It had been a day since the Ligrel clan had arrived, and the king was listening for news of changes in his niece's home. Nothing. He heard nothing. He started to get worried that they had handled things so quietly, the Steinhouse household had vanished in the night. He wished to go there and check for himself; but, where bad news went, another was close by.
The capital had woken to a missing Beaumont household. One was not sure when it happened; a neighbour living from the capital in the Beaumont earldom had gone to check on them, and found that entire property was quiet as a burial ground. He saw nothing. Not an animal nor human. Even the plants had browned and died. It was like looking at a ghost settlement. The neighbour had sent word to the capital and by the time it arrived, it was m
