Chapter 54 - Failed Favor

Julia waited at the hallway adjacent to the King's chamber. She couldn't go near there. The guards would never let her. The only one that could give her access was Michael.

But Michael was mad at her right now and she didn't want him to know what she was about to do.

She laid in wait hopefully that the Queen Mother would come out and she would attract her attention.

The Queen Mother was the only one who could understand what she wanted to talk about.

Fortunately, she saw the guards bowed and they moved on to a side. That was definitely the Queen coming.

She was excited and moved slowly towards the chamber.

"Stop there!" one guard shouted at her from nowhere. She couldn't see who shouted. She turned around to see. She was shivering. After some seconds, she continued walking towards the chamber.

"You take the next step and that will be your death" the same previous voice threatened again.

Now the guards at the entrance of the chamber turned to her drawing out their swords.

"Take the Queen back, we have an intruder" one of the guards who seemed to be their leader said to the others.

"I am Julia!" she stopped and screamed on the spot. "I want to see the Queen. I have to tell her something" she panted.

"Everyone wants to tell something to the Queen. Turn back now and your life will be spared" the leader of the guards warned her.

"Someone want to kill the king!" she yelled.

"Say anything about the king again and all of us here will have to kill you" the leader kept threatening her. He was surely not going to listen to her.

"Julia?!" a soft woman's voice called from behind the guards. It was Queen Teresa.

"Let her come in" she commanded the guards.

The guards moved aside and she walked through them looking at both sides with fear.

"Just come here" Queen Teresa urged her to speed up.

"My Lady" she bowed.

"Who wanted to kill the king?" Queen Teresa ignored her pleasantries. "You better have something good to say or you won't walk out of here alive" she was also giving her another threats.

"Martha!" Julia gasped. "Martha, she will rub some potion on Michael for the King to inhale" she said after catching her breath.

"Are you trying to implicate Michael because of your love for him. You felt cheated and you want to get rid of both of them at a go" Queen Teresa surprised her. She was just another version of Michael.

"No. My Lady" she cried. "I will never do that. I swear on my life. I speak nothing but the truth" she said shakily. She was going to get in a bigger trouble if this went the other way.

"So how did you know about all what you are saying?" Queen Teresa face had said it all. She looked scary, she didn't believe Julia in a bit.

"I saw her.....I knew.....and I warned Michael but" Julia was overwhelmed.

"I would have killed you right away but I will want Michael to know the kind of snake that you are. You are a lowlife" Queen Teresa waved and Julia was captured from behind by the guards.

"My Lady, please try and understand" she cried as the guards dragged her away.

"I have understood everything. Michael made a mistake buying and another one by keeping you close" Queen Teresa shook her head.

This was not going to be good for Julia. Michael was already annoyed after she had been warning him. He would be infuriated when he would hear that she took it to Queen Teresa.

It seemed this would end in death for Julia. There would be no way out if Martha also got news of this.

She remembered what Rachel told her. She should have listened to her. She wouldn't be in this problem if she had.

"Let me speak with the King!" she mustered up courage to save herself. The Alpha King might be more understanding than both of them.

"Someone like you is not supposed to near the king talk less of speaking to him. You are dangerous" Queen Teresa went on.

Julia was surprised to see Queen Teresa spilling like this. It seemed she had been expecting this moment.

"Are you really going to let them kill me?" Julia's mind had become shattered. She replayed Queen Teresa's voice in her head.

"I'm going to die because I'm helping your son?" she screamed again. "Teresa!!" she cried out.

One of the guards punched her in the face to keep her quiet.

************

Martha walked into the chamber. She was obviously happy.

Michael became sadder as she saw her high spirit. He wanted to confront about the potion she gave him.

The Alpha King had fallen ill not long after he visited him with the potion rubbed all over his body. It seemed to be a coincidence.

He was doubting, he should also be sick if the Alpha King's sickness was caused by the potion.

But whatever he would have to hear what she had to say about all of it.

"You are not looking very happy, in fact your face seems like you are getting ready for a fight" Martha was quick to speak.

"What did you give to me?" he asked right away.

"What I gave to you? You mean the potion you rubbed on your body?" Martha did not seem to be taking him serious.

"No. The one you rubbed on me by yourself" he replied sternly.

"Of course, it is what it is. A potion" she chuckled.

"This is not a joke, Martha" Michael confessed. "What did you give me and why did you give me?" he asked again on a more serious note.

"We have discussed that before you agreed to use it. Why do we need to revise that?" she didn't want to answer him.

"Tell me right now!" he yelled.

"Again, Michael?" Martha looked disappointed.

"The King has fallen ill after I visited him with that stinking rubbish you gave to me" he sighed. "I was very foolish to even put that on my body" he shook his head.

"Why do you have to blame me for all of your predicament?" Martha fumed. "So now, I am responsible for your father's ailment?" she said frantically.

"Tell me who else is there to blame. You wanted me to use it badly. You even rubbed it on me yourself. My question is what do you want?" he fired back.

"I don't have the time for all this. If your father fell ill because of that. Why are you still hale? Why is the queen not sick and why am I not sick either?" she asked and that got Michael incurring his brain.

She was right but he just couldn't trust her. He didn't know whether to believe Julia right now.

"We should better look for a way to cure your father of whichever ailment had befallen him, instead of chasing after me" she advised.

"My father just recovered from one attack few weeks ago and now he is bedridden once again. It seems like he is the target in all this" Michael literally spoke to himself.

"Do you still think I am the enemy that want your father's death?" she asked.

"No. I know the enemy. I am just surprised he is not around right now. There was no way he could have done this" he concluded. He couldn't blame James for this but himself.

"Go and find out what is wrong with him first before we know what to do next" she urged him.

"I will" he walked outward and stopped. "I am sorry" he turned back to her.

"For what, Michael?" she should have known why but she asked again.

"For accusing you. I'm sorry" he apologized.

"It's alright. You are not yourself then. I know how you feel. Trust me" she assured him.

"I will make sure I found out who is after father's life and they are going to pay with their lives" he threatened.

James must have gotten some people to take care of things while he was away. He was the only one that kept popping into Michael's head to be the culprit.

He decided he would find whoever he was using and once that someone working with him would mention his name. That would be the end for him.

He continued to walk to his father's chamber. He was feeling awkward. The shame he had the last time he saw him had not yet departed his body.

He was worried about what his father would be thinking. He had visited him without having anything tangible to discuss except that he passed across to him a foul smelling odor.

That would definitely warrant a lot of explanation. And the reason behind it was unspeakable.

He scratched his head hard and walked faster. He shouldn't be worried about that but about his father's wellness.