The Red Throne | TUQ Book Two

08 | diminish

     "Mother, please help me! How can you bear see me being disgraced like this?" Lisbeth screeched, her wails echoing throughout the halls of Winterbourne Castle.

Cecily stood beside me, her cold fingers intertwining with my own. There was fear in her eyes, as well as disdain, but not a single word escaped her lips. Gilbert stood on the other side of the room, his lips pressed into a thin line, brows furrowed. He showed no sympathy towards our sister Lisbeth, and in my heart, there was none too.

    "Annie, can't you help me?" she cried exasperatedly. "We are sisters Annie, you must help me!"

She grasped my hand, clutching onto it tightly, her hot tears splashing onto my palm. "You must help me.." she pleaded. 

I had returned home to Winterbourne Castle for the Harvest Festival with Edmund in tow, although I knew perfectly that it was all a front for him to see my father. Gilbert had joined the league, now enchanted by the prospects of aiding the new ruler to ascend the throne. He would be a crucial player in the dethroning of his own father-in-law, too. However, I had not expected to see a heavily pregnant Lisbeth suddenly return home, completely drenched by the rain and unaccompanied, carrying nothing with her but the clothes on her back.

     "Everyone knows of what she has done," Gilbert said bitterly that night after Mother brought Lisbeth back to her old chamber and screeched at us to fetch for physician.

      "What did she do, Gil?" 

Gilbert sighed and beckoned me to come closer and whispered into my ear, "Our sister committed adultery, Annie. That child she is carrying is not her husband's."

      "How do you know that?" I asked, confused.

      "Her husband was away on a business trip, and there is no way that he was the one who had impregnated her. Once he found out the pregnancy, off to the streets Lisbeth goes."

I smiled thinly, not at all shocked by my sister's predicament. Afterall, she brought it all upon herself. "Lizzie has never been very bright, Gil."

      "Well, the brightest would certainly be you, Annie. Father adores you, and he is determined to place the crown on your head."

     "It is not only that, Gil. From now on, every future king or queen of Phoenicia will have Winterbourne blood running in their veins. Our family name will never be lost in time," I stated determinedly. "The Ainsworths, on the other hand.."

Gilbert frowned in discomfort at the mention of his wife's maternal family, but not a single word left his lips.

    "We must annihilate them, I suppose. Otherwise, how can we conquer the east ? The old marquis is probably rotting away, but their influence is not entirely dead. Eventhough the Queen has practically lost her mind, there will still be some stupid fools who would support Prince Gregory to the throne," I continued enthusiastically, and Gilbert's frown grew even deeper.

     "I suppose the King and Queen along with her uncles have to go, but do we really must kill off all the Ainsworths? Wouldn't it be too harsh on Cecily?" he interjected.

      "She is a Winterbourne now, whether she likes it or not," I retorted mercilessly. "The sooner she accepts the fact, the better."

My brother's eyes were taut and stiff, not showing a sign of agreement, but he did not retaliate. "I hope so, Annie. Now regarding Lisbeth, what do you think we should do? Father might be able to put some sense into that Byron boy's head, but the damage is already done. Lisbeth is now known as a harlot, an adulterer."

      "Reconciliation might be the best route, as it would salvage her reputation a little, although I doubt her husband would accept. But Gil, do you know who the child's father is?"