Chapter 8: The notebook.
1230 Words
The palace did not ring its bells that morning.
It didn’t need to. Fear moved faster than sound.
“Master Orlen is dead.”
“Found in his rooms.”
“Throat cut.”
“Poison in his wardrobe.”
Alice heard it while tying her apron. She froze, spoon in hand.
“Dead?” Madam Ruth whispered. “Gods have mercy.”
Alice set the spoon down. Her hands were cold.
She was in the east wing an hour later, with Duke Hale and two guards. Orlen’s rooms smelled like herbs and blood.
The body was gone. But the room still looked wrong.
The wardrobe stood open. Inside, jars of dried leaves. Nightshade. Belladonna. Hemlock. All labeled in Orlen’s neat hand.
“Poison,” Hale said. “Enough to kill a regiment.”
On the desk lay a single piece of parchment. No seal. No name.
Alice read it aloud before she could stop herself:
*“You got lucky this time. Thanks to that meddling servant girl. But you will never find out the whole truth.”*
The room went silent.
“Meddling servant girl,” Hale muttered. He looked at Alice.
Alice hugged herself. “He meant me.”
Hale didn’t answer. He was already searching the room.
Alice’s eyes scanned the floor. Something dark peeked out from under the bed. A corner of leather.
She moved without thinking. Dropped to her knees.
A notebook. Small. Worn. Locked with a thin clasp.
“Found something,” she said.
Hale turned. “What is that?”
“His… diary? Notes?” Alice tried the clasp. It held. “It’s locked.”
“Give it to me,” Hale said.
Alice hesitated. Just for a second.
Someone had written *she knows too much*. If this book had names… if it had the truth…
“I will,” she said. She slipped it into the fold of her sleeve when Hale turned to check the window. “Here, Sir. It’s locked tight. Maybe the guards can break it.”
Hale took it. Frowned at the weight. “Fine. To the Prince.”
Alice exhaled. She hadn’t lied. She’d just… not given him all of it.
Because if the book had her name in it too, she wanted to read it first.
**That Afternoon: The Training Room**
Alice was shaking when she picked up the wooden sword.
“Focus,” Master Brann said. “Your enemy does not care if you are scared.”
“My enemy tried to kill the King,” Alice muttered. “And now he wants me.”
“Then be ready.”
The door opened. Alex.
He didn’t sit today. He watched from the edge of the room, arms crossed. His face was hard. The note had shaken him.
“Continue,” he said.
Alice and Brann circled. She struck. Missed. Brann tapped her wrist.
“Ow!”
“Again.”
She swung. Brann blocked. She lost balance and fell on her backside.
“Ow!”
From the side, Alex snorted.
Alice looked up, mortified. “Was that a laugh, Highness?”
Alex’s face went blank. “No.”
“You did! You laughed!”
“I did not.”
“You did! Do it again!”
Master Brann coughed to hide his own smile. “Princess. Up.”
Alice got up, scowling. “Fine. But if I fall again, you have to laugh, Highness. It’s only fair.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “Is it?”
“Yes. Deal?”
He stared at her. Then, very slowly, he nodded. “Deal.”
Alice grinned. “Good. Because I plan to fall a lot.”
She charged.
She missed. Tripped over her own feet. Landed on her knees.
Alex laughed.
It wasn’t a smirk. It wasn’t almost. It was real. Loud. Surprised.
The whole room froze.
Master Brann dropped his sword.
Alice sat on the floor, staring. “You… you laughed.”
Alex stopped. Like he’d been slapped. His smile vanished.
“I… that was—”
“No, do it again,” Alice said, delighted. “Please. For science.”
“I will not.”
“But you promised!”
“I promised to laugh if you fell,” Alex said, recovering. “You have. Debt paid.”
Alice groaned. “You’re impossible.”
“And you are clumsy,” Alex said. But he was still looking at her like she was… not a disaster.
For a second, the palace, the poison, the dead healer… all of it faded.
It was just a grumpy Prince and a laughing kitchen girl in a training room.
“Again,” Brann said, before the moment could stretch too far.
**That Evening: Her Room**
Alice locked her door.
She pulled out the notebook.
The clasp was old. She worked at it with her dagger Alex gave her. It popped open.
The pages were full of Orlen’s handwriting. Herbs. Dates. Payments.
And names.
*Lord C. 12 gold. Tonic every night.*
*L.E. 5 gold. Keep the girl away from Court.*
Alice’s breath caught.
Lord C. Lord Cedric?
L.E. Lady Elise?
Her hands shook. She flipped faster.
*The King must weaken before the 90th day. Then the boy breaks. Then the throne is ours.*
Ours.
Not his. Someone else was with him.
A knock made her jump. She slammed the book shut and shoved it under her mattress.
“Alice?” Alex’s voice.
She opened the door a c***k. He was alone.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“Yes. I mean… no. I read the note.”
Alex stepped in. Closed the door. “Hale gave me the book. It’s locked. The locksmith cannot open it without breaking it.”
Alice’s heart stopped. “Oh.”
“I have it,” Alex said. “In my study.”
She stared. “You… you have it?”
“Yes.” He looked at her. “Did you see anything else in Orlen’s room?”
Alice’s mouth went dry. Lie? Tell him?
“No,” she whispered. “Just the note.”
Alex studied her face. Too long.
“Alright,” he said finally. “Do not go anywhere alone. Not until we know who ‘Lord C’ is.”
Alice nodded. “Okay.”
He turned to leave. Paused. “You fell a lot today.”
Alice blinked. “Yes?”
“You owe me another laugh.”
And he was gone.
Alice leaned against the door.
He didn’t believe her. Not fully.
And she’d just lied to him.
She pulled the notebook back out.
On the last page, in different ink, newer, was one line:
*When the servant falls, the Prince will catch her. Then we take them both.*
Alice dropped the book.
Someone was watching her. Watching them.
---
That night , gossip spread faster in the palace.
“The healer is dead.”
“Poison found.”
“A note about a servant girl.”
“The Prince is angry.”
“The Prince laughed today. In training.”
Lady Elise heard the last part and broke her mirror.
“He laughed? At her?”
**Alice’s Room, Midnight**
She didn’t sleep. She held the dagger.
*She knows too much. Silence her next.*
*When the servant falls, the Prince will catch her.*
She wasn’t safe. Neither was Alex.
And she’d hidden the one thing that might save them.
- Writer
