The Thorn in My Shed-Chapter 23: Vasis

General Marix, Lieutenant General Briggs and the Intelligence Unit sat in the war room, going over the information they had gathered.

Marix had one leg crossed over the other, one arm resting on the armrest of his seat, and the other resting against his temples as they spoke.

The unit pointed out on the map the areas they had investigated and laid in wait.

Briggs rubbed his chin as he nodded, listening intently to what they were saying.

Marix, however, was fading in and out to the conversation. His eyebrow ticked upward and his eyebrows furrowed as his eyes fluttered in a series of hard blinks.

"Sir?"

He blinked again and took a sharp breath as he looked up to see everyone staring directly at him.

"Yes, what is it?"

They glanced around at each other, a bit confused. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Briggs cleared his throat and ran a hand through his black hair, letting out a casual laugh, "Why don’t you repeat what it was you were saying so we can better keep it in our minds. Repetition is good for memory and this is important stuff."

The Captain of the Intelligence Unit took the lead and cleared his throat, "Right. As I was saying, Sir. We investigated and scouted here, here and along here."

He pointed to the map again, showing where they’d been a second time and Marix nodded, forcing himself to pay attention.

"Through our investigation, we failed to find anyone of suspicion traveling in or out. There weren’t any foreigners. Everyone coming in were either returning or islanders from Vasis here with their shipments."

"Only from Vasis, huh?" Marix said under his breath, staring at the map.

Briggs leaned back in his chair, examining the map as he rubbed his chin and scratched at the back of his head.

He then leaned forward and trailed his index finger along where the unit had just shown before circling and tapping Vasis.

"Vasis. It’s an island nation. While they belong to our continent, being out in the sea grants them certain vantage points does it not?"

The Intelligence Captain nodded, "Yes sir. It does. Though, they focus on deep sea fishing and pearl diving. They aren’t equipped with any military or weapons even. Harpoons and clam knives are the extent of it."

Briggs nodded, "Exactly. Very unassuming, don’t you think? Just because they aren’t directly involved doesn’t mean that Vasis can’t serve as a rendezvous point or some sort of mediary? Correct?"

The Captain’s face twisted with consideration as he shrugged, "I suppose, but, we never witnessed any passing of odd coins like the ones you had us look out for."

"They’re not foreign either. Vasis doesn’t account for her other half. The features don’t match." Marix wondered aloud.

"Right. There were no foreigners from what we gathered, as we stated before, no odd coins. Truly there was no one or any sort of behavior that we felt was suspicious. Just delivering shipments and taking back goods to Vasis. Nothing out of the ordinary. All with our currency."

Marix considered for a moment, then stood. His chair scraped against the wooden floors, bringing everyone’s attention to him. Out of respect, everyone else stood as well.

"Certainly not everyone is a law-abiding citizen. Crime exists everywhere."

"Yes sir but-"

Marix held up his hand to stop him.

"Isn’t the fact that there was not a single suspicious person more suspicious on its own? You’re telling me Vasis, who exports expensive and difficult to obtain pearls, who are bringing their shipments into the ports are not surrounded by any criminal activity?"

"I understand what it is you are getting at, General, but I’m afraid there has been some miscommunication. Were we to look specifically for people that may be meeting secretly and trading odd coins or criminals in general?"

Marix rolled his eyes.

"Anyone. Go check again. Find anyone who may be suspicious or not suspicious enough. I want every lead to be followed and I want no stone to be left unturned! Send someone to Vasis to check for any rendezvous points or anyone who may be meeting in secret as well!"

The Intelligence Captain saluted him, followed by the other unit members.

"Yes sir!" They said in unison as they departed.

Briggs shot him a look.

"What." Marix hissed.

Briggs shrugged, "Is it wise to waste our resources this far?"

Marix crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Know your station, Lieutenant General."

Briggs held his arms up in surrender as Marix departed the war room.

The carriage ride from the military base back to Marix’s estate wasn’t very far and yet it felt so long. He stared at the seat across from him where Eilownia had sat. The image of her bouncing there as she tensed her body against the rough ride on the rigorous terrain was imprinted like a ghost.

Whether or not she was a spy or the true secret illegitimate daughter of Lord Evans was still up for debate, but he was hoping.....no.....at this point, he was praying, the discovery of these coins would prove her innocence once and for all.

He was so deep in thought, staring at her ghostly image across from him that he didn’t even realize the carriage had stopped.

His footman stood at the door and knocked. For a split moment, he could see Eilownia’s face banging on the window. He jumped slightly, then relaxed after seeing who it really was.

Marix got out of the carriage and headed inside. The head maid approached him and curtsied.

"Sir. We have prepared your dinner. It will be only a few moments if you’d like to sit in the dining room."

Marix nodded without speaking a word and headed inside where he took his seat at the head of the table.

Not long after he had sat down, the servants brought in an array of vegetables, bread and a beautiful, golden brown, deliciously seasoned chicken.

He got what he wanted on his plate and slowly began to eat, tearing away at a chicken drumstick.

’Today has been so dull. What is wrong with me? I’m curious. Is my work always like this or does today’s topic hold such little interest to me? Or could it be something else that plagues me?’

That’s when he realized. His mind had trailed off to Eilownia all day. Had he started to look forward to interrogating her? To her reactions that had made him want to lose his mind?

He took a bite of his vegetables and stared down at his plate.

’It’s bland.’

Once he’d finished eating and bathed, he retired to his bedroom where he flopped onto the large, soft bed.

He rubbed his eyes and pinched his nose as he considered the predicament he was in.

After a few calming breaths, he rolled onto his side.

Right there on his dresser across the room, was Eilownia’s Strawbunny. It had developed a few more moldy patches.

"You’re a disgusting thing. I should throw you out like I intended to originally."

Yet, his threat held no urgency, no bite, no.....intention.

All he could do was think about Whin and the day he met her at the Flower Festival.

He’d been standing there, scanning the crowd, looking for someone to have some fun with. The wine he’d had earlier was taking hold, and he couldn’t bear the thought of spinning around and dancing. No, this spot on the sidewalk was where he belonged, when suddenly....

"EEEK! OOMPH!"

The small brunette crashed right into his chest with a thud. His hands instinctively flew up to grab onto her biceps to steady her.

She swayed a bit and her eyes were blinking rapidly. He could smell the scent of Lavender wine on her.

’Someone’s been enjoying the festivities I see.’ He thought to himself, although the sweet floral scent suited her delicate looks perfectly.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Little Flower?"

Marix wasn’t one to hand out nicknames of terms of affection, but for some reason, he found it naturally slipping out as if he’d always done it.

When she stared up at him with those big, innocent brown eyes and a deep red hue painting her face, his heart skipped a beat.

’A Little Flower indeed.’

Then, she opened her mouth and smiled, "H-Hi~"

"Hello." He greeted, but she didn’t respond further. Her gaze shifted around him as her eyes fluttered with a shy nervousness.

"Little flower?" He repeated.

She swayed more and her legs trembled, but her gaze lifted to meet his. A smile spread further across her face and his heart began to race.

His eyes trailed down her neck. She was like a mouth watering prime cut of steak that he wanted to nothing more than to sink his teeth into an indulge.

"You smell of Lavender Rose Wine. I wonder how much you’ve had to drink?" His finger trailed along her jaw and gently lifted her chin up to meet his gaze. Those eyes hooked him in hard and she was reeling him in.

"Tell me, who allowed such a precious flower to be so....." The man leaned in closer, his voice dropped as he whispered in her ear, "....irresponsible?" He’d have to thank them later.

He’d known it was suspicious that she’d approached him, her looks, the way she acted, but it was attraction unlike any he’d ever experienced before and one he still had yet to forget.