THE BLOOD ROYALS Book 2: Long Live The Queen!

Chapter Two: Dark Grief

Daa Haan
The Duchess' POV
"Your Grace, please have some tea at least." The butler insisted as the maid collected the untouched dinner from last night. I don't care for food. I eat when I am absolutely unable to ignore the hunger.

It's been five months since Thalia's death. Half a year is about to be achieved yet it hurts so much. Life seems to have moved on around me but I'm stuck in this dark place with no light. My subjects have been kind to me. They gathered outside the palace everyday for the first month singing and holding candles in Thalia's name. It comforted me to know I'm not alone in my grief. Eventually, they stopped coming. A month in and all the duchies stopped adhering to the black dress code Roe suggested. Life has indeed moved on for everyone but I'm still stuck in the same place.

I looked at the butler. They are all concerned about me. "Just leave it there." I looked away.

He got the message and left me.

There are do many things wrong about Thalia's death. How do people just fall out of a window? What was she doing at an open window in the first place? Thalia was not a stranger to heights. As a girl, she used to accompany her father to scale the mountain range in Lokefar. She wasn't afraid of heights but she wants reckless enough to put herself in a position where she would fall out of the window! I strongly believe that palace fed me half truths.

Yes, she died as a result from falling out of a window but what caused the fall? I believe someone pushed her out. There has to be someone else in the mix but who is it? It can't be the Queen Mother. Her only issues were Thalia refusing to marry her grandson but from what I gathered when I last spoke to Thalia, she was on the crown's side. It can't be the Queen Mother. It's also not her MO. Queen Mother has a diabolical mind. Her methods are complex, never really easy to read into. I don't think it was the Prince either. I think he genuinely loved my daughter. The remaining suspects are the aloof queen, the sinister princess and the paranoid king. If not someone from the royal family, their faithful pet Stephen or any servant and guard working for someone.

Thinking about these things makes me frustrated but it can occupy my mind for an entire day. My daughter was murdered and they say she fell out of the window. They called it an accident. Of course that is not what they told the subjects of Chea Niva. For the subjects, the would have been princess passed away. Simple. No one would dare ask why at least not audibly.

This kind of things are what Hann and I are trying to fight. This blind adherence to the throne is disturbing. Why do we need to obey without conviction just because these monarchs wear crowns? Why? The monarchy is deeply flawed and it needs to be taken down. Now that I am convinced they killed my daughter, like they killed my husband, I want to see their end more than I want to breathe.

If I had the guts I would walk up to Cathan and shoot him myself. I know it's him. He is the one who saw my husband last before he took ill and rapidly lost his life. In his 'graciousness' he even offered the royal doctor to attend to my husband. Our doctors had to step back and acknowledge the medical hierarchy. If the king approved, your status can change just like that. If he doesn't, you end up disgraced like Winter Taof and Hann.

I learned early on that the crown is flattered by absolute loyalty. As long as they are pleased, they look away most times. After we concluded that the Duke had been poisoned, we played their game. Hann remained a faithful General. I was the duchess who had nothing but praise for the crown. We played our roles carefully.

When the invitation for Thalia to participate in the choosing of the prince's bride came, I was not pleased. I wanted to hide it. I wanted to send her away. I wanted anything that didn't end with her in the monarchy. I called Hann that morning to share the news. He told me it would be best to express my enthusiasm and commitment to honoring the crown. I walked into her room with nothing but enthusiasm. I sent her to her death place. I started the countdown to her murder.