2.9

Prostrated on the floor, Dorian dared not peek at the royalty assembling around him, deliberating on his fate.
"He has penetrated the royal antechamber, Mother."
"At least. He could have been on his way out."
"Don't be alarmist, Xifu. If he had been deeper into the annex, . . . "
"With all due respect, there's no way we could know. He could have been in every room, touched everything, seen every secret place."
"I should remind you that you are both children and you lack knowledge that I have. Do not be afraid: he has nothing to hold against us. He has seen nothing."
It was true, but he was terrified at her confidence. How could she know? The three had entered from without. The Chambers were famously empty.
"Mother, you are so sure?"
"Yes, Kia. Of course I am. Watch."
Dorian felt, suddenly, an enormous claw clasp him around the neck and launch him suddenly into the forbidden doorway into the deepest secrets of the monarchy. He rotated slowly, past the siblings, so close he could hear their hearts vibrating inside their thoraxes, past the curtains that divided the antechamber from the terrifying reality of domination by an alien race, and as his feet dissolved, then his knees, then his waist and hands, he saw the force field rip the molecules of his body out of his clothes and he was blinded by the terrible burst of vibrant crimson. He would never see inside the royal secrets, but the camera in his pocket would. It was always an accident that tumbled tyrants.