Excerpt from Karen's Adventure Part 2

Knowing that Tide was a few feet behind her,Karen turned to face her friend after the chanting outside the throne room had faded into silence.

"What is it?" asked Tide searching the questioning expression on Karen's serious and beautiful face.

"I need your chief of security to accompany me to Leonid's cell," said Karen with a quiver in her voice.

"You just made me promise you that I would not go to him, and now you want to visit him," protested Tide.

"I want to know where he killed our parents, we deserve to know that much, don't you think?" replied Karen.

"All right then, you are correct, I have just summoned Xenon so he can escort us and I will go with you as well," said Tide.

Karen nodded at this as Xenon came into the chamber and saluted Tide. He wore a grey, suit of leather armour with a sword encased in a sheath slung over his shoulder.

"At your service, your majesty," he stated respectfully and looking past Tide with unblinking eyes.

"I would like you to escort us to Leonid's cell," said Tide.

Upon hearing his words, both Karen and Tide turned to follow Xenon out of the room with Karen walking alongside Tide when they were in the hallway.

Villagers who saw Tide and Karen down the long and wide corridor stood aside and bowed to Tide who nodded pleasantly at the passers by. As the trio neared a door on the far right wall of the passageway,a chill escaped Karen.

Suddenly, Xenon opened the heavy door by pushing it inward, after which all three of them progressed into the well lit underground prison and strolled steadily ahead where they came to a stop at a locked and guarded cell.

On seeing Karen and Tide through the vertical bars, Leonid cringed and backed himself against the northern wall with a look of fear in his eyes.

"Please don't let them near me, please," he pleaded in a trembling tone.

Karen went closer to the narrow bars of the cell.

"Where did you kill our parents!" she demamded.

"In the incinerator room of my palace," said Leonid stuttering and cringing once again.

Karen then turned to Tide with pain in her watery eyes.

"You did not have to kill them, did you Leonid," to Karen's surprise,it was Tide who blurted out the words.