss?" The first guard says.

"No, did he finally piss out that kidney stone? Or shit out that stick up his ass?" The second responds.

The duo laugh before the first speaks again, "Nah, he's got a meeting with some VIP tonight. Apparently it's some big secret. Shit, with the amount of guards he's got out there, you'd think the Angel of Wealth himself was coming. By the way, you hear about the Tarron kid?"

"Which one? Those fuckers breed like rabbits. I heard they've got another one in the stove."

The first guard laughs again, "Talking about Terra, the one who ran away."

"That bitch?" The second then continues, "Y'know my cousin tried to ask her out once? She practically bit his fucking head off for even approaching her."

"Yeesh. Apparently it's the same with all the other sisters as well, all snooty rich cows too good for the working man."

"Yeah, all deserve a good punt in the cunt if ya ask me."

The first guard starts again, "Anyway, from the stories the town guard were telling, she got kidnapped from their manor. One of their guests apparently tried to stop 'em, but ended up with a bolt in the shoulder for his troubles."

"Shit, from their manor as well? That's some ballsy folk. There any rumours as to who it was?"

"Nothing confirmed," The first guard starts, "But the leading rumour is that the boss was the one who ordered it."

"The boss? Shit. You really think he would?"

"Of course. She ran away, so she didn't have to get married to his freak of a kid. I don't fucking blame her either," The first replies before taking a swig from a flask.

"I've never seen him before, is he really that bad?"

"Oh yeah, we started calling him, 'The Freak,' for a reason, never to his face though. I swear, he could kill a dog with that damn stare of his. Now, he used to just be a classic spoilt bastard before the Tarron girl ran away, but after she did... he just sorta... changed. He developed this... aura. Whenever you were in his presence, it felt like death itself was crawling up your spine, like a switch had flipped in him. I remember a new guy quit cause he apparently saw some sort of phantom behind the Freak. No one believed him though, not out loud at least. When he left, everyone felt... safer, like we didn't have something looming over our shoulders. Glad to say, I hadn't had the feeling in a while. The problem now however..."

The first man stops for a moment, allowing fear to creep into the mind of the second before he finishes, "That feeling has just come back."

The second man is immediately spooked by the first's words and you could see the goose bumps from a mile away.

Lani takes this as a sign to move on before she gets caught. However, she did just learn something that may help them figure out who the culprit is.

---

UPSTAIRS:

Amilia and Sydna have made their way around the entire top floor and have finally found what appears to be Kyarl's office.

The office is more of a shrine to the head of the Knagstun family himself. There's a huge portrait with Kyarl as the main figure. His dolled up wife and son may be on each side, but Kyarl was definitely the centre piece for the portrait, which Sydna knows is par for the course for Kyarl Knagstun.

"Well, can't say he's short on self esteem," Sydna comments.

Amilia grunts before walking over to the portrait in question. Sydna is confused about what she's about to do, but she would soon find out as Amilia grabs the corner of said portrait and begins to pull it off the wall.

"Amilia! We're supposed to be sneaking!"

"Hooks can fall, shame it did," Amilia responds as she successfully manages to rip the portrait down.

As the portrait is literally ripped off the hook, the duo now see what was hidden beneath.

A safe.

"Of course. Why wouldn't he keep the super secret safe behind his own damn portrait?" Sydna says as she heads over to it. She examines the safe, seeing the classic dial system.

"Can you unlock it?" Amilia asks.

Sydna snorts, "Pshh, easier than I can make my wife... well, y'know."

Sydna then puts her hear to the safe before gripping the dial and begins to turn it.