At ten past nine the next morning, the bell rang from outside the room. King Heralla set his documents in a neat stack, placed his crown on his head, and stood in the middle of his chambers. "Come in."
The doors opened, Fredrin leading four elderly women inside. They all wore long tunics. Shawls were draped over their shoulders. They stepped inside the chambers with an air of caution, looking around, their steps slow and light. The guard left them afterwards, gently shutting the doors.
The women bowed their heads, placed a hand on their chest.
King Heralla slightly bowed his head in response. "Sisters. I heard you have something to report."
The tallest woman that Heralla knew was Mystic Hiropha took one more step. She clutched on the ends of her white shawl like she was cold. "One of our sisters is missing, my lord."
"Who?"
"Mystic Chura. She didn't come home last night."
"I assume that's unusual."
Mystic Hiropha nodded. "She sometimes goes out on her own, eating out, just walking around, but she always comes home, and never at a very late hour."
Heralla knew who Mystic Chura was. She would come to the castle from time to time and read his palm or share her predictions. He would say that six times out of ten, her predictions were closer to the truth. Maybe not the exact truth, but in the same field as it.
"Is it possible that she stayed somewhere else for the night?" Heralla asked. "Family? Friends?"
The four women shook their heads. "We're the only family she has. My lord, we think that something may have happened to her," Mystic Hiropha said.
"How could you say that?"
Mystic Hiropha turned to the one on her left. Heralla recognized her as Mystic Rosa, the most recent addition to the Mystic Coven and the youngest, only in her mid-forties.
"C'mon, Sister," Mystic Hiropha whispered. "Tell the king."
"I-I think I heard her, my lord," Mystic Rosa began. "I felt something in my mind, a vibration of some kind. I think it was Mystic Chura calling out to me, to us. I couldn't really hear her voice, but I just felt that it was her."
"As you might know, my lord," Mystic Hiropha said, "we have an ability to communicate with each other through our minds. It takes skill and patience, and it's not easy--it drains our energy as well--but it's a helpful power. Mystic Rosa here has just begun to harness her abilities. We've been training her, so please forgive her if she looks somewhat taken aback, my lord."
Heralla showed a palm to Mystic Rosa and a smile. "It's fine. I understand that your immense amount of powers can be quite overwhelming at first."
Mystic Rosa's cheeks reddened, but her shoulders slowly dropped as she exhaled, clearly relieved.
"Are you sure that it was her?" Heralla asked.
Mysitc Rosa nodded. "It was her voice, if I'm not mistaken."
"What did she say?"
"I really hope that I'm wrong about this, but she sounded like she was asking for help."
King Heralla didn't know what to say. The hairs on his arms stood up. The feeling that something was afoot grew stronger in his chest, his heart and mind restless.
"Did any one of you know her whereabouts last night?" he asked.
"She only told us that she was going to have some wine and a chat with a 'handsome young cook' just outside the village," Mystic Hiropha said.
King Heralla focused on the Sisters' feet, nodding slowly. Then he looked at them. "It's possible that she went to a restaurant or a tavern, somewhere with food and drinks. I'll have my guards look into it."
This was yet another disturbance in the land of Wontaria within the past few days. Heralla still prioritized leaving Wontarians in the dark regarding the matter, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep this certain dilemma discreet. People were needed to be asked in case someone had seen Mystic Chura sometime since last night. Guards had to be assigned to different areas to search for her. This would, he feared, cause a commotion, but a missing person was less alarming than two confirmed deaths.
The four women couldn't help but smile. "Thank you, my lord," Mystic Hiropha said.
"Do not worry, Sisters. We'll find her," Heralla assured.
=====
An hour later, Wontaria guards were scattered in and around the village where the Mystic Coven resided and nearby areas. Guards entered fields and forests with their lances in their grips, alert for any signs of danger. They knocked on people's doors, searched for any indication that Chura had been at a certain spot.
Fredrin, Rodanka behind him, entered The Food Tavern. It was mostly empty save for a family of Ponthars having breakfast, a tower of pancakes placed in the middle of their table.
Behind the counter on the left of the restaurant, a tall young man was flipping more pancakes. He glanced at the two guards, greeted them a welcome with no smile or kindness, and refocused on what he was cooking.
"Could he be the 'handsome cook' that the old mystic was saying?" Rodanka whispered to Fredrin. The man cooking side-eyed the two of them, clearly hearing Rodanka but not caring enough to say something.
Fredrin and Rodanka stepped farther into the tavern. On the other side, a Reptil with one blind eye appeared from behind a curtain where his office probably was.
"Wontaria Guards?" the big man said.
"Sir, do you own this establishment? Rodanka asked. The Reptil nodded. "We just have a few questions to ask. Please sit with us at the bar."
Fredrin eyed the family. The parents looked at them suspiciously, eyebrows furrowed, while their children happily continued munching on the pillowy pancakes.
The two guards stood by the counter as the Reptil sat. The cook transferred the pancake he was flipping from the pan to a plate, turned off the stove, and approached them.
"What is thissss about?" the Reptil asked.
"A mystic has gone missing last night," Rodanka began. "May I have your names?"
"I'm Bert and I own this tavern." Bert gestured to the cook. "He's Thill. He'sssss new."
"Very well, sir," Rodanka said. "Do either of you know Mystic Chura?"
Bert's eyes widened. He straightened his back, alert now. "Yes. She frequents this place." He looked at Thill, who was finally showing some emotion on his face, with his eyebrows raised and his lips slightly parted in surprise.
"She's missing?" Thill asked. "She was here last night."
"Bingo," Rodanka said to Fredrin, once again not as quietly as he should have.
"What did she do?" Fredrin now inquired.
Thill pointed to where Bert was sitting. "She sat right there and ordered a glass of wine and some peanuts like she always did."
"I think she comessss here when she's lonely," Bert added. "She only ever orders those two things and mainly talkssss with me or Thill."
"You weren't here last night, sir?" This was Rodanka.
Bert shook his head. "I musssst have already left when she came in. I had a headache, so I left early. I assssked Thill to close up for me."
Fredrin turned towards the cook, registering for the first time that he really was good-looking. "What did Mystic Chura do here last night?"
"What she always did," Thill said. "Had more than a glass of wine, ate a few peanuts, then made small talk with me--" He paused and looked distantly.
"What is it?" Fredrin prodded.
"There was a guy." Thill nodded, as if to himself, then turned back to Fredrin. "He was really strange. He was wearing this hat and cloak like he was some magician."
"What did he do?"
"He sat down beside Mystic Chura, then told me that he wanted to speak with you, Bert." Thill pointed at his boss.
Bert jerked his head back in surprise. "Me?"
"Yeah, and I told him that you weren't here, and then he left." Thill swallowed. "Mystic Chura was really frightened, as if whoever that man was was bad news. She told me to go home and lock my doors, then she left in a hurry."
A silence heavily fell above the four of them. Only the clanking of utensils against plates as the family continued eating could be heard for a moment.
"And you don't know thisssss man?" Bert finally asked Thill.
"Never seen him before," Thill said.
"Do you think. . ." Bert's voice trailed off.
They all exchanged looks, the probable answer to this mystery all in their minds now.
"Thank you for your time," Rodanka said.
Fredrin and Rodanka left the tavern, the last place where the late and lonesome Mystic Chura was in the company of other people.