Ba's eyes drift across the intricately drawn features of a map. The entire kingdom is charted on these few pieces of paper that were now scattered across the circular table of the queen's personal study...He'd memorized them countless times before, the soldiers' patrol schedules were practically ingrained in his mind after all these years. They were concise and tested to death...the problem however... was that they were predictable... The soldiers made these very rounds countless times per year, soon an adversary would figure out how to sneak past them...
There are only so many ways you can keep the people secure without intimidating every visitor and local. So they needed to remain discreet if the success of the yearly celebration was to remain assured.
Across from him sat 4 shadowy figures, their semi-solid masses barely take a toll on the wooden chairs they'd been sitting on.
Ba mulls over the maps the same way he has for the past few hours...scanning for weaknesses... Places that would be hit the hardest in the event some outside force somehow discovered the king's return... He really should have asked more follow-up questions when his queen sent him to keep busy in here...
"I do wonder...Would it be wise to reroute the guards near the west shore...? Sure the banks are further away from the main city's entrance...but I do fear a rise in crime in the area's smaller villages..."
The clones stare at him strangely, only nodding along or shaking their heads in disagreement when pushed. If the general wanted feedback...they were not the best source for him to rely on.
"You know, I'm getting tired of just hearing my own voice this whole time."
Their eyes remain staring at him blankly, this was going to be an excruciating month if the shadow ruler was really so set on letting the king impersonate him. It's already proving hard to stay in one spot like this and leaving the palace's active patrolling to the other generals would be most infuriating to watch.
Ba looks over to his many notebooks. The flawed ideas and drawn out analyses littered the pages. This would be easier if he could share this time with his fellow colleagues...
"Remind me to get each of you a quill of your own, because your whole 'spooky silence' thing is very hard to tolerate outside stealth missions."
Ba gets up to hand one of them his quill. Pausing as the clone simply holds it, as if unsure what to even so with it. The general sighs. Who was he kidding? Did the queen even have time to teach them how to write? They were based in his image were they not? Would they even need to learn a skill like that?
"500 years working with you guys and I still don't understand how you any of you tick."
Ba leans over to adjust the clone's grip of the quill, looking puzzled as the writing instrument somewhat fades into the shadow's palm, those shadowy fingers are also cold to the touch. Almost void eyes remain locked on him...They feign curiosity....but he knows there's a reason Macaque relies on them so heavily...they are here to observe, document and intervene on command... At least they behave somewhat trusting around him, he's seen how fickle they can be around the palace staff, perhaps that's a result of knowing him for so long.
"I'm starting to see why Macaque orders you guys around directly... You're not listening to half of what I'm saying, just nodding along. Either that or you are personally messing with me."
He chuckles and brings the ink pot closer.
"Either way, low blow guys"
He guides the quill-weilding shadow's hand to the jar of ink.
There's a knock at the door.
He jolts, causing a firm knock to the table and for the jar of ink to tip over onto it's side. He smothers the curse that wants to pass his lips while the shadow clones back away slightly... The ink drips onto one of the important maps, less than ideal at the moment, but they have bigger problems now...
He pauses for a moment...waiting for the person to speak.
"Your Majesty? Is that you in there? This is Marshal Ma."
The woman's voice was clear, unmistakable even. Ba freezes in place... There's an irrational hope that wishes she'd turns to walk away... Nobody is allowed in the queen's study without express permission... Even so, he's supposed to be making himself sparse so that the king's cover isn't blown.
But it appears Ma already heard him.
She knocks harder, the loud sound echoing through the room.
"Hello? If this is one of the shadow clones, open the door. This is a matter of upmost importance."
Ma was his senior by only a few years, but her competence in battle could only be outmatched by the rulers themselves. She was usually so calm, so orderly...
The shadow clones observe her tone...she's demanding... It seems to perplex them... Had something happened...?
Ba whispers. "Don't you dare move."
The generals thoughts are buzzing. Why was she here? She's not supposed to be back yet. It can't be that she'd been informed of Macaque's plan...otherwise she'd know of his presence here already.
"I know what I heard...so either open this door or I will break it down myself."
Ba weighs his options... On the one hand he could try to hide...but there's no chance of her not finding him....He could try to escape...but outside the window is a solid drop down and an injury from that would be even more suspicious...
He begrudgingly calls back.
"It's fine, nobody has broken in or anything"
"Ba!? Oh, for gods' sake open the door, you idiot."
"Why? The queen gave me direct orders involving my presence here. It's against protocol to let in unauthorized people."
"Oh, I would love to go ask him that myself, truly I would, except for the fact that he's missing! Gone like the leaves of a peach tree in winter!"
He's what...? Ba unlocks the door to face Ma as the shadow clones disappear from view.
Even while being a few inches shorter than him, her presence carried an immense heir of importance. She'd been a general even before Macaque's rise to power and having her name removed from the book of the dead had only solidified her standing. Her deep brown fur became a staple of their past conflict zones... However, she was not very often seen in the palace of all places...
He gives her a nod of respect. If he were being honest, she frightened him a bit, but the centuries of working with her have thoroughly dulled that sense of unease... What matters now was the news about their queen.
"How? I had seen him this afternoon when he sent me here. How is he suddenly missing? Also, how are you here? I thought you were busy with the border."
"I had found an abnormality and was going to report it to the queen due to the seriousness of the situation. However, I now find out from Beng and Lui that nobody in the royal guard has been able to locate his majesty."
Ba's sense of worry grew...If the queen was really missing..there was only one suspect...
"Are you certain he isn't simply in one of the private areas? The garden or maybe the royal hot springs?"
The strain in Ma's brows became increasingly obvious.
"He hadn't informed anyone of the sort."
In the 500 years as queen ,Macaque had never once failed to keep people aware of his every departure...
The shadow ruler was not one to place unnecessary stress or burdens on his guards. He had always believed the kingdom deserved the opportunity to work around his absence, since they were so alarmed about potentially having another ruler vanish out of the blue. Macaque had believed it was simply a part of his duty to erase that paranoia Sun Wukong had allowed his citizens to develop. So for every diplomatic meeting and even every quiet meditation at least one person was always informed.
This sudden disappearance was highly unusual.... Had something truly gone south with his plan..? Had the King- no... it wasn't the time for unverifiable ideas. They had a queen to locate.
"And you haven't asked the shadow clones to check? "
"Most of them refused to divert from the tasks the queen had assigned them...they wouldn't lead us anywhere..."
Hmm...seems like they're a lot less than just poor company..
"I doubt they'd be so calm if the queen were in danger."
"That is not the point at this time, the queen is needed as soon as possible. This cannot wait any longer."
"Then truly what is going on here? I know there is an issue with the border, but you are way more stressed than any attack could make you. There's something else."
Ma's jaw is clenched,but the general's glare was unwavering..
"Fine! I'll tell you. Everyone I questioned said that the queen's been behaving strangely. The guards, kitchen staff and even the civilians noticed something was off. Going to bed early, sleeping until late into the morning. Taking 2 full plates of food only to send one plate back almost untouched. Now he hasn't finished the work he was set out to do and nobody has heard from him in the last 5 hours."
5 Hours!? This was worse than he had assumed.
"Well, maybe he's just burnt out? Tried to get away from it all for a bit and lost track of time?"
"No, this isn't like him... He wouldn't just forget these things out of exhaustion, he's done far more under the strain of literal war and bloodshed. Hes been consistent for 500 years...Something is going on. Something that has thrown him for a loop."
Ba places a hand on her shoulder, his voice remaining steady.
"Ma, take a breath. We both know he can handle himself. Perhaps this has been a while coming... I'll help you look for him, just tell me where we have left to check."
Ma looks at the spear in her hand. Then shrugs Ba off of her shoulder.
"Tell me exactly what happened before you were sent here."
There's the question he has no way to answer... He's been looking at maps all day, not keeping tabs on the queen...
He considers countless ways he could stall out the interaction, but Ma's unflinching eyes speak volumes. She's expecting a clear factual recount from him...and his hesitance is already suspicious.
He goes to open his mouth, trying to recall the queen's schedule.
Fortunately, the rushed footsteps of a very determined chef break the tense silence.
"Marshal Ma! The queen has been found!"
