Crime Scene Investigation

The palace was usually filled with citizens and heroes, a bustling place of gift and celebration. The King was a generous man, and those that worked hard were rewarded handsomely. His golden throne was empty now, Arata glanced at it as they passed.

“I apologise, the King cannot see you. He’s been bedridden since our daughter was taken. I’m afraid the news was not good for his heart.” The Queen explained. Leona instantly shook her head, “Please do not apologise, your highness. Princess Plotgerät is a joy to us all. Fear not, Reinhardt and I will find the monsters responsible for this and bring her back home!”

The Queen smiled graciously, “My, that is reassuring.” It was clear as day she too was fighting to not lose herself, but this smile warmed their hearts, it was perhaps the first time she had shown anything but grief in these last few hours.

Eventually they had reached the inner halls of the castle, guarded and off limits to anyone but the royal family and their servants. The staff had kept it clean as they always had, but no one had been permitted into the Princess’s room since the night she disappeared. The doors swung open and the cold air flowing in from the open window brought an eerie chill. “This is where she was taken.” Arata noted. “What was she feeling at that moment? Did she cry out? Did she try to fight?” He shuddered at the thought, a young girl taken from her home, “what kind of monster is capable of this?”

“You have been granted access to every room in the Palace. Should you need me or any of our guards we will be more than happy to assist you.” Queen Anna explained. She smiled again, this time unable to hide her pain as well with her daughter’s vacant room in sight.

Both heroes bowed to her and she felt at little more at ease, still the anxiety was strong. Her heart was heavy, and she stopped before leaving the room. “Please…” she spoke softly, “Bring her home.”

*-*-*

A 10 minutes that felt like an hour had gone by, with Leona digging through papers and containers diligently, all while Arata pretended to know what he was doing. “How exactly are we supposed to find out where the Princess is by sifting through her room? It’s not exactly like the kidnappers left a note on the floor saying, hey bring her to our evil lair at the edge of the suspicious forest.” Arata asked. Truthfully he did feel sorry for the King & Queen, but this wasn’t the work of a writer, he had no idea what to even look for.

Leona just ignored him and continued her search. It led her to the Princess’s wardrobe, just the sight of it brought a tear to her eye “it’s bigger than my house… goddamn hero wages…”. Sadly, nothing seemed out of place. Princess Plotgerät was particular about her clothing, you’d never see her with a single stain or tear. She was enamoured by elegant gowns of pastel pink, red, cyan and lilac. Every one of them present and in perfect condition. “These dresses aren’t exactly cheap.” Leona thought. “You’d think if someone wanted money they’d just take the belongings rather than the owner. Even her jewellery is still here…”

She scanned through the notebook on the nearby desk. It was a journal. Inside was exactly what you’d expect of a young girl’s writings. Jottings of fun days or conversations with the citizens, the soldiers she found handsome. Every page was neat and decorated… but then all of a sudden, a page was missing, ripped from the journal and presumably either thrown away or lost. This wasn’t ordinary for the Princess.

As for Arata, his search would have been more successful if he had stayed at home. He’d look under the bed, possibly looking for some sort of monster but obviously finding nothing of the sort and feeling slightly dumber in the process. He’d open an old closet and drown in a sea of stuffed animals. Eventually he found his way over to a blue trunk, hoping that if he checked this and found nothing he could take a break. It was about half full with old letters. Part of him felt sick at the idea of having to look through them all, but he felt a slight sensation of déjà vu. The first few letters were just typical, written by citizens of Heimstadt who cherished the Princess. There was one however that he was drawn to. On the surface it looked normal, sealed with a wax stamp in the shape of a heart, yet it was strangely familiar to him. He went to open it, cutting his finger in the process, even this was strangely familiar. It was as if he’d seen it all before…

“The manga!” He realised.

“The what?” Leona asked, overhearing him while rummaging through the drawers of the desk. “You find something?”

“Uhh, no, nothing.” Arata responded, returning to the page. “This was in the manga! Reinhardt found this letter and figured out who took the Princess” he read through it, licking his wound while doing so. It wasn’t specific, the manga never showed the contents, just Reinhardt’s reaction. So without the context it just looked like a typical letter. It was casual, at least for the eyes of a royal, but there was also an air of intimacy. “From your secret admirer, T.” He read. “T? Surely there’s more to it! Think Arata, what happened next? What did Reinhardt do?” Arata asked himself. Had he not been drinking when reading the chapters, he’d have remembered what was to come. Instead it was like someone had splashed ink over panels at random, some bled through but others were just blank to him.

Finally he saw it, rushing out the room with Leona not noticing. She had been checking the canopy above Plotgerät’s bed, just beneath the thin fabric, was a folded note. She had found the next clue.

*-*-*

Through the outer corridors he rushed, following the path in his mind like he had walked it himself. It led him to the courtyard accessible only to the royal family and guards. It was a small, peaceful garden about the size of one of the servant’s quarters. At its centrepiece was a tree that had stood for a thousand years. They called them heart trees, strong and mysterious, it was there before the city was even founded. Its bark bespeckled with gem-like spots.

He approached it as Reinhardt had, drawn to its aura.

“Sir Reinhardt.” The Queen said, sat at the bench near the entrance. He hadn’t noticed her, she’d been collecting her thoughts in the only place that felt natural to her. Pure instinct told him to bow however she waved, “please, you needn’t. Did you find anything?”

“There was a letter, ma’am. However, something called me here.” He explained, better to explain it this way than to be truthful and look strange.

“I am not surprised. This was my dau- the Princess’s favourite place in the Palace. She loved this tree.” She seemed much more calm here, hand against the bark and admiring the green above. “Heroes used to come here and find their resolve, they say the tree had a magical power to empower one’s heart. Perhaps it would help you find what you seek, sir Reinhardt.” She explained.

What drivel, a magic tree? It was all just tales people told themselves to feel stronger. He could almost have laughed at the thought of it, and yet, he’d already wandered to it and placed his hand on its trunk. It was as if his body was pulled in, a strange unheard command had lifted him to his feet and towards this ancient tree. His mind was blank, and the wind blew the leaves around the yard. There was no power up, or strengthened resolve.

“This isn’t magic” he realised. Letters began appearing in his sight, floating in the air.

Tale - Save the Princess.

“This is a portal!”

“This is it” Leona gasped, the missing note in hand. “The secret admirer…”

“Täter the Scourge.”