Queen Erika
Last night was one of my worst nights ever. I couldn't sleep at all. I really wanted to start my investigation last night, but Dominick was having none of that.
He convinced me to wait until the morning, and even though I wanted to, part of me could not wait.
I am not sure, but something about this wasn't right. Apart from the tossing and turning last night, I tried my best to think of who could be out to get me.
Who else knew about my past? Sadly, I came to one other conclusion: Madam Carp was another person who would want to hurt me.
She was a high-end designer but was fired once Anneliese discovered she was nothing but a mean and rude person.
I know for a fact she blames me for what happened to her, but that's all on her. Still, she knew my parents' situation very well.
She met my parents and loaned them money to feed me before they passed away, or at least one of them.
I know for a fact my Mother died when I was five; I helped my Father care for her until she passed on.
After her passing, my Father tried his best to care for me, but I knew he wanted something more for me.
He left me in charge with the neighbor while he went to look for a job, and since he never came back, I assumed he had died.
Madam Carp then came in searching for my parents, who had missed their payment and found me in the neighbor's house.
She claimed my parents owed her money and would take me as payment until I repaid their debt. The neighbor tried her best but failed.
To this day, I don't hold a grudge against that lady. We were considered to be nothing while Madam Carp was a famous designer who had arrived at Genova at the royal family's request.
It would make sense that it was her, but there was an issue. Since she left Genova, we never knew where she went.
I would need to have someone start a search for her and see where she had left to see if it was even possible for it to be her.
After breakfast, Dominick and I went to the dungeons to talk with the bandits and get any information from them.
"Which one do we ask?" Asked Dominick as we walked in and saw many of them give us terrible looks while others were asleep.
"This one," I said as we reached the end of a hall and noticed one of them looking away from the door; he seemed to be doing something with his hands.
"Visitors," said a guard as he slightly hit the bar walls. The prisoner turned to see us and smirked before he continued to fidget with the straw.
"What can I do for you, your Majesties?" he asked, clearly amused that we were here. I looked at Dominick, who nodded.
"What's your name?" I asked as he smirked and shook his head.
"Don't have one, but they call me the butcher," he said as I raised my eyebrow.
"Why?" I asked, confused, as he turned to see Dominick and me before she stood up and walked towards the door.
"Do you really want to know? Or might we just get to the business of why you are here?" he said, smirking.
"Do you know who was behind this attack?" Dominick asked, shaking his head and smirking.
"Nope, even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you," he said as I looked at him angrily.
"And why not?" I asked him, crossing my arms as he smirked.
"What is there for me? All I know is that the person behind this really hates you, Queen Erika, so much that they want to see you destroyed," he said, smirking.
"Why do you say that?" asked Dominick as the prisoner simply smirked and shook his head.
"Speak!" I said as he raised his eyebrow before walking up to us again.
"As I said before, what is in it for me? Everything comes with a prize," he said, smirking as I sighed.
"What do you want?" asked Dominick as he smirked.
"That's more like it. First, I want to keep this cell to myself for protection. Secondly, a great sum of allowance each month," he said as I rolled my eyes and smiled.
"Forget it," I said as he smirked.
"Fine by me, good luck at finding out who is really behind this," he said as I pulled Dominick aside.
"What do you think?" I asked Dominick as he shook his head.
"I think he's crazy. Why does he even need it if he thinks we will give him money? He's not going anywhere anytime soon," said Dominick as I shrugged.
"Let's get out of here; we're not going to bend by him," I said as he nodded, and we walked away from his cell.
We were at the cells' main entrance and about to climb up the stairs when a voice stopped us.
"Come down to investigate? You aren't going to get anything while giving first," said a prisoner as we saw him smirking at us.
"Who are you?" I asked as he stood up and bowed to us.
"My name is not important, but you may call me Steward, your Majesty, and I may have the answers you are looking for," he said as I looked over at Dominick.
"And what is your prize?" asked Dominick as he smiled.
"Protection and a small allowance," he said as I smirked.
"If we didn't let the butcher get money from us, how is this different?" I said as Dominick nodded, and we were about to leave.
"No, wait! I know more than the butcher; you can trust me," he said as we stopped and frowned at him, confused.
"Why should we trust you?" I asked as he smiled.
"There's a reason that guy is called the butcher; he slices his victims; he's a heartless man who doesn't think twice before killing, all for money," he said as I smiled.
"And yet you are here?" I asked as he sighed.
"They offered us a large sum to pretend to be bandits, and I needed the money for my family," he said as my eyes widened.
"Hold on, what do you mean to pretend to be the bandits?" Asked Dominick as his eyes widened at his mistake as he shook his head and stepped back.
I quickly looked at Dominick and turned him around to have a conversation with him without anyone else hearing.
"He has a family; what do you think?" I asked as he sighed.
"Erika, we don't know. He, too, could be lying to us like the butcher," he said as I thought momentarily.
"Let's put him to the test. Ask him why he needed the money when we know very well that Dulcinea is doing amazing," I whispered to him. He nodded, and we turned to face him again.
"Why would you need money when Dulcinea is doing amazing? There are plenty of jobs around, and the pay is fair for all workers," Said Dominick, raising his eyebrow.
"I am not from here. My family and I live behind the kingdom's borders. I worked as a farmer until a disaster happened," he said as we frowned, confused.
"What happened?" I asked as he sighed.
"A terrible wildfire started and destroyed all my crops, leaving my family and me to starve, and I had no choice but to leave and come looking for a job," he said.
"And you choose to go into the corruption right away?" Dominick asked, shaking his head.
"I asked around town, the baker, the mines, agriculture, and stores, but nothing. They said they weren't hiring when their signs were clearly up!" he said, annoyed, as I frowned, confused.
"That's when a man approached me and asked if I wanted a job. Of course, after many fails, I needed one quickly, and I accepted without questions," he said as I turned to Dominick.
"What if he was set up?" I whispered to Dominick as he thought momentarily.
"What's your wife's name?" I asked, but he remained silent for a moment before answering.
"Maria," he said so low that I could barely hear as I nodded.
"Do you have any children?" I asked as he nodded.
"Two daughters," he said as I sighed.
"What are their names?" I asked as he stayed silent for a moment before responding again.
"Anastasia and Elise, they're 14 and 8," he said as I looked at Dominick, who nodded.
"That's why you want the allowance for your family's well-being," said Dominick, nodding slightly.
"If you help us, I promise you we will protect you and your family," I said as he sighed and nodded.
"But you have to make sure he doesn't know I am helping you, or he will kill my family," he said, afraid as I nodded.
"He won't know, I promise," I said as Dominick nodded.
"Who is he?" asked Dominick.
"I don't know the leader of the bandits, but he was the one who approached me and offered me the job," he said as we nodded.
"How does he look like?" I asked as he thought.
"Mid-30s, tall, black hair, light skin, with a long nose and a scar starting from the right of his face that leads to half his cheek," he said as we nodded.
'Damn it! It's not Caius; the description was nowhere near what Caius looked like. This one had Black hair, while Caius had Blonde hair and no scar.' I thought as I continued to listen.
"Once I agreed, he led me to a camp. That's where I met the butcher, and he trained me and the rest of the men," he said as Dominick cut in.
"Did they order you to kill or steal from the village?" asked Dominick as he shook his head.
"No. Never. They were asked to spread rumors around the villagers to scare off the people, and occasionally, one would pretend to be a wounded villager and say they stole his gold," he said as we nodded.
"Why?" Asked Dominick as he looked over at me.
"As far as I know, this was a distraction because our target was supposed to be the queen," he said as my eyes widened.
"But why? Why would someone want to hurt me?" I asked as he shook his head.
"I don't think it is physical harm they intend for you, Your Highness; I think it's more than that," he said as I frowned, confused.
"How do you know?" I asked as he sighed.
"Why would they train us but not have us harm you physically or steal from you or the villagers?" he said as my eyes widened.
'He does have a valid point; it would make any sense.' I thought as I looked over at Dominick as he nodded.
"Anything else you may know that could help us?" Asked Dominick as Steward thought for a moment.
"Once, two people came to visit the leader of the bandits," he said as we looked at him, confused.
"Who were they?" I asked as he shrugged.
"I don't know. They were wearing long coats that hid their heads and faces well," he said as we nodded.
'Could be the potential leaders.' I thought before looking at Dominick nodding as he just read my mind.
"Thank you, Steward. This has been a big help," I said as he nodded.
"Rest assured, I will make sure your family doesn't starve," said Dominick as he nodded.
"One more thing, Your Majesty, please don't tell them I'm here. Tell them I died in an accident," he said as my eyes widened.
"But that will crush them," I said as he shook his head.
"It will crush them even more to know I am here because I made a wrong choice," he said as I cut him off.
"You didn't know what you were getting yourself into; you did it to save your family," I said as he shook his head.
"It's better this way," he said, upset as I shook my head.
"Don't worry, I will take care of it," said Dominick as he smiled slightly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, and I am sorry for everything I did," he said as we nodded, and he turned around and walked back deeper into the cell as we took the stairs up.
"Poor man," I said as Dominick nodded.
"Indeed, but we need to ensure what he's saying is right. I will send someone to find the family; from there, we can see if what he said is true," said Dominick as I nodded.
"Still, let's say he is telling the truth for now. We know now that the bandits attacking is a myth it is a strategy they are using towards the people," I said as he nodded.
"The question is why?" I said as Dominick's eyes widened.
"He's trying to get the villagers to turn against you," said Dominick as I nodded.
"Who do we know wants that to happen more than anyone?" I asked as Dominick nodded.
"I agree, but nothing except this points the trouble to Lord Caius; I mean, he knows nothing of your past," he said as I nodded.
"How would he know what happened to your Father? Someone who knows this information is working with him; the question is, whom?" he asked as I nodded.
"Well, I've been thinking the same thing and arrived at the conclusion of who might be helping him," I said as his eyes widened.
"Who?" he asked, raising his eyebrow as I sighed.
"The only person who really knew my parents well is Madam Carp, and she has the motive to want to ruin me since she thinks it's my fault she was fired from Genova," I said as Dominick's eyes widened.
"I'll have someone try to track her down as well," said Dominick. I nodded, then sighed, and Dominick placed a hand on my chin, bringing our eyes to meet.
"Hey, we will find out who it is and make them pay for this. No one will hurt you," He said as I smiled.
"It's just, it makes me think a lot, what if my Father never died? I assumed he did because he never returned, but what if he's alive," I said as he sighed.
"I mean look at Steward he was trying to get a job for his family and is now locked, and what's worse he asked us to lie to his family. It just made me wonder…" I said as I sighed.
"Erika, if what Steward says is true, he will be released soon. It wasn't his fault. It was the circumstances, and I can understand that. Besides, I believe he was purposely set up," said Dominick as I nodded.
"He's helping us, and that will earn him his freedom. As for your Dad, we can start an investigation if you want," He said as I nodded.
"I want to know what happened to him, even if he's dead. I need to know the truth," I said as he nodded and hugged me.
Princess Anneliese
"You're avoiding her," said Julian as I shook my head.
"No, I'm not," I said, fixing Daniel's suit before placing him down, and he ran towards his nanny for his lessons.
"Yes, you are. Anneliese, I get that you are mad at your Mother for not telling you about the letter she received, but don't you think you're being too hard on her?" said Julian, crossing his arms and smiling.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, returning to my bookshelf to replace a book. He turned me around to face him.
"I know you better than anyone else, and I know you're mad at her," said Julian as I sighed.
"Well, how can I not be mad at her? She receives a threatening note and doesn't bother to even tell me about it?" I said, upset, as Julian listened.
"Julian, we are the heirs to the throne; most importantly, she's my Mom. I thought she would come to me whenever there was a problem with the kingdom," I said, upset as he smiled.
"Maybe she didn't want to concern you with something that wasn't really important, or it didn't have that much meaning back then," said Julian as I smiled.
"That's what happened last time when the Kingdom was in trouble, and in the end, we helped her save the Kingdom and its financial issues," I said, crossing my arms as he smiled.
"Yes, but this is different," he said as I raised my eyebrow at him.
"How exactly?" I asked him, and he smiled.
"One needed immediate attention, while this could have been a joke until last night when she must have realized it was real," he said as I sighed.
"Think about it. How many times did you take something seriously until it actually happened?" he asked, and I sighed and nodded. He was right.
"I guess you're right," I said as he came to hug me.
"I just worry about her. First, it was my Dad. I can't lose her, too," I said as he pulled away and smiled at me.
"I get it, trust me. But remember, you're not alone anymore. You have us, too," he said as I smiled.
"Thank you. Maybe you're right. I will go talk to her," I said as he nodded.
"I will meet you in a few minutes at the dungeon entrance," he said as I raised my eyebrow.
"Don't think you're doing this alone," he said as I smiled and shook my head before leaving to find my Mom.
Ever since he found out we might have to go interrogate Preminger, he has not had it. He would have wanted to go himself, but he knew what this meant to me.
So we agreed to go together, without my Mother, since I didn't think this would do her any good, and she agreed.
Once I reached her room, I quickly knocked on the door, hoping she was in there. She wasn't in the throne room or her study room.
"Come in," said my Mother as I opened the door to see her sitting down and closing a book she was reading.
"I was wondering when you'd come in to see me," said Mom as I smiled and walked towards her before hugging her.
"I'm sorry, Mom," I said as she returned the hug.
"No, I am sorry, darling. I should have told you the moment I received it, but I didn't think much of it," she said as I pulled away.
"But you do have the right to some decisions that do not involve me," I said as she smiled.
"Are you going down to see him?" she asked as I nodded.
"Go, then come and tell me what you learn," she said as I nodded before leaving.
My Mom didn't want to go down and see him, and I agree that Preminger turned out to be nothing he had proved to be.
Once I reached the door to the dungeons, I quickly saw that Julian was talking to a guard outside.
"Are you ready?" he asked as I nodded.
"Yes, is there something we need to be aware of?" I asked as Julian nodded.
"I was told he's a little off, more than his friends," said Julian as I nodded.
"I'm not surprised; that's what happens when you're locked away for a few years," I said as he nodded.
"But other than that, it's just about knowing what is true and what isn't," said Julian as I nodded.
"Let's go," I said as he nodded. The guard opened the door for us, and we entered the dungeons to look for him.
The first people we saw were his friends. We had to separate them since they kept getting into arguments.
"Princess, Princess, Please…Please save us. You remembered that we took really good care of you," said Nick.
"Yeah, we made sure no harm came your way with us," said Nack as I rolled my eyes and continued to walk past them.
We went to the cell we were anticipated to go to, and once we arrived, we stopped to see him sitting on the bed and looking at the small amount of light setting.
"Visitors!" exclaimed the guard as he groaned before turning around to see him raising his eyebrow and smirking.
"Princess? To what do I owe this pleasure of having your acquaintance?" he said, snickering as I looked over at Julian, and he nodded.
"You're the only one who was alive when my Father was…" I started, but he cut me off.
"Oh that… Such tragedy, wasn't it? The king's death was such a shame," said Preminger, snickering.
"Let me give you a piece of advice, princess; I would take care of your son instead of minding my business elsewhere," he said as my eyes widened.
"If you ever…" I started as Julian calmed me down, and I saw him smirking.
"Secrets are meant to be hidden," he said as my eyes widened.
"You will rot in this cell for the rest of your life," I said as I turned to Julian, and he nodded before we walked away.
We were almost out when I felt someone take hold of my arm, making me turn as I saw it was Nack.
"What the?" I asked as he took my hold and looked at me, worried that Julian and the guard would come up to take his hand off me.
"Princess…. Princess… Please get me out of here…" he said as I frowned my eyebrows at him, confused.
"Let me go!" I exclaimed, trying to break free from his hold.
"Please….. will help you… I know stuff about Your Father, the king…. Just get me out of here please…" he said as my eyes widened, and he let me go.
"He's gone mad, your Majesty. My apologies," said the guard as I looked at him confused and rubbed my forearm.
Julian and I nodded before exiting the dungeon door and heading back to the castle, but I couldn't help but think about what Nack had told me.
We didn't mention to him that we were going to talk with Preminger about something involving my Father, yet he automatically said something about him.
For one thing, I do believe the card with him saying that he's mad because they've been held captive for years, and he's probably gone mentally insane.
However, another part of me was concerned, and I think it's time I talk to my Mother and try to see what really happened with my Father's death.
Once we walked back into the castle, we headed to the throne room, and I quickly saw my Mom sitting on her throne, looking at some papers.
"Darling, you guys come back so soon? What happened? What did he say?" asked my Mother as I shook my head.
"He's behind this for sure, but he's not working alone," I said as Julia nodded.
"Besides, he's locked away, so there's no way he was able to plan this," Julian added as my Mother nodded.
"And as far as I'm concerned, our prisoners do not receive any visitation rights, so if he is behind all of this, it must have been an attack he had years ago," said my Mother as I nodded.
"There was something he said, Mom, that I can't stop thinking about," I said as she looked at me concerned.
"What is it, darling?" She asked, raising her eyebrows as I looked at Julian and sighed as he nodded
"He told me that secrets are meant to be hidden, and as far as I know, that's what the note warned you about," I said as she nodded.
"He is definitely behind this," Said Julian as I nodded.
"The only thing I'm concerned about is what Nack told me; he said he knew something about my Father's death. While Preminger just kept on repeating how sad and tragic was my Father's death," I said as my Mom looked upset.
"Mom, I need to know, what really happened to Dad? How did he die? I said as she looked down, upset.
"Years ago, when you were just a child, your Father set off on an exploration. Little did we know that would be his last exploration and the last time we would see him," my Mother started as I listened to her.
"I had gotten news very late that night that your Father had tragically been in a storm at sea, and they lost all contact with the ship. He never made it to his destination, nor did he ever come back," she said.
"I tried, and I tried to look for him; I did my very best because I didn't want to believe. My heart was telling me that your Father was still alive," she said as tears began to fall.
"But it was all just an illusion. Once the explorers came back, they brought me the news that your Father was indeed gone, and that completely broke me," she finished as I hugged my Mom.
"Who gave you the news that he had died?" I asked her as she thought momentarily.
"Preminger told me the news, and it was Lord Alexander who set off on the exploration to go looking for your father," she added as I nodded.
"I thought I could trust Preminger, but after what happened three years ago, I started having doubts; what if your father didn't really die?" She started as I looked at her, confused.
"Preminger made that appointment for your Father and was the last one to see him set off on the ship. If he was able to betray us with our financials in the kingdom, what's to stop him from killing your Father?" said Mom as I nodded.
My Mom was right about that, especially because Preminger wanted to be king and control the kingdom.
"That is why King Theo has been coming around lately. He has the best explorers in the whole land. I want him to start searching for answers relating to your Father," said Mom as my eyes widened.
"Our decoy is that he's single, and because of that, they think you might court me and not interfere with our investigation," said Mom as I nodded.
I couldn't believe what I had just heard. My Mother had been thinking about how I was with my Father's death and was already investigating if he truly was dead.
I have no doubt that Preminger was behind my Father's disappearance and possible death; we need to find out what happened all those years ago.
"Have you reached anything yet?" Asked Julian as my Mom shook her head.
"Unfortunately, we have not," she said as my eyes widened.
"Maybe we ask someone who was working very closely with Preminger during the time of my father's disappearance," I said as they looked at me confused.
"Nack says he has something on Preminger; to be exact, he knows something about my father's disappearance, and he said he would help us," I said as they looked at me, shocked.
"Are you sure, Anneliese?" Asked Mom as I nodded.
"My only question is, what does this have to do with Dulcinea?" Asked Mom as Julian and I thought for a moment.
"That I am not sure about; we may have to talk with Erika to see what they have discovered before we jump to any conclusions," I said as they nodded.
"I think that's an excellent idea," Said Mom.
"Especially since you and Erika teamed up to ruin Preminger's plan," said Julian as I nodded.
Something was indeed going on in both kingdoms, and now that secrets are coming out, there's only one way we can get out of this problem, and that's for the secrets to come out.