The Crown Thief and Her Alpha Prince

CHAPTER 4 - THE INTERVIEW

Amelia Cooper’s Point of View

“Yes, yes, you will do nicely here, miss -” the steward whose name was Nestor stopped a moment to look at her fake reference letter. “Amelia Cooper.” 

Although Amelia was glad the first part of her plan was working, she had to suppress a disgusted shudder as the steward looked her up and down.. He was an old man, looking more like a skeleton than a living human. Not that he was human for that matter. Amelia had seen him growl at a passing maid, his teeth elongating into fangs. He was a wolf shifter, just like the royal family, part of their pack.

Even though she knew no such thing was possible, Amelia found herself wondering whether a pact with the devil had been made to keep the steward alive. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him.

“I am very honored to serve the royal family,” she said instead, her head bowed, with a slight smile that she hoped was at least mildly convincing at conveying respect and politeness.

Getting hired at the castle had been even easier than expected. Exciting news had been announced early in the morning. The crown prince, William Harrow of the Onyx Kingdom, first born of King Leopold Harrow was to be wed and mated to princess Eleanor Cordova of the Ivory Kingdom. 

The Ivory Kingdom was on the northern border of the Onyx Kingdom. It was also by far the richest kingdom of the continent, which was probably why the wedding was arranged in the first place. 

Eleanor Cordova was a wolf shifter like the Harrows, the Omega daughter of the king of her own pack, and her dowry would be quite impressive. Between his ambitious construction projects and his pointless wars for glory, King Leopold had dried the kingdom’s coffers, despite him raising taxes on the poor population again and again. The Onyx kingdom needed that alliance, or it would be ruined.

The castle was abuzz with the announcement. Princess Eleanor Cordova and her entourage would be coming to the castle in a few days, and everything had to be absolutely perfect for her arrival. She wanted to have the wedding under the next full moon, which was in a little less than a month, and she expected nothing less than perfection. The wedding was the event of the decade and there was much to prepare.

Amelia did not care much about royal gossip, but the timing was perfect for her. A big event meant a big need for staff. The timeframe was too tight for them to be picky about who would be hired. 

“Of course you are honored to serve the royal family,” Nestor replied haughtily. “Or at least, you will be, if Prince Edmund Harrow deems you worthy to work here.”

Amelia wanted to wipe his stupid smug expression from his stupid face. She took a deep breath. She had to remind herself that she would not be working here very long - just the time it took to formulate a plan to get to the king and kill him.

“Prince Edmund? When will I meet him?” Amelia prompted when the steward said nothing else, not giving her any order or direction. 

“He will see you soon. Princess Marjorie usually has the final say in all staff matters but she is…” he trailed, and made a face of disapproval that led Amelia to think he was trying not to use harsh words to describe his mistress. “Unavailable. Now, please follow me to the gardens. ”

Amelia almost groaned but managed to keep her polite smile plastered on her face. She really did not feel like waiting again.  

It had been a long day of waiting. Waiting to be admitted inside the gates, waiting to enter the castle, waiting to have an audience with the steward. She had no patience left, especially as she had a short and unpleasant night.

After the handsome stranger had come in to save her from the brutes and had disappeared into the night, Amelia had made her way to the village. The local inn was owned by a jovial old man, who took pity on her. He had given her a small room for the night in exchange for her help the next morning to clean the inn. He was getting free help in exchange for a room that would have stayed empty anyways. She had agreed.

The inn had been comfy enough, but Amelia did not manage to get more sleep. Her slumber had been plagued by feverish dreams all night. They were dreams that slipped from her consciousness as soon as she woke up, just as the stranger had slipped from her, leaving her hot and frustrated in an empty bed. 

He had asked her if she would ever think of him. She did not seem to be able to think of anything but him.

What was that about? Amelia was half-convinced she had hallucinated the guy. Everything about him felt surreal. His well-timed rescue, out of nowhere. The fact that he was almost naked in the middle of the night. His handsome body, seemingly straight out of one of her fantasies. His shameless flirting. Her own uncharastically intense responsiveness to him. And his sudden disappearance, with him running back into the woods as if he lived there. Did he?

It was ridiculous. He was ridiculous.

She could almost believe he was nothing but a product of her own mind. Almost. She did not have nearly enough imagination to invent such a perfect body. 

She had never in her entire life wanted a man the way she wanted him. He had looked for an instant as if he was going to kiss her and, in that moment, she wanted nothing more than for him to do so. 

It was madness. She did not even know his name. He was a stranger. Young ladies were to keep their virtue until their wedding day, not let strangers kiss them in the woods. Even gorgeous strangers that saved them from destitution. She had to keep her head out of the gutter and focussed on her plan.

If she was going to steal the Golden Crown of Skavon, she had to start paying attention to the castle. Getting close to the king would be no easy task - and she knew the king was wearing his crown at all times, even when he slept. King Leopold Harrow was sure to be protected by guards at all times. She would have to find a way to see him alone - or to enter his room from an unguarded door or window. 

Even then, actually stealing would not be easy. King Leopold was the Alpha of the pack. He would be strong, way too strong for her to overpower him. Besides, the power of the crown was formidable. The king could use it to control her. 

She would have to sneak up on him, surprise him. She could also try to poison him - even though she was not an assassin and would resort to killing only in the very last resort. 

Failing was not an option. She could not live with herself while the crown was still in the castle. She needed the money, and the king needed to pay for what he did to the kingdom of Onyx. For what he did to her.

Nestor the steward led her out of his office. They went through a large hallway, the one that led to the main hall. Servants and guards were passing them, hurrying to complete their tasks. They all looked exhausted, with dark circles under their eyes. Amelia had the feeling the hallway was busy at every hour of the day and night. It would not make for a very subtle escape route, were she to be carrying the crown. 

On one side of the hallway, there were tall windows covered by heavy, velvety curtains. On the other, large intricate tapestries and beautiful paintings decorated the walls. Most of them represented large, majestic wolves. 

One painting in particular did catch Amelia’s eye. It was a portrait, no doubt of the royal family, in their human form. It was an older portrait, as the royal children were still young. The king, Leopold Harrow, Alpha of his pack, was in the center, stern and severe. 

So this was the man whose life she was going to wreak havoc to. 

Having spent her life in a small, unimportant village, Amelia had only seen amateur paintings of the royals. This painting was a masterpiece, each brushstroke precise, rendering the royal family as life-like as possible on a canvas. 

King Leopold looked just as she had imagined him. He was a strong man - he had, after all, led an army to conquer the kingdom - but he was fattened by years of having nothing to do but to order people around. His little, beady brown eyes had a crazy glare to them. Even if she did not know how evil he was, Amelia would find him dislikable.

To his right were his wife, the Luna, Queen Camilla. She had been dead for a few years now, another sign that the painting was not recent. She was smiling, but her eyes looked sad. She was holding hands with her daughter, Princess Marjorie. In the painting, she was around twelve years old. She was elegant, and her smile was friendly, confident.

On the king’s left were his two sons, Prince William and Prince Edmund, looking around ten and eight, respectively. They were both adorable young boys, but Amelia’s attention was dragged to Edmund, who was to judge if she was worthy really soon. The little boy looked oddly somber and serious for his young age, his warm brown eyes sad just like his mother’s. 

His eyes… They were familiar somehow. But it was impossible. Amelia had never seen the royal family. 

And yet...

“Move along, Ms Cooper. I do not have all day,” huffed Nestor.

Amelia hurried, following him into the gardens.

Outside, the sun was still high in the sky. The gardens were a true marvel. It was the end of the summer, and the flowers were in full bloom. A 8 foot-tall wall made of white stones enclosed the gardens, separating it from the outside woods.

Two girls were already waiting, standing up. By the look of the burns on their hands, they were hoping to get into the kitchens. Amelia was relieved. This was not competition against her – and Prince Edmund’s approval of the new staff was probably nothing but a mere formality. 

They gave Amelia a small nod, and she joined them, standing up next to them, trying to look as proper as she could. They were in direct sunlight, and the day was very hot. Nestor went back into the castle, leaving them outside. As soon as the steward left, the girls began chatting in hushed whispers. Amelia could not help but overhear.

“Do you think the princes are as handsome as everyone says they are?” asked the redhead girl directly on her right. She was young and seemed excited to be at the castle, looking everywhere while trying to keep a minimum of decorum.

“Why would you care? You are going to ask for their hand if they like the cakes you bake? I must remind you that Prince William is already promised to someone else.” replied the girl, who looked a bit older, her tone playful. They clearly knew each other before coming to the castle.

“I know,” said the first girl, feigning chagrin. “But Prince Edmund is still single.”

“Ooh. So you would go after the tenebrous Prince Edmund himself?” the second girl raised her eyebrows. “Bold move. It is said that monsters themselves fear them.”

“It is also said that he has the nicest arse in all the realms!” They both giggled, before the older girl found her countenance and turned towards Amelia.

“I’m Isabelle Harvey, and this is my sister Louise,” said the older girl, Isabelle. “What’s your name?”

“And most importantly, which prince do you most want to meet?” added Louise jokingly, still laughing behind her hand. 

“I’m Amelia Cooper. And actually, I would prefer to meet the king. Have you seen him yet?” Amelia answered.

It was not a lie. They wanted to meet the princes to get a better view of their pretty arses. She wanted to meet the king so she could steal his crown. Same difference. 

“Going for older men, I can respect that,” Louise said, winking at her.

“You’re out of luck, though,” Isabelle frowned. Her next words unwittingly shattered Amelia. “The king left the castle this morning to oversee the construction of his summer palace. That will take five years at the very least. You won’t see much of him, or of his crown for that matter.”