His Princess Mate

3 - The Scream

დRoseდ

I lazily glanced over at my father, who sat reading the newspaper. Things had not progressed as I had hoped and although I was not about to lose hope in establishing a relationship, I was feeling rather lazy about the whole thing. After I had found out that the school had deliberately withheld the letters my father had sent me, I had started to feel some closure about my past, and I was quite excited for what lay ahead.

“We should throw a wonderous ball,” my father suddenly announced, and I frowned as I stared at him with curiosity.

“Whatever for?” I questioned as I tore my gaze away from him to the window. It was raining outside, which had been a surprise since it was supposed to be summer, and the dark clouds looming above made the sky seem much darker than normal.

“So that you can meet a respectable man,” he explained. My eyes shot back to him as I gasped in utter surprise. “Come now, Rose, you will need a King by your side at some point,” he said with a sly smirk, and I found myself rolling my eyes at his comment.

“I do not need a man by my side in order to rule this kingdom, father,” I assured him as I pushed myself up from the sofa. “I am quite capable of ruling on my own,” I then added with a smile.

“I have no doubt about that, Rose, however, I must then ask you about the family bloodline? Will that then end with you?” his question made me stop for a moment and I considered what that meant. I had never been drawn to the prospect of having a family of my own and even now as I thought about it, it just didn’t seem attractive to me.

“I suppose that it will then end with me,” I declared as I went over to the window and stared out. “After all, our family bloodline has been going on for many years, maybe it is time that the Adlay bloodline dies out,” I wasn’t sure if I was being humorous or serious with my remark and I had to secretly admit that I had no experience with the opposite s*x. Since I had left, I had only been surrounded by women. Even the janitor, cook, cleaner, and gardener had been female.

“Oh my! You must have thought about this a great deal then,” I heard him comment and I sighed loudly as I turned to face him.

“Honestly, father, I haven’t thought that much about it. I suppose having a ball would be a way for me to meet some people, possibly make some friends but I will not be forced to look for a suitor,” as I spoke, my father’s face seemed to light up at even the possibility that I could potentially find love. “I mean it, father, I will not have you flaunting me around like some object,”

“Of course,” he said with a smile. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, although if you do see someone of interest, will you do me that one small favor and pursue your interest?” I thought about his request for a moment and then I slowly nodded. If I happened to come across someone that piqued my interest, I could pursue that but I still wasn’t entirely convinced that it would venture further than that.

“Alright, father, for you I will keep that option open…for now,” I said as I went back over to the sofa and sat down. “Have you received any news from Lady Margaret?” I then questioned, changing the subject. Lady Margaret was the head principal at the school, and I was rather curious as to whether or not my letters from my father had been saved or burned.

“Not yet, Rose,” he said with a sigh. “I am still rather upset by the whole ordeal, and I am still contemplating going to the school board with this,”

“I couldn’t agree more, however, my curiosity stops me from encouraging you to do such a thing. After all, I would like to know the reason as to why she withheld them from me,” I sat back, thinking about the possibilities and it was in this moment of silence that we both heard a loud scream. My father jumped up in surprise and then rushed over to the window to look outside. My hand went to my chest as I breathed heavily.

“Who could that have been?” I heard his question as he scanned the outside. I shook my head as I tried to shake off the fear that had gripped me from the atrocious scream. “Adam!” he yelled. “Adam! Send out a search party to find out who that was!”

“Get the constable!” I shouted out. “Get the detective out here!” I added before I once again pushed myself up from the sofa. “Father, you should not stand so close to the window, not until we know what is going on,” this was rather close to the castle, and it worried me with there being murder on the loose.

“Indeed, you are right, Rose,” he said as he stepped back. “This is far too close for comfort,”

“Take your seat while I go find Viviane, I think we both need a hot cup of tea,” I said as I gently nudged in back. My father nodded his head as he sat back down.

“Your majesty, I have sent out a search party and Mr. Ross has taken to going into the kingdom to get the detective,” Adam informed as he hurried into the room. My father nodded and waved his hand dismissively.

“Adam, would you be so kind as to ask Viviane to make a pot of tea?” I questioned as I sat back down. I was worried about all of this, but I was still shaken by that scream.

“I will do so, madam,” he said before he left us alone. I sighed as I sat back and waited for the detective to arrive.

დHenryდ

“The Kingdom of Chester,” I muttered as I stopped and looked over the kingdom before me. I stood with my beta, Philip, on top of a hill not far away. “It would seem that our murdering pack of rogues has fled to this here poor kingdom,”

“Ai, it would seem that they have,” Philip said as he came and stood by my side. He held in his hand, the latest newspaper of Chester. “They have had six murders in the last month,”

“Six? That is but a low number,” I said with a frown. “I wonder why they had slowed down their killings?” I thought out loud as I continued to stare at the kingdom. “Do we have a way in yet?” I then asked him curiously.

“Ai, Alpha, the police department are under quite a large amount of stress and when I went to see them yesterday, they looked to be quite relieved to hear that we, private investigators, had come to aid them in capturing whoever is responsible for these murders,” he said with a slick smile and my body shook with laughter at his cover story.

“Private investigators?” it wasn’t all that humorous, considering the current situation but it was clear that we needed a break. “Do they have any leads?” I then questioned and Philip shook his head.

“No, this is rather new to them, and they have no idea how to investigate any of it. The detective I conversed with, informed me that just that morning there had been another victim on the grounds of the king himself,”

“What now?” I turned to face Philip in shock. “Was it someone who worked on the grounds?”

“Correct, a maidan had gone into the garden to collect the daily vegetables and had unfortunately met with her killer,” Philip turned away and I sighed. It was indeed sad that these things were happening, but it was up to us to put an end to it all. I was, after all, determined to get my revenge on the pack of rogues that dared to harm my family.

“How do we begin?” I asked Philip as I smoothed down my vest and coat.

“We have an appointment with the king himself,” Philip informed me with a smile. “He has, apparently, put out quite a large sum of gold to whoever may find the killer,”

“Oh, has he now…and how much is this large sum?” I wasn’t in it for the money; however, I would never look past an opportunity to provide for my own pack.

“I am unsure, although I am positive the king will mention it during our interview,” he said as he picked up his bag. “In the meantime, shall we head over to the Chester Inn?”

“Yes, let’s,” I agreed as we started our journey down to the kingdom. Philip had arrived the day before while I had stopped to send a letter to my family back home. He was a good beta and I prided myself in his loyalty. However, there were some things that I had to do alone, and that letter was one of them. A promise and a reminder that my road of revenge would soon come to an end and then I would return home once again.

“Are you looking forward to meeting the king?” Philip questioned and I smiled. He was much younger than I and had not seen the world as much as I had.

“I suppose so, yes,” I said as I glanced over at him. Philip pushed his blonde hair out of his blue eyes and sighed.

“I have not heard a word about the queen, but I did hear a rumor that the princess of Chester had recently returned to the castle,” he informed me, and I shook my head.

“A rumor or fact?” I asked as I chuckled. “These town folks can get caught up in petty gossip,” I then remarked, and Philip blushed a deep red. “Never fear, Philip, you are still young,”

“I am but three years your junior,” he argued, and I laughed. “I am not that young!” he added.

“No, but you have lived a rather sheltered life thus far and with these travels, you have learned so much, but you have even more to learn,” I stated, a matter of fact. Philip nodded thoughtfully as we reached the entrance to the kingdom of Chester. Would this be our last stop? Had we made it just in time to stop the rogues, once and for all? I certainly hoped so as I looked around. The kingdom of Chester was far grander than our previous stop. The road was clear of dirt and rubbish, despite the rain that had fallen the previous day. The buildings were neat, strongly built, and had an air of beauty that hung around them that both intrigued and excited me. the grey stone suited this kingdom well and as I looked up at the castle that lay ahead, I knew that this king was might rich, and I smiled as I thought of the possible reward, we would take home with us when this was all over. As we walked along the side of the road, I couldn’t help but notice that even the members of this kingdom wore fancy clothing and walked around with confidence that I had not seen in a while. They looked happy and delighted with the prospect of a new day and yet a murder lurked among them, and I wondered if they even realized that? I shrugged as we came to the Chester Inn. Our stay here had officially begun. What will the day bring?

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