Royal Pain || z.m. [Book 2]

•fourteen•

Prince Zayn stared at the lifeless monarch in front him, as tears began to profusely fill his eyes. The sound of his mother weeping beside him was the only audible sound in the large dining room. Once Zayn announced that King Yaser had died, the room went dead silent as everyone took a sharp breath in and held it within them.

Zayn couldn't accept the fact that his father was dead. He was in utter denial. His eyes travelled from the king's face to the shattered glass a few feet away. The prince rose up and darted his gaze towards the table where King Yaser's plate was, and then back to the pieces of glass.

Princess Genevieve noticed her husband was trying to figure something out, as his eyebrows were pulled together in sheer concentration. "Zayn, what's wrong?"

Before replying, Zayn looked down at his father one last time and then looked up at Genevieve. "He wasn't exactly choking when eating. And his coughing got worse when he continued to drink the water. Then there was blood coming out of his mouth."

"What are you trying to say, son?" Queen Trisha stood up, wiping her tears away.

"I think someone poisoned Father." Zayn replied in a grave tone.

A hand shot up to the queen's mouth when she loudly gasped, along with Genevieve, Madeline, Niall and Amelia. "But who would do such a thing?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Zayn stormed out of the room as the blood in his body began to boil and his hands clenched into fists. Slowly the realization of his father not dying from a tragic accident but a planned out murder, began to sink into the prince and it made him furious.

Zayn charged down the hallway and when reaching the end, he forcefully pushed through the kitchen doors. The chef, cooks and servants were all taken by surprise to see the young monarch so aggressive and fuming. The prince glared at everyone in the kitchen, taking a few moments to quickly study each person's face and body posture. Having no answer to who could be the killer, Zayn let out a heavy sigh.

"Your highness, is something wrong?" Paolo, the chef stepped up and asked in worry.

"Someone poisoned the king." Zayn replied, causing the whole room to erupt in gasps. "And I'm here to find out who did it."

Prince Zayn stepped past Paolo and began to walk around the kitchen to get a better look at the kitchen staff.

"Who set the table for dinner?"

"I did, your majesty." a meek voice replied from a few meters away.

Zayn's head shot towards the direction where the voice came. A short, dark haired girl stood frozen in place raising her hand. She looked terrified as she slightly trembled in her stance. The prince walked up to her and stopped a foot away. His height towered her by more than two feet, which left the servant's body to quiver more and drop her gaze to the floor.

Zayn's expressions softened as he saw how scared the girl was. He believed she was not capable of committing murder, and that too of the king of Genovia. With a gentler voice he asked, "Who poured the water in the glasses?"

The girl looked at the prince for a quick glance, before her eyes went searching around the room. "It was the new guy. Um... oh him!" she stuck her finger out pointing at the individual.

Before Zayn could find who the servant was pointing at, the door at the opposite end of the kitchen was burst open as the person took off before getting caught. Fury rushing into his body once again, the prince chased after them.

As Zayn left the kitchen and raced down the hallway, he noticed the individual was a man of a more bulk built than him. Just when the man sprinted out the door, Zayn grabbed a hold of his arm and pushed him against the wall outside. His other hand curled around the felon's neck as he glared at the stranger.