Conquering The Throne...And His Heart

Chapter XVII

"You want us to poison him?" I asked Fatima, my eyes wide. She shook her head and held my arm.
"Not poison, drug. However this drug will only affect his immune system for a few days" Fatima explained softly. I looked at the black bottle of wine in her hands and held my breath.
"Okay" I said pouring some of the wine into a glass. Fatima was to make sure none of the servers came around and found us pouring this wine because then they would be suspicious. I handed her back the bottle, which she promptly put back in it's hiding place and then started towards Guillermo's bedroom.
I knocked on the door, my hands shaking.
"Come in" his voice came from the other side. I took a deep breath to calm myself and stepped inside. He turned to look and groaned.
"What?" He snapped at me. "What could you possibly want?" he asked angrily.
"Guillermo I have bought you some wine" I said watching him sit as his desk as he scribbled something onto a sheet of paper. He stopped writing and turned to frown at me.
"Why is that?" He asked suspiciously. I swallowed hard, hoping an idea would come to mind.
"I just thought it would help loosen you up darling" I said putting my arm on his shoulders and massaging them.
"For what?" he asked, still not convinced. I chose my next words as carefully as I possibly could.
"Well your coronation ceremony is only days away and I know you must be in the mood for celebrating" I said.
"Very well" he said. I watched as Guillermo took the wine and took a drink.
"You may leave now" he said to me, putting the cup down and flicking me away with his wrist.
"Yes Guillermo" I said nodding at him and hurrying into the hallway. Fatima waited there expectantly, a hopeful look on her face.
"Did he take it?" she asked. I nodded.
"Yes, and he already took a mouthful" I told her. She took my arm and led me away from his bedroom.
"Excellent. He should take ill in an hour and that is when you shall leave" Fatima explained stopping outside of my bedroom door. "All there is to do now is wait" she said. I nodded and led her inside. We sat by the fireplace and knitted while we waited.
It almost felt like our plan would backfire. What if it did not work? I would never be able to escape this prison that was forming by being with Guillermo.
I prayed to God that it wouldn't.
And that's when a sweet sound filled the air.
"Cornelia!" Guillermo shouted. I looked up at Fatima. She nodded at me with a smile on her face. I put down my sewing supplies and hurried towards his voice. I reached his bedroom door and pushed it open.
Guillermo was on the floor, holding onto his bed and trying to stand up. His face was twisted in pain and he looked as weak as could be. I swallowed hard and prepared myself for my theatric.
I gasped dramatically and hurried over to him.
"Guillermo what has happened to you?" I asked worriedly.
"Bring me to a medic. This pain is unexplainable" he said.
"What pain?" I asked kneeling beside him.
"I have a strange pain in my abdomen" He explained to me calmly, through his teeth.
"And only a few nights before our wedding" I said my eyes full of concern.
"A medic will be no good" I said. "All they ever want is the glory of saying they treated the future king" I lied.
"You are right" Guillermo said looking up at me in shock.
"I will make you a tea, perhaps that will help you" I said smoothing down his dark hair. "Only the best care for my king" I said smiling at him and helping him back into his bed.
"I'll fetch some herbs to prepare the tea" I said and went out into the castle garden. I bent down and studied each of the flowers carefully. I reached for a red one and jumped when someone spoke up behind me.
"I like that one" Karissa's small voice commented. I looked up at her and saw her watching the red flower insistently. I smile at her and nodded.
"Why?" I asked.
"Ma does not let me touch it or play near it. It is like a tempting forbidden toy for me" she said sitting beside me and admiring the flower.
"Do you know why your ma does not let you play near the flower?" I asked curiously.
"She said it could kill a man in a single dose" Karissa said looking up at me with her bright eyes.
Kill a man in a single dose.
Maybe that would be perfect. After all, what if the kingdom began to ask questions? What if Guillermo fully recovered and then blamed my absence on Fatima. He would kill her.
Maybe his death would be just enough to distract the kingdom while I escaped.
Maybe.