The Captain’s Trap

Captain Kaleb was heading back to the palace. Just as he was about to step off the porch, a maid with short legs stopped him before he could get on his horse.

“Captain, your grandmother requests your presence in her chambers immediately.” She rushed out, breathing slightly heavily.

He frowned. “Did she say why she wanted to see me?”

“No, Captain.”

“Alright, tell her that I have some urgent matters to handle and when I’m done, I’ll come to see her.”

“Yes, Captain.” The maid left, and he returned to the palace.

“Captain, we brought the girl’s friend,” Jake, his second-in-command, said excitedly as he arrived.

Kaleb smiled, nodding with approval. “So fast? Nice work, Jake. Where is she?”

“In the interrogation room.”

Kaleb took a step forward, then paused. “Go and get the girl at my place. Here’s my seal, so that Finngan can know that the order to bring her is actually from me.” He handed him a shrieking eagle printed on a golden metal.

The girl in the room practically flew out of her seat as Kaleb opened the door. She stumbled, her awkward shoes scraping the floor as her back hit the wall.

Kaleb blankly stared at her. Surely he’s not that scary?

Her tiny hands were gripping the fabric of her skirt so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her brown doe-eyes were wide and red-rimmed, darting around the room but never looking at him.

Kaleb mentally sighed. He entered the room and shut the door. Slowly, he walked to the table, watching the reaction of the girl as he drew closer. She was almost hyperventilating.

How curiously different from Elena.

"Sit," Kaleb quietly commanded.

He saw her swallow nervously a few times before she pushed herself away from the wall. Like a shy mouse, she crept to the edge of the table and sat down on the edge of the chair.

"Captain…" she started, her voice cracking. "Please, I haven’t done anything wrong. I-I-I only went to visit my sick mother for a few days and—"

"I never said you did anything wrong,” Kaleb cut in, eyes narrowed. “So why are you acting like this?”

The girl clammed her mouth shut immediately. The fear in her face didn’t vanish, but it lessened.

“Then why did the imperial guards come to get me?”

Hmm, deliberate evasion. "What is your name?”

“Clara. Clara Banks, Captain. But if I did nothing wrong, then why—“

“You’re here because of Elena Moss, one of your friends. Do you know her?”

Clara’s gaze lowered to her fingers. "Yes, sir. I do. She’s my best friend. We’ve been working together in the lower yard for five years since she came."

"Five years," Kaleb repeated. He pulled out the chair across from her, the legs scraping loudly against the floor, making Clara jump. He sat down, leaning his forearms on the table. "So what do you know about her? Do you know where she came from? Her family, maybe?”

Clara's shoulders pulled in tight. "Elena has no one, sir, Captain. S-she’s an orphan. She came to the laundry at fifteen. When the other girls discuss their families, Elena doesn't say anything. She stares off into the distance. She has never said a name, not once."

"Who brought her here?"

"I-I do not know, sir. I swear." Clara looked up, her gaze wide with anxiety. “Did she do something? Insult someone? Break something inside the palace? Please, whatever she has done, it must be a mistake; she—“

“How unusually caring," Kaleb smirked, leaning forward. Instinctively, the girl recoiled as though she expected a blow. Kaleb’s lips pulled into a flat line.

"Your companion is in a cell. She’s accused of stealing something highly valuable, wishing death on the King, and claiming to be the Imperial Princess."

Clara's jaw dropped. “What?” She gasped, then frantically shook her head. "N-no, no. That can never be possible. Why would she—Captain, please investigate this matter carefully! I know Elena. She’d never do anything like that. She has always been quiet! She gets scared when the Head Mistress raises her voice, so she wouldn't do any of those things you mentioned.

“I was there when she claimed to be the Princess, even repeatedly mentioning it. The Princess who had her whipped for making those claims, are you saying she’s a liar?”

“No, I’d never—“

Kaleb stood up, looming over her. "It’s obvious you’re trying to cover for her, and let me tell you, if you are, I promise you’ll share in the same punishment as her. So it’s best if you speak the truth. Tell me what you know of Elena.”

"I swear to you, sir, on my mother's life, I know nothing of her," Clara cried.

“For a so-called best friend, why can’t you ask her where she came from?”

“She never says anything, no matter how I persist! It was hopeless.”

Kaleb was quiet for a long moment. Then there was a knock on the door. “Enter.”

The door swung open. Jake and two guards entered the room. Between them stood Ariana, looking as if the world had abandoned her.

She had received treatment after the flogging, but she still looked worn and thinner.

Clara stood with a loud gasp, going to her friend. "Elena! Dear Lord, Elena, what have they done to you?" She cupped her face. Or tried to, but Ariana drew away. “What…”

Ariana eyed her with the wariness one would give a stranger who randomly approached them. “And who are you?”

Clara froze. “Why are you asking that question?” She gave a nervous chuckle. “It’s me, Clara.”

“I do not know you.”

She gaped at Ariana, not believing what she said. “Y-you are joking, r-right?”

Ariana gave her a disdainful snort. “Of course not. Look, I do not know you, okay?”

Beside the table, Kaleb watched every second of the interaction with creased brows. He could see that Elena truly doesn’t remember anything, and that was the part that really annoyed him.

Or is she… pretending?

With a nod, Kaleb signalled his guards out of the room with him. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said over his shoulder and shut the door.

His second-in-command gave him a glowing purple stone. He set it on the wall. Instantly, they could hear everything happening in the room as if they were right there.

“Elena, look, the Captain isn’t here, so you can drop whatever act it is you’re playing. It’s no longer funny, you pretending not to know me, your best friend.”

Ariana rolled her eyes. “Okay. If you’re truly my best friend like you said," her tone gained a mocking edge. "Tell me things about myself... things only a close friend would know."

Clara grinned. “That’s easy. You often struggle to sleep in winter because the howling wind scares you. When you're frightened or stressed, you count in your head. Rubbing your thumb helps you to calm your breathing.

How did she know that?

Ariana forced her face to remain unreadable as she asked as nonchalantly as possible. “And what of my family, my parents? Do you know anything about them?”

"You came to the laundry when you were young," Clara answered, her voice soft. "You told me you had no family left and nothing else. But why are you asking me this, Elena? Did something happen to you? Did someone hurt you? And why is that intimidating captain saying you claimed to be the princess?"

Ariana huffed, finding the concern a bit annoying. "What of any other friends? Do I have anyone else I speak to regularly?"

"No. You always kept to yourself. You were quiet and avoided the other maids."

"Then how did you become my friend?"

"Because in your first week, you almost ruined a silk tunic on the washbasin," Clara said, a small, sad smile on her lips. "The Head Maid was about to beat you with a wooden rod, and I stepped in and took the blame for you. We've been inseparable ever since."

Ariana stared at her, feeling a strange feeling in her chest. No one has ever done that for her before.

"Is there nothing else? Is there anyone else? Think carefully; maybe someone I met with outside?"

Clara's expression shifted. Gaze darting towards the door, she stepped in closer to Ariana. Lowering her voice to a barely audible whisper, she confessed, “There is someone.”