“This area is considerably larger than the Red District, and my sister doesn’t want to be found by anyone, either. I can’t even look for someone with her name. She probably found a new alias to hide from the thugs from yesterday.”
Cassandra was right. Targeting the middle-class businesses meant they would have to search in a zone that was at least five times bigger than the Red District. Moreover, she had no name to give this time and only a rough idea of her sister’s possible whereabouts.
They had left early, but after four hours of walking around and asking as many people as she could, nothing happened. Cassandra had asked dozens of people, without ever getting anything concrete. The few known apothecaries had been established for many years, and no matter how many times she asked, no one seemed to have seen anyone that fit the description Cassandra gave over and over again.
After a while, Cassandra started to feel the fatigue, her feet and back were aching. She had been so adamant about looking for her sister, she had forgotten her pain until she couldn’t anymore. Shareen helped her sit in a chair of the closest tea shop, somewhere she could hide from the sun. Even for the first day of spring, it was too hot for Cassandra. She had spent terrible summers in the Capital, with a hard time coping with the heat. She truly wasn’t fit for extreme temperatures.
“Go order us something,” Shareen said to Dahlia, who walked away after a bow.
The place was crowded, but no one dared to even look at the two women. People were absolutely shocked and terrified at one glance of Shareen’s purple dress. After a few minutes, they were truly isolated, as all the nearby tables and chairs had discreetly scooted away from them.
“I can’t believe we haven’t found anything yet,” said Cassandra, disheartened. “I really thought that last apothecary might be hers.”
“Well, unless your sister turned into an eighty-year-old granny, it wasn’t. You still have one week in the Capital, you’ll be able to look for her until then.”
Cassandra truly hoped she would find Missandra before then. Dahlia returned with the two cups of tea, and they drank silently. Cassandra was touched that she had thought about ordering a verbena and lemon-flavored one for her, while Shareen had a black tea.
“I’m thinking, maybe I guessed wrong. Maybe Missandra already fled the Capital, or she went to the poorer side.”
“Looking for someone inside the Capital is like looking for a needle in a haystack. And like you said, your sister made enough enemies to…to not… want… to…”
“Princess Shareen?” asked Cassandra.
But Shareen’s face was quickly turning white, and she was obviously struggling to stay conscious. Her eyes were closing and her words didn’t make any sense. She spilled her tea in a clumsy movement and, before Cassandra could react, fell on the ground like a dead weight.
“Shareen!”
Cassandra ran to the Princess’ side in utter panic. What was going on? Shareen had fallen off her chair like a lifeless doll! Her first move was to check her pulse and breathing, but in a matter of seconds, she realized the Princess wasn’t poisoned but drugged.
“Dahlia!” she called.
“I checked both cups, My Lady, I swear!” replied the young woman, crying in shock. “I swear I drank from both! The tea was fine!”
Cassandra believed Dahlia, but this didn’t make any sense! She was completely fine while Shareen was passed out. She grabbed both cups, smelling them. Nothing smelled out of the ordinary, but it could have come from anywhere.
Around them, people were in total panic after seeing an Imperial Family Member pass out. No one wanted to be associated with a crime towards the Imperial Family, and the punishment that would come with it. Everyone around quickly fled the scene screaming, leaving the three women alone. Cassandra desperately tried shaking Shareen, calling her name and hoping to wake her up. Who had done this? Who would be crazy enough to attack the Princess in the middle of the street! And so few people knew about their outing, too!
She brought her fingers to her mouth and whistled loudly, out of despair. She hoped he wasn’t too far, because she had no idea what to do!
“Come!” suddenly said a voice, grabbing her wrist.
Before she could protest or resist, Cassandra was dragged away from Shareen. Whoever was running in front of her held her wrist strongly, not letting go.
“Let me go!” yelled Cassandra, despite the shock.
However, her kidnapper didn’t stop. She couldn’t even see who it was, as they were covered in a dark hood and cloak. They ran across several streets, but Cassandra, with her round belly, was running out of breath.
“Stop! Stop! I can’t…”
Whoever it was finally stopped, and took her inside a house. Cassandra was too busy catching her breath to look around, but she could tell it was the one of the most common kind of house for middle-class people, big enough for one or two people to live in. It was pretty dark, however, as the individual left the windows closed.
“It’s really you,” whispered the woman, still standing a few steps away from her.
“Who are…”
But before she could finish her sentence, Cassandra’s eyes finally met the woman’s eyes.
There was no mistake possible, no matter how incredible it looked. She had such a strikingly similar face, the same emerald eyes, the same dark brown hair. She only looked a bit younger, and her lips were fuller, her cheeks chubbier.
