Kidnapped
The Lieutenant returned to the chamber where Barca and a man servant were sitting on a rug, immersed in a game of senet.
“What is it?” Barca asked. “You look annoyed.”
“Someone’s gone missing.”
Barca placed his pawn on the board, the winning move. “Which someone?”
“The girl with the flute.”
“Seems an unlikely one to wander off.”
“Well, they’re looking for her now.”
“How long has she been gone?”
“I don’t know. A couple of hours. She didn’t show up on the Phoenix after dark.”
Barca groaned and pulled himself up from the floor. “I don’t like the sound of it.”
“Must we respond to their every whim?”
“You forget, Lieutenant, the girl resembles Elishat.”
“So?”
“So, somebody out there thinks they’ve got the Queen.”
The Lieutenant’s face dropped. “But they don’t have the Queen.”
“No, but if they think they do, they’ll demand a ransom.”
The Lieutenant laid his hand on his dagger.
“Go, alert Bitias. Move the Queen to the Arbiter. We can protect her better there.”
The Lieutenant hurried out. Barca slowly shook his head and let out a sigh.
“Sorry for your trouble, sir,” the man servant said, putting the game pieces away in their box.
Barca sighed, “I should have known the girl was in danger…”
Queen Elishat appeared in the doorway. “What is it, Barca? What’s all the commotion?”
“There’s been a kidnapping.”
“A kidnapping! Who’s been kidnapped?”
“You, Princess.”
Blues for the Unsung Queen 