Chapter 29: A Major Oversight
We were led off to a very much secluded section of the palace. It was a garden of sorts but not a flowery garden, a hedge garden with many different hedges sculpted into different things. Some were monsters, some were actually different kinds of plants, and there was even one section that displayed Princess Leslie's growth from a baby to her current age. Next to it were many more plots of square hedges. There were currently five sculpted hedges in total already.
"This is where Leslie normally spends her time. She likes the area due to the smell of the hedges. She says it relaxes her. She spends a great deal of time here. And a little further in is a small pavilion where she would sit and have tea with her maids." Prince Zack said as he brought us over to the pavilion. There was nothing there, and it did not seem to have been used at all today.
"Have they searched this area yet?" I asked. I had to be sure before I tried to narrow down my search more.
"All the hedges were combed through according to the servants." One of the guards replied.
"Search it again. We can not trust a servant's word. Prince Zack, you are with me at the back wall. We need to search for a hole big enough for either you or me to fit through. Something that would probably be missed by guards due to their height." Sometimes height differences can cause people to overlook things.
What I could see at eye level would be different for someone who was taller. This was why the back wall was something that needed to be searched carefully. If there was even a single thing that looked out of place would mean the difference between finding Leslie or not finding her.
Prince Zack and I made our way to the back of the hedge garden, where large hedges blocked the view of the back wall. "I will go right. You go left." I basically ordered before I began inspecting the hedges in front of me. Prince Zack did not seem to mind because he also got right to work. I guess he did care about his sister.
I only got a few steps when Prince Zack suddenly yelled out. "Bella here!"
I turned around to see Prince Zack separating part of the hedge to reveal a small opening big enough for someone our size to crawl through. "Okay, stay here. I will check the other side of the wall."
It was hard to see in the dark so I decided to just fly over the wall. I did not care about the stunned expression on Prince Zack's face as I flew up into the air and over to the other side. This side of the wall had a small forest, but I could see a clear path that led towards the street not far away. This made me slightly nervous because it was a perfect spot to pick off a child of any status.
When I landed and looked around, I saw a small hole that I could easily crawl through. I walked over to inspect the ground. "Hmm? Three sets of footprints…." I scanned the area and noticed something very wrong with how the grass was so tall. "Why the hell is there not a guard station on this side of the castle wall!?"
I checked the area and quickly found traces of more fresh footprints. But they were heading away from the city. I flew back over the wall and hovered in the air above Prince Zack. "Prince Zack, I think she did crawl through this hole. Report back to Uncle and my father that I will track her down. Don't worry. I will bring her back no matter what if I find her. Or else I will bring back what I have found."
"Wait! Bella!" Prince Zack yelled out at me, but I ignored him as I flew off. I had no time to waste. I was sure Princess Leslie was scared out of her mind at this time. That is, if the ones who she met up with were actually kidnappers. I could be wrong, and they could be her own people for all I know. I flew low to the ground so I could keep an eye out for tracks. Luckily these people seemed to be in a rush and did not try to cover up anything. But since Princess Leslie had left in the morning they already have a massive head start.
I followed the footprints to the edge of the outer walls of the city which they then turned south towards the gates. I followed them once more to the road when I noticed wheel marks from a carriage which made me frown. "We need to seal the city."
I bit my lip and looked at my spell list. I had yet to try this spell so I do not know if it will work or not, I could only hope it had the function that I think it did. "Lesser Portal: Throne room."
An oval-shaped tear in the space opened up in front of me that revealed a water mirrored version of the throne room I was in earlier. I took a deep breath and stepped through it. The scene in front of me changed and I found myself in the throne room where my parents and everyone else were. "Bella!" My mother cried out.
"I tracked the footsteps to the road near the west outer wall. They seemed to have gotten on a carriage from there. We need to close the entire city so they can not go outside the walls. I will fly over the city near the west side and see if I can find anything out of place. I suggest you also move your search to the west side of the city. And lastly. When Leslie is back safe and sound, I want you to put guards all around the castle walls. Not having them in certain locations is what caused this to begin with!" The last part, I yelled because it was just plain stupid to have such a security loophole.
"What do you mean by there are no guards?" My uncle the king asked. He seemed very confused.
"The west side of the castle has a wooded area that stretches to the west outer wall of the city. No guards seem to patrol that section of the wall. I only found three sets of footprints and no others. The grass around the wall itself was too high to have been traveled any time soon. Only a small path which the princess has probably used many times going from the hole in the wall to the road was low enough to pass through with ease." I explained.
My uncle, the king's expression turned black as he looked at the captain of the guard who was standing there with an even worse expression. He quickly turned to my uncle and dropped to one knee. "Your Majesty, this is my oversight. The area around that section of the castle has long been assigned to the same guards for the past few years. I never thought that…."
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