Danielle lay watching a thunder storm unleash its fury outside the window with Henry's arm limp around her waist. Storms has always fascinated her; the power they released reminded her how venerable she was. But this storm kept her awake simply because she secretly hoped Marguerite and Rodmilla were caught in it right then.
A bright lightening strike illuminated the room, causing Henry to stir and then relax beside her. How she wished Marguerite could see them like this: a husband and wife hold each other tenderly.
Danielle gently intertwined her fingers in Henry's and gazed at their matching wedding rings as another strike of lightening illuminated the gold. One month away from the couple's two-year anniversary, the rings had lost some of their luster but still represented the same never-ending love.
With the next clap of thunder, Danielle felt Henry's fingers close in around hers.
"You can't sleep?" he asked.
"No."
"Are you okay?" the kings whispered as he propped himself on his elbow so he could see her face.
"I'm fine," Danielle sighed, returning Henry's glance.
Somewhat satisfied, Henry lay back down beside his wife. Danielle pulled his arm further around her, drawing him closer to her.
Henry peered over Danielle's shoulder again. "Are you cold? Do you want me to go get the other blanket?" he asked, trying to get up to go into the closet.
"No," Danielle whispered, pulling on Henry's arm again. "Just stay, please."
Henry paused for a moment, lay back down and wrapped his arm tightly around Danielle's waist again.
Just as Henry had predicted, the next day was extremely busy for the royal family. Both Henry and Danielle awoke early with plans of spending the rest of the day looking for Rodmilla and Marguerite. They had decided the night before that the most plausible first step was for the whole family to go to the manor. There Henry would take John and form a search team to find the DeGhents, and Danielle would stay with Genevieve and fill Jacqueline in on the previous night's events. The royal family left the palace together, queen and princess in a carriage, king riding his horse ahead. When Paulette answered the door, she immediately knew something was wrong.
"Come in, come in," she whispered urgently, ushering Danielle and Henry through the door and making a quick, visual sweep over the front lawn. "Go on into the parlor, I'll fetch Jacqueline and John." With that, Paulette scuttled off in the direction of the dining room.
Danielle moved to the parlor and sat on the couch, Genevieve in her lap. Henry leaned against the mantle and stared into the fire. There were dark circles under his eyes; Danielle could tell that he slept very little the night before. She knew that there were other, very pressing matters that he needed to resolve, but she also knew that he viewed the Deghents' recent arrival as a direct threat to his family. Therefore, he would not rest until he was sure the threat was gone. Danielle was staring at him, marveling his protectiveness when Henry lifted his eyes to meet hers. The blaze in his eyes suggested that he was thinking about the same thing. She took a breath, about to say something, when Henry's eyes suddenly tore from hers and focused on the door behind her.
John had come into the room, Jacqueline just behind him. From the look in his eyes, Danielle could tell that he had read Henry's expression immediately. "What's wrong?" he said, standing in the door.
Henry stood up straight in front of the fireplace. "What are your plans for the day?"
Danielle watched out the window as Henry and John galloped through the gate. When she turned back to face the parlor, she found that Jacqueline had sunk to the couch. She was visibly shaken.
"So they're back?" she chocked, staring at Danielle.
Danielle simply nodded and laid Genevieve in the crib in the corner. She knew Jacqueline had to be extremely frightened. Danielle was used to resisting the DeGhent's, but Jacqueline had spent most of her life trailing behind Marguerite, desperate for positive attention from her family. Now, for the first time in her life, she would have to stand up and defend herself and the choices she'd made during their absence.
The queen joined her stepsister on the couch. "You know that you and John are welcome to stay at the palace if you want."
Jacqueline looked up and a forced smile. "I believe we may just accept that offer."
Later That evening, Danielle sat on the floor of the bed chamber, playing with Genevieve. She let her daughter grab her hands then helped her pull herself up onto her tiny feet. They'd been playing this game for about 15 minutes, and Danielle could tell that Genevieve was already starting to tire.
Outside she could hear muffled voices, one undoubtedly Henry's. Danielle guessed that he was dismissing the guard he'd placed outside the chamber earlier that day.
She stood up and sat Genevieve on her hip as Henry came through the door. He looked exhausted, almost defeated. Danielle could tell that they'd had no luck.
"Nothing?" she asked cautiously. Her husband looked like he was on his last nerve.
Henry sighed and tossed his sheath onto the bed. He slowly shook his head and looked up. "I'm so sorry. It's like she's disappeared or was never here. We looked everywhere. How far could she have gotten in one night?"
Danielle simply shrugged and lowered her eyes to the floor. She knew that Marguerite could do some crazy things when she was desperate, but how far she would take things this time was anyone's guess. She felt Henry's hand on her arm and looked back up.
"I promise," he whispered. His voice was soft and tired, but Danielle could see his determination in his eyes. "I promise we will find them, no matter how long it takes."
Danielle smiled sweetly. "I know you will, and I'm not worried about what they will do to me," she insisted, "But, Henry, they don't know about Genevieve, and once they find out about her who knows what will happen. They attack what's most precious to you until they get what they want. That's how they've always worked. You just need to be careful and make sure you keep that in mind."
Henry reached out and took his daughter from Danielle. "I know. I won't let anything happen. I promise."
Danielle nodded, picked the sheath up off the bed, and took it into the closet. When she came back, her husband and daughter were lying on the bed. "So where did you look today?" Danielle asked as she laid down next to Henry.
"Ummm…" Henry moaned, placing a hand on her knee. "John and I formed a search party, and we all fanned out and searched the woods around the palace and the manor. Then after we didn't find any trace of them, John and I found the gypsies and asked them to keep and eye out for both of them. Then I sent some guards down to the docks to look around there and stationed some guards around the manor to keep an eye out."
"Oh, speaking of the manor, Jacqueline and John are going to stay here for awhile or at least until Jacqueline feels a littler safer. I already had the maids prepare a room for them. She's supposed to come find us when they get here."
"Hmm, that's fine," Henry mumbled, rubbing Danielle's knee. His eyes were closed, and Danielle could tell that he was about to fall asleep. From the steady breathing of the small bundle between them, it was apparent that Genevieve had beaten him to it.
"I'm going to put her to bed," Danielle whispered and kissed her husband gently on the forehead. Henry only gave a slight hum in reply.
After she had laid her daughter in the bassinette and tucked her in, the queen started to make her way to the closet to retrieve Henry's nightgown. As she was crossing the room she heard a thump outside in the hall and froze in her tracks.
"What was that?" she asked.
By this time, Henry had sat up against the pillows. Both looked at the each other warily. Danielle hurried back across the room to the bassinette but did not dare to open the door. As Henry stood next to the bed, they could hear whispers outside. It was quite obvious that neither voice was a man's. Danielle shot her husband a panicked look across the room. He began to stride across the room to open the door, but it was flung back before he could get within three feet of it, and the intruders barged in.
Startled, Henry jumped back a few feet, but Danielle held her ground next to the crib. There they were. Both looked as if they had aged quite a bit, and neither appeared quite as groomed and pampered as the last time Danielle had seen them. It was also apparent that neither of them had seen her yet, as they both seemed entirely engrossed by her husband. However, they soon detected that his gaze was not upon them but focused somewhere behind them. Simultaneously, they both turned and fixed their withering stares on Danielle. Neither spoke a word.
Finally, Danielle broke the heavy silence. "Marguerite, Rodmilla, what are you doing here?" It was a simple question, but she could not hide the accusatory tone in her voice. Marguerite was too self-absorbed to notice anything, and if Rodmilla detected the distain in her step-daughter's address, she didn't show any signs of recognition. Instead, her eyes dropped to the enclosed bassinette behind her. Danielle instinctively drew herself to her full height and placed herself between her sleeping child and her step-mother.
"I see there is a new heir to the throne," Rodmilla sneered, stepping closer to Danielle. "Tell me, hold old is the little one?" Obviously, they weren't here just for small talk.
Danielle crossed her arms and held her ground. "Why?" she asked in a tone that sounded stronger than she felt. She glanced over at Henry who seemed frozen next to the bed, not sure what his next step should be.
"Pray, may I see my grandchild?" Rodmilla said in the same menacing voice.
Danielle returned her gaze to Rodmilla and fixed her with a threatening glare. "She is not your granddaughter," she forced herself not to scream.
Marguerite stepped forward. It seemed as if she just realized that the focus was no longer on her and had decided to correct that mistake. "Silly, Danielle," she cooed in tone that was anything but sympathetic. "Do you really think that you will be able to keep me from seeing my niece?"
Danielle's eyes narrowed and shot a hateful glare at her step-sister. "And you are most certainly not her aunt." At this point there was no possible way to disguise her feelings with her voice. Her tone was so hateful that it seemed to startle Marguerite ever-so slightly, but she didn't stop. She kept stalking towards Danielle, alternating her gaze from her step-sister to the bassinette. Finally she got too close, and Danielle's hand slapped her hard across her cheek.
Marguerite halted in her tracks and looked at Danielle in shock. When she finally found her voice she screamed, "How dare you strike me? I am of noble blood!"
Danielle raised her chin a bit to peered at the blond little witch in front of her and said coldly, "And I am queen."
Henry, who by this time had worked his way around the group to be closer to his wife, did a double take. He had never heard Danielle use her title to belittle anyone, ever. It took everything he could muster not to stare at her in disbelief. Marguerite, however, recoiled in horror. She frantically looked between Henry and Danielle as if to search for some evidence that a very cruel joke was being played on her. She was about to say something when another voice stopped her.
"What is going on here?" The two step-evils whirled back to face the door, but Henry and Danielle kept their eyes trained on them. John stepped into the room, but Jacqueline remained frozen in the doorway. The sight left Rodmilla in such a state of shock that she could not form a word, so Danielle clarified the situation for her.
"Rodmilla, may I present Monsieur and Madame Laurent."
Rodmilla stood, still dumbfounded, for a few minutes more but quickly decided to take her fury out on Danielle. Suddenly she was racing across the room towards the queen, hand raised and ready to strike, screaming, "Why you manipulative!-"
She was cut short when Henry grabbed her wrist and yanked her to the side. "I am sure that you are aware that anyone who attacks the queen will be put to death." Henry's voice seemed cold and impersonal which caught Danielle off guard as she was used to hearing him whisper sweet endearments in her ear as they lay in each other's arms at night.
However, the effect seemed to work wonders in bringing Rodmilla back to her senses. The expression on her face displayed a myriad of emotions ranging from horror to utter humiliation. It almost seemed as if her knees might give out underneath her at any second.
"Take them to the dungeon," Henry spat as he disgustedly thrust the repulsive wrist at Laurent. Without hesitation (or any tenderness) Laurent snatched both the wrist he was handed and that of Marguerite and proceeded to drag them out the door. Both shot spiteful looks at Jacqueline as they passed, but neither felt confident to say anything. Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, they were gone.
"Oh my god!" Danielle exclaimed as she supported herself on the edge of the bassinette to keep from slumping to the floor. Henry was at her side instantly and enveloped her in his arms and she clung to his neck. It's odd, she thought as she buried her face in his shirt that after that whole ordeal I find the most comfort in such a simple thing as his scent.
Jacqueline supported herself against the door frame. She hadn't said a word since she arrived, but no one would have expected the first comment that came out of her mouth. "So I guess we won't need to stay that room, will we Danielle?" Relief can be a funny thing.