Episode 7
827 Words
The Hidden Passage
The prison corridors echoed with hurried footsteps.
Guards rushed in every direction, searching every tower, hallway, and rooftop.
The assassin had vanished.
It was as if he had dissolved into the shadows.
Emperor Zayan stood silently in the old scholar's cell, his eyes fixed on the piece of black silk embroidered with a silver crescent.
Captain Hamza recognized the symbol immediately.
"The Crescent Society..."
The emperor slowly folded the cloth.
"I thought they were destroyed years ago."
"So did everyone else."
Hamza lowered his voice.
"They only serve members of the Imperial Family."
"Exactly."
A dangerous silence followed.
If the Crescent Society had returned...
Then the conspiracy reached far deeper than either of them had imagined.
Arzoo remained beside the old scholar's body.
Only minutes ago, he had revealed the greatest secret of her life.
Now he was gone.
Another witness.
Another truth buried with blood.
She knelt quietly and closed the old man's eyes.
"May the Almighty have mercy upon you."
Lady Ruqaiya, who had quietly entered the prison, watched from a distance.
"You have your father's heart."
Arzoo looked up.
"My father believed every life deserved dignity."
Lady Ruqaiya smiled sadly.
"He taught you well."
Later that afternoon...
The emperor summoned Arzoo to the Hall of Maps.
Unlike the grand audience chamber, this room contained no throne.
Only enormous maps covered the walls.
Military routes.
Trade roads.
Ancient fortresses.
Hidden provinces.
The emperor stood before one particular map.
Without turning around, he spoke.
"Tell me something."
Arzoo folded her hands.
"What?"
"If you truly are the Falcon heir..."
"Would you take my throne?"
She stared at him.
"I don't want your throne."
He turned.
"Most people would lie."
"I'm not most people."
"What do you want?"
She answered without hesitation.
"The truth."
"And after that?"
"I'll decide."
For several seconds...
Neither spoke.
Then...
For the first time...
The emperor nodded with quiet approval.
Captain Hamza entered carrying an old leather journal.
"We found this beneath the scholar's bed."
The emperor accepted it.
Its cover bore the same falcon symbol.
Inside...
Most pages had rotted away.
Only a handful remained readable.
One page contained nothing but a drawing.
An enormous palace.
Arrows.
Hidden tunnels.
Secret chambers.
Arzoo leaned closer.
"This isn't just a palace."
"It's a map."
The emperor looked carefully.
She was right.
A tiny red mark appeared beneath the Imperial Garden.
"There."
She pointed.
"What is that?"
The emperor frowned.
"There shouldn't be any chamber beneath the garden."
Captain Hamza immediately replied,
"Should I send soldiers?"
"No."
The emperor closed the journal.
"If this map is genuine..."
"The fewer people who know about it..."
"...the better."
That evening...
The Imperial Garden glowed beneath hundreds of lanterns.
Fragrant roses lined the stone pathways.
Fountains reflected the moonlight.
To everyone else...
It was simply another peaceful evening.
No one noticed three figures quietly entering the garden from the eastern gate.
The emperor.
Arzoo.
Captain Hamza.
The journal led them toward an ancient marble fountain shaped like a falcon.
The emperor examined its base.
Nothing.
Arzoo walked around it slowly.
Her fingers brushed against the carved feathers.
One feather felt loose.
She pressed it.
A deep rumbling sound echoed beneath the earth.
Captain Hamza instantly drew his sword.
The fountain slowly shifted aside.
A staircase appeared beneath it.
Hidden for decades.
The emperor looked at Arzoo.
"You found it."
She smiled faintly.
"I was lucky."
"No."
He shook his head.
"I think..."
"...the palace wanted you to find it."
Torches were lit.
The three descended into darkness.
Cold air rushed upward.
The stone stairs seemed endless.
At the bottom...
They discovered a vast underground corridor.
Ancient murals covered the walls.
Each painting depicted the Falcon Dynasty.
Kings.
Queens.
Battles.
Coronations.
Finally...
They reached an enormous bronze door.
At its center was the Falcon emblem.
The emperor pushed.
Nothing happened.
Captain Hamza tried.
Still nothing.
Arzoo stepped closer.
She noticed a small hand-shaped carving beside the emblem.
Almost without thinking...
She placed her hand upon it.
A golden light spread through the ancient carvings.
Deep within the palace...
Massive gears began turning.
The bronze door slowly opened.
The three stood frozen.
Inside lay a forgotten royal chamber.
Untouched for twenty years.
Rows of treasure chests.
Ancient weapons.
Royal banners.
And...
At the center of the room...
A magnificent golden cradle.
Covered in dust.
Beside it rested a beautifully crafted wooden box.
On its lid, written in elegant Persian script, were the words:
"For the Daughter of the Falcon Queen."
Arzoo's heartbeat echoed in her ears.
Slowly...
She reached toward the box.
Before her fingers could touch it—
A cold voice emerged from the darkness.
"Don't."
The three turned instantly.
A masked warrior stepped from the shadows with his sword already drawn.
Behind him...
More than twenty armed assassins silently appeared.
Their leader smiled beneath his black mask.
"We've been waiting..."
"...for the true heir to open this chamber."
— End of Chapter 7 —
- Writer
