Hello my lovely viewers! I hope you are all doing well this fine day. I am so sorry for my late update! College has thrown me for a loop and I have had absolutely no time to myself lately. Anyway, better late than never! Ready for another chapter? I know I am. Here's chapter 10! I hope you enjoy it and I shall see you at the bottom of the page :)

The castle was filled with the upmost stress and anxiety that night. Sleep was not being welcomed for any person in radius of the tragedy. The guards continued their search for the man who offered me the glass of wine. I gave a firm description of his characteristics, but it was as if he had vanished from the area. It still frightened me that the glass of poisoned liquid was originally intended for my lips instead of Lord Daykin's. Who was trying to kill me? What reason might they have for this? Mary had told me that many people plot to assassinate the royals on a regular basis, though little are actually put into action. Many attempts at harming the crown are foiled, but this was not one of those situations. This man had attended this event with the soul purpose of ending a life. Another question that shaped my thoughts were that of the shadow girl. She knew of this and warned me in time, and to that I owe my life. I had contemplated that she may be in lead with the traitors, but if she had, she would not have told me of their plot.

"I am just in disbelief that all this is taking place. I am incredibly thankful that you did not drink from the cup before Lord Daykin decided to take it from your hands." Abigail said as she attempted to scrub the blood stains that consumed the skirts of my dress.

"I am most glad as well. It could have been me lying on the floor in a pool of my own blood. Without a proper capture, though, this dangerous man is still roaming free. I only pray that he is caught before things begin to get out of hand." I replied.

"My dear friend, they are already out of hand!" She said as she threw the cloth down in the water bucket and sat down at my vanity.

"Not completely! The man did not succeed in harming me now did he? There are guards stationed at every corner of this castle. Nothing bad shall come to us." I assured her. The servants bathed me once more at my own request. I felt the need to scrub myself until I was sure I was clean. After I changed into a clean dress I joined my parents in hallway in front of the throne room. I was eager to hear if there was any news.

"No captures have been reported I am afraid. This man refuses to be found, but I have full confidence that his whereabouts will soon be discovered. He shall be brought back and be punished for his actions. In the meantime, I must attend to the arrangements for Lord Daykin's funeral. Please excuse me, ladies." Francis said as he wandered towards his private study.

"Perhaps you should retire and try to sleep, Charlotte. It has been quite the day for all of us." Mary said as she turned her attention towards me.

"With all due respect, I do not believe I could sleep an ounce with all this commotion going on. Someone may need my assistance." I replied to her. The clock would soon strike four in the morning, and there continued to be no news. "Do you have any idea why someone would want to do this to me?" I asked Mary as we sat by the fireplace with a cup of tea.

"The English queen is my only suspicion. By now, the news of your arrival should have reached her kingdom. Anyone who wishes for Elizabeth to maintain her throne would have motivation for such a crime as this. It may not be true. It is simply a guess." She explained. I gently put down my cup and excused myself from the room. I tip toed down the bustling hallway and quietly opened the door to the King's study. Maps were scattered around the room, as well as various nobles and of course, King Francis himself. He seemed exhausted as I observed his eyes and noticed the dark circles surrounding them. There was nothing I could do to aid. At the moment I felt rather useless.

By the time the sun had found the morning, several men had been brought in as suspects. I could not decide if this was good news or bad news. There was a possibility that one of these men could be my assassin, yet there was also a chance that none of them could be the culprit. I was much too tired to identify anyone at such an hour, especially when a funeral for a noble was to be taking place within the same day. I dressed in a black mourning gown and made my way to the throne room.

"I would like to see the King and Queen if you please." I said to the guards regarding the closed doors.

"I'm sorry your highness but they do not wish to be disturbed at this time. They have important matters in which to attend." The man said to me. I was already exhausted and irritated, and now I was being told I could not see either of my parents. I sighed and decided to return to my room.

"I thought you were going to see King Francis and Queen Mary?" Abigail said as I came back into the room.

"The guard told me they did not want to be disturbed. I shall just have to wait until after the funeral to speak with them and find out what is going on. I am sure they must be very busy at the moment." I responded. I began to pace around the room in anticipation. Abigail could see that I was distressed and curious.

"I know you, my dear Charlotte. I can see that you are curious as to what is going on without you. Perhaps you take a trip through the tunnels. Maybe the walls are thin enough to hear some conversation." She said. I stopped in my tracks and began to chew part of my nails. This was a very clever idea, but do I dare risk being caught snooping around, or being late for the funeral? As far as I knew, no one else knew those tunnels existed but me.

"Cover for me, I'll be back very soon." I said. I ran over to the panel door and opened the squeaky entrance. The tunnels were fairly cold and damp this morning. Hopefully it would not create any damage to my already done hair and skin products. I headed towards the direction of the throne room, following the faint voices that radiated through the walls. As my ear ran along the wall I bumped over a metal hole in the wall. It was a vent. I observed the vent and found a flap that could open forward. As soon as I opened the flap, I could hear voices in the throne room loud and clear.

"Yes, we understand the Princess Charlotte is a threat to Queen Elizabeth, but we have dealt with her before. If we must do it again, we shall." I could hear King Francis becoming irritated at his council of advisers.

"What my husband is trying to say is that she is our daughter. We intend to teach her the ways of court and bring her up as a proper princess. You needn't worry about the English queen. We shall deal with her like we always have. It is nothing France cannot handle." Mary said more calmly and clearly. "Now if you will excuse us, we have a funeral we must attend." I let the vent flap drop and began to race down the various tunnels, attempting to find my way back to my chamber. I found myself becoming very clumsy as I suddenly tripped and fell on the hard, solid ground. The rocks were digging into my knees, and I could feel the sticky blood dripping down my leg. Surely my dress was going to be ruined for the event. I bursted through the door of my chamber and shut the door behind me.

"Charlotte your leg! We have to fix it before your-"

"The King and Queen." My page entered the room and presented my parents' presence. Just lovely. Their eyes went straight to my bleeding leg and bloodied hem.

"Charlotte, darling, what have you done?" Mary said as she rushed over to me and observed my wound.

"I just became very clumsy and tripped. It's just a simple scratch." I replied. Abigail was ordered to clean and bandage the wound before I could attend the funeral. A new dress was being brought to me so that my other one could be cleansed.

I took my rightful place behind my parents, and waited as the royals processed into the courtyard for the beginning of Lord Daykin's funeral. The castle and its people were almost deadly silent. The mounds of black across the crowd deeply contrasted with the bright blooms of the flowers in the courtyard. I so much wanted the darkness to cease. Step by step we all took our places around the casket and waited for the preacher to begin. As I was drifting away in my mind, a small hand brushed against my back. When I turned around, a small piece of paper had fallen to my feet. Gracefully, and quietly, I picked up the parchment and held it at my side. My heart began to race.

"Meet me in the west gardens at midnight if you wish to keep your life."

Shoutouts:

Cupackeb236791: Ahhh I am so glad you made that observation about Charlotte and Francis! She has specifically not called him her father yet. That is definitely going to be a part of the plot! Hope you enjoy this next chapter! :)

Wildmountaingypsychild: I am so sorry for my delay in writing, but I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it! Oh, and thank you for following and favoriting the story! :)

Fairylover92: Thank you very much! :)

Marvxl: Thank you very much! I am so glad you are enjoying it :)

Rocketmomm: Why thank you! It shall certainly be interesting to see how it all turns out! :)

Fanficlover36: Charlotte might one day tell her mother of the warning she received. Maybe her young mind shall come to its senses one day haha :)

Unbreakable1994: Here it is finally!

Coolroro: Thank you so much for following this story! I appreciate the support! :)

DollyDolphin: Thank you for following and favoriting this story! I am so glad you are enjoying it! :)

Saram122: Thank you so much for following my story! :)

TwilightBella: Thank you very much for following and favoriting this story! I am pleased you like it! :)

SakuraDragomir: Thank you so much for following and favoriting this story! I hope you continue to enjoy it! :)

Well, that looks like all for today everyone. Until next time my dears! :)