The Road to Coronation

A New Theory

Chapter 7:

(Hugo POV)

"Sofia," I sighed bringing my hands to my face I had, had enough, "I want you to talk to me. I don't want to have to force you to tell me but, I can see that something is wrong but, you won't talk." "Hugo, I'm terrified," She whispered and I could feel my heart drop to my chest, "I was a Protector for years and I was Storykeeper. Some of the stuff I had seen haunts me to this day yet, she scares me more than any of them combined" She was crying, she was finally showing me how she was feeling but, I didn't know what to do. "She is constantly telling me how much I am failing and how I would be a terrible Queen and that all she needs to do is tell the advisors how terrible I am and I will ruin it for both of us. And if you abdicate the throne it's going to her family and I don't want that for your people. Then I hear the advisors talking about how you should have ended up with Lady Eliza and that they are thinking about annulling our marriage." She was bawling now, "H-H-Hugo I love you but, this doesn't feel right. I just want to go home." "Ok, Sofia it's going to be ok. I'll get the carriage and my Dad and we will go back to the castle." I said knowing that the only way I could help her in that moment was getting her out of there. "T-T-That's not my h-h-home." She said in between sobs as she ran out of the room.

"T-T-That's not my h-h-home" It kept repeating in my head. We had been married for a while now and she still didn't see the castle as her home and I couldn't help but feel like I was to blame. I had taken her away from her kingdom and brought her to mine and then I left her for the sharks and they toyed with her to the point of breaking her before they devoured her. Count Cunningham was corrupting the advisors against Sofia while his wife chipped away at her and I was sick of it.

Suddenly I remembered something else Sofia had said, "And if you abdicate the throne it's going to her family," How did we not know that the Cunningham's were next in line for the throne? If they are next in the line for the throne and they know I won't annul my marriage to Sofia they come into power. But, what if I had taken the deal how would they stay in power. My mind was flooding as I was trying to see the angles quickly and piece it together. They wanted me to end up with Lady Eliza, but who was her family and how would the Cunningham's benefit from this alliance. Then it began to make sense Lady Eliza was a carbon copy of Countess Cunningham, was she her daughter? It would make sense then no matter what I chose the Cunningham's were tied to the Royal Family and would have influence in the palace forever. Besides power though what else would they gain? I needed to find this out quickly, I had to tell my Dad about this.

But first I needed to see Sofia. I ran out where she had gone, "Sofia" I called out looking around. Our carriage was still here so she couldn't have left. I heard some noise and turned in its direction. I then saw two hooded figures run away and went in their direction. "Sofia?"

(Sofia POV)

The two figures came closer to me and tried to grab my arms. "You're coming with us," a man's voice said. I used my Protector's training dodging their grasp and blocking their blows. I couldn't find a window to take the offensive and I was growing more weary with each movement. One of them pulled out a knife and was trying to stab me. I was focused on the one with the knife I didn't realized that the other one of them came behind me and grabbed me from behind. The other began to punch my stomach until I was hunched over and stopped fighting back but, the dreaded corset helped in slowing the blows and minimize the damage. They saw this and then took his knife and began cutting along my arms. I was feeling drained but I mustered all my strength and began screaming out for help but felt something cover my mouth. I tried to shake them off but the exhaustion, starvation, and blood loss were taking their toll on me.

"Sofia" Hugo called out. I tried to scream out for him, thrashing my arms out doing anything to loosen the grip of the man who was holding me. "We don't have time for this," The one holding me said. The one with the knife then spoke and I discovered it was a woman, "Screw this." She then plunged the knife into my chest. I pressed my hands against the wound and heard, "Long live Queen Eliza." She then grabbed the man's hand and they ran off. "Sofia?" My eyes began to blur as the flittered close and my breath quickened against the fabric that covered my mouth.

(Hugo POV)

I ran in that direction but, I didn't expect to see this. Sofia clutching her chest around a dagger that was inside of her. Her mouth was covered with a piece of fabric and tears were streaming down her face. I quickly went down to her and removed the fabric, "Sofia." My voice was panicked. Her skin was losing its color and she had cuts along her arms as well. Her eyes were opening and closing but her breath was staggered and she wasn't responding to me. I picked her up and ran back inside screaming, "HELP! PLEASE MY WIFE NEEDS HELP!" Two of the guards that came with us to the ball came running and saw Sofia.

The guests began filtering into the room and saw Sofia. One of the guards tried to take Sofia from my hands but, I wouldn't let him. She needed help but, she needed me and until I knew who did this to her no one was taking her from my sight. A doctor made his way through the crowd. "Prince Hugo, please let me help her." I nodded and we went into a room where he could take care of her. I placed her down on a bed. He took a pair of scissors and cut through the fabric of her dress, and cut her out of the corset so he could see the knife in her chest. Her hands now limp were pressed against the knife. "Prince Hugo, I am going to remove the knife, I need you to put pressure on the wound with this gauze until I say otherwise." I nodded but, my eyes remained on Sofia. She needed me, her life was in danger I had to help her and then I needed to find out who did this to her.

The doctor removed the knife and I immediately put the cloth over the wound. I could see the white cloth turn red and only wanted the doctor to move faster. He went to his bag, "Thankfully the corset stopped the knife from going too deep. It couldn't have punctured any of the organs but, we need to stop the blood loss." He took out a needle and told me to remove my hands he then stitched her up quickly. He then placed a clean cloth over the stitches and began wrapping her up. He then brought his attention to the wounds on her arms and took care of them. "This is all I can do for now, but she is not out of the woods yet. We will know more when she wakes up." "Thank you" I breathed out as I looked at Sofia. I grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her. Her skin felt cold, her color was drained, and her breath was staggered. I grabbed her hand and began to squeeze pleading that she would squeeze my hand back.

Dad made his way into the room, "Son, what happened?" He stoped as he saw her laying in the bed and my hand in hers. "Dad, she almost... she could..." I couldn't wrap my mind around it as I started to choke up. He put his hand on my shoulder, "Champ, we will find out what happened? We'll keep her safe." I shook my head as I looked down at Sofia, "She won't be safe as long as she is in our kingdom. I think that-that it might be best for her to go back to Enchancia," I said. "Hugo, you know she can't do that. If she does that they will definitely annul your marriage and force you to marry someone else. "I know," I whispered, "but her safety is more important than my happiness. I have been selfish with her because I thought it was for the best but, she, she is so selfless that she is letting this life destroy her for me. I can't let her do it anymore."

Dad sighed, "Son, don't do this. Don't do this to her. You think that you are doing what is best for her, when what is best for her is to be with you." I know Dad was trying to help but, I knew what I had to do. "King Rolland II trusted me with Sofia's safety and happiness and I was failing on both fronts. I had to get her out of here and as far away from the assailants, the Cunningham's, and me as soon as possible" I said turning towards my Dad. "I thought the same thing and it ended up costing me your mother," He said. What was he talking about? "Mom died when I was 4 due to the flu," He shook his head, "No that is what I told you as a boy, the truth is..."