Ambrosius sat in the library study room, head in his hands. He was completely on his own, no Nimona to do anonymous tasks that he couldn’t or feed him fresh ideas when his own ran out. He’d known having her help was too good to be true - he was just doomed to be alone for the rest of his life.

He sat up, taking a deep breath. Alone or not, he was still determined to clear Ballister’s name. He’d come so far already, he couldn’t just give up. Those emails had been his best lead, but with Meredith having run away, he’d need a warrant of some kind to get access to her email account. If that was possible. That meant getting help from someone else, and that was the problem.

He knew the perpetrator was a noble - or several nobles - but they could be anyone in The Institute, from a knight to someone in the justice department itself. If he trusted the wrong person with his evidence, it could just result in one big coverup. One that he could be at the wrong end of.

No… there was one person Ambrosius could trust; The Director. She’d mentored him before, after his parents had died. And she’d approved Ballister for graduation, so she couldn’t have had a vendetta against him. Ambrosius could talk to her. He could explain what he’d found. She’d know what to do. She always did.

The Director wasn’t in her office when Ambrosius arrived. The guards said she was in a meeting of some kind, but she’d be back later. He was welcome to wait in her office until she returned.

Ambrosius sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk nervously. How much should he tell The Director? Surely she wouldn’t have approved of him sneaking into the archives with Nimona, an unauthorized civilian - he could lose his newly-earned position of knight for that security violation. The Director should know the whole truth though…

Ambrosius got up and started pacing the room. He tried to rehearse his story, presenting all the evidence he’d found in a straightforward way. How much of his day had been relevant to the investigation though? Did he need to include that he’d let Nimona into the dorms - yet another security violation? He paused his pacing, his eyes resting on an open book in a wood and glass case against a wall. It was an ancient book telling the exploits of Gloreth herself. His ancestor. The savior of the Kingdom.

He glanced over the page, skimming over one of the stories he knew so well. It was a story of courage - courage he needed right now. The page ended in the middle of a sentence though, leaving the reader hanging about what happened next. Of course, Ambrosius already knew what happened next, but he wanted to read it again. He glanced at the office door. The guards were outside. Surely nobody would notice or mind if he turned the page.

To his annoyance, the case seemed to be locked. Ambrosius scowled and felt around the edges. There had to be a latch somewhere. This was a secure room - it wasn’t like the case needed to be locked. He ran his fingers under the wooden lip of the cabinet, then along the inlaid design on the off-chance the latch was hidden in plain sight. Something beeped. Then clicked. A drawer spanning the length of the case popped open. Aha! So the controls for the case must be there. Ambrosius pulled the drawer open. Then he froze. Inside the drawer lay the last thing he’d expected to see… Ballister’s sword.

A million thoughts swarmed Ambrosius’s head. Why was this here? How was this here? Who’d put it here? How had they gotten it through the office’s security? Was this even the original sword? He picked it up. The weight and balance felt so familiar in his hands, reminding him of the times Ballister had let him borrow it when his own was in for maintenance. It was indeed the original sword.

There was something else under the sword too - a piece of paper with writing scribbled on it. Ambrosius used his free hand to unfold it. There, in The Director’s handwriting, was the text:

fodere@mansleymining.com
password: Gl0ryt0Gl0reth

Fodere... the person who'd contacted Meredith about the making sword? But why would his email info be here? Unless...

The Director did it. The thought stung Ambrosius’s mind like a wasp as he dropped the paper back into the drawer. No, that couldn’t be right! That didn’t make sense! She was friends with the queen! She’d liked Ballister! But yet here was the proof she'd been behind the assassination. The Director had the money to commission the blaster sword, as well as the clearance to access where the swords were held before the knighting. And she used ‘prithee’ more than anyone else Ambrosius knew… No, she was the only person he knew who used that word regularly.

The office doors behind him swung open with a bang. Ambrosius spun around, sword still in hand. The Director was there, flanked by two guards.

Ambrosius could feel his hands shaking as he held the sword up.

“Why…” he whispered.

The Director looked startled. The guards were too, judging by their postures. Ambrosius found his voice.

“Why did you do it? You killed your friend and executed an innocent man.”

The Director seemed to recover herself.

“Ambrosius, where did you get that sword?”

“I got it from-” Ambrosius turned to the wooden drawer, but it had closed. “It was right here!” He frantically pressed his fingers against the wood paneling, trying to find the drawer latch. He couldn’t remember which pattern it was.

“Ambrosius…” The Director’s voice came. “I’m going to ask you again, where did you get that sword?”

Ambrosius turned.

“You had it!” He said desperately, “You had it here in your office! You put it here after you switched it with the blaster sword, after you burned down Meredith’s lab!” He finally found his resolve. He leveled the sword towards The Director. “Guards! Arrest her! She’s the one who killed the queen!”

The guards looked from Ambrosius to The Director in confusion. Was this a joke?

The Director shook her head sadly.

“He’s lost his mind.” She told the guards. “Take him away.”

“I’m telling the truth! She did it!”

That was when Ambrosius made his mistake. He advanced towards The Director, sword still in hand. He was blinded by too many emotions to think. He just knew if the guards wouldn’t arrest her, he would. That was his job.

The guards instantly stepped in his way, drawing their own swords.

“Stand down.” One said.

Ambrosius continued forward.

“By the authority vested in me—”

That was all the guards needed. They attacked. Ambrosius was able to fend them off, but they were years ahead of him in training and experience, and as familiar as Ballister’s sword was, it wasn’t the one he was used to. It didn’t take long for the guards to have him backed against the wall, parrying for all he was worth. Then came a blow so perfectly angled and powerful that Ballister’s sword was knocked from his hands, hitting the floor with a clatter. Then he was pressed against the wall, a guard’s sword level with his neck.

“Don’t move.”

Ambrosius reflexively tried the card he always used in rough situations.

“Release me! I am a child of Gloreth!”

He found himself grabbed and his arms pulled behind his back instead. They didn’t seem to care about his status. 

He needed to get away from them. The office door was still open. He could make a break for it… if he could get away. He slammed his head back into the face of the guard behind him… remembering too late that the guard was wearing a helmet. Briefly stunned from pain, Ambrosius tried stomping on the guard’s foot instead. That didn’t work either - the guard was wearing full armor and he was wearing shoes. He tried wriggling loose - anything to get away. No good. The next thing he knew, he was pinned to the floor, still struggling against the hands holding him down.

“Child of Gloreth, you just threatened the head of state.” One of the guards said in a low voice. Then Ambrosius felt the jab of a needle in his neck, and he knew nothing else.