Chapter 29

**Alexander’s point of view: The mission in disguise… **

Both Xavier and I held in our breathes, when we met their gazes with our own and nodded our heads at them as a sign of acknowledgement in the form of a greeting gesture. After inspecting us from head to toe, they finally excepted our greeting with slight head nods of their own, before they went on their way and continued walking in the opposite direction from where we were heading.

Ones again sighing a breath of relief, we continued exploring the rest of the dark tunnel system. We kept walking forward, until we saw light coming from an opening. It turned out to be an entrance leading to gathering hall of some sorts. While we were busy looking around, a servant in strange uniform suddenly appeared in front of us.

He then shook his head in an unpleasing manner, before snapping his fingers and ordering us to follow him! We did as he said and cautiously followed him down another scarcely lit tunnel.

After a while of walking through more unknown tunnels, we finally arrived at another smaller entrance. When we walked through the entrance, we found ourselves in the male servants, sleeping quarters. It turned out to be the head servant that had led us here, he pointed out two unused sleeping mats, before turning around and disappearing back into the tunnel system.

The other servants paid us no attention and just continued on with their own business. Xavier and I followed their lead and walked over to the unused sleeping mats, changed our clothes, then washed our faces and hands in a small bowl with clean water, that stood in the corner near to our sleeping mats. Afterwards we lied down on the uncomfortable sleeping mats and tried to get some rest.

The next morning, someone came in with a loud ringing bell and woke everyone up. When we had arisen from our sleeping mats, Xavier made eye contact with me, not knowing what to do next. I signalled Xavier with my eyes to follow the rest of the servants lead for now, just until we had a better idea of where everything and everyone is situated in this huge underground city.

Located not far from the sleeping quarters, we followed the rest of the male servants into a bathing room. With fresh water flowing out of small dug out holes in the wall and into a pool of water that’s carved into the cave-like washing room. To ensure the pool didn’t overflow, they carved out a small gap into the topside of the pool, opposite from where the water is flowing in and whenever the water reaches that certain height in the pool, the water flows through the carved-out gap and into a small stream, leading out of the bathing room.

After taking a quick bath, we dressed ourselves with the uncomfortable and tight-fitting uniforms, before we followed the rest of the group to the next location. In daylight the tunnels seemed a little different than the night version, that greeted us last night, so it might be a little easier to find our way through the rest of the tunnel system.

After a while we finally entered a food hall, where the rest of the staff of servants, were already busy enjoying their breakfast. Xavier and I chose a corner table in the far end of the room to sit at. For the sake of keeping up appearances, I ate my portion and secretly ate Xavier’s portion of food as well; while Xavier just pretended to eat the food placed in front of him. Last night, he drank the last bit of blood supplies he had with him, before we entered the tunnel system.

After breakfast certain groups were assigned different kinds of tasks for the day. Xavier and I carefully observed and followed everyone’s lead that was assigned to our group. As the day progressed, we slowly started to blend in with the rest of the servant and finished all the chores for the day.

After making some conversation with the rest of the servants in our group, we finally found out in which section of the city we had unknowingly stumbled in...

Without knowing it at the time, we coincidentally, entered the tunnel that led us straight to the royal residence, which ultimately made the circumstances surrounding our mission and investigation a little easier to carry out. The rest of the week, we memorised each and every tunnel in the royal residence and everywhere they ultimately led to.

At the end of the week we were finally allowed go out through a tunnel that led us to a different set of entrances, leading in and out of the mountain. It was located in the complete opposite side of the mountain, from where we had first arrived at.

There in the backside of that mountain, laid out in front of us; were the evidence we had been searching for the entire time we spent undercover as servants! While slowly making our way down the steep steps of the mountainside, we took in the complete picture that was unfolding before our very eyes.

Now, after our discovery today, everything started to make sense to me. None of the strange occurrences that took place over the last few months was a coincidence. Everything formed part of a well thought out plan. It was all set-in motion on the very day, that I was attacked in the fairy realm.

After the attack had occurred and in the few days that I had spent time with the werewolf king, during the peace treaty ball, he didn’t show any signs of an underlining illness, nor did his behaviour towards me, show any ill intended thoughts. In fact, he seemed to be in very good state of health and openly declared his feelings of being relieved and happy about the fact that the unrest and war was finally put behind us.

The werewolf king is indeed innocent and was forcibly removed from his position as ruler of this realm… With all the evidence in front of me; I also now believe that the werewolf king was poisoned, by someone very close to him, someone in his family, that he trusts unconditionally. This is the only conclusion, I can think of, that explains the werewolf king’s sudden and mysterious decline in health! The only thing that I’m still not certain of, is who the mastermind behind it all is…

After a while of thoroughly thinking it through again, I ruled out the werewolf queen as a suspect and knowing participant in the whole scheme. So, that means that the mastermind behind it all must be their only son and heir to the throne, the crown prince!