Elsa's brows furrowed as she heard the king's questions, and she turned to look at the princes.
Truly, Axel wasn't with them.
She had ordered the physician to dress him and make him presentable for the king the moment she received the news that he was awake.
Where is he?
"Hmm, Kaden... shouldn't you acknowledge their greetings first?" she asked, sounding slightly hurt. She was trying to buy time so that Axel could arrive, but nothing happened.
"Oh.. I'm sorry, sons," he said, picking Leon up in his arms. "I was just surprised that Axel isn't with them. He's usually the first to run in to greet me." Elsa cleared her throat.
"I'd even managed to get him out of his shell. Or did you forget that he locked himself in his room all week?" she said with an air of confidence. He smiled.
"I trust you, darling," he said, and she beamed.
"Let me go get him. He's probably playing in the garden or something," she said, and left.
The moment she was out of sight, her expression changed. "Where is that stupid boy?" she muttered, heading to the infirmary. She found the head physician alone, and her eyes snapped with anger.
"Ah—Your Majesty," the physician greeted as soon as she saw the queen. But Elsa didn't let her finish.
"Where's Axel?" she snapped. The physician became confused. "Axel? He left here about thirty minutes ago, Your Majesty. I brought him to you," she answered, wondering why the queen was looking for him. She had done her job by ensuring he was conscious before the king's arrival. She had dressed him up and handed him over, so why was the queen still asking for him?
Elsa batted her lashes and left the infirmary without another word, leaving the physician standing there, confused.
"Find Axel. Now!" she ordered a guard, and he hurried off.
"What is that little devil trying to do?" she seethed. She had made sure to tie up any loose ends. The physician had also done a good job covering the wounds. No one would suspect a thing, as long as he didn't take his clothes off.
She saw one of the guards she had sent returning, but he was alone. No Axel.
"Where is he?" she asked impatiently.
"We haven't found him, Your Majesty. I just came to give you a status report," he answered. She slapped him hard.
"Are you insane?! How dare you? I sent you to find someone, and you're coming back to tell me you couldn't? You must be stupid. Where else would he be if not in the palace? Check properly, you fool! Check the garden, his room, every single place, and bring him to me," she barked, and he ran off.
"Don't return if you can't find him. Stupid idiot," she hissed.
"Where could he be?" she wondered, so lost in thought she didn't notice the king approaching from behind.
"What's going on? I heard you screaming," he said, his eyes filled with worry.
"Oh.. it's nothing. I stubbed my foot on a stone because of a clumsy servant," she said, looking down at her leg.
"Sorry, dear. But still, you shouldn't raise your voice like that. I don't like my queen getting all worked up," he said, and she smiled.
"You were taking too long to get Axel, so when I heard your scream, I was alarmed," he mentioned.
"Yeah, sorry for disturbing you. Where's Axel, by the way?" he asked, looking around. She quickly thought of what to say.
"It's funny, but I haven't seen him," she said slowly, her face contorting with feigned worry. The King frowned.
"What do you mean, you haven't seen him?"
"I went to his room to get him, but I couldn't find him. I've checked the garden, too, but it's empty. I was about to check the other rooms when a servant bumped into me, making me stub my leg on a stone," she hissed. The King patted her shoulder.
He couldn't detect Axel's scent anywhere nearby, which made him more worried.
Where could he be?
"When was the last time you saw him?" he asked. She blinked. "Um, about twenty minutes ago. I was with him just before you arrived," she said. The King quickly beckoned to Dre.
"Ask the guards at the gates if anyone has seen Axel leave the palace," he commanded, and Dre left to carry out his order.
"Do you think he left the palace?"
"Axel has only two favorite places in this palace: his room and the garden. If he isn't in his room, he is in the garden. And if he isn't in the garden, he is in his room. So, if he isn't in either place, then there's trouble. Axel wouldn't leave the palace alone," the King said, his tone alarmed. Elsa frowned.
Axel, that bastard, she thought to herself.
"I'm sure he's in the palace. He can't have gone anywhere else," she said aloud. The King nodded, but he was still troubled.
He could only detect faint traces of Axel's scent, nothing strong or recent. If Axel were within the palace, he would surely have heard of the king's return and hurried to meet him.
What is going on?
"I'll be back," he said to Elsa and headed towards Axel's room. He entered the dark room, and the first thing he noticed was Axel's roughly made bed. No matter how tired Axel was, he was never this messy. The bed looked as if it hadn't been properly made for days. Also, Axel's scent in the room was faint. "If Axel had slept here last night, his scent wouldn't be this weak," he reasoned.
With that thought, the King left the room and headed back to the garden. The garden also seemed calm and completely devoid of Axel's scent.
"Axel can't go a day without visiting this place, so why is there no trace of him here?" the Alpha wondered.
"Something's wrong," he muttered and headed back.
He met Leon in the hallway and paused to pick him up. "Why aren't you with your mother, Leon?" he asked, patting his head.
"Don't bother looking for Brother Axel," the little boy pouted. Alpha Kaden stopped walking.
"Why?" he asked. Leon kept quiet.
"Why shouldn't I look for your brother?" he asked again. This time, Leon looked at him.
"Maybe he ran away. If I were him, I'd run away too," he muttered. The King's brow creased in deep thought.