Chapter Twenty Eight: The Eleventh Hour
"What is that foolish girl up to?"
Natasha paced in front of her throne. She bit at her thumbnail, growling with every turn.
The thread and needle sat safely with the other gifts, all three waiting to be used for her benefit. And yet, they were useless without the correct handler; that much was perfectly clear after the morning's stunt.
She paused before her dais, folding in on herself. Years of careful planning, of weaving spells and potions, were suddenly being put in jeopardy. All because a stupid servant girl fancied her fiance.
Across the room, the servant's door creaked open. Snapping her eyes to it, Natasha dropped her hand in place of a scowl. Here was the other useless pawn of their plan, really just a boon to grant her brother ease of rule. Clicking her tongue, Natasha waved him forward and stalked to her throne.
Tino bowed his head and followed, tea tray in hand until he could place it beside her throne and pour her a cup.
"…are the guest rooms prepared yet?" Sighing at the speed of her servant, Natasha took the cup from Tino. The young man stood back, his hands folded behind his back. "My brother will be arriving soon. Do not disappoint him or embarrass me with the state of his rooms. You wouldn't want your incompetence to be held against the Ace, now would you?"
He bristled at the threat but kept his eyes trained on the floor to avoid challenging the queen's stare.
Humming softly to herself, Natasha glanced down to the red tea steaming before her. She swirled it, watching the ripples bouncing back and forth off the porcelain sides. Suddenly, she held a hand up to stop Tino from retreating with his tray.
"Your services for the prince will not be required tonight. After supper, my beloved will no longer need to worry about sleep eluding him." Slowly, a thin smile spread across her lips.
His heart was too warm. It fought in its cage and battled against Natasha's magic at every turn. Keeping it captive wasn't ideal anymore; it would find a way to slip free eventually. She had to turn it as cold and frozen as her own.
"At supper, I'll give him an early wedding present, perhaps mixed with his favorite vintage. Poor lamb, he'll never have to worry about a beating heart fighting him ever again."
She chuckled and dismissed Tino with a snap of her wrist.
He bowed low and backed out of the room. Once out of the queen's sight, a shiver ran up his spine, and his heart raced. He checked for guards nearby before bolting for the prince's tower, climbing it two steps at a time. Tino stopped just in front of the final turn, pulling back the panic with a deep breath. Calm, he climbed the remaining steps and approached the door.
The guards snarled at his approach.
"Get out of the way, you idiots." Tino narrowed his eyes. They wavered but stayed where they stood. "Do you want to explain to your queen why her finance wasn't prepared for supper tonight? I'm sure she would be just delighted."
They twitched and quickly stepped away, heads lowered.
"Thought as much."
Pushing his way into the room, Tino pressed his back against the door once it shut behind him. He held a finger to his lips when Ludwig looked up. Tino hurried to pull a blanket from the bed and shove it under the bottom crack of the door.
"We don't have a lot of time before they get suspicious." Crossing the room, Tino crouched in front of Ludwig. "She's up to another one of her tricks. If you want to get out of here and go home, you're going to have to trust me on this one."
Ludwig scowled, putting aside his weathered book. "What do you mean? I thought you said we just needed to dump the nightly teas." A lone candle lit the room, casting long shadows over the contours of his face.
"I was wrong," Tino shook his head. "I'm not sure what it will be exactly, but she was muttering about it happening at dinner tonight, in the wine. Whatever you do tonight, don't drink anything she gives you. Put on a show for her, but for the love of God, don't drink it. Make her think it worked." He stood, pacing before Ludwig as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Ludwig stood and caught the smaller man's arms to still him. "What of the servant girl you were talking about?" Worry ate his face, and he tightened his grip. "The one that kept coming to see me at night; has she done something to her?"
"No, I'm-"chuckling weakly, Tino looked to Ludwig in disbelief. "I'm supposed to fetch her after dinner. I haven't a clue how she tricked her this time, but that witch is letting her come work on your uniform."
He tried to ignore the squeeze in his hollow chest, recalling the familiar face staring him down from the courtyard that morning. "The girl from this morning, with the magic needle…?"
Tino nodded sharply. "This is it. This is the last chance you two are going to get. I don't know what her reasons are, but by God, she's tenacious to get to you. She's done her part, now do yours."
The pair looked to the door as the monsters outside began to let out exasperated sounds. Ludwig quickly let Tino go and picked up the sheet under the door.
Exchanging a final glance, Tino nodded to him and slipped from the room.
Monsters escorted Ludwig to supper that night. They knew better than to touch the prince, but they flanked him regardless with their spears and demanding grunts.
He entered the grand dining hall, holding back a glare at the wedding decorations already being tucked into high alcoves. Garlands of white roses and soft round greenery ran from end to end, and more would litter the room by week's end.
Heading the table, Natasha stood when he approached. She gestured with her palm for the man to come sit beside her, only returning to her high-backed chair when he claimed his place. Servants were waved in with a lazy curl of her fingers while her attention fell entirely on Ludwig.
"My dear man, you look famished." A beautiful smile was painted across her porcelain face, hiding her fangs. "Feast with me, enjoy the company. Only a couple more nights now, and you'll never have to return to your lonely tower, dear heart. You'll belong to me, body and soul. Never apart again."
Ludwig could only absently nod along. His eyes were drawn to the servants buzzing around them, decorating the table with the typical nightly buffet. Natasha picked at the steaming plates, piling pieces onto Ludwig's plate and sending sweet smiles his way when he would occasionally look at her.
Across the room, he caught Tino's eyes. The young man subtly shook his head, glancing at the wine decanters in his hands. When Natasha beckoned him in, he lowered his eyes.
"We'll have nobles from all over Clubs in attendance," Natasha sang on about their upcoming nuptials. She briefly paused while Tino poured a sweet wine into her glass. "Of course, my darling brother will be there too. We wouldn't be where we are without him, after all. Ruling a kingdom, and yet he still takes time to arrange the perfect match for his little sister."
Ludwig turned his eyes up when Tino stopped at his side. The young man gently kicked at a leg of Ludwig's chair before pouring a deep red wine into his glass. Their eyes met for the briefest of seconds before Natasha snapped at him to leave.
Watching him depart, Natasha sighed through her nose. "After tonight, I do believe you and Brother will get along quite well. I know, I know, you've had your differences in the past," she let out a dreamy sigh, smiling to herself. "But here we are now, two kings in the family. The world won't stand a chance against the pair of you.
"Diamonds, Spades, Hearts. They'll all be ours." She giggled softly. "Brother even said we could claim Hearts all for ourselves, his wedding gift to us. How cozy would that be, a little kingdom and castle all of our own?"
Biting his tongue and swallowing the fire that burned in his throat, Ludwig poked at the meat on his plate. However, Natasha slowly grew quiet beside him, prompting him to look back at the queen. She had raised her wine glass, taking a sip while staring pointedly at him.
Natasha swirled her wine before her, waiting patiently for her prince to follow suit.
"It's a lovely vintage, my dear heart." When Ludwig finally picked up his glass, she held her's out to him in a toast. "To our future, my lovely king to be."
She tipped her glass back as Ludwig raised his to his lips. Under the top layer of blood-red wine, he saw the black poison swirling like smoke. As Ludwig pressed it to his lips, Natasha leaned in with wide and eager eyes, like a lioness watching her prey.
Natasha jumped when a platter crashed to the floor.
Hands slamming to the table, she launched to her feet. Tino looked back at them from the servant's entrance, seemingly just as startled as the queen. A tray of desserts and wines had tipped from his hands, shattering its contents at his feet.
"You fool, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Natasha rushed him, screaming with every inch gained.
Ludwig tossed his wine into a silver vase.
The sharp snap of a slap echoed across the hall. Tino's kept his head down, eyes glaring holes into the floor as his cheek burned. Natasha's hand still hung in the air, screaming and berating the fool on her staff.
The men dared to glance at each other for the briefest of seconds.
Put on an act.
Standing, Ludwig took a deep breath. He forced a stumble, crashing the plates around him as he lurched forward into the table. Natasha spun, her eyes wide at the sight of him, clutching his chest with a gritted expression.
"Oh, darling," she abandoned her rage and hurried to his side. But concern was not her priority; she all but beamed as Ludwig forced ragged gasps into his lungs. "Don't fight it. You'll never have to worry about that horrible beating in your chest ever again. Embrace it! Give up on that foolish heart of yours."
She tutted over him, slender hands gripping at his sleeve. While he hung his head, she could hardly hold back the giddy giggle bubbling from her.
He played the part for nearly a minute before finally lowering his hand. Ludwig raised his head, steeling his eyes before he glanced at Natasha. Her hands quickly embraced Ludwig's cheeks, stars in her eyes at the apparent transformation before her.
"Dear, sweet king of mine…"
Ludwig pulled her hands from his face, kissing her knuckles briefly. He looked back across the room and soon swept over to Tino. He grabbed the young man roughly by the arm. "You would insult the queen this way?"
He turned back to Natasha, finding the queen by her table, covering her smile with her hands. "Allow me, your Majesty. Sit, enjoy your meal. I'll be back shortly." Her eyes lit up as Ludwig dragged Tino out of the dining hall.
Behind the safety of closed doors, he quickly let Tino go. "Are you insane?"
"She had her eyes all over you. How the hell were you planning to get out of that one if I didn't step in!" Tino scowled, rubbing at his cheek. A red mark was already blooming against his skin. "Where did you dump it. I'll fetch it after supper."
Glaring back at the door, Ludwig shook his head. "One of the table vases. Go, hide for the rest of the night. Warn the poor girl what she's being dragged into, then stay out of Natasha's sight for the rest of the night. She'll forget all about you if I can keep this act up."
Tino nodded briskly and slipped away into the night.
Taking a deep breath, Ludwig looked up at the dark sky. He gently patted his poor chest, and his heart returned with a weak beat to remind him of its presence. Locking it back away, he called forth this cruel new mask he had to wear and returned to the dining hall.
Author's Note:
Part of me wants to put together a playlist of the songs I've been binging while writing these last couple chapters. I've had Sam Tinnesz's "Far From Home" on repeat this whole chapter haha... Enjoy!