THE BLACK PRINCE

CHAPTER ONE

"I don't want her, father."
Duchess Elizabeth Juliet of Brunei raised her chin proudly at the boy's insulting words, the future husband she had just met. She would have answered she didn't want him either, but she knew the rebel act would gain her nothing but humiliation and pain. And to become once again the receptor of her mother's wrath. Instead, she made herself perform a slow, perfect curtsy, fit for the noble lady she was as if she hadn't heard a thing.
But everyone in the room had heard the loud words pronounced with absolute disdain: the boy's father, Lord Hastings, her own mother, and every noble, soldier or servant present in the big salon.
"You have no choice, boy," Lady Gertrude, Juliet's mother, said in a curt tone, looking at him over her aristocratic nose. A look, Juliet knew, that promised perpetual pain if he so much as dared defy her.
He had no choice about the marriage.
And neither did she.

At her eighteen years, Juliet was a rare beauty; poets composed sonnets about her, and offers for her hand came from all across Europe. She had known from childhood she would marry into an arranged match, but also had silently hoped she could grow to love her selected husband. Or at least like him. But then was nothing likable about the fair, thin boy standing In front of her. Or his teeh! The mere idea of kissing that mouth made her stomach churn. She wished with all her heart she didn't have such an obsession with perfect teeth.

Juliet turned to Lord Hastings rather handsome profile. He exuded power and authority, not surprisingly since he was the beholder of one of  Europe's most impressive fortunes. And he had wanted Brunei for as long as she could remember because even though Brunei was a small state compared to Hastings its strategic location made it perfect for commerce. Besides, it had a dukedom attached to it.

Hastings aim had always been to join both his and Brunel's forces by marriage, a union that would give both Lord Hastings and her mother a new dimension of power. But, Lady Gertrude had delayed that plan for years, to everyone's surprise.

And that's why Juliet was astonished when she was suddenly informed she should get ready for her nuptials to be celebrated tomorrow. And when she asked her mother the reason of this, the dowager duchess had told Juliet bluntly and without remorse that Brunei's arcs had been emptied, and without this match and the help of Hastings fortune Brunei's people would suffer starvation and misery. Which meant her mother had wasted their riches on unnecessary luxuries, and now Juliet would have to step up and accept her role as the sacrificial lamb.

"Why don't you take Duchess Juliet for a stroll outside and show her the surroundings?' Lord Hastings suggestsd to his son, trying to ease the tension in the room.

But the boy didn't even look at her.

"No. I'd rather go hunting" he said and walked away, without even sparing a second glance at Juliet.

Lady Gertrude was about to command the boy to stay and pay due respect to his future bride, when a familiar figure in the crowded room caught her attention. Someone who's presence here could only mean trouble. The man stared directly at her, and a silent message passed between them.

"I've grown tired of all this." She said with a wave of her hand. "I'll go and rest for a while", and without waiting for an answer, she left. But, under her bored facade, anxiety was eating her up. She climbed the stairs in haste and walked down the corridor towards her room. As she entered it ,she closed the door and leaned her body against it.

"Hello, your grace." said a raspy voice from the other end of the shadowed room. She didn't even flinch as she turned swiftly and faced the man sitting on the chair beside the fireplace.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to warn you."

A chill went through her.

"Henry." She whispered. And the man nodded slowly.

"He found out about your little maneuver with Hastings" he made a pause, but her expression didn't waver. "You'll both be judged for treason and hanged"

At this, she turned to the window and raised her hand to her neck in an
unconscious gesture.

"When?"

"Two days from now." He replied and raised to his feet. "I have fulfilled
my debt. I'll leave now."

At that, she turned. "No, you haven't," she spoke with an implacable
manner, making the man stop immediately.

She then walked to the desk, grabbed paper and a quill pen, and knelt
over to write with quick and precise movements.

"My dear king Henry,
I'm afraid I must deliver the most terrible news: my daughter and Lord
Hastings are secretly plotting to assassinate you. I detach myself from
such atrocity and support you in your evident duty to kill them at once
before they can do any further damage.

Always your server,

Gertrude."

She sealed the letter and handed it to the man, "Your debt will be fulfilled
only when you make Henry see this." He took the envelope, and then, with
an edge of sarcasm, she added. "See that it reaches him on time."

"I will." He said and was gone.

Five minutes later, Lady Gertrude left her room in the direction of the
stables. Careful not to be seen, she got a horse and made her way back
to Brunei, unescorted and unguarded. It would be a dangerous trip, but
no more dangerous than staying here after having her plan to murder King
Henry discovered.