The Inner Circle | A Midnight Quartet

Chapter 8 | Carmen Foster

 The next morning, the entire castle mourns. The king announces the tragic death of the princess in the early hours of the day. The unexpected death sends everyone into panic and sorrow. Carmen had never really known death, except a couple of old cows on the farm, but none of their deaths felt like this. He hadn't known the princess too well but the fact he had talked to her, just yesterday, was haunting. How long will it take for Miles, Aspen, or... even Darcy to be there one day and not the next? What will happen when-

"Carmen! Are you listening?" Aspen pulls him from his thoughts.

"Um... Sorry, what did I miss?" They all groan.

Miles answers, "Aspen was just about to tell us what her mom said about the princess's death."

"Why would Aspen's mom know anything about her death?"

Aspen slaps a hand against her forehead and the others groan again.

"Her mom works in the medical wing, she was there when they examined the princess. She knows how she died."

"Oh. That is- Yeah that's probably pretty important."

Aspen speaks up now, "Apparently, the head physician ruled her death as," She pauses, looking them each in the eyes, then says, "a natural cause. A heart attack due to the family's history of high blood pressure." What is high blood pressure? Carmen wonders.

"They said she had a weak heart." Miles says. "But they also said she refused to go in for her checkups, so how would they know she had a weak heart? I can't help but feel like something is off. Something about the whole situation just feels wrong. It was almost like they were... hiding something. I don't think her death was an accident."

Darcy suddenly stands, her hands clenched into fists. "Seriously? Can't you just let her rest in peace? Not everything has to be some great mystery!"

"Darcy, how can we let her rest if her death wasn't an accident? How could we live with ourselves if someone we loved was killed and we did nothing about it?" Aspen says.

"Well, we don't know, for sure, if she was killed. Let's not jump to conclusions." Carmen chimes in, but no one seems to by paying him any attention.

Darcy's face turns bright red as she points a trembling finger in Aspen's face. "Of course you think something is amiss. We all know it's just because Miles thinks something happened! Can't you think for yourself, for once? The princess is dead! Just leave her alone!" She lets out a frustrated huff and squeezes her eyes shut as a little tear rolls down her cheek.

They all stare, shocked at Darcy's outburst. Aspen moves towards her. Carmen stands up, ready to defend Darcy if things went awry. But Miles throws his arm up, blocking his way. Aspen reaches Darcy and wraps her arms around the trembling girl.

"I'm so sorry." Is all Aspen says.

Darcy's shuttered sobs break out across the quiet room, leaving his soul in tatters as he can only watch. He looks away from the pair, not able to stand the sight of her in pain.

A few moments later, Darcy recovers and says, "I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean that. This has just been really hard for me. She was a good person. She- she didn't deserve to die." Tears begin to well up in her eyes as she tugs at a strand of her loose hair, "If something bad happened to her, I want to figure it out."

He doesn't hear Aspen's response. Carmen can't stop looking at Darcy. She seems to be barely keeping it together. Her chin trembles and she wraps an arm around her shoulder, as if trying to hold herself from falling apart. How much has this poor girl been through? And how much more can she take before she breaks? Though it may be premature, he realizes at that moment that he would do anything for her.