Leo made his own oath to keep the secret about Jake and Elena's friendship. A newly appeared golden string soon faded, along with three others. Jake felt the walls and easily found the button. The door slid open as he walked out, Elena and Leo following behind him.
Elena had her rapier Thimil in her scabbard as she followed.
He stopped and turned around to Elena. "I have to go, guards are coming," he said, gathering her in a hug. His tail straightened out, and his ears twitched, alert as he listened to sounds they couldn't hear.
Elena nodded and hugged him. "Stay safe." Her voice was filled with emotions.
"I will," He said as they broke apart and he ran into a corner and merged into the shadows, finally able to use his magic again.
Elena heard metal footsteps rushing down the halls as Lily turned around a corner and arrived with 6 knights in full metal gear, who appeared after her. "My lady!" Lily cried out as she hugged her.
The guards quickly took stances around Elena and Lily. Leo didn't know what to do exactly, but he tried to fit in with the guards.
"My Lady, how did you get down here so fast?" A guard asked, looking around the room for anything suspicious. The room was a part of the basement, it was a wine cellar, and it had stacks of barrels on shelves.
"Questions can be asked later, Captain." She said, noticing the symbol on his shoulder plate that indicated he was a captain.
"My apologies, My lady." As the Captain formed, their halberds ready to strike at anything that moved.
Of course, they didn't know someone else was already in the room in the shadows, as she looked at the corners, seeing if she could glimpse him again.
But she didn't, as Lily stood beside her. Elena gave a hand signal, the signal to let her know Jake was here. Lily's eyes widened, and her eyes were filled with questions.
Lily made a signal of why?
Elena responded later.
Their gestures went unnoticed as her father appeared in the room, the guards slightly relaxing.
"Father, good to see you. Are you okay?" She said as she broke through the guards.
"Yes, are you... Where did you get the rapier?" Robert asked as he hugged her.
"Also, how did you get down here so quickly?"
He held her shoulders as his eyes searched her, seeing if there were any marks on her.
Elena's eyes softened as she held her father's hand. "I am fine, the rapier I got a while ago, I will explain that later. As for how I got down here..." She tried to think of excuses for how she knew a secret passage that her own father didn't even know about.
"Well, I think I know how... Henry died," she said, back at the wall where the hidden door was.
"Elena?" Robert said in confusion.
She knew if she told her father that there were secret passages that not even their own family knew about, that it would cause a massive search throughout the entire Falmil compound, and would limit her own escape routes to join Jake on their adventures.
But her cousin had just died, and the assassin, if they knew, would use the secret passageways.
"Father... A while ago, I discovered something." Elena hesitated. But she took a deep breath and walked over to the wall, everyone looking at her, confused, except Leo, who just watched.
Elena found the button and pressed it. The door slid open as the guards aimed their halberds towards the door, and Elena's father's eyes widened.
"E-Elena?" Robert stood there, shocked as he looked at the hidden passageway, but soon the door closed once again, Elena standing next to it.
"That passageway leads straight into my closet. It's a good escape yet also a good entry. I fear that all the Falmil houses have these, and if they do... The assassin used one." Elena said, looking to her father, as she saw a shadow ripple, knowing that Jake was finally gone.
Elena's father walked up to the wall, found the button, and pressed it. The same thing happened, the door opened, then slowly closed.
"How?" Robert could only ask.
She shook her head, not able to tell the truth, "I found it when I was young, I do not know how long it's been there, or if there's more. But I suspect all family houses in the compound have them.
"I will notify the family and the king. This is an amazing yet terrifying discovery... why didn't you tell me sooner?" Robert asked with shock, fear, and curiosity mixed into his eyes.
Elena looked down, "I... I am a young girl who likes to keep secrets... I am sorry, Father."
"I..." Robert thought of words, but couldn't; he could only hold his daughter, her presence reassured him that she was safe and alive... unlike his brother's son.
"I am just happy you are safe, that's all that matters to me." He said, as Elena hugged him back, as she felt the emotions of losing a family member flood her.
Her breathing started to hitch as her father petted her, trying to calm her down. The guards and Leo were stoic as they let the father and daughter have a moment together.
Lily looked down at her shoes, her hands held together against her chest, praying for Henry.
A few days passed, and they sent out a search through all the Falmil houses and found 17 passageways. Some were made of Ballis stone, while the others were made of regular stone.
The family members and trusted guards were the only ones notified of the 17 passageway locations. Leo, who already knew one passageway, soon became Elena's personal guard, and they also notified him of the six other passageways in the Halas house.
Sure enough, they found one passageway in Henry's personal chambers, where they found him dead.
The noble courts argued about who dared to kill a member of the Falmil house, one of the 7 major houses.
As the old memories of the Blood Ball resurfaced, one name spread around like wildfire.
"Adam Lockvry"
Nobles suggested they just arrest the man and his son, but in the throne room of the king, King William, the last head of the Tybor family.
"We already know that they deal in crime; they live in the underground city! Everyone who lives there has committed some type of crime." A noble shouted.
Another one called out that the Lockvry family was never really proven to have killed the 4 heads that night.
"Are you defending a criminal?" The noble before shouted.
Robert and Elena looked around the arguing nobles. She worried about Jake; he was already a wanted man. But were they gonna invade the underground city? She heard some suggest that, in the corners of the court.
But wouldn't that break "The Pact Between One and Five", a pact made 100 years ago, and where the capital of Altor and the underground city allowed safe passage between the two cities, but also made it so they had separate laws. If a criminal returned, they would be safe from Altor. While members of the houses would be protected from any harm if they went down. Was one of the many examples of different laws they had.
Elena closed her eyes; she didn't want to think of Jake being hunted down, no, but then she felt a familiar feeling. She opened her eyes and looked at her own shadow. She whispered. "Jake?"