Forbidden Love in the Royal Family

Chapter 5

Just outside the town, Matthew returned to his cottage after running a quick errand. He walked his horse back into the stable, then emerged to look over his property, impressed by all that he had accomplished with the help of Prince Bryce earlier that day.

Tired, he unlatched the door to his home and entered it. He threw another log into the fireplace to deal with the dampness he felt in the room. As the fire grew warmer, he removed his shirt, sat on the chair next to the fireplace, and closed his eyes to rest.

Moments later, the presence of another person in the room caused him to open his eyes, disrupting his impending nap. He looked toward the bedroom doorway where he saw Princess Clara standing, completely naked.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” she whispered, smiling widely at the farmer.

Inside her dark chamber in the castle, Gretl frantically searched. Dark, heavy draperies covered all the windows. Candles of all shapes and sizes stood throughout the room, casting shadows throughout it. Shelves of books lined the walls and tables stood in various places holding crystals, gems, and orbs. Plants of various kinds filled one corner of the room and racks of glass bottles and vials filled another.

Gretl’s stringy, grey hair moved in every direction on her head as she desperately searched for her cards. She looked on the shelves and examined all the tables, determined to find the valuable items.

Upon finding them, she stepped over to the table covered in a red cloth at the center of the room. One by one, she lit the candles standing at various heights on the tabletop. As each one was lighted, the glow revealed more of her facial features: her wrinkled, once beautiful skin; her pronounced, curved nose; her wicked, seductive smile; and her frightening, deep eyes.

Once all the candles flickered with light, she shuffled the cards. One by one, she drew a card, flipped it over, and placed it on the table. The first card featured the image of a knight. The second featured the image of a queen. The third, an image of a prince and the fourth, an image of a king. As she drew the fifth card from the deck, it flew high into the air, then tumbled toward the table, flipping end over end. All the candles on the table eerily went out as the card landed on top of the one featuring the image of the king. Gretl gasped loudly as she viewed the image on the fifth card: a dark, hooded figure representing death.

Cautiously, Queen Roslyn entered the king’s chambers. She pushed open the heavy door and entered the main room, which was dark and empty.

“Your Majesty?’ she called, but there was no response.

She searched the main room and then moved from side room to side room in search of her husband, the king. She called out to him repeatedly, but no response came.

When she reached his private meditation chamber, she found the doorway in the far corner ajar. Slowly, she approached it and pushed it completely open.

Peering beyond it, she saw the stone, spiral staircase leading up to the tower above. Pulling up her dress with one hand so that she wouldn’t trip, she carefully made her way up the staircase. One step at a time, she rose higher and higher inside the tower.

As she reached the top, she felt the cold wind blowing and saw the sun setting in the distance. She emerged from the stairwell and stepped out onto the rooftop. Almost instantly, she witnessed the bloody body of the dead king lying on the stone ground. Crying out, she rushed over and knelt beside her king. The wind carried her cry throughout the kingdom as the flag bearing the Chamberlain family crest rippled in the gusty air high above her.