Chapter Seventy-four

Once at the palace, I had only one destination in mind. It was the nursery where the children were kept during the day. As I made my way to the nursery, however, an eerily familiar voice stopped me in my tracks.

“So, she's been here all this while,” the voice belonged to none other than Alpha George, my father and my worst nightmare.

“What in Hade’s name was he doing here? What did he want with my uncle?

“Let's take a stroll in my garden, shall we? Everyone is occupied with the execution, you should have a feel of my place before they all return,” said my uncle. With the speed of lightning, I found a pillar to hide behind and waited for the two men to leave the room. Unfortunately, their backs were to me and I could not discern the face of the man my uncle was speaking to. They soon disappeared down the long corridor and I was left to wonder if I had heard the voice correctly. Could I be mistaken? What business would my father have with King Napoleon? How were they friends? Surely, I had to be mistaken.

I made my way to the nursery and was relieved to see the twins playing with the maid who was in charge of looking after them. I slipped away quietly not wanting to be seen.

“Charlotte looks like her grandfather,” the voice behind me shocked me to my very bones. It was unexpected.

“Grandmother?” I quipped as I turned to see her standing alone in the hallway.

“How do you know them?” I was surprised that she had knowledge of my children since she was always locked away. Besides, Charlotte looked nothing like Alpha George and I was certain she could not be referring to Alpha Dagen's father.

“They are my grandchildren. Would it not be absurd if I had no knowledge of them?” again her voice bore the clarity of a sane person and her mannerisms reminded me of Lord Edvin.

“I apologize, I would have come myself to tell you about them but…”

“You owe me no apologies, child. My jailer will soon discover me missing so we must be quick. You have read the diary, yes?” she asked.

“Not all of it,” came my response.

“You should hurry, child. There is no time to waste,” she said to me in a hurried whisper.

“Grandmother?”

“When you get to the end of the diary, you will understand what I speak of,” she said and with that, she was gone.

As I turned to return to my room I heard Emily say, “You never listen, do you?”

“You startled me. Is the execution over?” I asked her.

“It is not, I believe it soon will,” came her response.

“Then why are you here?” I asked.

“I can ask you the same question.”

“Fair enough.”

“Regina? It has become too dangerous for you to…”

“Princesses! I was told you were out of the palace,” it was Sandra's ever-irritating high-pitched voice. Beside her was grandmother who looked at the floor as though hopeless.

“Princess Regina felt rather faint so I had to bring her here,” replied Emily and at once I bore a downcast expression to support her excuse.

“We have just come back, Sandra. Will you be kind enough to let the physician know that we need him?” Emily lied with such confidence that I felt almost convinced that I was sick myself.

“Emily, I need to lie down,” I said, acting as though I felt queasy.

Emily led me to my room and when we had shut the door behind us I sighed in relief.

“What did you mean earlier that it was dangerous…”

“Forget what I said. Just remember this; keep your head low. If you feel like fighting back, keep your weapons. You will only end up hurt.”


*****#****

****Dear, Secret Holder,
Father has to decide who shall be his heir. I know that more than anything, this is what my brother wants but I do not think the pack should have a psychopath for a king. Father and Mother do not know that Napoleon has been killing people and it is not just servants now. I suspect that he killed a noble Lord who was rude to him the other day. The truth is Napoleon is a fine politician. He has a sweet mouth and has the court to his side. And to be honest, I do not care much for the throne. I couldn't care less if I did not inherit it although I was the older twin. But I cared for my people and I did not think Napoleon was the right choice for a leader. Dear Secret Holder, what shall I do?

****Dear Secret Holder,
I am no longer alone on this. Camille came to me today with a red face and a troubled gaze. Before she could unburden herself to me, she had to unburden her gut as she threw up on me. After I had got her calm and myself clean she told me she had seen Napoleon tearing away at Lord Khan's body. I warned her that she had to remain quiet. If Napoleon knew what she knew, he would kill her likewise.

****Dear Secret Holder,
The heir was supposed to be announced today but the strangest thing happened.
Father was brutally murdered in his sleep.
When I saw his body, I knew at once who had done it.
I was rather inconsolable today and shocked at the same time. How could he kill father? But still, I kept quiet because I knew that if I got in his way, I would be his next victim.

****Dear Secret Holder,
I met him today.
The famed Rowan, soon to be king of the Blood moon pack. It was only a matter of time because his father was currently lying sick in bed.
He had come for my father's funeral to pay his respects. And while I grieved my father, Rowan had distracted me from my hurt.