The Red Throne | TUQ Book Two

03 | narcissus

No one dared to make a sound inside the Duke's sleeping chamber. Piers the housekeeper stood still with a bated breath as he watched the physician checked the duchess's pulse, his wrinkled face taut and grim. The duchess herself lay completely still on that vast bed, her eyes shut and skin pale, as if there was not a single drop of blood left in her body.

One of the maid's behind Piers let out a small cough, and he immediately spun around, warning the maid to keep quiet with his eyes. The duke was a terrifying man when angered, but no one knew how he would react when seeing his own wife laying still like a corpse. Edmund did not hide his affection towards Anne from the world, and Piers long knew that the Duke indeed loved the Duchess. Either way, he did not want to take the risk and anger the distressed man, so he remained completely silent.

"Please forgive me, Your Grace," the physician spoke while keeping his head bowed, his voice only loud enough for Edmund to hear. "Her Grace the Duchess's child is gone."

"She was with child?" Edmund said, almost in disbelief. Piers could see his eyes redden and hear the crack in his voice, and he knew that something terrible has happened.

"Her Grace was two months along, and I suspect that she fell down, causing her to miscarry. I shall prescribe medicine that will speed her recovery," the old man said. Edmund nodded grimly as he reached into his pocket and took out a bag of coins before passing it to the physician.

After the physician had left, Piers stood forward and hesitantly said, "Your Grace, could I help you with anything?"

Edmund shook his head, his eyes still focused on Anne's sleeping form. "You may all leave. Do not come in unless summoned," he said simply.

As if he had just been given amnesty, Piers bowed down gratefully and quickly left the room, leaving Edmund alone with Anne.

Earlier that night, he had been horrified after finding out that Anne had gone missing, and he immediately prepared for the worst. Not long after the search party was dispatched, Edmund's horse, Ridley the black stallion had been found along with Anne's belongings, but Anne herself was not with him.

His men scoured the thick forest that surrounded Blytherock Castle, but no Anne. The maids had turned the castle around in an attempt to find her, but still no Anne. On that night, that very dark night did he finally find her, standing completely alone on that long road, holding onto a lantern in a feeble attempt to keep herself warm. Edmund felt as if a burden had just left his shoulders, and he jumped off of his horse to go and embrace Anne, his lovely Anne. He had missed her dearly while he was away at the barracks, but after finding out that Anne disappeared, his longing grew tenfold. Now, he held Anne tightly as if he had not seen her for a lifetime, as if he would never see her again.

The physician's words had been a heavy blow to Edmund, as he had indeed anticipated Anne to give him a child, but now it was all lost. Edmund had heard that women often died in childbirth but dying from a miscarriage was not unheard of either. He put Anne's cold fingers close to his lips, fearing that this would truly be the end of it all. Anne's dreams of becoming queen would die tonight, never to be fulfilled. Indeed, Edmund was fully capable of taking over the throne with or without the Earl of Rhyland's power and influence, but what is the point in that?

He waited for years to finally marry Anne, and he was unwilling to lose her so soon. Edmund had envisioned a future where he and Anne ruled together in a prosperous Phoenicia, a world where she would be his queen. Blinking his tears away, Edmund held onto Anne even tighter, quietly hearing her soft, even breaths.

"It must've hurt terribly, didn't it, Annie?" he murmured. Of course, she did not answer. Anne had lost so much blood earlier that even the physician was baffled about how she still breathed. Their loss did not sadden Edmund as much as was expected though, as he had just found out about it and he was not in a hurry to have an heir yet. Instead, he was most concerned about Anne's wellbeing. Indeed, at the very beginning of their relationship, Edmund saw Anne as his ticket to the throne, as she would give him all the wealth and influence that he wanted, but eventually he began to love her as a person. He knew all about Anne's murders, but he was willing to keep a blind eye to it.