Chapter 15: Grief and Sorrow

As I made my way down the steps of the carriage, I saw the staircase leading up to the palace, and standing there with a few other people was a man with gray in his temples and a golden circle on his head. I could only assume that this was the King. He wasn't a tall man, but neither was he short. Being around four inches shorter than me did nothing to take away from the regal bearing that he exuded.

When I got close enough for him to make out my face, his color drained, slightly taking away from his bearing.

Apparently, he had come out to greet me personally. I started walking up the steps before I went to one knee in front of the King, waiting for him to acknowledge me.

King was gracious, and before I delivered my message, he said, "You may rise."

"I have a private message for you, my liege," I said, appreciating that he didn't make me speak from my knee.

"Come." He said, and I fell into step beside him as he led us through the palace. I could see him steal a few looks at my face questioningly, and his hand started to shake.

So he recognized me. At least I was 80 percent sure that he did. And it seemed that he knew what my presence meant. But he didn't yell or run or try to hide, call for his guards or anything. That said a lot about his character.

It also said a lot about my reputation. Even in his seat of power, with me surrounded on all sides by guards, he thought fighting me was pointless. That he didn't even attempt it as a last ditch effort either meant he held a lot of value in his guard's lives or I had a reputation for going after loved ones as warnings to others.

We walked through the palace, and I enjoyed looking at the art that ornamented the halls. After a couple of turns, we were led onto a terrace with a small table and a couple of chairs overlooking a beautiful garden with a hedge maze full of roses.

"Leave us," the King ordered, and everyone but two guards left, and he motioned for them to leave as well. As soon as they were out, he collapsed into his chair and took off his crown, setting it on the table between us.

"I hoped it wouldn't come to this," he said with a short sigh. I nodded solemnly and reached into my coat, pulling out the signed and sealed envelope, which I slid across the table to him.

He picked it up, running his fingers along the edges. "You know, I really hoped the Duke was sending a message. But looking back on it, it seemed improbable."

I just smiled softly at him, waiting for him to open and read the letter. King Gerald broke open the seal and read through the letter that I had penned days ago. His face lost the little color it had as he got to the bottom.

Before he had a chance to speak, I wanted to say my peace. "I'm sorry, Gerald, my friend. The timetable got moved up, and I wanted to bring this to you personally and let you know how much I regret that this had to happen."

"So this was planned all along?" The King said with a resigned expression.

"I'm sure you knew something like this would happen if you continued on that road." This was just an educated guess, but it seemed likely from what I had observed.

The King nodded, "Do you mind if I leave a note?"

"If you trust in your wife and heir's secrecy, you may do so," I said. The threat was obvious, and I didn't feel the need to rub it in any further than I had to. He pulled out an envelope and a fresh sheet of paper from his breast pocket.

He pulled out a fountain pen and twisted it in his hands before holding it out to show me. "An impressive invention. No?"

I looked at it carefully. It was beautiful, if a little crude, but I didn't see what was so special about it. "They call it a fountain pen, much better than a quill. No need to carry a fragile ink bottle to dip in every line."

He showed me how it could hold ink and be refiled.

"My friend. I was planning to get one of these for your birthday. But.... well." The King said and scrawled a few lines in instructions for his heir and Queen. I didn't read them. But hopefully, he knew better than to say anything dumb. And his heir would be more pliable with whatever James needed to be done.

The King seemed to be well aware of what was happening, most likely. So I left it at that. I am not trying to introduce too much place for error on my part that could give me away.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

I'd have to ask One about the political situation in the arena and what the King was doing. Perhaps she would know, or maybe I could see some connection that the organization would want Gerald removed for.

Afterward, he signed and took off his ring and sealed the envelope with his note and my letter in it before leaving it beside his crown. He looked up, met my eyes, and held out the pen to me. "Remember me, my friend."

Gently, I took the pen, already feeling even worse about what was going to happen. Tucking it away, I reached out and steadied his shoulder. Then, with my other hand, I pricked his neck with a needle so small that he didn't even react if he felt it at all.

I could feel the weakness take over in the half dozen seconds as I supported him. As he slumped, I lowered him onto the table, positioning him carefully so that he rested his head on his arm as if he were taking a nap.

Only the slight froth in his mouth showed what had really happened.

I'd used my gentlest poison, and it may have made his death more comfortable, but it didn't help me at all. This man has seemed truly noble and a good friend. What had he been doing to deserve this? Perhaps nothing. Perhaps I had killed an innocent man who was just trying to do good for the will of the organization I was a part of. But it was too late to take it back.

I knew I only had a few seconds before the guards checked in and saw the King, so I quickly whispered. "Your wife and sons will be left alone," said the man, hoping that it was true before I hopped over the terrace and clung to the outside of the balcony.

The thick ivy tumbling down provided both great handholds and many shadows that I used to wrap myself in shadows so that I couldn't be seen. A few moments later, I heard a shout and the stamp of armored boots. Guards were yelling and running everywhere, looking for me. But I stayed hidden.

Before I found a chance to drop down, I heard a woman's voice cry out, "Gearld!"

Heels clack on stone, and she ran to him.

"Oh, Gerald," she said. I can only imagine her reaching down to stroke the King's face. I heard her pick up the letter, the soft sound of flesh on paper barely reaching my hiding spot.

I heard the wax of the seal pull away from the paper and moments of silence as she read. "Gerald, you fool! You should have known they would never have let... They would never have let that revenge go. And that plan would never have worked. Now, you leave me alone."

"You're not alone, mother." A deep voice of a young teenager that cracked slightly in the last word said as I heard heavy footfalls come onto the terrace as well.

A few more followed, "Your Majesty, it's not safe–"

The Queen cut the guards off. "Leave us. We will be fine."

"But–"

"Now." The guards left.

"You're not alone," the young man repeated, his voice breaking it again. He cleared his throat before speaking again.

"Do you know who did this?" It was praised as a question but didn't sound like one.

"Yes, yes, I do." The Queen responded.

"We shall have our revenge." The young man's voice trembled with repressed furry.

"No. No, we won't," Queen said. "This is best left alone."

"They killed my father. How could you say that!" The young man hissed.

"He knew. He knew what he was doing. He knew the risk that they found out before the house Armenis was wiped out." The Queen said in a disappointed tone. "They wouldn't let that stand. But your father was too proud of a man to let such an insult pass.

"This means that we won't have a second chance, and it's best for us to play our part from now on. Perhaps we shall have a chance to take revenge later. Read the letter, my son." The Queen said

"Ah, I can't believe you just want to let it go. They killed him." The young man said, bewilderment plain in his tone.

"We cannot strike back. Besides, I wouldn't want to offend Coulomb or strike at him. He might be our greatest ally. And who knows who he really reports to. It didn't seem like he actually wanted to do this." The Queen explained. "What I'm saying is we don't even have a target. Maybe we will find out more later, but for now, we keep our cool and wait."

"Then why did he do it? If he didn't want to, this Coulomb?" The man hissed. "How is he that we are so afraid?" The man asked in a baffled tone. Clearly, he was gaining control of himself, as he thought.

I heard the striking of a match and the small crackle of paper burning. And a hand extended over the lip railing of the terrace above me and tossed the burning letter into the ground.

"He has many titles. I don't know where he came from, but my father knew him," the Queen said. I didn't hear the rest of their conversation as we walked back inside.

Minutes later, I started to climb down the terrace, slowly making my way through the garden. The wall of this garden looked to be at the edge of the palace and my way back into the city.

I was halfway through the garden when bells began to toll from the castle, and echoing bells rang throughout the city. They sounded the alarm, after all. I thought the Queen in the heir had decided not to offend me. But perhaps they needed to keep up appearances.

Either way, this was going to make it much, much harder for me. Guards poured out of barracks. I could hear the thumping of their feet as they started to search the palace grounds, and the city started closing the gates. I ran the rest of the way to the wall and used the terrace that plants grew on and my shadow magic to slowly climb up it.

Before dropping down outside the palace walls, I looked down, finding the street; it began to be closed off by guards shepherding people back into their buildings. I heard a shout and looked around. To my horror, I saw that a guard in the garden saw my figure sitting stupidly at the top of the wall, my silhouette fully visible against the sunset.

Dropping down into the city, I started to run.