[Music Recommendation: The Witching Hour ~ Peter Gundry]
Oriana helped Freya stand from the bathtub and then covered her with a towel, trying to calm her own nerves in the process.
"Is everything okay?" Freya asked, stepping out of the water. "Did I do something wrong?"
Oriana shook her head and smiled. "You did nothing wrong. I was just worried that something might have happened to you while I was away," she replied, leading the girl back inside the room.
"Something?" Freya repeated. "Did anything happen?"
Oriana walked to her closet, searching for a dress that would be Freya’s size. "Yes, the King was attacked."
"The King? Attacked?" Freya asked, shocked by the news. "If the King could be attacked in the palace, it means nobody is safe."
Oriana raised a peach dress that looked undersized but would fit Freya. She turned to look at the girl. "You’re right. No one is safe." She handed the dress to her.
Freya took it to the room divider and changed into the dress. It was bigger in the chest area but still comfortable. "Have the culprit been caught?"
Oriana sighed, "Not yet," she replied, going to sit on the bed. Pushing a stool forward, she called Freya to come sit. Then she took a comb and towel, drying the girl’s hair first.
"The Crown Prince, he was the one that helped us that day in town, right?" Freya asked, enjoying the feeling she got every time the princess touched her hair.
Oriana nodded. "Yes, that’s him." She thought of Adric and how he was coping with everything. Though he was calm about the situation, she knew that he was scared. It appeared his father was his only weakness, and someone knew that. Then Oriana remembered the princess she had met earlier.
"Freya, what if the culprit is still here in the palace?"
Freya panicked, turning her head to look at Oriana. "The culprit is still here? We should bring my father and run away," the girl suggested, trying to stand up.
Oriana stopped her. "Relax, Freya. The palace is now heavily guarded. I’m just saying, what if? What do you think the culprit’s first move would be?"
Freya relaxed. "Hmm," she hummed. "If the person is still here, it means it was done by an insider. Else, we would have noticed someone missing, right?"
Oriana nodded. "Right."
"Then there must have been someone who saw the culprit. So, the killer’s first move would be to kill the witness," Freya replied.
Oriana dropped the towel in shock. Freya was right, and her life was in danger. Because she didn’t know the assassin’s face, but the assassin knew her face.
"Did someone see the culprit’s face?" Freya turned to ask.
Oriana shrugged her shoulders. "I think so, or maybe not," she muttered, using the comb to brush down Freya’s hair.
After Freya had gone to sleep, Oriana stayed awake, sitting on her bed. She wanted to know if Adric had finally found something and also how the King was faring.
Oriana stood up from her bed and walked towards her door. She wanted to go and check on him, but then remembered that a killer was still on the loose. She walked straight back to her bed and sat down, with her knees close to her chest. Oriana stared at the half moon that was still shining brightly, and she wondered what tomorrow would bring for the palace and every member of the royal family.
Back inside the King’s room, Adric took out a cigarette and lit it. He stood at the door, looking at the room all over again. This time he was not alone; there was a physician close to his father’s bed and Rowan standing at the window side. He tried to match the missing piece with what Oriana had told him.
"Your Highness," the physician bowed, "I have been able to keep His Majesty from danger, but we should all prepare for the worst," the royal physician informed him.
Adric nodded. "What do you think happened to him?" he asked.
The physician hummed, looking at the king who now looked like he was taking a peaceful nap. "I might be wrong, but I think His Majesty had a heart attack."
"You’ve done well. Keep whatever you know to yourself, including the health condition of the King. If another ear should hear of it..." Adric paused, but the physician already understood his words.
"Nobody else, not even my wife, shall hear of what I know," he bowed deeply. Adric signaled for him to leave.
The Crown Prince of Avon stood all alone in the room in silence, crushing the burning cigarette in the ashtray beside him before going to sit close to his father’s bed. Adric had so many thoughts running through his mind. Though the King was sick, it was obvious that something must have triggered his unconscious state.
"Your Highness, I have made sure everyone is in their rooms and the palace is now heavily guarded," Rowan, informed after the physician had left.
Adric nodded. "Look at that body, Rowan. What do you think?"
The guard walked towards the body that was still on the floor. "It looks like a stab wound right on the person’s neck, but it was from the back." Adric had also seen this when he first walked into the room.
"What else?"
Rowan touched the blood, feeling it with his hands. "The person’s blood is mixed with something. I can’t really tell..."
"Look at that empty cup over there," Adric pointed.
His personal guard walked towards the cup, checked the content, then walked back to the blood. "It’s the same thing."
Adric nodded. He already summarized what had happened. Whoever tried to kill the King was seen by the person lying dead, and they tried to cover it up. First, kill the witness. Second, pour the King’s medicine away. And lastly, raise an alarm for distress to remove all suspicions from them.
"Who raised the alarm?"
Rowan paused. "It was the lady-in-waiting."
Adric smiled. Whoever did this was smart. They left the room after their clean job. "Watch out for Adelaide. Get me everything you know and also Gwen. She had an argument with Father concerning me."
"I will, Your Highness," Rowan bowed.
"Also, Oriana’s room. Put more guards there. She must have seen something she wasn’t supposed to, but she can’t remember. She would be the next target," Adric informed his guard, who bowed and left the room to carry out his orders.
Adric walked back to where his father was now resting and held his hand. "Father, I need you to tell me what happened to you," he said, closing his eyes briefly only to open them when he noticed a movement from his father’s hand.
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