Alcingeria

Chapter Fifty: Suspicion

Chapter Fifty Suspicion:

Sunday July 4th 1690

Francella had spied on Estaire from a distance for the remainder of the previous day. He had found nothing suspicious, other than a few new magic users who were brought into the castle. He didn't fear the possibility of them being able to use dark magic though. They already had a suspect and he didn't want any unnecessary stress. He went to bed, ready to try again. He was up bright and early. His servant, Preston, offered him breakfast. Francella looked into his pale gold eyes and politely refused, desiring to get a head start on his task. He gave Preston the day off.

"Is everything okay, sir?" He had asked. "You gave me yesterday off as well. Is something wrong? You seem... Stressed."

That wasn't even half of it. If he was caught spying on the Princess, no matter the reason, he would most likely be executed. On top of that, he had to act normal so no one would suspect him. He apparently wasn't doing a very good job of that.

"No, everything's fine." He brushed him off with a smile. "I just need to take care of a few things."

"Sir, that is what you have me for," Preston chuckled. "Sit back, enjoy yourself."

"No Preston, it isn't exactly something you can take care of." Francella said carefully. "I need to do this on my own."

"Well, what is it?" Preston asked, curious. "Nothing... Dishonest, I should hope?"

Francella thought on his feet. Luckily, he was prepared for this question.

"It's... Eh... Woman troubles."

Preston closed his eyes and nodded.

"I understand. Well, I suppose you should go." He shrugged. "Best to deal with these things sooner rather than later. Good luck."

"Thanks, Preston."

Francella jogged out of his room. If Estaire was the dark magic witch, he couldn't afford to waste any time. He jogged down to the throne room foyer and took the first left and went into the kitchen. It was after breakfast, so there was not very many staff at the moment. He hid behind a counter as he'd done last time, waiting for an opening to get to the door he needed to get to.

He learned yesterday that cutting through the throne room when he went to spy on Estaire would be dangerous, as the Queen was almost always there. He found that the kitchen in the foyer led off to a room located behind the throne, likely for servants to wait to be told what to do if the Queen didn't feel like getting up. He wrinkled his nose at this fact.

If he was careful like he was yesterday, he could slip through and enter the door on the far right of the room that led to her room. He came through the door behind Queen Yuka's throne and peeked out. He saw the Queen sitting on her throne, speaking to a servant. He also saw that Estaire's room was guarded. He managed to give the guards the slip yesterday, he must not have been up early enough. He figured that was the case, because he was up before breakfast last time.

He cursed himself, quietly crept back into the kitchen and went through the foyer, arriving at the main entryway. He then wracked his brain for another way that would give him access to the princess's room. He then remembered something from all his walks in the garden; there was a window that overlooked the largest rose bush in the whole area. It led to Estaire's room. He grinned to himself and walked out into the green, walled expanse. He went down the path until he found the window he was looking for. Inside he heard singing, beautiful singing. It was Estaire.