Queen Bee

Murder and Marriage

Olivier. That's the next thought that comes to my mind. I take a deep breath, focusing myself on a new task. I rub my hands over my face, hoping the remaining tears have dried. Then I leave the room. I jump at the sight of the first guard I see, posted right outside of the bedroom. When he doesn't move or say anything, I hesitantly continue forward. Once I realize he's not stopping me, I make a run for it. I find the servant's quarters, located in the back of the castle in hidden view. There's a hustle and bustle of servants, the minority being Astarian while the majority is Frense. I can tell as they attempt to talk to each other by yelling and making hand motions. I find one that looks Astarian and approach her. 

    "Excuse me?" I say to her, trying to draw her attention. 

    "Your Highness! You're...alive?" She bows, unable to hide the confusion in her voice. 

    "Yes, I need to find Anna. Do you know where she is?" out of the corner of my eye I see the other servants looking at us and talking in hushed tones. 

    "She's with the seamstresses, I think." When the girl stands back up, her face looks like she's just seen a ghost. 

    "Very well, thank you." 

    "It's no problem, Your Highness." I turn and leave, ignoring eyes of the others. Then I hear a familiar voice coming from the kitchen. 

    "It's supposed to be baked AND THEN froze, not froze and then baked!" His voice sounds hoarse from yelling, inviting me to make a detour. 

    "Godfrey?" I say shyly, not wanting to disturb him. 

    "Princess Adela!" he comes running up to me, almost giving me a hug, then bows, "I mean, Your Highness! You're still...with us!" He stands back up, beaming with a grin on his face. 

    "In the flesh, Godfrey." I tackle him with a hug, earning one of his infamous belly laughs. 

    "It's so good to see a familiar face. Don't get that with all these Frense idiots around..." His voice goes into a growl as he turns his head to behind him. 

    "If anyone can handle them, it's you."

    "They don't speak English, and apparently never learned to cook either!" I don't say anything as I leave the hug. Godfrey looks down at me, the joy of the moment deflating. 

    "Are you here to get rid of them?" He whispers, eyeing one of the Frense servants as he exits. 

    "I wish I could. I'm afraid I'm just not strong enough to." 

    "You've got all us behind you, Your Highness. There's servants in the dungeon because they refused to pledge their loyalty to that King." 

    "What?" My heart drops.

    "What I'm saying is, we'll be here when you're ready." He winks, then turns and goes back to cooking. I stand, processing, for a moment before taking off as well. I weave my way to the seamstresses room, avoiding eye contact with anyone I pass in the hallway. Her voice almost brings a smile to my face. 

    "We need a new dress for the princess. How soon can you get it done?" I shyly enter the room. Anna is standing over a young seamstress who sits at a sewing table with different clothes laid out on the table. 

    "Anna?" I say, pulling her attention away. I can tell she is busy by the way she places her hands on her hips. First she looks at me, uncertainty in her eyes. 

    "What's up?" She says, like the world hasn't flipped upside down and inside out. 

    "Um..."

    "Lets talk in private." She pulls me out of the room and into the hall. 

    "Are you all right?" What a stupid question. 

    "Yes." I reply, not wanting to be reminded of everything that has happened in the past 48 hours. 

    "Good. What do you need me to do for you?" She asks, not like a servant, but as a friend would. 

    "Where is he?" 

    "Doing better."

    "Where is he?" She gives me a look, telling me not to move further with the conversation. 

    "Are you sure its best for you-for him-if you go find him?"

    "Anna, I need him." My cheeks flush at the realization of what I just said. Anna takes a hesitant look around, then nods. She brushes past me, a cold air dragging behind her as I follow. I hate to think about it, but why is she still in the castle if those who wouldn't pledge their loyalty to the Frense are in the dungeon?

    "He's not feeling the best, are you sure you want to see him?" She stops in front of a door. I ignore the way her eyebrows are knit together and reach out for the door knob. Anna grabs my hand and I instinctively pull away. 

    "Adela-"

    "You don't have the authority to touch me like that, I am your princess." Though the words sting me, I keep my face hard. She says nothing, bowing and almost running down the hall. I push the door open, a sickly smell pushing its way down my nose. Olivier lays in bed, sweat dripping from his forehead. I quietly close the door, hoping it doesn't disturb him. 

     "My Love, what are you doing here?" My brow furrows in worry as I watch him attempt to sit up, a pained smile on his face. I hurry over to lay him back down, a grimace forcing its way past the smile. 

"I need to tell you something."

"Me too." I stop, wondering what he could possibly want to tell me.

"You go first then." I sit on the edge of the bed, careful not to disrupt Olivier's position. He looks as though he may break if he moves again.

"Well," suddenly his face goes dark and his voice changes, "I think I'd rather you go first." I take a gulp of air, suddenly questioning every decision I've made in the past few hours.

"I... I think I'm going to marry your father." I wait eagerly for a response, but he just stares at the wall with confusion in his eyes. When his eyes suddenly go wide I quickly add "not that I want to! I just...I made a deal with him to keep you and the others alive. And..oh please don't look at me like that." I frown, his face not angry or confused, just forlorn.

"You made a deal...with him?" I nod slowly. My hand brushes a piece of his hair out of his eyes like a habit and I allow my hand to linger on his forehead for just a few moments until he suddenly shudders and I'm back to worrying about his health.

"Now tell me what you wanted to so I don't feel so bad." He runs his hand along his mouth and I'm afraid he might throw up as he says "I killed your parents."