by K. L Roth
Princess Marie glanced at Ace who stood by Edmund. She glared at him and shook her head. ‘I went for a carriage ride around the grounds today but that was all.’
‘Good, we are hoping no one is affected here. If you feel dizzy, nauseous, or start to sweat or get black spots on your skin, get yourself to the surgeon’s room. We will shut off your rooms and make haste with your ladies or servants to ensure their safety and health.’ James reassured the royals and nobles in front of him.
‘Go and God speed.’ He told Ace and Edmund.
The others seated at the table got up and rushed back to their rooms. Mary stayed behind and told Elle to come to her room with her and her ladies. ‘It is going to be a long time before we get out of these rooms. I have survived the last outbreak and it took weeks. I would hate for you to be stuck alone. Please come to my room and we can bide the time together.’
Alice hid behind the corner, listening in. She steamed at the way Mary treated this new girl. She did not even invite her daughter, let alone Alice to her room. She had plenty of time now to find more out about the stranger. She was determined to put it all to beneficial use. Mary and the girl known as Elle, started to walk towards her so she had to scurry along so Mary wouldn’t suspect her of eavesdropping. She made it back to her room, three guards were now in place outside her door.
‘The king requested for you to go straight to your chambers and not leave once we lock you in, Your Grace.’ One of them told her.
‘Very well, I shall go.’ She said smiling. James was thinking of her safety after all.
Edmund and Ace escorted James to his chambers, leaving him with two servants. They locked the king in his chambers and moved off to the Queen Mother’s.
‘Pity King Henry will now have to rot until this plague is over. Mary will not allow him to be buried without a funeral. England will have no king until the coronation day. Who knows how long this is going to take. I was not alive the last time it ransacked the country side.’ Edmund’s face was full of worry for his friend and his country.
Ace did not know what to say so he kept quiet. The two of them ran off to gather guards to help move the nobles in from their tents to the courtyard per James’s order. Ace did not think it was a great idea to bring anyone else into the castle grounds, nobles or not. If they were outside the castle, they could potentially be affected or encountered someone who was. Ace knew one thing, he was not looking forward to being locked out of Marie’s presence.
James paced his room, the unease he felt was disarming. How was he to protect his country while locked in his room? His poor father’s corpse would decay waiting on the black plague to pass and he had to wait to be crowned. ‘Bloody hell. You picked a fine time to spread sickness and decay through the lands. You could have waited until father was buried and I was crowned, at least.’ He looked up to the sky outside his window and prayed for his family and country.
Only time would tell how long they would be locked into the castle.
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