Wings, Beasts and Claws: Violet Embers

Ch. 25 : Accusations and Suspicions

The next day I awoke early and dressed quickly so I could meet up with my sister.

We had talked briefly about what we should do to find the culprit behind our fathers death and I wanted to get started as soon as possible. So I raced out and found her out in the hallway on her way to her children's rooms to wake them.

“Good morning Sister.” She said, smiling softly at me. “Were you able to sleep?”

I nodded, “Yes, don’t worry, it wasn’t a problem at all for me.”

I could see that she didn’t fully believe me and a glimmer of guilt flashed in her eyes, her lips parting to no doubt apologize for placing me back in my old room.

“There’s no need for that.” I stopped her, raising my hand and smiling, hoping that she would believe me. “You’ve done nothing wrong here… ok?”

She sighed, but nodded, taking my hands in hers and giving them a weak squeeze.

“Are you going to start now?” She muttered, glancing back down the hallway at a few maids that passed doing their daily chores.

“Yes.” I said again, feeling that undeniable pit of fire begin to dance in my chest. “I want to surprise them as they complete their tasks, it won’t give them time to come up with a lie if I show up unexpectedly.”

“Just… be careful.” She said, squeezing my hands a little harder. “Let me know if you need anything from me, alright? I’ll be in my office with my children all day, so come to me if there’s something you need… or if… you found who it is.” Her eyes darkened for a second then, but they quickly brightened as Freesia and Edwin burst out of their rooms and ran towards us.

I greeted my niece and nephew and excused myself soon after, watching Rosanna for a moment as she guided her children back to their rooms to get dressed with their Nanny right behind them.

Sucking in a deep breath and storming to the first floor, I was greeted by my two Knights and quickly explained what I was doing. They agreed to help by doing some digging among the Du Pleasant Knights while I took care of the servants and maids. So, after deciding to reconvene during lunch, we parted ways and started hunting down any and all Du Pleasant employees, looking for the culprit.

I first stunned the kitchen staff as they were finishing and plating the breakfast of my sister and her children.

They all lined up after setting aside anything that would burn and nervously waited for me to begin questioning them. There were two maids that I recognized as those that had been allowed to remain within the Duchy and I started with them, silently wondering if they could have any possible motive for killing my father.

Of course, I didn’t out right ask if they were guilty of murder. Instead I indirectly asked things that would help me narrow them down as suspects. So things like how often they leave the Dukedom, any family/friends/lovers living in the city, or being a witness to something strange were asked. This calmed them as I continued, and I was able to gain the names of other maids or servants that these kitchen employees say had been acting differently.

Next were the Stablehands who were busy unloading cargo from a delivery that had just arrived. They too had some interesting things to say when I questioned them, though they were much calmer than the kitchen staff. This didn’t strike me as weird, since these men didn’t have any reason to step foot into the center of the estate at all, being more focused on their own private building beside the stables which had their wives and kids.

The laundry maids followed after them. Then the inner estate maids. The gardeners and Gate Guards were last and I was soon in the dining hall with my Knights, waiting to be served as we discussed what we had learned.

“It seems like there have been multiple witnesses to a few shady characters that were lurking just outside the Dukedoms gates.” One said, his brows furrowed as he stared at his plate. “The Knights I spoke to have said that two men were spotted peering through their territory but would quickly vanish when they would approach them.”

“A few Knights I spoke to also added that a woman in a deep brown cloak had been seen leaving the estate around the same time that those men would be spotted.” The other added, gasping softly after washing down his food with water. “But the Gate Guards don’t have any recollection of anyone leaving at those times.”

I nodded as they spoke, twirling my spoon in my soup as I stared at it.

Many Du Pleasant workers had seen, not one, but two different men in the distance, staring into the main building for long periods of time before leaving. The maids would react with fear when talking about their brief encounters and the servants would respond with anger or suspicion. No one could recognize either man, and since they would stand beneath the snow covered trees or appear during a snowstorm, any distinguishing features that the servants could recall weren’t very dependable.

Then there was the mystery maid that had been seen by even fewer people as she made her way to the main gates. But the Gate Guards didn’t have a name or physical description of her either, since she seemingly snuck out of the estate without them noticing. Of course, they could be lying and working with said maid and the two men. But all six Gate Guards were new to the Du Pleasant Duchy and had worked very hard to prove themselves when they were first hired. They were all from commoner families who had a lot to lose if they were to become caught up in the death of their Master. So it was highly unlikely that they could be behind it, though I wasn’t going to dismiss the possibility completely.

We ate and continued to compare what we had learned from our questions, tossing out possible scenarios here and there to see if anything would fit. But by the time we finished eating, nothing had cleared up. So I sent my men out to do a perimeter check of the Du Pleasant fence and see if they could find another way out that was possibly hidden by the Gate Guards. I, on the other hand, made my way to Rosanna’s office, wanting to ask her more about what she had learned of her older brother’s escape.

Once inside the warm room, I found Rosanna on a loveseat with her son Edwin’s head on her lap, fast asleep. Little Freesia was leaning against her mother to her left with a stuffed pink lion in her arms, her little cheek pressed against my sister's arm as she too, dreamed softly.

“Forgive me for intruding.” I whispered, smiling at their innocent little faces as I inched back to the door. “I can come back at another time.”

“No, no.” Rosanna started, waving me to the other loveseat across from her. “They’re heavy sleepers, so don’t worry about waking them.”

I chuckled lightly and took a seat, feeling a pang in my chest as I wondered how my own little stars were doing.

“What can I help you with?”

The giddy warmth that had invaded me quickly vanished as I recalled why I had come here, and the guilt over bringing it up to my sister while she was enjoying her children made my heart clench.

“I wanted to ask if there was anything more you could tell me about what happened… with Marcus and Samuel.” I flinched when she tensed, her smile dropping and her eyes growing dark.

“All I was told was that someone had broken into their prison, three cities away.” Her voice was cold yet a tiny tremble of fear could be heard as she glared at the coffee table between us. “I don’t know which one it was, but one brother was killed, and the other escaped.” She shivered lightly, closing her eyes for a moment as if she needed a moment to calm herself. “I was reassured that my mothers cell was heavily guarded during it all… but they did say that whoever had forced their way in, had tried to draw away the guards from her cell… possibly attempting to help her escape too.”

A dark and twisting pyre of emotions ignited in me as I thought of that woman being free again. My fear and panic rose even more as I thought of the hundreds of things she would try to do to hurt me for crossing her and having her imprisoned. My children were my biggest weakness, then my brother and sister and their families. Dorian was a massive weakness too, but he was a dragon and very capable of defending himself against a rabid wolf like her.

“Have you heard anything about someone peering into the Duchy’s land through the fence?” I asked tentatively, not wanting to alarm her, yet knowing she had a right to be included.

“Yes… a few maids brought it up to me a few weeks ago.” She frowned, fear and worry covering her eyes as she glanced at me. “I had tried to send out Knights to figure out who they are or what they want, but they always choose to appear during bad weather or manage to cover their tracks before anyone gets close enough to get a good look at them.”

I nodded, sighing as I felt her frustration and panic behind her words.

“Don’t worry,” I said, giving her a big smile to help ease her chaotic emotions. “I’ll find out who it is and what they want with the Duchy.”

I got up a few minutes afterwards, distracting Rosanna with some stories of my children and their many misadventures throughout the Palace. She smiled much warmer before I left and thanked me once again for helping her.

Of course, there were others that could’ve taken on the job of finding the culprit and exposing the two mystery men. But because Rosanna is my family, and a newly appointed Duchess that needed to be recognized by the Royal family to maintain her title, I volunteered to find those responsible for our fathers death. It also helps me maintain the respect I had earned from the Nobles that are loyal to me. Since many of them value family very highly, their opinions of me could easily change if I was to ignore my fathers death and funeral, as well as turning my back on my pregnant sister who has a killer living within her land.

So I went out to look for my Knights and began to formulate a plan on how to sneak up and capture the men that had been spotted outside the fence. Maybe even trapping the traitorous maid as well, if we managed to cut into their secret little meetings.