Envelope

She gestured quickly for Anberine to take a look, confusing the girl as she peered at the book beside her friend.

"(My time is neigh and I fear for our kingdom. I was a fool, a true fool to have allowed him into our kingdom. If I had known then I wouldn't have had to lose so much.

We have no more options left and my wife is due. Our child must not die or the kingdom will fall. For this they will need to…)" to their dismay the next page had been torn signalling that someone had ripped away whatever had been written.

"This writing looks like it's only hundreds old compared to King Arthur's writing" Anberine commented with curious eyes as she examined the page carefully.

Skye as he stared at the page frowned as questions formed in his mind as to who would have done such a thing.

"This must be talking about the skirmish that took place two generations ago" Anberine and Merlia stared at Skye in shock.

"Skirmish?" Merlia asked as she tilted her head to the side, Skye nodded.

"The kingdom had a problem with the ministers but all we knew was that the Queen had been assassinated. The King then married a duchess after that but held no investigation for the fallen Queen" Skye explained stunning the girls.

"The gossiping lasted for a while until the King silenced them. Some say he went cold after the assassination leading some to think it was a cover-up" Skye added while looking at the shocked pair once more.

"If that's the case then wouldn't the King be held responsible for her murder?" Merlia asked feeling that something didn't add up as Anberine placed a hand to her chin.

"Not unless he was threatened" Anberine guessed as she looked at Merlia who frowned from the thought.

"Maybe… but that must have been a huge scandal. No other areas wouldn't gossip about this without it coming to our home. But for some reason we weren't able to hear it" Merlia admitted feeling as if something was amiss more than ever.

"They probably didn't want to show weakness to the Dark Realm" Anberine commented, "it would be embarrassing if it reached the ears of those who would want another uprising at any given moment" she added with a curious look.

"I still found it sketchy though" Skye admitted as he re-read the page.

"Even now there's only one page. Someone must have noticed and removed the pages. But the question is why? And who would do it? What would they stand to gain from it?"

"Someone who had a lot to hide didn't want their crimes to be noticed" Anberine concluded.

A flutter suddenly appeared near the corner of her right eye leaving Anberine curious as to what caught her attention.

Soon Anberine walked towards the source until she was on the other side of the second bookshelf.

"Anbery?" Merlia called out as she followed her friend who had took out a book.

To their surprise a semi withered yellow envelope could be seen between two pages, what also surprised them the most was the waxed seal had remained intact.

Picking it up with her right hand Anberine turned it over to see the name Arthur on the yellowed envelope, the words were yellowish black curvy letters while containing elegant style that was pleasing to the eyes.

"I wonder who left this letter?" Anberine asked as Merlia took the envelope tried to open the envelope, to their confusion it refused to tear.

"Curious" Merlia tried to use her magic to open it only to scream as blue fire pushed her magic away, startled Merlia dropped the letter in fright not knowing what to say as she patted her panicking heart.

To their surprise the fire didn't harm the floor nor did it last long once it touched the floor, instead the letter once again remained harmless leaving the pair unsure of what to say or do.

Skye who had heard the scream rushed towards them only to see an envelope laying on the floor.

"What happened?" Skye asked while eyeing the innocent-looking envelope suspiciously.

"The envelope is protected by magic" Merlia explained looking at him and the letter cautiously, once she regained control over her rapidly beating heart as Skye now took the envelope off the ground.

"Be careful it might burn you" Merlia called out before feeling confusion enter her heart. This was not normal and whoever enchanted that letter made sure not to allow anyone to disturb it.

Staring at the name his expression turned pale, in panic he tried to open the envelope only to see refuse to tear to his frustration.

Anberine meanwhile placed the book that had been used to hide the letter back in its place and observed the envelope carefully. There had to be a trick to open it somehow.

"Must be for Arthur's eyes only, Merlin must have done this" Skye guessed as Anberine took the envelope in order to examine it more carefully.

"I wonder what he would have told Arthur" Merlia said feeling frustrated that she could not open it, she watched Anberine examined the envelope.

Anberine as she continued to examine the envelope turned it over and slid her index finger under the right lip of the envelope she… tore it?

Confused but refused to think about anything else, Anberine used her thumb to tear into the flap until whatever was hidden inside was free from the envelope.

"How did you…?" Skye blanched at how she was able to open it with ease, despite being confused Merlia watched Anberine open it effortlessly. How did it open so easily while she and the prince could not?

Looking at the contents of letter Anberine frowned deeply. Her eyes soon grew sombre the more she read it until very soon, a withered sigh left her lips.

Turning to look at her friend Anberine's eyes watered heavily thanks to the overwhelming emotions that filled her heart.

This left her almost unable to see as the saddened girl gingerly handed Merlia the letter without another word.