THIS IS A DOUBLE UPDATE, THIS IS THE FIRST PART OF THE SOMETHING IS NOT QUITE RIGHT? CHAPTER, READ THIS PART FIRST BEFORE YOU READ NUMBER 2! THANK YOU.

~As lovely as the deep blue dress was, it was hardly practical for running.

I knew Iris would have killed me if anything should have happened to it, but I could barely contain the hope that threatened to burst from my chest.

I needed to know if my father was alright, if he was safe. The thought that he was hurt, or, stone forbid, dead, had consumed me for these three months, and I needed it to end- if not for my father's sake than for mine.

I was pleased to find that I was not the only person running for the news however, since along with the Duke, both of my sisters were right behind us.

Granted their steps were a little more lady-like than mine, I could at least tell that they were feeling frantic.

We finally came upon a section of the manor that I had never visited before, and following a few, brief looks into the small rooms that lined the corridor, I realized that we were in an infirmary.

A slight feeling of dread washed over me like a rainstorm, since if we were in a hospital, that meant that whoever the survivor from the wilds was, he was not in a good condition.

Stopping at a larger room, I saw a figure in the small bed in the far corner. But when the guard who had fetched us approached him, the man struggled to sit up.

My heart sank as I came to the knowledge that it was not my father who had returned. It was, instead, one of the members of his protection team, and he looked as frail as one of my old rag dolls.

He was clearly injured, and although his wounds had been recently cleaned they hadn't been properly dressed yet, and there was a great deal of scarring all over the parts of him I could see- and undoubtedly on the parts of him that I couldn't too.

I couldn't help but stare at the scars, since they looked quite vicious like someone had slashed his abdomen with razor claws into three lines, and without any knowledge of what was out there in the wilds it was hard for me to determine what had made them.

They were jagged, and deep, and it was clear that more than one of the cuts had to be sewn together to stop the bleeding.

I was almost thankful that it wasn't my father, since I would have hated to see him in such a condition- and yet scarred and alive was better than dead, and I had yet to learn if he had suffered the worse fate. 

Despite the fact that the man looked unwell, the Duke did not waste any time in questioning the poor fellow, to which I was grateful.

I couldn't waste another sleepless night wondering where my father was, and the soldier could have answers.

The Duke didn't even bother with any pleasantries, like I hope you're feeling better, or your recovery should be swift, or other kind words.

Instead, he simply asked what had happened in a steady and demanding voice.

The guard had a hard time speaking still, whether it was due to shock or his injuries I wasn't sure, and it took him quite some time to formulate his response.

"We went into the wilds, as you instructed," he rasped, taking a few breaths before continuing.

"Master Heart charted our course, and we tried to find where the mysterious woman could have left the tunnels, but- there was no sign of her."

I clenched my eyes shut. I knew my father would have been disappointed, since without the ability to track the stone-bearer, there was no way to determine in which direction to head.

But without anyone to track, and with the ability to choose any direction he pleased, there was no doubt my father would seek to satisfy at least some of his personal curiosity.

(The soldier only confirmed my suspicion when he continued his tale.)

"After a night at camp, Master Heart decided to head into thicker forest, where the trees grew so tightly together that it was almost impossible to get through them. And- and as soon as we did it was like the forest changed- like it was alive!" He managed to stumble his words out as he looked around the room at everyone's questioning faces.

"I'm not crazy!" He asserted, though the Duke looked far from convinced. The man certainly didn't seem to be in his right mind, as he was now sobbing hysterically. But the Duke wasn't going to get anywhere with the soldier if the poor man thought everything he said would be only taken as the ramblings of an insane person.

"Your Grace?" I interrupted as politely as I co