The Second Queen

Chapter 9

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-Chapter 9 -

Isabella Victoria

I groggily open my eyes and close them again. Hushed voices come from near the door. "Hush, you'll wake the lady."

"She needs to be awake."

"What is going on?"

"She needs to come with me. King's orders."

"We need to get her properly dressed."

"No. She needs to come with me now."

"Alright."

Footsteps walk towards me, I open my eyes again. Eliza comes into view. "Oh good you're awake. Get out of bed, miss. I'll grab your coat and boots."

"What's going on?"

"King's orders. You need to go with the footman."

She disappears for a minute and comes back carrying a black coat, socks, and boots. I quickly pull the coat and socks on. I shove my feet into the boots, then Eliza begins to tie them as I button the coat. She hands me a hair ribbon so I can braid my hair later. "Brodie,what's going on?"

"The castle is in danger right now. You need to come with me."

"What about my maids?"

"The king only said noble ladies. I am sorry."

"But..."

Eliza places her hand on my shoulder. "We will be fine, miss. I promise."

I wrestle with my thoughts for a moment. "Alright, but don't be afraid to break anything."

"We won't. No go."

I walk over the threshold. She closes the door and locks it behind me. He offers his hand and I take it. "We must hurry."

We begin to run through the halls. We pass the hall of windows because it is unsafe. When we stop, it is in front of a painting of the late Queen Katheryn Westwood. Brodie takes a ring out of his pocket and presses it against the bottom right corner of the frame. He pulls the right side of the frame off the wall, revealing a hidden door. He takes a small key out of his pocket and unlocks the small door. He pushes it open and creates a step with his hands for me to climb in. I pull myself into the small room. A few moments later Brodie follows. He pulls the painting shut, closes the small door and locks it. In the back corner of the room lies a pile of candles. He grabs a match from his pocket and lights one of the candles. "Can you tell me what is going on now?"

"If you wish it."

"I do."

"Thomas Alby, one of His Majesty's ministers, was found dead. A leather garrote was around his neck. The king believes that the assassin may still be in the palace, even though a window was found open down the hall from Alby's body. He orders us to take all of the noble ladies to a safe room."

"How many safe rooms are there?"

"At least forty."

I pull my hair over my shoulder and lean against the back wall. My mind racing. Assassin in the palace. What will father think? Are Theodosia, Anna, and Eliza safe? How? I begin to fall into a light and restless sleep.

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When I awake, the candle is halfway burned down. "How much time has passed?"

"A few hours."

I bury my hand in the coat pocket and find the hair ribbon Eliza handed me. I quickly twist my hair into a simple braid. I tie the dark blue ribbon around the end of the braid. The sound of a key scraping against a keyhole causes a bit of panic to rush over me. The small door is pushed open revealing the face of Lord John Gifford. "Thank you Brodie. I can escort the fair lady back to her chambers if you wish to get some sleep tonight."

"If it would not be too much of a trouble for you, sir."

"I insist. It will not be any trouble at all."

"If you insist, my lord."

Brodie climbs out of the small room. When he is standing, I hand him the burning candle. I crawl to the edge of the doorway. He wraps his hands around my waist and helps me down from the doorway. He gently sets me on my feet. "Thank you for your assistance, Lord John."

"It was no trouble at all my lady. Now it is far too late for you to be out of bed. Let us be off."

Brodie walks down the hall, and disappears into a servants corridor. Lord John Gifford offers his arm to me. I wrap my hand around his elbow. We walk down the hall. We walk past the hall of windows and a group of palace guards rush past us. "Guard, STOP!"

One of the men turns around and walks over to us. "What is going on..."

"London, sir."

"Thank you. What is going on, London?"

"The king may be in danger."

" How so? He just gave me the order to bring Lady Isabella back to her chambers."

"He has chosen to remain in the hall where Thomas Alby has been killed."

"Very well. Thank you."

We continue walking through the halls. We stop in front of my chambers and he knocks on the door. A few moments later, the door opens a crack. Anna's eye peaks through the crack. She opens the door all the way and pulls me into the room. She pulls me into a hug and checks for injuries. "Thank you Lord Gifford. For bringing her back."

"It was a pleasure, ma'am."

He turns and walks down the hall. Anna closes the door and takes my coat from me. I sit down and begin to untie my boots. She takes the boots from me and brings the coat and boots to the closet and puts them away. She comes back to the main chamber and orders me to bed. "It is far too late for you to be awake, miss."

"I know Anna."

"Then go to bed Isabella."

I walk to my bedchamber and push back the blankets. I climb into bed, lay down, and pull the blankets over my shoulders.

A/N: