Cheating Royalty (Chasing Royalty #2)

4

Grace and I hesitate for a second. We’ve been through too much to not suspect a trap. Florentine tilts her head to the side, “Need I remind you that there are hundreds of guards currently searching for you?”

I nod to Grace and her shoulders slump as her stubbornness falls away. We hurry inside after Florentine. She pushes the gate back into place, stronger than I would have expected her to be in her old age. She secures the lock tightly around the gate, making any entrance no easy task.

She leads us forwards down a neatly cobblestoned path, cutting through the manicured lawn. Blooming flowers and towering trees dot the dark green grass.

Florentine told us that she was the mother of a servant in the castle. She said that while her daughter worked in the castle, she stayed home, taking care of the house and the children. She also mentioned that she overheard many dangerous conversations from people she wouldn’t mention. She claimed the she had constant threats on her life and would certainly be killed for the information she told us.

I was expecting a dirty, tiny apartment overflowing with children, not a neatly manicured mansion. Who exactly is Florentine?

We finally pass through the entire gardens and climb the marble stairs leading up to the front doors of her house. Two servants appear to open the tall mahogany doors. We step into a cool foyer, decorated with paintings. From my lessons with Augustine, I can recognize that the paintings are from all over the world.

I remember Alexanne’s suspicion towards Florentine when we first met her. Alexanne’s hatred for Florentine grew the more time she spent with her. Alexanne would question nearly everything that Florentine said. Was it because Alexanne was afraid that Florentine would accuse Alexanne of being the murderer or did Alexanne see through Florentine’s lies?

“Didn’t you say that your daughter had so many kids that she needed help taking care of them? It’s strange, because I can’t hear a single one.” My voice slips a level cooler than I mean for it to, but I don’t necessarily regret it.

Florentine smiles weakly, “Like I said, I would like to explain.”

A servant appears, falling into a deep bow. “Lady Florentine, the Duchess is here to see you.”

Florentine nods and dismisses the servant. I wait until the servant closes the door behind him before I nearly shout, “Duchess? Florentine, you have lies to explain. I’m afraid that I don’t trust you in this moment. I won’t take a step further into this house until you tell me something.”

Florentine takes a deep breath and then nods, “You’re right. I can understand why you are so angry. After all the lies I’ve told you…”

“How much of what you told us was lies?”

Florentine can’t meet my eyes. “Mostly all of it.”

My hands clench into fists. “Did you knowingly lie about thinking that Grace was the murderer?”

“Oh no, never. I would never do such a thing. No, I tried to help you by giving what I thought was true information about the murderer. However, I turned out to be incredibly wrong. Perhaps if I had done more research before releasing all my suspicion, Alexanne would be dead instead of Violette.”

“You know that Alexanne was the murderer?”

“Of course, and I know you are not. Anyone who is actually willing to consider the situation and the suspects would figure it out eventually. However, not very many people in power are willing to consider, as that takes time away from accusing.”

I don’t respond, waiting for Florentine to explain herself further.

“The information I told you about myself is not true. Everything about where I lived and how my life was threatened was lies. But only did that because I had to.”

“Because someone would kill you if you didn’t?” I twist her words back at her.

She smiles sadly, “Something like that. You see, I wanted to be doing what I was doing, but I hated the circumstances. I wanted to help you, but my opportunity wasn’t exactly…ideal.”

I frown, “I don’t understand.”

She presses her lips together, and then hesitantly meets my eyes, “Admira, I was one of the judges in the contest.”

I don’t know how to react. My view of who the judges might be was constantly shifting throughout the contest that was supposed to decided who was going to be the next Queen. Sometimes I thought it was William, who was giving everyone else more points just to spite me. Other times I thought maybe it was a group of grumpy old noblemen who chose to give points to different people at random. Other times I assumed that it might be the servants, who were to add points based on certain criteria that William had given them to judge us on. However, I could never figure out exactly what that criteria might be.

Florentine says, “Please, will you join me in my sitting room? I think this quite a bit for you to hear, and it’d be best if you were sitting down for it.”

Grace speaks for the first time since we’ve entered, “Don’t you have to meet with a Duchess?”

Florentine brushes her question to the side, “Don’t worry about it. The Duchess has been begging to meet with me for weeks. I’m sure she is more than willing to wait a few minutes. I’ll just send a servant to let her know. I think this is more important. Will you join me?”

After a second of uncertainty, I nod and we follow after her. She leads us down a hallway full of vast windows, covering the entire floor with sunrays. The stretching windows reveal even more gardens, stretching until they meet a patch of woods. Without my knowing, Florentine’s instructions must have led us to the outskirts of the city. Using the abandoned streets and alleyways had me lost within seconds.

We pass a pair of maids in the hall. Florentine asks them to tell the Duchess that she will have to wait. The maids nod and curtsy before scurrying off. The scene reminds me of when all the work I had to do was give orders. I used to have servants to do whatever I needed, from share information to other people to fetch me some food. Now, if I wanted to let someone know they would have to wait, I’d have to find them and tell them myself.

Florentine pushes open a pair of doors to a cozy sitting room. Two small couches sit opposite of each other, a table placed between them. A fire crackles in the corner of the room. I walk across a plush dark carpet to take a seat on one of the small couches. Grace sits besides me, Florentine across.

Florentine says, “Shall I send for tea?”

I shake my head, “No. We want answers and then we’ll be on our way. We need to leave the kingdom before the guards find us.”

Florentine laughs for a second, as if she thinks I am joking, and then stops when she realizes I’m not laughing as well. “Do you not understand? You can’t leave this house. The guards are everywhere. You wouldn’t make it a half mile without being caught. Any road, big or small, leading out of the country is being surveyed by the kingdom guards. I was serious when I said Alexanne regrets letting you leave. She wants you back under her control.”

“But why?” I ask, “Why does she need me? She let me go once, what changed?”

“Maybe she found or heard something new about you, something that made you a threat. Perhaps someone, who knows what truly happened to you, questioned her strength or courtesy for letting you go free.”

“What is she telling the guards that are searching for me? Hasn’t she told everyone that I was dead? Surely that’s too many people to trust with such a secret.”

“They may be sworn under a death oath. Or perhaps she’s told them yet another lie. Maybe she said that there were people impersonating you or perhaps she said that you aren’t really dead, that you somehow escaped your execution. It doesn’t matter why she is searching after you, but the fact that you are in danger. If she finds you, she will not let you go as she did before.”

I sigh, “If I can’t leave, where am I to stay?”

“Here,” Her answer comes too quickly. She’s been planning this. Did she lure us here, knowing that we wouldn’t be able to leave after we came? If we had left the kingdom immediately instead of meeting with her, would we have escaped safely?

I purse my lips, “I’m not sure that I can trust you, knowing off all the lies you’ve told me.”

Florentine smiles, “Then, please, stop asking your questions and allow me to explain myself.”

I bite my lip at her insult, but nod.

Florentine says, “I had to lie to you about my home and past because I was a judge in the contest. I didn’t necessarily choose to be part of the contest. Rather, I was chosen for something I did earlier in my life.”

I open my mouth, but she holds up a hand. “Don’t ask me what it was that I did to be chosen. Rather than lie, I’m simply not going to tell you. That is beside the point anyway. I couldn’t give away too much about my true life while I was meeting with you, because I was afraid that you would realize that I was a judge.”

Florentine takes a deep breath. “The contest was split into parts. The first part judged your everyday actions. The way you treated the servants, the way you ate supper with proper etiquette, the way you walked and talked, the way you dressed, the way you acted during your studies. It was tedious, and cruel, to judge everything you did without you knowing it. However, that’s what the public does to a queen, or any person in power. The public is constantly watching you to make a mistake, just so they can gossip about it. There were a few judges within the castle who watched these, making tallies and marking the points with the blue cubes. I’m afraid this is where you lost a lot of points.”

“Who were the judges?”

“I’m not going to give away their names or identities, it’s not my place. However, it was no one that you knew personally. The second part of the contest is where I came in. These were bigger events, with the public or people you thought to be the commoners. You were judged on how well you interacted with common day people, and whether you gained their trust and support. These events, if you succeed, earned you a black cube.”

“What did you do?”

“I was supposed to analyze your ability to interact with strangers. I was also testing whether you were willing to break the rules for something you believed in or deemed necessary. So, when I asked you to sneak out of the castle to meet me, that was part of the contest. I had fabricated some phony rumor to tell you, put a black cube in your vase, and let you continue on. But then I actually met you and I felt like I had to help you. Your life was being torn apart by a foolish contest and a series of horrible murderers. I felt like it was my duty to you and the kingdom to help as best I can. I’m afraid, however, that I wasn’t much help.”

“Wait,” I ask, “why was the contest foolish? Didn’t you support it if you were a judge?”

“I did, at first. But I’m afraid the judges were a bit biased, helping whomever they thought deserved the throne. Every single judge had a favorite. The problem was that some judges had more power than others, and were able to tilt the scores.”

“If every judge had a favorite, who was yours?” I say this with a light smile, but I need to know. Her answer might lead me to trust her more. If she says that she liked Emilienne or maybe even Violette, I might be more comfortable.

She smiles, “Why you, of course. Why do you think you are here?”

I frown, not completely processing her words.

“Did you think you were here because I pitied you? You see, to me and most of the other judges, though the contest is officially over, that doesn’t mean you can’t still compete. Most of the judges know what Alexanne has done, and we’re going to help you cheat back your royalty.”