Into the Dark
10

Calypso catches the hood of her black cape as it begins to slip. She presses her back against a brick building as she waits for the voices of two guards passing by to fade.

The moment night fell, she had dismissed Zara claiming to have a head ache and needing rest. She wears the shadows around her like a second skin, melting into the darkness as if she were born from it. She quickly darts from building to building in search of the symbol her father claimed marked his spies’ homes.

The human spy she is currently looking for, named Oliver, will have an ocean blue front door with red paint circling the door knob.

She had stalled in her bedroom for too long and she only has tonight to search for him. Her husband will return in the morning and once he does, she will be back under his unrelenting watch. Calypso really has to convince herself to go through with this. She is telling herself that her hesitation is due to fear of being caught but she knows it runs deeper than self preservation.

Her father’s voice in her head tells her not to be such a selfish and naive girl. The Vampire King does not care for her and never will. Vampires love to play games and she is the King’s current form of entertainment. Soon he will tire of her and cast her aside like children do with toys.

Spotting the house across the street, she quickly darts into the backyard. She rounds the house and stops at the white back door. Doubts begin to creep into her mind but she forces herself to push them away. She has no more time to waste.

Swiftly knocking on the door, Calypso sways back and forth on her feet as she patiently waits.

A man in his mid-twenties opens the door while an older one next to him points a gun at her chest.

Her hands fly up as a sign of surrender,” Woah! No need for weapons, I bring you no harm. My name is Calypso Baker. I believe you work for my father?”

The younger man raises his eyebrows at her and scoffs,” You’re the queen?”

She crosses her arms and glares at the two of them,” I am, indeed.”

The older man lowers the gun and offers her a hand which she gladly takes,” Don’t mind my son, my queen. My name is Caulin Graham. Son, introduce yourself.”

Caulin’s son sticks out his hand for her to shake,” Oliver Graham. Pleased to make your acquaintance, my lady.”

" You as well.”

Oliver pulls out a chair around their small circular dining table and offers it to Calypso. She gladly accepts it due to her cramping feet.

" Was there something you needed to discuss, my lady?” Caulin sits across from her and places a cup of tea in front of her.

She soothes her aching fingers against the warm porcelain as she replies,” Indeed. As you may know, an attempt was made on my life just days ago. I believe the vampires’ are growing ill of my presence in the castle. I worry that I haven’t gotten much time left.”

“You would like to speed up the mission I assume?” Oliver fills in where she leaves off.

She nods reluctantly,” Correct.”

" Have you gathered much information about the King?” he questions.

" Unfortunately, no I have not. He has been very careful to keep me at arms length. If he needs to be somewhere important, he assigns Zara to watch after me. I assume it’s to ensure I do not follow him,” the two nod at her in understanding,” All I have to offer is the location of his bed chambers and his dining habits. Our food comes from a separate kitchen than the guests and our food is served on gold plates rather than silver.”

The two men grow disappointed at the lack of information.

Calypso senses their apprehension,” I understand your hesitation. I have nothing of value to offer. But as I stated before, if we do not act soon I believe that I will end up dead before we can complete our mission.”

Oliver holds one of Calypso’s free hands in both of his in an attempt to comfort her,” No need to worry, queen. We will work with what we have. Is there any way you could draw a map of his most frequented spots?”

She accepts the pieces of paper and pencil she is given and quickly gets to work before she loses her nerve. She maps out every room she remembers seeing him in, including his study while she describes out-loud the goblet that the king drinks from. Once finished, she hands the sketches to the men and waits for their approval.

Caulin nods and speaks for the first time since she had began explaining her situation,” This is very helpful, my lady. Thank you.”

Calypso says nothing in reply only nodding as an answer.

Oliver stands from his seat and offers Calypso a hand so she can do the same,” We will bring this information to your father and see what he has to say. Do not fret my lady, we will come up with a plan.”

Calypso is soon back in the streets darting from alley to alley. Finding her way back to the castle proves to be harder than she thought. It appears she was so stuck in her head on the way here that she did not pay very much attention to her surroundings. Having to snake through the town earlier in order to replace the spies’ home also does not help her situation.

After the passing of a few more minutes, Calypso finally spots the dark shadow that is the King’s castle. She stays hidden in the tree-line as she watches for any sign of movement. She had climbed out of the King’s bedroom window using the strong vines clinging to the building to keep herself stable.

Calypso is going to have to use the same route to make her way back into the castle. She slowly moves to tangled ropes of vines and gives them a strong tug. Once satisfied with their strength, she begins to pull herself up the side of the structure. A crumbling brick causes her foot to slip and her to slam into the wall. Letting out a soft string of curses, she continues her climb until she reaches the window.

Daylight will come soon and she only has a few more minutes until her husband returns from his trip. She pulls herself through the window and gets tangled in the curtains making her tumble to the ground. She hears heavy footsteps echoing down the hall; footsteps she could recognized in a crowd.

Shooting to her feet, she throws her shoes and cape into her wardrobe. She can hear him nearing the bedroom door. Panic seeps into her skin as she rips at the ribbons that hold her dress to her body. Once loose enough to step out of, Calypso throws the muddy dress into the open wardrobe and slams it shut just as the door flies open.

Her chest heaves with dread due to the fact that she is standing before her husband in nothing but lace undergarments. Making her way to her bed, she gathers her silk sheets to her chest as she sits in the middle of it waiting for him to speak.

When he does not, she assumes he is waiting for her to make the first move,” You’re back early.”

At the sound of her voice, he prowls to her side of the bed and stands over her still not speaking.

" King? Are you well?” her voice shakes with worry.

He does not answer her as he scans over her covered body before analyzing the bedroom. His eyes pause at the curtains that sway in the wind due to the open window.

“It was stuffy in here and I could not sleep. I opened the window to try and air it out,” she is fast to explain in order to stop his train of thought before it starts.

The silence he created earlier holds as he stares at her. Calypso is not sure what he is thinking but she is sure she does not want to replace out. She fiddles with her fingers as she waits for him to speak.

" There is mud on the floor,” her husband states blankly finally breaking the silence.

Calypso feels her heart drop.

There is nothing she can say that would explain why her muddy shoe prints lead from the open window to her wardrobe.

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Unedited

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