FIVE YEARS LATER.
The palace grounds were in absolute disarray. Someone had just blown up the new monument, and there was chaos everywhere. He who did it was still lurking around, too. He was trying his best to stick to the shadows; getting caught would be a disaster. But the royal guard had him surrounded. His only escape route was to make a sprint for the maze, and luckily, he knew its every twist and turn like the back of his hand. He hadn't planned on blowing anything up today and definitely didn't want all this attention. All he'd wanted to do was graffiti it up a bit, you know a regular old symbol of protest. He'd wanted it done quickly, so he'd attached the paint to an explosive mechanism, thinking it would splash the paint all over; how was he supposed to know that it would actually explode the monument?
The guards were hot on his heels, and he could practically sense them closing in. Where to? The centre! That was his best shot.
"He went into the maze," Luke said. "Rookie move—now we've got him for sure."
"Wait, why are we doing this? It's the royal guard's job to go after criminals" Ben asked
"You're right. Too bad the Council doesn't bother to know the difference. Either way, when they call, we have to answer," Luke replied with a sigh.
"Split up. I'll take the centre; Ben, you take the West. Janet, you head east. Daren, you stay put until he comes around, and Cole, you're on north." They all nodded and headed out. Just then, something sparkly in the grass caught Nicole's eye. She picked it up— a silver cufflink, studded with diamonds and engraved with a C. Oh no.
"Everything okay, Cole?" Luke asked, glancing over.
"Yeah, all good." She quickly shoved the cufflink in her pocket. "Actually, Luke, I think I should take the centre. I know this maze way better than you. I can move faster."
"Fine, whatever, let's just not waste any more time," Luke said, running off.
'That idiot better hope I find him first', Nicole thought as she dashed into the maze.
Cloud was almost to the centre, but he could sense someone was on his tail. He had to reach the statue—just a bit more time, that's all he needed. A few more turns, and there it was, looming majestically: the giant stone statue of a phoenix, the proud symbol of the Zenith-Tundera alliance. 'The loose stone slab, I have to find it.' He thought as he scurried to it, passing his hands all over it. Then he felt a dent, 'Found you.' Before he could do anything a hand landed on his shoulder. He tried to grab his knife but another hand stopped him. He might have attempted to struggle had his supposed attacker not spoken, "Of all the bullshit you've pulled over the years, this has got to be the worst."
'Niccy!' Cloud was relieved. He'd have been a goner if it were any other paladin but his own. Nicole let go of him. He turned around to face her and put on his award-winning smile, "Hi, Nicc.." Nicole grabbed onto his ear and yanked it. " Niccy, Niccy let go." He struggled. "What the hell were you thinking?" she scolded." How could you get yourself into a situation like this? How am I gonna clean up your mess this time?" "Niccy I.." "No. Niccy nothing. We'll talk about this later. Right now you have to leave." "I was trying to escape through the passageway," Cloud said as he dug his fingers into the sides of the slab and tried pulling it out. Nicole clicked her tongue, "And for some reason, you thought it would be that easy."
"Isn't it?" He said with an oblivious look in his eyes. She rolled her eyes and shoved him to the side, "Move aside." She moved her finger over the stone slab and stopped when she found the etching, taking off the pendant around her neck, she placed it on the pattern. There was a low rumble, and then the stone statue slid backwards, creating an opening in the ground. The path was dimly lit and there were 5 different tunnels leading to who knows where. "Only Tunderas, no, only paladins have access to the passageways. It is a privilege not even the royal family possesses." She pointed at the tunnel in the middle, "Take that one, it will take you to the west wing. You'll be safe from there." "Thanks Niccy, I owe you one." Nicole scowled, "Oh, we're not done here. I'll deal with you at a more convenient time. Now go." She watched him enter the tunnel then closed the passageway. Nicole rubbed her temple, if she was ever going to get killed it would never be because she wasn't a strong enough fighter but rather because of that thorn in her flesh of a prince.
Bzzzz, went her smart watch. It was a message from Lue . "Regroup", it said. She headed back to where they'd split up. "Did anyone find him?",she asked when she got to them. "No .",Luke said. "Rhea won't be happy with this." ,Nicole said. "Rhea is the least of our problems , ;t's those pesky councilmen we should be worried about." ,Luke sighed,."Come on let's go."