Chapter 7
1894 Words
From across the room, Sir Malcolm Healy approached the table. Tall and intimidating, he walked in front of the fireplace to the head of the table where Tobias sat. He bowed to the future king before saying, “Your Majesty, the palace is secure. My best men have taken their positions as you requested and I myself will serve as your protector.”
“The same way you protected our father?” Colton asked from his chair.
Tobias looked at his brother and then at the knight. “Thank you, my friend. I put my trust in you just as my father did.”
“You have my word that I will find the person who killed our king. They will pay the ultimate price.”
“I want them found alive,” Tobias instructed. “I want to deal with them myself.”
“As you wish, Your Majesty,” Malcolm replied, bowing again to Tobias. “You are my king now.”
“Better watch your back,” Colton told his brother. “He was Zachary’s noble servant as well…and look what happened to him.”
“Colton, please,” Clara begged.
Malcolm turned to address the prince. “Your entire family has my devotion and I swear to you all that I will bring the king’s killer to justice. I understand your sadness and your doubt in these difficult hours, but I swear my allegiance to the Chamberlain family on my life.”
This time Bryce spoke up. “We know you do, Malcolm. You are part of our family; you always have been.”
“A family, this group has never been!” Gretl shrieked as the entered the room from its far end. The fireplace threw her shadow against the opposite wall, creating the appearance that she was a much larger figure than in reality. “Poor widowed queen,” Gretl continued as she approached the table, having garnered the attention of everyone in the room. “What crocodile tears you shed for a man you never loved!”
“What are you doing here?” Malcolm asked the old woman as he took steps toward her.
Lucas stood from his seat and put his arm out to prevent Malcolm from reaching her. “No, let her stay.” The prince cautiously stepped over to the gray-haired woman. “What do you know about the king’s murder?”
Gretl grinned widely and placed her bony hand onto Lucas’s shoulder. “Now you want my help?” Gretl laughed and continued her walk around the table. “None of you foresaw what I had predicted all along. And now that Gretl was right, you want her help. I took care of your mother and now you want me to take care of you, too.”
“Why don’t you leave this room, old lady?” Colton asked in disgust.
“He didn’t mean that,” Clara said. “We’d love for you to help us determine our father’s killer.”
“Yes,” Bryce added. “We appreciate you.”
“Your mother never did.” Gretl paused behind the queen’s chair and put her hands on Roslyn’s shoulders. “And what about you, pale queen? What do you want from Gretl?”
“Take your hands off me,” Roslyn demanded as Tobias rose from his chair.
“Mourning for the man you never loved and wondering if the man you really love is a murderer…”
“That’s enough,” Tobias declared. “Malcolm, get her out of here.”
“She may be able to help,” Bryce insisted.
Colton laughed. “A deranged old woman? Hardly.”
“Let’s go,” Malcolm said, grabbing Gretl’s arm.
Clara stood up. “No. I’ll take her.” Clara approached Gretl as if she were an ancient relic about to crumble. “Come, Gretl. Let’s take a walk.”
“Always so kind and understanding you are, Clara,” the elderly woman stated as she put her hand on Clara’s arm. “You will be the only one free of this family’s curse.”
“Just a minute,” Tobias called. “What curse are you talking about?”
Gretl turned around and smiled at the future king. “Gretl has your attention now, doesn’t she?”
“Don’t speak in riddles,” Tobias commanded. “If there’s a curse, I want to know about it.”
“Know about it? You caused it. You all did, the entire Chamberlain family. Your father’s murder is just the beginning. You will all lose something, believe me.”
“A baseless prediction from a senile old woman,” Colton stated. “Get her out of here, Clara.”
“Baseless?” Gretl asked. “Gretl knows of what she speaks. Your family was cursed from the moment you overthrew the Henderson family and took over their kingdom.”
“Their kingdom? This is our kingdom as it always has been,” Tobias proclaimed. “There was nothing royal about the Hendersons; they were commoners. They took our kingdom by force and we took it back by force. This is our world. It belongs to us.”
“Such a lack of foresight from the man who thinks he will be king next,” Gretl said. “May you never rise to the throne you desire so much.”
“Enough!” the queen cried out, putting her hands over her ears. “I can’t stand to hear another word.”
“Take her, Clara,” Bryce suggested. “We are all too emotional for anything productive to come of this.”
“Come along,” Clara said, encouraging Gretl to walk with her from the room. Malcolm followed the two women out of the hall.
“Why do you allow her to stay in the palace?” Lucas asked Tobias once Clara and Gretl were gone. “Maybe we should set her up in a cottage in the village.”
“That wouldn’t be fair,” Bryce said. “She took care of Mother when she was sick and pregnant with Colton, remember?”
“She remains here in the palace because Father wished her to. Besides, she intrigues me,” Tobias explained. “When another of you is king one day, if that day ever comes, you may do with her as you wish.”
“That day may come sooner that you think,” Colton mumbled.
Tobias glared at his brother. “Are you going to challenge my accession to the throne?”
“Of course, he isn’t,” Bryce replied. “We can’t be turning on each other like this, especially after what’s happened.”
“Why do you think Gretl brought up the Hendersons?” Lucas asked. “That’s ancient history.”
“Precisely,” Tobias agreed. “She’s trying to get under our skin and cause more discord.”
“All that matters right now is finding out who killed the king, so that we know the rest of us are safe,” the queen stated. “For all we know, that woman killed him herself.”
“She may be eccentric, but she’s not a killer,” Bryce insisted.
The queen grew more upset. “How do we know? She could have bribed someone to do it. Or used one of her crazy potions…”
Tobias put his hand on Roslyn’s. “Be calm. You’re upsetting yourself.”
“How do we know you didn’t do it so that Tobias and you could finally be together publicly?” Colton asked.
Tobias glared at his brother. “How dare you!”
“Maybe it’s best if we all take a break,” Bryce suggested. “We can finish funeral preparations later.”
Colton eyed his brother Tobias. “I’m sure the coronation planning has already begun as well.”
Tobias sneered at Colton, then turned his attention to Lucas. “Are you okay? You’ve been relatively quiet through this entire discussion.”
“I’m fine, thank you. Just thinking…about Father…and how the crown changed him. Don’t let that happen to you, Tobias.”
“I’ll be the same man that I have always been,” Tobias said.
“Wonderful,” Colton responded sarcastically. “How fortunate for the kingdom.”
Tobias grew angry. “If you have something to say to me, go ahead and say it. Right here, right now.”
“In front of our grief-stricken stepmother?” Colton asked. “That wouldn’t be very tactful, would it?”
“Excuse me,” Roslyn said, rising from her chair and rushing from the room.
“You’ve upset her and everyone else, brother,” Tobias declared. “Your attitude needs tempering.”
“I suppose you’re just the one to do me that favor? Will that be your first act as king?”
“Tobias is right,” Lucas said assertively. “Our emotions are all very raw. We need to band together, not be at each other’s throats.”
Colton turned to Lucas. “He’s the one who had the most to gain from Father’s death. How do we know he didn’t kill him?”
“That’s ridiculous,” Bryce said. “The king was our father, we all loved him in our own ways.”
Tobias took a regal tone: “Let me assure you all: I had nothing to do with his demise. I would give up the throne and everything else I have if it would bring him back to us.”
Colton clapped his hands together several times. “What an excellent performance. And what about Roslyn? Are you sure she had nothing to do with it?”
“How do we know you didn’t kill him?” Lucas asked Colton. “You’re the one throwing accusations every which way.”
Colton smiled. “If I were responsible for the death of the king, I’d be boasting about it, not keeping it a secret. This kingdom is better off without him.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself for saying something like that,” Bryce said.
“My conscience is clear,” Colton replied.
Tobias smiled. “Happy to hear you have one.”
“I think we are done for now,” Lucas said. “We aren’t accomplishing anything. While you two continue to bicker, I’ll handle the rest of the funeral preparations.”
“
"I’ll join you,” Bryce said, following Lucas from the room.
“Now that we’re alone, how about the truth?” Colton asked the future king.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Tobias asked.
“Father is dead, you’ll be crowned king soon, and a murderer lives among us,” Colton said. “Tell me what you know.”
“I know nothing more than I have already stated. No matter how many times you ask, my story will not change, because it’s the truth.”
Colton laughed. “The truth, is it? We’ll see about that.”
“Tell Malcolm I need to see him.”
“I’m not one of your servants,” Colton replied. “Tell him yourself.” Colton turned to leave, then turned back to face his brother. “Watch your back. There’s a killer out there somewhere…and you may be the next target.”
- Writer
