"Get the sandbags ready! Everyone ensure you have your podiums at your stations! Put on your rain gear!" The head guard shouted orders to the rest of the guards on duty as the torrential downpour rushed down the stairs.
"Make sure you are paying attention! Be on Flood Guard! Follow protocol!"
Eilownia sat up from laying on the floor and the commotion. Their footsteps were heavy as they frantically prepared. She could hear thunder rolling in front above ground and the sound of water trickling down the stairs.
One of the guards ran over and stood in front of her cell.
"Prisoner! Be on high alert! We are under Flood Guard! If the water rises too high, we will need to evacuate!"
Eilownia nodded and the guard quickly returned to help the others.
Her skin was covered in goosebumps, her hair stood up straight as she could physically feel the temperature plummet by the second.
Even with the warmer prison attire Marix had sent for her, she was still freezing.
'Thank goodness, I can't imagine how cold it would be without this.....'
She hugged herself and looked upward. The wind was howling and she thought she heard what sounded like a tree fall over.
The dungeon wouldn't flood, right? She sucked her bottom lip. The garden shed was much smaller and held much more water than this.
But then again.....would they be in such a fuss about it, if it didn't?
It was getting colder by the second. She turned towards the corner of the cell which was full of straw and gathered as much of it as she could into her arms.
She carried it over to the bed Marix had made for her and carefully climbed on. The nails still poked her, but it was really no different than sleeping on the floor of the shed back at home.
The mattress added some warmth as well by absorbing her body heat and not allowing her to touch to cold wood underneath.
As she covered herself in the straw, she couldn't help but smile.
Marix had given her warmer clothes, she had a bed to sleep on, a roof over her head that wasn't leaking (even though it was flooding), food that wasn't covered in mold and wasn't just tossed scraps, and something to cover herself with.
'I think...…I'd like to stay here. I wonder if that would be allowed? Are prisoners allowed to stay? I just would like to see the sun again and feel the grass on my feet.'
She curled up and looked at one of the pieces of straw. There were a few specks of mold on it.
Her fingers plucked the pieces and held them up. She didn't mind the mold, it even reminded her of home.
As she thought about home, she couldn't help but think of her branch doll and mildewed rabbit plush.
She glanced towards the door of her cell. Since being imprisoned in Marix's dungeon for interrogation, she'd had more social interactions with humans than she had in years back home.
Yet, suddenly, for the first time in forever, she felt lonely.
There was no one to cheer her on.
Slowly, a smile came over her face as she bent the straw and weaved it together.
After a few minutes, she had created an oblong shape with two pointed tips coming out of one side.
"Hello. It's nice to meet you. I'm going to call you Strawbunny from now on and you will be my beloved new friend~" Eilownia smiled wide and hugged the woven creature tight to her chest as she drifted off to sleep.
"I WANT HER FOUND! IMMEDIATELY!" Lord Evans grabbed one of the vintage vases on one of the pedestals nearby and threw it to the ground, shattering it.
The mains scrambled to his feet, their hands trembled as they picked it up piece by piece.
"My lord. We have our people on it searching the streets for her." His head butler said, his head bowed.
"IT HAS BEEN DAYS! WHO KNOWS WHAT THAT!!! THAT THING! HAS BEEN DOING! WHY HAVE YOU NOT FOUND HER YET?!"
"I apologize, my lord. We are doing all we can."
"AND YET NO PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE!"
He reached out and grabbed one of the maids by the throat, shoving her against the wall. She clawed at his hand as he squeezed.
None of the other servants even looked their way, their eyes were focused on their tasks or kept to the floor.
"I want EVERYWHERE searched. Check the hostels, ask the merchants, get the manifests! Leave no stone unturned! SHE MUST BE FOUND BEFORE SHE OPENS THAT STUPID MOUTH OF HERS!"
Lord Evans dropped the maid as he ran his hand through his hair frantically, his eyes wild. She grabbed at her throat, rubbing it as she tried to hold in her coughs. She staggered and quickly excused herself from the room.
"My lord. How would you like us to approach this matter? Surely it will raise suspicion if we ask around for a missing woman so frantically."
The butler kept his eyes on the ground, his bowed posture never faltered.
Lord Evans fixed his posture, standing tall, his hair disheveled.
He let out a loud huff and considered his options.
"Fine. All of you individually will tell a different story. You," He pointed to one of the maids who was cleaning up the broken vase. She quickly stood up when he addressed her.
"You will be searching for your missing daughter." The other servants glanced at her with a look of pity.
"And you!" He pointed to the other maid, who completely froze.
"You'll be looking for your cousin who is visiting from a far away land and stormed off during an argument."
The maid nodded, her body relaxed.
After everyone had their delegated 'story' Lord Evans shooed them off to begin their searches immediately.
Lord Evans turned to the bookshelf and grabbed a book out of it as more staff filtered into the room to continue cleaning up the rest of the mess he'd made.
As they cleaned, he slowly sat down on the couch and began to read, and things in the estate went on as if his blow up had never happened at all.
Meanwhile, back at Marix's office, Briggs had returned to inform him of his findings at the mint.
"No obvious leads, but I've gotten some clues. Nothing we can't figure out together, ourselves, right General?" Briggs teased as he handed Marix back the pouch of coins.
"What did you find out?" Marix asked as he put the pouch back with Eilownia's other belongings.
"They said that it's clearly someone who knows what they're doing, very unlikely to be someone who is making these at home. The quality of the metal is good, the setting of jade and the amount of coins there are, means it's most likely to be someone with a lot of money."
Marix nodded along and pulled out a map which he then sprawled out on the table and weighed down with his cannon paper weights.
"So that leaves us to these few districts."
Briggs shook his head, "There's more. They said that with the comparative value between the copper and the jade, it doesn't make sense for this coin to made with the intention that it circulate as currency."
Marix furrowed his eyebrows as his eyes darted to the side. "Commemorative? Holiday?"
"Seems like it."
Marix shook his head. "No, it doesn't make sense. Whi- Eilo- The spy was intending to use them as currency. They're mixed in with her other coins."
Briggs shrugged. "The men at the mint seem to think it's unlikely this would be used as spy currency. They pointed out that the currency itself is too suspicious and would likely draw attention. No operation would oust themselves like that."
Marix nipped at the corner of his thumb as Briggs pointed at the map.
"Tara said Jade wasn't available to them in the South. Jade comes from up North. If we can check out the Jade Mines in Sarude, then maybe we can track down who purchased these."
"Sarude? That's too dangerous. Their mines are under such high security to even approach with military authority would be tricky. We'd have to go through Ayhaven to secure an official messenger to be sent down and then tackle...."
He shut his eyes tight and rubbed his forehead with his hand.
"No. That will take too long. We don't have the time or the resources for that."
"What other choice do we have? Besides our prisoner, who I don't believe is going to talk, we have no other options to find out what's behind these coins."
Marix stood up and turned towards the window, looking out at the storm.
"If she turns out to not be a spy, playing the waiting game with some of our men elsewhere would be dangerous. Who is to say this isn't their trap?"
"Is it not dangerous to wait anyways? We don't know who she's working for. They could have another spy already. These mystery coins could signify another power at play General."
"I'm aware of that. Send a scout unit to the docks and nearby beaches. Have them watch for a while to see if any foreigners come in to dock or if anyone avoids using the docks all together. Have them track their movements and report back. Anyone suspicious coming or going."