Something had happened. It was as if a switch had been flipped over night. Makaroth had decided overnight to travel to some country, and the housekeeper was busy keeping the servants in check while he was gone.

  I asked every servant I bumped into about it, and I interrogated about fifteen servants before I got an answer.

  “He got a telegram. I saw a man who brought it from the palace! I don’t know what it could be, though,”

  A telegram! I immediately remembered Makaroth’s conversation with Norrix, some kind of agreement they both made.

  A few weeks later, after Makaroth got over the incident, many changes happened. First off, Makaroth hired a man to train me in swordsmanship, since Gideon was now “out of league”. (Although he would stay with us for a time at the manor as a garden tender.) I also noticed all kinds of shifting and additions to Thornwood’s security. Many of the male servants he turned into guards. More trees and shrubs were planted around the property. When I asked Makaroth, he said he simply wanted to be safe, as he’s growing older.

  “These guards are just an extra precaution.” Was his simple answer. Who would need to attack us? I wondered but didn’t question him about that. Instead, I asked,

  “What was that man doing here? Lord … Norrix?”

  “Sir,” He corrected me, and I echoed him. “Why, Lewis, that was about a month ago!”

  “Well, what was it about? And why was he so surprised when he saw me?” Makaroth’s face paled; he was not very good at hiding emotion.

  “We were … making, er, peace on something … from the past,” He chose his words carefully.

  “That’s what he was here for?” I asked, smirking. Suddenly Makaroth’s face darkened, and he said,

  “Don’t pry, Lewis! It’s none of your business, and has nothing … to do with you.” I clenched my jaw. “Alright, alright,” then remembered, “sir,” he smiled faintly but looked weary. So it ended up looking more like the wrinkles on his face moving slightly, but his bushy eyebrows only moved down farther.

  Instead of walking back to my bedroom, or out to the gardens, I found myself walking towards the master’s room.

  I quickly walked down the carpeted hallway towards his bedroom. The door was unlocked, And it clicked as I turned the handle. Once again I was in his luxurious living quarters and it would be only a matter of time before I found the secret telegram. Quickly I ran over to where piles of paperwork were stacked on the oak desk.

  I hastily glanced behind me, but no one was there. I rustled through his papers. Ledgers, business papers, many letters, old notes, which I didn’t have time to study, but read most of the letters. None were recently sent or received, most of them were years or even decades old.

  I pulled out all of the drawers searching, while careful to leave everything in its original place.

  After fifteen minutes of searching, I still found nothing.

  A glimmer of gold caught my eyes as I was heading to exit the room. It came from the coal bin. Suspiciously, I picked up the gold thing.

  It was a letter with gold lining, the black smudged paper. Of course! If he were so afraid of some letter, he would dispose of it!

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  A shuffling sound came from the hallway. I folded the paper and put it in my pocket, rushing from the room.

  By the time I arrived at the library, my face was flushed from excitement. I’d barely missed Makaroth in the hallway, and one of the servants looked at me suspiciously as I ran from the corridor. Luckily I made it with no questioning, though. But my curiosity increased every moment I was deferred from opening the tempting letter that held the contents of something mysterious.

  I fell into a cushioned chair and scrambled to unfold it. It read in a bold hand as the following:

  “Sir Makaroth,

  I hope to make this both brief and explanatory for you:

  They are all too suspicious of something happening with you, and I cannot stand to be a part of this “plan” any longer; for if you are caught, the same fate might fall upon me . I wish not to be a traitor to the country, and would rather not lose such a grand and stately role from which I obtain so much.

  I am done. You are finished for, and so saying, I drop our bargain, and leave you to face the consequences, however sorry I am to do so. I cannot say if I myself will reveal you. It might just be the only good thing to help me out of this qualm before they find out and catch me.

  I would suggest hiding, running away forever. I cannot say what the king will do if (or when) he finds out, although I daresay it will be something stupid. Alas! Let me not speak ill of our king, so I shall write no further. Good luck, and good day. We shall never meet again unless circumstances are particularly unfavorable.

  Your New Adversary, And Most Faithful Servant To Our King,

  Lord Norrix”

  I read it again and again. Their bargain was over. That was why Makaroth was so anguished over this nonsense of mine. The question was what his follow-up would be if it would be. Would he avenge himself to Lord Norrix, or flee as suggested to be the most appropriate action? Seeing the date of the letter, I could tell Makaroth was having a hard time choosing, for it had been days since he received the letter, and still he had done nothing. Nothing except adding more security, which seemed hardly anything compared to what could happen, considering that Norrix was with the king, and as he put a “grand and stately role”, one of which he seemed to be high in power. He could probably do anything to Makaroth he wanted, although it seemed that there was no particular reason for his uncivil betrayal towards Makaroth because of his hypocritical view that the king would catch them doing whatever they had planned.

  I carefully folded the letter and put it in my pocket with the hope that Makaroth wouldn’t notice its absence.

  I paced back and forth, now burdened with what Makaroth was encumbered with as well. Hiding, that seemed useless; unless we left the country, (if we were pursued) we would be sought down to the edges of the map before the king gave up; but the only reason I had to assume this was that Makaroth had something the king wanted, or perhaps had a higher extortion through the force of threats to the point that the king had to find him as his highest priority.

  Running seemed our best option, although Makaroth was spoiled with riches and would want to take a large caravan of servants, and we would easily be hunted down.

  By myself, of course, escape would be a rudimentary option alone. But that would only be if I was the one needed to escape, which didn’t seem likely since Makaroth was so frightened.

  I approached him that afternoon, and as soon as he saw me, he said,

  “Lewis! I’ve been meaning to speak to you! I’m hiring a new man to take Gideon’s place and train you even further in swordsmanship. I want you to fight them all, and choose the hardest one. I trust you to make good judgment, so do so. They’re out in the gardens where we normally fight, awaiting you.” I barely had time to breathe a reply, when he disappeared.

  I frowned and walked out to meet my future trainer.

  The day had been exasperating, and I was exhausted. I had chosen one of the trainers, after a hard decision. He seemed the meanest but above all the best at sword handling. I was surprised Makaroth let me choose. Though perhaps he was too busy at the time to do anything extra himself.

  I took my horse out to the woods and galloped through the forest. The birds above sang their songs to the highest of the forest and chorused their melodic song echoing and bouncing through the woods. Animals scuttled and skittered by, and I spotted deer jumping through the high grass in a grass clearing.

  The thoughts of how life would drag on in this manner… training, school work, and lectures — would anything truly come out of it? Living with an ancient man seemed to add a negative flare to this question, and I doubted it. However, why would Makaroth train me for nothing? To show off my skills to other rich ancient men that visit? Probably.

  I steered the horse back east, towards the manor. It was almost dark out.

  I was startled to hear yelping, the barking of dogs, and horses whinnying. Screams and shouts echoed throughout my hearing area, and birds flew up. I leaned forward on the horse, kicking it on.

  My heart racing, I came to the clearing and saw that horses and dogs were tied to a bulky tree. At first, I saw no movement. And then I saw bodies on the ground. I leapt down, and saw Makaroth, lying on the ground. He was pale as death, and blood streaked his face. I felt his pulse.

  He was dead.