Chapter 11
I was fuming so much, I was surprised smoke didn't come out of my ears.
The nerve.
I kicked my slippers off and stuck my feet underneath the covers.
"Good Night, your grace." Agnes called from the door.
"Good Night Agnes." I said.
She curtsied and headed out the door.
The door clicked shut and the room was left in darkness.
Good, I didn't have to see all that periwinkle pink anymore.
I pulled the covers over my head and closed my eyes tightly shut.
It was going to be impossible to sleep.
I started counting sheep in my head but treacherous thoughts of murdering the maze guard kept popping back in my head.
I threw the sheets over my head in frustration but the feelings of anger quickly stopped when my arm hit a hard surface.
I skidded away as fast as possible.
Bloody Hell. What was that?
My heart started to beat uncontrollably and panic began to swarm in my head,
Breathe, breathe, breathe.
It's a simple command Roan, even an invalid can do it.
Bloody Hell.
Bloody Hell.
I stood from the bed and reached for the candle on the bedtable.
My fingers shook as I tried to start the matches. I dropped one but I didn't dare bend down.
I took another from the pile in the drawer and finally got the damn candle on.
I let out a sigh of relief when I saw nothing on the other side of the bed.
Regardless, I walked around. There was nothing there.
I looked at the bed and saw it was empty.
What did I hit?
I looked up and there was also nothing.
Marvelous, I was going crazy.
I shook my head and blew out the candle.
I was all ready to go back to bed. Thankfully, exhausted from the fright.
And then it happened.
The metal candle holder clattered on the ground when my mouth was covered.
My first assassination attempt. Glorious.
I clawed at the hand but the ruffian was wearing gloves.
I felt the prick of a knife on my ribs and pulled myself as hard as I could in the opposite direction.
Whoever they had sent to kill me wasn't being paid very well because he wasn't holding on very tightly.
"Guards! Guard-"
I didn't get to finish.
The attacker swung out and hit me straight across the face.
The strike sent me straight to the floor but I didn't dare hesitate to call for the guards.
"Help! Guards! Guards!"
I crawled away but my leg was pulled back.
The altercation didn't last much longer.
Two guards in shining armor burst through the door. One of the guards illuminated the room with a metal torch. The attacker promptly let me go and headed for the window.
The guards rushed past me and the attacker looked back once more before he jumped out.
Straight out the window. Just like dismounting a horse.
"Your grace, are you all right?" A guard stood above me, he was holding out his hand.
What a sight I must be. Sprawled on the floor, a sweaty disheveled mess
I reached out and my hand trembled uncontrollably. I couldn't get a firm grip on his hand and he had to pull me up.
The other guard was still at the window, looking down where the man had jumped.
"Oh bloody hell. My face really hurts." I said, once I was standing on my own.
I rubbed my jaw tenderly. There was some blood on the corner of my lip and I wiped it away with my nightgown.
Well at least, I didn't have to try and sleep anymore.
You get attacked and everyone thinks they can barge into your room like it's a pub.
"This is unacceptable. We were promised complete protection." Janson was in the middle of a heated battle with the queen.
None of them had been invited.
"I assure you this will not happen again. We posted guards in this hall for a reason." The queen responded.
"How did this man get in her quarters?" Janson demanded.
"Why don't you ask him Janson? His right outside the window." I said, I was growing irritated with his quips.
Of course they didn't know and even if they did they weren't going to tell us.
Janson glared at me and was about to open his mouth when the queen interrupted.
"A full investigation has been started but the most recent finding is that this man did not act alone." The queen explained.
"Really? I never would have guessed." I rolled my eyes and stood. My bones were aching.
The queen ignored me.
"He worked as a kitchen boy in a diplomat's home," she paused and sighed "A bohemian diplomat."
Janson scoffed "Of course."
Of course what?
"Why is that of relevance?" I asked.
The queen turned to look at me "We intercepted some intelligence between Bohemia and Hiberia. Its coded but from what we can tell. They don't want you marrying my son."
They weren't the only ones.
"The only way to eradicate this threat is to," She paused again and glanced at me "Is to speed up the wedding."
Another slap to the face. Three in twenty four hours. First, little miss hoity totty, an assassin, and now this.
Janson crossed his arms and looked inquisitively at the queen.
"That makes us all look weak." He said.
"Not if no one finds out. The public doesn't need to know, nor does anyone at court. We never gave anyone a specific date, it will be suspicious but if we make it look like it was planned well enough no one will be the wiser."
Janson nodded his head. "All right, that's a good plan. I won't bother to tell you to shush up the guards, it would be an insult to your intellect. "
The queen smiled smugly.
"Don't I get a say in this?" I asking, very well knowing the answer.
The queen looked at me, feigning compassion. "I realize it must all be happening extremely fast for you but this is for your safety."
Well I didn't care about my safety. Maybe I would be lucky enough and someone would come in and kidnap me that way I didn't have to marry the prince.
I nodded my head. My jaw still hurt but the swelling had gone down.
Some Britannican poultice had been applied to my face and the bruising had mostly disappeared but one side of my nose was a vibrant red and the edges were slowly turning purple.
The pain was overstaying its welcome.
"Why don't the Hibernians want us married?" I asked.
The Queen laced her hands together and smiled compassionately.
"Oh dear don't worry about silly things like that. You need to pick your ladies in waiting. Leave all the boring jobs to us." She smiled once more before turning to Janson.
"I'll continue with the preparations for the wedding and I'll brief you tonight after dinner about anything we find. Also Ava wants to speak to you about the…the cycle. We need to get that sorted and matched to increase the chances of success."
I narrowed my eyes and scrutinized their body language. It was normal but they were both masters of deception.
"Oh and of course; you need to get fitted for your dress" the queen turned towards me "with the new arrangement the seamstress are going to be from dawn 'till dusk working on your wedding dress to make the date."
The bitter taste of annoyance took over my mouth.
How unnecessarily wretched.
Thomas had found out about the altercation and decided that it was his duty to watch over me as if I was an innocent infant bird.
The nerve.
"Why would the Bohemians want to keep you from marrying Newt? If anything it protects them from Hiberian oppression."
Thomas was going over every single cause and effect known to man. He enjoyed enlightening us on the intricate workings of his mind.
"Well, Hiberia is a better ally than Suecia, no offense," The insufferable Maze Guard had joined us "In case of a war, Suecia would simply supply Brittanica the ore for weapons. Bohemia can supply that for Hiberia. They can marry their prince to their princess and then everyone would be equal pitting-"
"Pitting the Deadland Tribes in the middle," I interrupted and set my tea cup down "The Deadland Tribes would never sign a treaty with Britannica and they are in perfect standing with the Bohemians."
"That doesn't explain why they don't want you marrying Newt. Unless they are indeed planning an attack…"Thomas trailed off and looked away.
The room grew silent.
Thomas had dragged me to tea. It was in a standard drawing room except this one had a dash of grey in between all the red. Sadly, all of his obnoxious friends had to tag along.
Prince Newt was sitting across from me; he hadn't said anything the whole time. Thomas was on the same settee as me. The maze guard called Minho was on an ornate chair to my left.
"There is no reason for them to plan an attack. Its nonsense but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be shrewd," I said before forcing myself to look at Newt "I think we should have more tribal guests at the wedding."
Newt nodded his head "That's a good idea."
I narrowed my eyes. He wasn't very talkative; I didn't mind now but I didn't want to spend the rest of my life with a mute. Nothing would get done. But maybe it would be wondrous outcome because I would be the one with the say.
"Well this was a lovely chat but I should get going." I said and set my tea cup down. I began to stand when all the three males shot up.
Thomas started "I don't think you should go out just yet. "
I narrowed my eyes "Why?"
"Well your face…" Minho trailed off.
I hated his brazenness.
I stood straighter "My face is fine. Just a little bruising."
Thomas stepped closer. "Roan…I hate to be the once to say this but-"
"There are appearances that need to be maintained and your face is not going to help that" Minho interrupted.
I glared at him. "I am not going to stay locked up just so your society can keeps its propriety."
Minho opened his mouth but something awful happened.
The beginning of the end.
"That seems reasonable and we can't hold her accountable for what happened. Would you like to go to the palace Greenhouse with me? No one will see you and its better than being stuck in your room."
No I would hate to go to the Greenhouse with you because I hate you and its winter; I don't want to freeze.
I took a deep breath before answering the prince.
"Well its better than being stuck in here. Why not?"