Make Your Move Katherine

The plan

Anthony

Anthony tried to keep his face void of any emotion as his king stared at him with an eyebrow raised. He looked around him at the guards and maids that had their upper bodies bent, almost to the waist, and in a hushed voice, he mumbled, "My King-don't be rash. Let's play it off-"

"Play what off? She has the phone and the internet access is all she needs,” Oscar said in a low voice as Anthony reached his side and the king continued on to Katherine's quarters.

The sound of his shoes clicking as he marched on echoed on Anthony’s mind like a countdown. The staff behind them stood straight and continued on their way behind them as they passed.

"I mean, make her think that you were testing her," Anthony could feel his insides quivering at the thought of the Queen being punished by his king’s hands and he stared at the robust shoulders of the man that walked half a step ahead of him.

"Testing?" he heard the King’s scorned laugh that followed and gulped. A laugh like that meant one of two things; the king was annoyed or getting angry. Annoyed was preferred here as an angry king would bring about a blood-sucking vampire whose urges were still under work to be controlled.

The blood bags could only hold him off for so much. The vampire in him was young and would only get stronger- and thirstier. See, the witch doctor- Ju had confided in him that Oscar had been coming to her place often for the bags now- a few times a week whereas before it used to be one bag weekly. Which meant Nuwa was no longer enough for him to feed on.

Think, Anthony think, he pleaded with himself as he could feel the fear building inside his stomach. He was making things up as he ran into the castle, inside his head and this was the best he came up with. The first thought he had was to reach Katherine before Oscar and take the phone and lie and say he had it all along. He doubted he could play it off but he still raced in to go to her aid.

His plan fell apart at the sight of Oscar already on his way to her room. And so, this was plan B.

Oscar did not slow his walk when he took the wide corner into Katherine's section, her corridor coming into view and the maids and guards bent their heads as their king came into their view.

"Yes, let Katherine think you want her trust and this was her test."

“Katherine?” Oscar swiveled around and looked at him with a deep frown and Anthony halted his steps, almost walking into the King.

Eyes wide open, he froze unsure of what to say now. “Your Majesty!” he pleaded and his fear grew some more when he saw the deep set of the clenching jawline of the king. He bent his knees and dropped to the marbled floor, partly in respect for the man he was addressing and partly because he needed to release a pent-up breath. But mostly because he had disrespected the queen.

Had he done that before? Called the Queen by her first name?

The captain of the guards had trust in his king to know that Oscar will not harm him for referring to him by his name for they were friends but his wife was a different matter. And she isn’t just a typical friend’s wife- she is queen. And that was crossing the line.

He had to remember that they were not friends, no matter how much she needed one. His king said she is to be handed over to the Dragon King and that was that. You cannot befriend a sacrifice- ever.

Gosh- should he present her with the bicycle he had ordered on her behalf now? He figured she would want to be outdoors since she seemed to like the garden so much. She could ride inside the castle walls- after all it was miles upon miles which makes it a good, safe riding space. He thought it was almost inhumane to be trapped in like this.

Katherine is no prisoner, so why did she have to live this way. It is unfair that the king was punishing her for the misdeeds of her parents.

The guard's eyes widened with his trail of thought for while he might think this way, it was an entire matter altogether when the king was in front of him and a trickle of fear entered his body. Not Katherine, he scolded himself again. Queen. The king's wife. Oscar's wife. She's married!

Queen.

“Know your limits, Anthony, I can allow much but do not disrespect the crown,” he heard above him and he nodded his head in agreement still looking at the floor.

Yes, he should indeed know his place. "Your Majesty, I apologize- "

“No one heard you so it’s fine. Don’t make that mistake again Anthony and watch your mouth from now on. She is my wife- God, I can’t believe I am doing this," he heard the huff above him and knew the king was probably shaking his head in disbelief. He was silent a few seconds more, "Call her whatever you want in private, okay?”

The captain of the guards nodded again but vowed to himself, to never make that mistake again. He would never refer to the queen by her first name, even in private.

"You were saying something about a test? And what good would that do?" Anthony heard King Julian questioning him and he raised his head a bit, remaining on his knees, and saw the king pushing both hands into his pants pocket. Anthony took two quick breaths then raised his head, gaining confidence that he had his emotions in check.

"As if you knew she had the phone, Your Majesty. Today was a good day with her, so tell her you want to trust her-"

The king stared at him for a few seconds with an expression that seemed to be saying, “Stop with the rubbish talk.”

Fisting his hands tightly by his side, the royal guard glared back before rising to his full height not breaking the tensed look between them. Anthony knew Oscar was taking his words into consideration just as he always did whenever they had different ideas.

Their audience behind the king, still had their heads bent and would remain so until Oscar dismissed them or until he continued on his way, passing them.  But the king was right- nobody was close enough to hear the conversation between them as they had been speaking in quiet low tones just as they always did when others were present.

Raising his chin, he tightened his jaw, but the king averted his eyes to Anthony’s dismay but his heart rate went up when he saw where the king’s eyes returned to him and landed, next. His throat- his pulse that was attempting to leap out of his neck.

The guard’s eyes circled when the king leaned in towards him, his view not moving from his neck and he smirked, revealing his sharpened fanged teeth. “My dear, Anthony have you no trust in me?”

Anthony knew there was no lying to him here, so he didn’t bother to answer him but willed his heart to slow its beat. He knew the king could hear his pulsating heart. He knew he could sense his fear too- “I am not afraid of you, it that’s what you mean,” he stated the fact.

“Ah, it’s the vampire you don’t?” the king queried as he captured his bottom lip between his teeth and Anthony looked ahead at the empty hallway, the maids lined against the walls blurred from his vision. He hated when the king teased him like this.

“I will never hurt you,” the king whispered and Anthony knew he meant it, “Unless I need to,” he finished. See that was the joking side that Anthony didn’t appreciate when the king did that. He didn’t fancy being food and every time the king’s words reached his brain; he would become uneasy. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to be like him and that was the king’s plan. To make them vampires like him.

And you can’t refuse the king.

Just look at what happened to the former princess- Ximeizi. She had been ‘deroyaled’. As in when she got married to a non-royal, she had to give up her royal status and live as a commoner. Ximeizi had been stripped of all her Royal affiliations too.

If they made their own blood; who had never dwelled outside the castle walls, give up the imperial title- to live in a world where they knew nothing off…just what would they do to anyone else. Although Oscar did say that when he became king, he would change the law, that law was still stagnant as how King Drago and the others before him had left it.

“Come Anthony. You speak since you seem to have a plan. I’ll go along with you, yes?” the king turned away, waving one hand in front of him and Anthony led the remaining steps to the queen’s room hoping the queen hadn’t done any serious damage that would place her in the king’s mercy.

Anthony felt like crap and even more so now, for what he was about to do. But why? Why did he when he had not batted an eye for anyone else?