Royal Chronicles of Denmark, Books 1 & 2

by Kiki Leach

  “Enlightening him on the idea that John wished to bed me was a much better solution, I take it.”

  “Much better than the alternative, Cinder.”

  I stepped back into the room and went over to her dressing table. I rested my head on my hand and looked about the room.

  “Norvack was right. What madness this has become. Belarus wishes ill upon his son and invites a rival from England to dethrone him. Said rival, who saved his life, now wishes ill upon the same king who worships him, as well as his former king who in fact bedded his wife.” I sighed. “What if he dies? Are all of our troubles truly solved then?”

  “No,” she told me. “No my dear, they will only be just the beginning of many troubles for us both.”

  “You must believe I didn’t wish for this. Not this.”

  “I’m aware of that.” She went over to the bed. “Come. Sit.”

  I joined her as we waited in momentary silence.

  “I’m pregnant,” I told her without even the slightest of hesitations. “As you said all along, I am with child.”

  “Oh my.” She took a strand of hair and placed it behind me. I could feel her staring at my face, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. “Why have you chosen to keep silent all this time?”

  “I fear losing this child as I have others. I couldn’t bear the thought of never giving Norvack what he desires. A son. Even a daughter, I…” I stopped to wipe the forming tears from my eyes. “He deserves to be a better father than his own.”

  “He is most certain to be a better father than his own.” She smiled sweetly. “You must inform him of this news.”

  “I can’t. Not yet. I don’t wish for him to become aware until I am certain that I will give birth to this child.”

  “Have you informed anyone else?”

  As I was about to answer, Norvack came rushing inside. He closed the door and pulled a tiny bottle from his pocket. I went over to him and he placed the bottle into the palm of my hand, closing my fingers around it.

  “According to the Gypsy’s words, he must drink all of it.”

  “You went alone?”

  “I took Brigita in the carriage.”

  I stiffened. “I thought you were to take one of your men?”

  “He came along as well. I escorted Brigita to ensure the correct one was obtained. She did in fact purchase the serum that was meant to kill.”

  “On purpose?”

  He shut his eyes momentarily and nodded. “She believed that if he were indeed gone, all of our lives would go back as they were prior to his presence. Especially ours.”

  “Remind me to thank her later for all of this concern later.”

  “Don’t belittle her, Cinder --”

  “I’m not belittling,” I snapped back. “She went against my orders in favor of her own and a man I never meant to kill nearly died.”

  “She went against your orders.”

  “Yes, as I just said.”

  “Meaning you are the one who set all of this into motion.”

  I sniffed. “Are you joking?”

  “No,” he answered. “As a matter of fact, I am not in the slightest. Had you come to me, I would have taken care of this for all of us. There were many alternatives to serum, as well as death.”

  “And as I stated before, you would’ve chosen the latter. I never heard you attempting to deny such.”

  “I won’t --”

  “Alright. It’s resolved now and I shall not hear of my part in this again.” I looked at the bottle in my hand and took a deep breath. “I fear we should all go to Esme. If I return alone…” I stopped. “She may suspect Norvack, but certainly not the queen.”

  Norvack bowed and then opened the door, allowing the queen and I to leave first.

  After arriving at her chambers, I knocked three times.

  “Esmeralda?” I knocked once again, but there had been no answer.

  It took only a few moments for all of us to realize where she had in fact gone.

  As we trailed to John’s temporary chambers, I noticed Esme’s scarf on the ground near his door, which was slightly ajar. We peeked inside and saw her wiping him down with a cold compress. I was quickly reminded of Norvack and I, but given the current circumstances, I shook even the slightest comparison from my skull.

  She looked over at us and grinned wide as we all entered.

  “We have the cure for his, illness,” I said. I walked over and handed her the bottle. She seemed leery, but took it anyway after a bit of nudging from John. “He must drink all of it if he wishes to be cured within a matter of hours.”

  “And if I don’t take it?”

  “You shall surely die,” said Norvack. “It can be arraigned either way.”

  “You’re no better than your wife,” Esme replied. She stared at the bottle for a few moments before removing the cork and handing it to him.

  John’s hand twitched a little as he removed it from between her fingers. She jumped back.

  “Your hands are still like ice.” She glanced back at us and then moved in closer to him.

  He stared straight into her eyes, intense, pensive. “Do you trust that I shall take it?” he asked.

  “Oh, for God’s sake,” I muttered. Norvack rolled his eyes a little and rattled his head. Eliza remained motionless.

  “I trust that you shall take it as it shall cure you of whatever has wormed its way inside of you.”

  “Poison,” he told her. “It was poison --”

  “You should perhaps drink up,” I said. “Prolonging this will only prolong the illness itself. And then you shall in fact be dead.”

  He placed a hand on Esme’s face and grinned. “I truly care for you. I wish for you to know that.”

  Norvack leaned down toward my ear and whispered. “Does he plan to end with a soliloquy once we have gone?”

  “God only knows.”

  Once he finally drank the entire bottle, he placed it onto the desk near the bed and sat back. Esme frantically began patting his face and hands.

  “Is it working?” she asked.

  “It will take hours before we know for sure,” I answered.

  “You are free to stay with him as long as you wish, Esmeralda,” chimed the queen.

  She stood and curtsied. “Thank you, your majesty.”

  “And thank you, Cinder,” retorted John. “If not for you, I may have died tonight.”

  “I only delivered the bottle. Norvack and Brigita traveled about for the cure.”

  “Norvack and Brigita…” He lifted a brow, curious. “Well, I must thank the Prince of Denmark. I shall thank your handmaiden at another time.”

  “Thank us all when the cure has been proven as such,” said Norvack.

  He led us from the room and closed the door.

  “I was almost certain he wouldn’t drink it,” I said. “Almost certain.”

  “Well, now that he has,” Eliza stated,” we shall pray that this will indeed cure him. And once it does, that no harm shall come our way.”

  “Despite the cure, I’m not certain he will not attempt to make what’s left of my life an absolute living hell.” I looked to Norvack and gestured. “It’s quite possible that he is more Willem than even your brother.”

  “He seems to be a bit more civil than my former stepson.”

  Norvack and I looked at one another peculiarly as his mother spoke.

  “This night has been the most exhausting and confounding. I shall inform the king of John’s current condition before retreating to my chambers.” She leaned in and kissed her son. “Goodnight.” She pat my face before trailing down the corridor.

  Norvack watched in a bit of awe.

  “Has the plotting and potential death of a common enemy given you yet another truce?” he asked.

  “Something similar, I suppose.”

  He slid his hand down my arm and entwined our fingers. I looked down at our unified hands and then back into his eyes. And then I suggested something that even the
thought made me flinch.

  “I wish to visit Willem’s grave.”

  He soured. “Why in God’s name -- ?”

  “John is reminding me so much of your brother, it’s frightening. Perhaps it’s why I feel as I do toward him.”

  “You don’t believe Willem’s spirit lives inside of John or some such sorcery?”

  “No, of course not. But I never saw Willem’s grave. He was laid to rest, but what I did to him never has been. Perhaps it never will be, but I need to reconcile that with myself. I need to move forward, completely. I cannot do that with this still dangling over me like a sword. I need to confront my actions and perhaps it will allow me to separate Willem from John.”

  “And if it doesn’t?”

  “Then it doesn’t.” I shrugged. “Escort me. Please?”

  He smiled a little. “Of course.”

  The Promise

  Norvack and I stood staring at Willem’s grave for what felt like hours. He had been buried in back as others in the family had, generations prior.

  “I think we’ve spent enough time here,” said Norvack.

  “I haven’t spent nearly enough. Not that I wish to do it often, but I feel as if I owe it to myself to stay a bit longer. For my own sake. Not his.” I released his hand and he frowned. “I need to be alone now.”

  “I don’t wish to leave you out here alone, Cinder. I’ll remain a few feet behind or off to the side.”

  I smiled. “I need to be truly alone. I can’t rid myself of anything if you continue to remain.”

  “You’re certain you wish to be alone?”

  I nodded and kissed his cheek. “Yes.”

  “Alright.”

  He appeared reluctant, but eventually agreed to allow me time alone.

  But as he left me, what I never expected in return was to be joined by the very man who attempted to ruin every part of my life.

  The Sheriff.

  For a moment, I was certain that I had gone mad. I had simply gone mad and this was the unfortunate result.

  He stood behind Willem’s tombstone and removed his hat.

  “Courtesy,” he said. He placed the hat back on his head and moved around to stare down at the front.

  He looked much different than I had remembered. His stomach was much smaller, yet his beard grew extremely long. His face appeared to have aged and colored a bit due to the sun, but his eyes were still the same. Bitter. Irate. I was certain that was a part of him that would never change, no matter what.

  “What in God’s name would ever force you to come back here?” I asked. “And to Willem’s grave?”

  “Perhaps the very idea of your death?” He grinned wide. “This was the only place I knew to get you alone.”

  “If you wish to slaughter me, by all means, do it now. Though you will be forced to explain to Norvack that despite our child currently growing inside of me, eliminating me was something that absolutely needed to be done.”

  “Congratulations!” he told me in a sarcastic tone. “Though such information is perhaps quite unnecessary as I don’t wish to kill you. At least, not in this moment. There is time.”

  “Why have you returned?”

  “Why have you refrained from alerting a member of Norvack’s court? Or Norvack himself as he has just left you?”

  “What good would it do until I found out why you are here?”

  “I have been back in Denmark for weeks now. No one knows I have returned except you.”

  I nodded. “You have been skulking about the palace which is how you knew to get me alone once I was far enough away from it,” I said. “Why are you here? What do you wish for?”

  “I wish for you to hide me in plain sight,” he said. “I am in need of some place to stay and remain out of sight as best as I can until I feel it’s best to present myself once more.”

  “And why would I do such an absurd thing? You wish me dead and I am to take it upon myself to accommodate you? No, most certainly not.”

  “Accommodating me is what shall in fact keep you alive, unless you wish for me to go to the king at this very moment and inform him of the truth. You’ve no weapon to slay me with, Princess. And as strong as your hands may appear --”

  “Strong enough to tighten around your plump throat!”

  “Are you willing to take such a chance?” He arched a brow and lowered his head a little.

  I gnashed my teeth. The longer we stood staring at one another, the more the fire within me began to blaze.

  Helping him was inevitable, as he knew that despite my threats and callous demeanor, I wasn’t willing, nor able, to go against him in that moment.

  “Where do you wish to hide?” I asked in a defeated tone.

  “Within the walls of the palace, of course.”

  “You’re completely mad!” I said. “Completely mad! I cannot allow you to stay here. It would only be a matter of time before someone learned of your presence. If you wish to stay deeply hidden, this is not the place for it.”

  “Very well. Your cottage.”

  “It no longer belongs to me. It’s Norvack’s now and he visits it quite frequently. If he were to find anyone, let alone you there, he would more than likely strangle you with his bare hands.” I scratched my head and exhaled harshly.

  He opened his arms wide. “Then the palace it must be.”

  “No.” I glared and rattled my head, remaining firm.

  “It seems you have no choice, Cinderella,” he snapped. I turned and crossed my arms. “Now, as I recall, there are rooms located in the lowest part of the palace that no one ever uses. A bed, a single chair and a window is all each one provides, which is fine.” He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his head. “At the moment, all I am in need of is a place to sleep and remain warm.”

  “Fine. If you wish to remain hidden, that means we’ll have to find another way inside. It also means that you will not be allowed to roam the palace halls in search of anyone or thing. And at the very least, I’ll need to inform Brigita because I may not always be available.”

  “Can she be trusted?” he asked.

  “She can be trusted more than you ever will. Now come before someone sees us.”

  Once I showed him a room, he went straight to the bed and tumbled backward.

  “You must keep the door locked at all times, no matter. If Brigita or I appear on the other side, we will inform you of our presence. If no one announces themselves prior to attempting to enter, then it is most likely someone trying to learn of your true identity. The guards will only remain at bay for so long, despite what I informed them on the way down.”

  “How much pleasure did you seek in informing them that I was a helpless vagabond in need of warmth for the night?” he asked.

  “Much,” I answered. “Now, if you wish to remain hidden here for the time being, as I said before, it means remaining hidden. If I ever see you on the other side of that door, I shall take you to the king myself and then slit your throat before he and his men.”

  He ignored me and removed his shoes, then climbed into bed and fell asleep as I continued speaking. When I realized there was no waking him, I locked the door from the inside and quietly stepped out, slamming into none other than John as I pulled shut. He caught me in his arms and chortled at my startled reaction.

  “Where are you coming from and going to in such a hurry?”

  “I don’t owe you an explanation of any sort.” I peered. “What are you doing down here?”

  “I am who owes the explanation now?” He smiled.

  “Never mind. Excuse me.”

  “Just…” He looped his hand around my arm as I passed and spun me around. “Just a second.” He nodded toward the door. “What were you doing in there? This part of the palace is often vacant, save for the need of a ballroom across the way.”

  “I needed time to myself, if that is alright with you,” I said. “The vacancy and silence is why I come from time to time.”

  “Many chambers withi
n the palace are the same, and this is the one you’ve chosen?”

  “Yes, as I rarely receive visitors down here, though given this current encounter I may rethink my habits. I’m certain it makes no difference to you either way, seeing as you were not in there.”

  “And if I had been?” He snickered. “Perhaps I may not want to be once I learn what awaits me on the other side.” He reached down for the knob and began twisting and turning it. Then he pulled back and sneered. “It’s locked.”

  “Is it? Well, perhaps it means that whatever is on the other side is of no business of yours. Keep to your side of the palace, and I shall keep to mine.”

  “Is this your side of the palace, Cinder?”

  “As of now and until I know further, yes.”

  “Until you know further?” He lowered his lids a little. “Does Norvack know of this?”

  “I was certain you were leaving. This is none of your concern -- continue on your way!”

  “A kiss for my troubles first.”

  He playfully tugged at my arm, adding to my frustration.

  “If I recall correctly, you are the one managing to cause troubles for me and anyone else in your way.”

  “I never wish to cause you trouble.” He leaned down and pressed his face against my ear. “I wish to cause you pain, though not before pleasure.”

  I turned to look at his face. Our lips were just inches a part and he leaned in a little. My first reaction was to strike him, and I did, so hard he nearly fell to the ground. Once he managed to regain balance, he shot up quick and began massaging his now bruised jaw while looking over my head. When I saw him grinning quite wide for someone who began bruising, I immediately became curious and turned to see Norvack standing at the end of the corridor. He gradually walked toward us but never looked at me, only keeping his dark green eyes on John.

  “Are you alright?” he asked me while still looking away. “I saw you strike him and felt a need to come and see if --”

  “She was justified in doing so?” John chimed in. “Perhaps I shall have an answer for that much later than you would like.”