Chasing Royalty

20

“Of course.” I agree. “Are we telling our ladies in waiting?”

Alexanne bites her lip, “I’m not. I can’t trust Noelle with that kind of information.”

“Why don’t you dismiss Noelle of her duty if you can’t trust her?” Violette asks.

“She’s determined to keep me safe, and she does it more ways than she realizes. Measles took away all of her family. She’s an orphan now, with no one to care for her. She may be a little overprotective, but I love her. Are you telling your lady in waiting, Violette?” Alexanne asks.

Violette shrugs, “I might. I probably won’t tell her exactly what I’m doing, but I’ll need her help with disguises. I’m pretty sure I can trust her.”

“I’m going to tell my lady in waiting. I don’t want her to worry about me.” I say. “Alexanne, you can come get ready with me when we have to leave. That way you can be disguised well without Noelle asking you a bunch of questions.”

Alexanne thanks me. Violette asks, “Would it be okay if Grace got me ready too? It’s better to have the least amount of people knowing as possible.”

I agree and we finalize our plans for tomorrow. Most of it will be based on adjusting our actions with however our escape goes. We can’t be sure on the exact schedules of the guards, but we can’t be caught.

I spend the rest of the day pushing away my fear and anticipation.

●◊●◊●

Augustine folds his hands on top of the table. “Your speech was interesting. I don’t remember writing some of the things you said. Come to think of it, I don’t remember writing any of the things you said.”

“I forgot it. I was so terrified, it completely slipped my mind. I had to make it up as I went along.” I lie.

Augustine frowns. “You have had to give hundreds of speeches throughout your lifetime. I don’t remember you forgetting them before. Why did you not say what we wrote? You picked what you wanted to say when we were writing it. What changed?”

“Everyone was saying the exact same thing, my speech included. They all told meaningless words about what a great person Emilienne was and how much she would be missed.”

“Because that’s what you do at funerals. Can you imagine what would happen if you told the truth about the human imperfections of those who passed?”

“I don’t see what I did wrong. I didn’t make it like Emilienne was some horrible person. I thought I shared nice stories about her.”

“You told stories about Emilienne sneaking out of the castle, disobeying William. If a thirteen year old is able to sneak out of a castle, what does that say about its security?”

“It wasn’t so much that the castle wasn’t safe but that Emilienne was smart and determined enough to escape to help people.” I argue.

“That’s beside the point. It’s not about what you mean but about how people take it. If you had messed that little impromptu speech of yours up and accidently promoted the wrong them, we could have had a riot on our hands. You don’t understand your power, Admira. While William may be the Advisor of the kingdom, he’s not a bloodline to the throne and the people know that. You and your sisters are princesses, the blood daughters of the beloved King and Queen. In the public’s eye, you will always have more power than William.”

I fall quiet, contemplating his words. Augustine seems to realize that what he said could be consider disloyal. He pointed out William’s weakness in power.

Augustine quickly changes subjects, jumping into his morning lecture, but I stare blankly at the wall, still considering his words as well as our escape plans.

I run guard schedules and locations through my head, thinking of possible exits. We’ll need to be prepared as possible to escape without being caught.

My attention snaps back as Augustine slams his hands down on the table in front of me. My head snaps to look at him. “Yes?” I ask, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

He glares, “Maybe you could try to pay attention. It’s important to know the genealogy of your family. Doesn’t it interest you to know where you came from?”

“It might be. I just find it difficult to focus knowing that there’s a killer somewhere in the kingdom. Perhaps if I knew some theories on whom it could possibly be, it might make it easier to focus.”

“Admira, I already told you this. We can’t discuss that. It’s best for you to forget about that paper. Let the words fade from your memory.”

My hand brushes against the side of my dress. Underneath the fabric is a pocket sewn into my corset. The copy of his paper lies folded up inside. I spend every spare moment I have studying the words. I’ll never forget them.

“What do you think about William? Could he have done it?”

The night of Emilienne’s murder, I was sure it wasn’t William. All of his composure had been stripped away and he was nothing but a shell. But now he’s returned to his strict, grim self and I’m beginning to wonder if it wasn’t a hallucination.

Augustine shakes his head. “I refuse to answer that question.”

“So you’re saying there is a possibility that it could be William?”

“No. I’m not saying anything. I refuse to answer the question.” He speaks slowly, as if I’m too simpleminded to understand.

“What about Victor? He could have killed her or been paid off by someone. How do we figure out if it was him? Do we hire an investigator for the investigator?”

Augustine rolls his eyes, “For the last time, Admira, we are not talking about this. It was out of place for you to steal that paper from me and so is asking all these questions. I will not discuss this. It’s treacherous behavior and can end up with the execution of both of us.”

I lift my chin to stare into his eyes, “What if it’s you? Maybe you wrote that paper to throw me off. Maybe the names on that list are your next targets.”

Until the words escape my lips, I never really considered Augustine being the murderer. He can’t be. He’s too busy studying ‘distinguished literature’ and have philosophical thoughts to murderer anyone. Besides, why would he have any reason to kill off two servants and a princess? Did he ever even meet Emilienne?

Augustine’s face flushes with anger. “I did not kill them and you will never suggest that kind of evil toward me again.”

I shrug, knowing I’m acting childish, “Maybe if I knew some different theories, I would be less likely to suspect you.”

Augustine stands from his desk and points towards the door, “Leave. Now.”

“What?” Augustine’s never dismissed me before. He keeps me in his office for as long as he can to torture me with verb conjugations and poetry readings. He steals as much as my time as he possibly can to put me to sleep with historic battle statistics and proper etiquette. I’m supposed to have another two hours of studying with him.

Augustine’s hand trembles wither anger. “I know you heard me. Leave. I won’t allow you to disrespect me with those accusations.”

Guilt blooms inside me, but I rise, keeping my chin high. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to anger you. Perhaps we should get back to studying my genealogy.”

Augustine shakes his head firmly. “Not today. You are dismissed.”

I nod and stride from the room. I manage to keep my composure until I leave the room. The guards frown when I exit the room, but they don’t say anything. I stumble back to the Sitting Room. None of the princesses will be inside. Violette and Alexanne still have a couple hours with their tutors, just as I was supposed to. My tutoring sessions is the only private time Grace has to herself. She’s probably somewhere in the castle, attending to her own interests and matters for once. I can’t send for her and take that away for her.

I wait alone in the Sitting Room.

A man enters, accompanied by a guard. I hesitantly stand, watching him carefully. Wild, dark hair curls top his head, with scruffy stubble clinging to his chin.

The guard says, “This man has been cleared by William to speak to you.”

The man bows as the guard says this. I curtsy in response, still wary of him.

The man asks, “May I sit and talk?”

I nod, surprised by the dignity that shows through his low voice and rich accent. I offer him a chair close to mine and take m own seat.

The man clears his throat, “My name is Domenico. I come from Florence, a city-state in Italy.”

I nod tightly. There was tension between our kingdom and the city-states of Italy, especially Florence. They were known for the freedom of their democracies and republics. They’re a threat to our power.

Domenico smiles thinly, “Ah yes, you’ve realized what I’m here to talk to you about.”

“The forms of government.” I must stay polite. I can’t make an enemy out of this man. Why is he talking to me, not William? My hands shake in my lap. I’m unprepared for this kind of situation. I have no planned words or ideas. I don’t know how to respectively disagree with his ideas.

“More precisely, your form of government. A monarchy can be very damaging to your countries economy, morals, and ideas. Democracy is the modern form of ruling, and the positives are showing.”

I force my tone to be light, “I respect your values. I’m afraid I don’t understand why it is I you are talking to, and not William, the Advisor of our kingdom.”

Domenico leans forward, “I was wondering whether you’d ask that. It is my understanding that in less than two months a queen will be chosen from the three remaining princesses. You are fighting for the throne among your sisters. Do you know how well you’re doing?”

“I’m afraid I can’t be sure. That kind of information has not been clearly disclosed to us.”

“But you must have some type of idea on how you’re doing. There must a public favorite. Tell me, who obeys all the rules?”

I stare at him, refusing to answer his question.

The man shrugs, “That’s okay, you don’t have to tell me, I’ve done my research. I do believe its Alexanne, isn’t it? She’s quiet, well-behaved, always following exactly what William says. Do you think she’s in the lead right now for queen?”

“I can’t be sure. As I said, that kind of information has not been disclosed to us.”

“What about Violette? She always wants to do what’s best for the public, doesn’t she? In my research, I came across the information that Violette spends a lot of time volunteering in the city, helping out the public. Is that true?”

“Yes. She loves doing that kind of work.”

“The public must love Violette. Would you say she does the most to help the public?”

I press my lips together. Where is he going with all his questions? “I suppose that is true.”

The man leans closer, staring into my eyes. “So Alexanne is the best behaved, therefore a favorite of William. Violette helps out the public out the most, so she must be the people’s favorite. So, my dear Admira, who are you the favorite of?”