Chương 112: Book 2 Chapter 64 - They Took Him

Kiara had worked hard to get her family to join House Yountal officially, since she wanted to spend more time with them. Now that they were part of the team, she saw them as often as she wanted, which was great. Portish was only about an hour away at her jogging speed, and stopping in to see them frequently wouldn't be weird, now that they would be managing House Yountal's presence in Easton. She gave Dustin 500 ruby coins, and told him to bring her the change after he found something suitable.

He was only mildly surprised now at the amount of money she was willing to throw around, but assured her that it should be plenty to purchase something nice. Kiara had asked Zoey if she would stay with Dustin until he was done in Portish, and bring him back in the carriage. She hadn't seemed fond of the idea until Kiara had passed over the money to Dustin to go house shopping, after which Zoey was suddenly adamant that someone really should stay and help Dustin out.

Plus, she said she had family in Portish and really should visit them while she was in town. After that, Kiara headed back to Easton. Things had honestly turned out alright in Portish, much better than she had any right to hope for when she first set out the day before. With a happy smile and a light heart, she did her best to enjoy the run back to Easton, despite the bugs she ran into along the way. She arrived to find her estate in turmoil.

Right away she spotted the despondent looks on the faces of everyone in sight. They walked with hunched postures, quick steps, and frightened looks over the shoulder. The minute she walked through the front gate, the two guards on gate duty ran up to her.

"Lady Shian, you're back! They're waiting for you in the dining hall, you need to hurry!" The bearing of the servants, the concern in the guard's voice, and the guards' sense of urgency spurred her into immediate action, and she took off at a dead sprint for the house. Her mind flooded with worry, curious what could have possibly gone wrong in the day and a half that she was absent. She burst into the house, dodging nimbly around a passing servant before the servant could even process what was happening.

Only a few seconds after the guards at the gate had relayed the message, she was in the dining hall, where Gentry, Captain Soren, Jaden, and Helga were all gathered. Helga was absently working a lump of dough on the tabletop, something she said helped her work through problems. It was a large lump of dough, and she was putting her whole body into the kneading. Jaden's face was drained of color, and he looked like he might vomit at any moment from over-anxiety.

Captain Soren was doing his best to comfort Gentry, who looked like she'd been crying and hadn't slept all night. They all looked up with a start as Kiara burst into the room.

"What's going on?" she asked frantically.

"The guards at the gate said you were waiting for me, they made it seem urgent." They all started talking at once, but Kiara couldn't pick out any single thread well enough to understand what they were saying. She held up her hands to calm them all down.

"One at a time. Please." She turned to her mom, who would have technically been in charge while Kiara was absent. Well, her and Ron. Speaking of which, "Where's Ron?" Gentry burst into tears.

"They took him." She began sobbing uncontrollably. Kiara's mind instantly flooded with murderous thoughts. She had just been through this in Portish, and now someone had attacked them here, too? Whoever had done this would pay. She forced herself to calm down until she could get the full story.

"Who took him?" When Gentry didn't seem able to reply, she faced Captain Soren instead. He cleared his throat.

"The city officials, my lady. Last night, a few hours after you all left, a group of city guards showed up at the house with written arrest papers from the baron himself. To be clear, they were here to arrest you, my lady. When we told them you were out of town, they asked who was in charge. Ron stepped forward, and they put him in irons instead, saying they'd hold him as collateral until you turned yourself in." Jaden sank lower and lower throughout Captain Soren's explanation, as if he were trying to hide.

Kiara turned to him.

"Jaden, do you have something to add?" He shook his head.

"No, my lady. It's just that…" He sighed in defeat and hung his head.

"Well, I feel like I didn't do my job to protect the estate while you were gone. I went to the city offices today to see Ron, but they wouldn't let me in." It was true that while Kiara and Zoey were absent, Jaden was the strongest person at the estate, but Kiara didn't want him feeling responsible for what had happened. From the sound of it, everyone had done the right thing, and this was something she could settle herself at the city offices. Besides, Jaden wasn't in charge, regardless of him being the strongest.

The decision wasn't his to make. She took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Ron went willingly?" Everyone nodded.

"Okay," she exhaled, releasing the tension she had been holding.

"Jaden, did you disobey any direct orders from Ron, Gentry, or Captain Soren?" He looked up at her and slowly shook his head. She gave him a reassuring look.

"Then you did nothing wrong. Don't beat yourself up over this." She glanced around at each of them.

"The baron is technically the ruling lord of Easton, and we have to follow his decrees. This is no one's fault. Everyone go back to your normal duties, and see if you can help settle the nerves of the servants. Jaden, would you come with me to the city offices? I'd like to have your perspective with me while I talk to the baron." Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Jaden perked up as she absolved him of any guilt, and immediately nodded at her request.

"Of course, Lady Shian, I'm ready when you are." Kiara stepped closer to Gentry and knelt down in front of where she was sitting. She placed a gentle, reassuring hand on her knee.

"I'll go get Ron back, Miss Dunsun, don't worry. They're only holding him until I show up, so I'll have Jaden escort him home once they've released him." Gentry nodded through teary eyes, placing her own hand on Kiara's.

"Thank you," was all she could manage to get out in response. Helga rushed in to give Kiara a smothering hug once she stood back up. Kiara found her face buried in the woman's ample bosom, with strong arms lifting her a few inches off the ground.

"You be careful out there, Miss Shian. The city is still a mess." She released Kiara, leaving her with flour coating her face and the front of her outfit. Kiara smiled fondly as she brushed the flour off her cheeks and forehead.

"Don't worry, Helga, we'll all be fine. Just wait and see, by tonight everything will be back to normal!" Her rush of concern and anger had faded upon hearing it was the city guards who had taken Ron away. While it was certainly annoying, and fairly on par for Baron Norshod's behavior, Ron likely wasn't in any danger. Not like the hostages in Portish had been. She made her way to the city offices, with Jaden following close behind.

She moved about as fast as Jaden could keep up, which prevented anyone from talking to them or interrupting them on the way. Before long they were standing in front of a city office clerk. The days following her nighttime outing with Kane, the city had experienced multiple large-scale battles between the three house factions, just as Kane had predicted. Kiara's employees had all stayed safe at the estate, and no one had ventured outside until they received word by courier of the situation in Portish.

As she travelled through the city today, the streets had been mostly deserted. Everyone was on edge following the fighting, and people were keeping to themselves. Even the clerk behind the counter seemed nervous, periodically glancing at the doors to reassure herself that there was no danger. With everyone sheltering in their homes, the city offices were mostly devoid of life, and the clerk standing in front of Kiara was the only one on duty.

She glanced through some papers when Kiara told her why she had come, eventually furrowing her eyebrows and looking back up at them.

"I don't see any paperwork here for your house, Lady Yountal. Are you sure it was you they came to arrest?" Kiara shrugged and turned to Jaden.

"That's what the city guards said," Jaden replied helpfully.

"When they learned that Shian wasn't home, they took Ron as collateral. Said Shian should turn herself in to secure Ron's release." Kiara jumped in.

"Getting Ron released is my top priority, and I'll turn myself in if that's what's needed to make that happen. That being said, this seems highly irregular. I am a lady of high standing in Easton, and I've done nothing wrong." The clerk paled.

"Understood, your ladyship. Perhaps you could bring your case before the baron himself? His schedule is pretty empty of late, and I don't really have the authority…"

"Yes," Kiara cut her off abruptly.

"That's perfect, I would love to meet with Baron Norshod. Is he in right now?" The clerk bowed low in response.

"Allow me to go and check, Lady Yountal. I will return shortly." The woman scurried off toward a set of stairs, ascending them rapidly. As soon as she was out of sight, Kiara looked around at the empty room. It was large, built to accommodate the usual crowds of a city, with a long row of clerk desks stretching along the wall. A few simple chairs formed a seating area in two of the corners, providing somewhere to sit while waiting for the long, bureaucratic processes common in settings such as this.

Kiara wasn't sure how long the clerk would be gone, so she took one of the chairs, and Jaden sat across from her. The wait stretched much longer than Kiara had initially anticipated, and she began to wonder if the clerk had simply gone home. Eventually, she did return, followed by an entire platoon of thirty city guards. She entered through the main doors, instead of coming back down the stairs, and Kiara realized why it had taken so long.

Baron Norshod must have had the clerk leave by another exit to fetch some city guards before coming back to get her. The clerk bowed apologetically to Kiara as she approached.

"The city lord will see you now, but you are technically under arrest. My apologies, my lady. I'm sure your visit with the baron will clear things right up." The clerk scurried back behind the desks to watch the scene play out with wide eyes. Jaden made a move to intervene, but Kaira held up her hand to stop him.

"No. It's okay, I'll go willingly." She turned to the city guards.

"Can my retainer accompany me?" One of the guards shrugged.

"Only if he allows himself to be bound in irons as well. The baron doesn't want any trouble during his meeting with you." She looked at Jaden to see if he was okay with that, and he nodded in response.

"Very well," the guard said, holding out his hand.

"Give me all of your storage devices and weapons. They will be returned to you if you are released." He looked at Jaden.

"Yours will be returned after the meeting, when you are released." Now Jaden looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She knew he had an expensive storage ring with his personal money and belongings inside. He was worried about something being stolen. She held out her hand and nodded to him reassuringly.

"I'll make sure you get everything back." He reluctantly slipped the ring off his finger and handed it to her. She made a mental note of everything inside, then emptied the contents into her soul space, leaving just a few bronze coins in the ring. She repeated the process with her own two storage rings, leaving just scraps inside each one. The guard looked a bit confused as he took each one, clearly checking for himself what they had stored inside, but then he shrugged and pocketed the rings.

Next, he held out some iron handcuffs, and Kiara allowed her hands to be locked inside them. Jaden followed suit. The guards led Kiara and Jaden up the wide staircase, not stopping until they reached the fourth and final floor. The city administrative building was the tallest building in Easton, and housed the majority of the city's laymen workforce. Kiara knew how much paperwork Dustin did each month just to manage their businesses, which was only a tiny fraction of the work she imagined went into running a city.

It clearly required a lot of people doing a lot of work, which explained the size of the building. On the fourth floor, they were led to the baron's office, where the guard knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice from inside called. The guard opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him for a short moment. A few seconds later, he re-opened it and beckoned them to enter.

"The baron will see you now." Kiara and Jaden stepped inside, followed by all thirty guards. The office was large, for an office, but thirty guards was honestly too many. The room felt a bit crowded once everyone was inside. She almost laughed at the absurdity of it all. Baron Norshod had been inside by himself before they walked in, and Kiara was a bit surprised not to see Kane here too.

She honestly wouldn't have been surprised to find out he had something to do with the papers for her arrest, after the way things had ended the other night. It would be a petty move on his part, done just to spite her, but at least she would understand why he had done it, even if she didn't agree with his actions. Baron gestured to two chairs in front of his desk.

"Take a seat, Miss Yountal."