The weight of the crown

Chapter 13

I walked as I looked around. It was late at night. I figured everyone must be asleep now, but I was still afraid someone would catch me.

As soon as I got the same note, I became more frightened, waiting to see if it was just a threat or if I was going to get some orders.

I walked down the corridor when suddenly I felt a strong hand pulling me firmly into one of the corridors of the palace while the other hand prevented me from yelling by blocking my mouth.

The same foreign body pushed open one of the doors and pushed me into the room, then locked the door so no one could enter.

I blinked a few times until I looked at the figure in front of me.

He was a tall man, with dark brown eyes and brown hair. He wore very simple clothes that looked very much like the kitchen workers' uniforms.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" I muttered quietly as I looked around the room, trying to find something to help me out of the room.

This corridor was relatively deserted, usually no one walked around it much, and because of that I also liked to walk in it sometimes, because I knew that no one would bother to look for me here.

I wanted to shout, but I was too scared. The room itself was relatively small; all I saw in the room was all kinds of jewelry boxes or fancy items laid out for a big bed.

"I came to give you your first mission," he said, not even trying to hide his Scottish accent.

My heart pounded hard and my breath became fast.

"Why me, what do you want from me? I can't help you with anything, I'm just a princess," I said quickly as I tried to figure out how he got in here,

how he managed to get a kitchen worker's uniform, enter the palace, past the protection of all the guards, it did not make sense, someone had to pay attention to it.

"Just because of that, you are the princess, and no one will suspect you," he said, coming up to me as I stepped back, I didn't mean to let him come near me, not while it was up to me.

"Don't be afraid, I just came to give you this," he said with a smile on his face.

He took a small bottle out of his pocket and the liquid was transparent. He lifted the bottle a little and looked at the liquid with a satisfied smile.

"What is it?" I asked in a trembling voice as I still didn't take my eyes off the bottle that looked so innocent, but I knew it was only an illusion.

"We need you to put it in Princess Charlotte's drink," he said, holding out the hand that held the little bottle forward.

I folded my hands, I wouldn't take it. If it came from an enemy state it couldn' be a good thing.

"What's that? I asked suspiciously.

"It's none of your business, Your Excellency, all you have to do is have the princess drink it," he said, and when he saw that I had refused to take it, he put the little bottle on the floor next to it.

As he bent over, I saw a knife placed in his uniform pocket.

Without thinking much about it, I approached him quickly to pick up the knife, but he immediately noticed it and stopped me by holding my arm tightly.

"You don't know who you're dealing with, you have until tomorrow evening to do it, and if not, everyone in the palace will be in danger," he hissed, looking at me with glowing eyes.

He looked at me for another moment, released my hand and then ran quickly out.

I looked at my hand, where there was a slight sign that he was holding it tight, and then I looked at the strange liquid.

I picked up the bottle and took out the plug, thinking a strong smell would attack my nose, but it had no smell.

I thought to myself how they thought about it to the end, no one would suspect that I would put it in the Princess's glass.

The only difficulty was that someone tasted her food before her to make sure he wasn't poisoned or put anything in it.

I could do it, but I wasn't willing to risk thinking it would hurt Charlotte in a certain way.

The question was what I would do now, were they just trying to threaten me and frighten me, or they really meant to hurt people in the palace.

The thought of that man made me wonder how he had ever managed to break into the palace, someone sure helped him in, but who?

I walked toward my room while I was holding the little bottle, as I walked, I heard familiar voices, so I stopped in my tracks and walked a little backward.

It was a living room where there were always visitors or guests staying in the palace for a while.

These living rooms were always a floor below the rooms of the royal family. I wondered what visitor had come to the palace, and I wondered who was awake at this hour but me.

I looked curiously into the room, seeing no one but William talking to his father.

The door was half open, and the room was lit by a weak light from the lamp placed on a brown desk. The light emphasized the bags under the king's eyes, somehow he looked older and more worried now.

The King was still dressed in flamboyant clothes while William wore simple clothes that indicated he must have been going to sleep.

They both spoke quietly, but still in a clear, easy to understand voice.

"I don't think it's a wise idea, William," the King said as he looked at William anxiously.

"You have to trust me, Father, I believe that this is the right move for us. If we look forward to supporting England, we can promote the alliance and show-" he began enthusiastically, but his father interrupted him.

"You're wrong, and I know you want to see the best in people, but England are just another tool in the game that we need to move according to our needs"

"But I heard what happened to the soldiers on the border with Scotland, all of them were wounded or killed. We could help them instead of defending ourselves. It was a wise decision at the time, but we can not defend ourselves all the time. "

"I am in shock from you William, I taught you to think first of yourself, of your country and not of any other country, England can't help us in anything, the only reason we are in alliance with her now is not to try to attack us. Use fewer troops and protect ourselves better at the same time, "the King said, and William didn't seem to like it.

"We can't afford to be so selfish, You need to serve as an example for your country father, as a king should take risks, and more important than that you should listen to your people, and most citizens want us to help militarily to England "

"Don't you dare talk to me like that," his father hissed quietly as he looked at him sternly, "you won't tell me how I should behave or what I should do."

Don't make me regret that you will inherit the crown, do not make me do something that both of us will regret" Said the King in a cold, stiff tone that made my body shudder for a moment.

I never thought I would see the king getting upset by something like that, I thought he was a man who was open to the opinions of others.

I thought he cared about the alliance, that he really wanted to help England and wanted to hear my opinion on the subject.

The King looked as though he were going to end the conversation and he began walking toward the door, but William stopped him.

"And what about Mother? She would not want you to behave like that," he said seriously, in a calm, quiet voice.

"Don't mention her, she has nothing to do with it," the King said, but William shook his head.

"I don't understand why you can't talk about her, we never talk about her, not since it happened, not since-"

"You have to understand that being a monarch means you only have to think with the mind, that you must not develop feelings, or feel sorry for anyone unless it helps you achieve what you need "

"To be a king is to know to listen and take care of your country, but you still have to respect the one you made an alliance with", William insisted, and now he too sounded angry, I could not blame him for it.

"To be a king is to do only what is good for your country, And if it means trampling people on the way, You'll do it, and you'd better understand it quickly, "said the King, and to conclude from the tone in which he said it, he didn't try to give William any advice but to threaten him.

I hid quickly outside the door, and moments later the King's footsteps filled the corridor and I watched his figure move slowly away until it disappeared.