Ileus: The Dark Prince

Grinding her teeth, Maple took out ten silver coins and gave them to her quickly. She didn't want the crowd to become larger. Once done, she tore the crowd to get out of there as soon as possible. The corruption was rampant in the town. People were simply trying to extract as much money as possible from each other. 

You reap what you sow.

Upon reaching the inn, she saw that the place had only become busier. She turned around the corner to check the rear side of the inn only to see that a woman was washing dishes near the stables. A smile spread on her lips. 

Few minutes later, she dragged the unconscious woman into one of the stalls and covered her with hay. She went back to the dishes, flicked her fingers and they were shining as new. It was time to carry them to the kitchen. 

Maple carried the clean utensils to the kitchen. She halted when she saw the cook, scared that he would recognize her. Without looking at her, the cook looked at her and said, "You did that very fast Maria!" He wiped his ladle on his apron and turned to look at her with a smile, which froze the moment he saw her face. "Who are you?" 

Flicking her fingers, she whispered, "I am Maria," as magic rippled in the air. 

The cook stared at her for a long time as if dazed. He nodded and then went back to making the stew. Maple grinned, successful at sneaking in like this. She placed the utensils on the counter and cleaned her hands. Feeling hungry, she picked up a freshly baked rye bread and ate it. She picked up a tray of food and headed towards the lobby. The place was bustling with continuous inflow of men and women. She glanced at the salon and noticed that this time there was a burly man sitting over there. He was shouting at the servants to get the work done quickly. She lowered her head and crossed the lobby to go up the stairs. 

"You there?" Robert shouted. 

Nervous that he had called her, she purposely ignored him and continued to walk, while hiding her bread under her apron. 

"Stop!" 

This time the voice came from near. 

Anxious as hell and prepared to use her magic to kill the man, Maple turned. The man was standing only a few feet away. 

"Who are you?" he asked with his brows drawn tightly together. 

"I— I am a new barmaid, m'lord," she stuttered. "My name is Cate."

He jerked his head back and looked confused. "New? Who gave you the job?" 

"I came here in the morning for the job, m'lord. There was a young girl, Lilette. She asked me to fill in for Maria. She said that Maria wouldn't be coming today so I can work for the day." A day was more than enough to complete her task. 

Robert scratched the back of his head. "That's strange. Why didn't Lilette mention it to me?" 

"She— she looked sleepy, m'lord. She must have forgotten," Maple added quickly. 

"Ah, ok! Go on!" he said and then walked back to the salon. 

Maple took a long deep breath in and climbed the stairs. She had to find where Anastasia was hiding. If she were lucky, then she would find Ileus too. A vicious smile spread on her lips. Turning left on the landing, she ambled in the corridor and went to the last room. She pointed her finger towards the handle of the door. A thin white light crackled around her and struck the handle. The lock broke and she turned it to open. The room was eerily quiet and smelling of mead. She glanced around and found that a man was sleeping on the floor, snoring loudly. She twisted her mouth and closed the door. After checking all the rooms on this side, she walked to the right side of the landing. She realized that it was turning dark and the servants had started lighting the candelabras and oil lamps. She didn't have much time to search. The second letter that she had sent to them was a warning to strike the next day, but Maple wanted to take them by surprise. She was itching to take them by surprise and see the look of their faces. 

She looked down at the servants. They were yet to come and light the oil lamps on her floor. Taking advantage of the darkness, she walked to the first room on the right. However, before she could open it, the handle of the door moved down. Alarmed, she moved back immediately but it was too late. The door opened and out came... Kaizan. His silhouette was dark against the dim light of the hearth in his room, but she could never forget that face. It was the same, except the eyes... they were pale blue. Maple gulped as she gave him an incredulous stare. 

He stared at her for a moment and narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?" His gaze went to the tray in her hand. 

Looking at him in his eyes, she said, "I have come to give you food, m'lord." She couldn't believe that she was seeing Kaizan again. Her body heated up and adrenalin tingled through her body. 

Kaizan narrowed his eyes and his gaze darted suspiciously in between her eyes. "I didn't ask for it."

The man obviously didn't recognize her. Her heartbeat raced wildly. If he didn't recognize her, then he was original Kaizan. She blinked her eyes. "Oh! I am sorry m'lord, I must have mixed up the room," she quickly apologized. This meant that the group was staying in the right wing of the inn. This was going to get interesting. And why was it that even though she saw Kaizan again, she didn't feel the same vibes as when she saw Ileus disguised as him. The dark wizard was definitely… sensuous.

In order to wield magic on Kaizan and make him talk as to where Anastasia's room was, she held the tray with one hand to free the other one.