Much Ado about Something

Chapter 3 - Lucia

The day of the ball

I was dusting in the library when I heard two male voices as they entered. I couldn't see them from where I was wiping down a shelf, so they couldn't see me. I was about to make myself known to them when one said something that made my blood run cold.

"The girl has to die, Fredrick. She's going to get both of the other girls if we don't take care of them, and their positions are vital."

"We're running out of time," Agreed the other man. "But the princesses are more than capable of handling themselves."

"Not against their own countrymen. And have you forgotten the baby? She tried to kill it, and it was only the princess' quick action that stopped that."

"I haven't forgotten, sir. The plot against the king and queen will only grow, though. And we're in no position to protect them."

"That isn't our business. Yes, it will be... regrettable if they die, but we aren't here to coddle them."

I flattened myself against the shelf and peeked through the slats, my head in the shadow. An older man with his back to me was addressing a rough-looking man with dust on his clothes and coating his hair so much I couldn't see what color it was supposed to be. He wore a harness of weapons and a heavy coat was dangling over his right shoulder, held by his right hand. This was the Fredrick, then. My thoughts raced. A plot against the king and queen? Princesses? Our kingdom had none. The mates of the princes would someday be the princesses... did these men know who they would be? How?

"And what about the baby? Who will care for it? You can't keep hiding it."

"I don't have a choice, Fredrick. If the girl gets her hands on it, she'll kill it. But I have a plan to get rid of it."

"Kill it?" Fredrick sounded as confused as I was.

"Of course not! That child is mine, you dolt! I'll die before I let anyone - even myself - harm it."

"But it's mother thinks it's dead. She won't come after it, will she?"

"She will if she finds out about it. Damn her. I wish to the gods I never saw her face," Said the old man bitterly. "She was beautiful then, and she used me to gain the king's pity."

"The king was an idiot to fall for her tale."

"He always was too kind. Even now, after his fall, he retains goodness."

The king didn't have a fall, that I knew of. Perhaps it'd been kept secret; the king falling down could be seen as a weakness. It didn't make sense. None of this conversation did.

"Have you spoken to the witch?"

"Yes sir. She's still under the impression that she's a werewolf, but her magic is growing stronger. She'll be ready for the transition soon."

"With who her father is, I would think she'd be stronger magically. But her power is good. She'll lead the people into a new era."

A witch was to be our leader?! I wanted to vomit. No witch would ever be accepted as queen of the shifters.

"Have you found the older girl yet?"

"No, m'lord. But we're getting closer. She's in this city somewhere, and we'll find her."

"Good. Find out where that traitorous bitch is, and the odds are good that you'll find her target."

"I won't let her touch the princess, sir. We've seen the murderer on the streets once or twice, but she keeps giving my men the slip. It's only a matter of time before she's in chains."

"I don't want her in chains, I want her dead! And I want to chop off her scheming head myself!"

They were protecting two mysterious princesses from... the mother of the old man's baby? Yet they didn't care if the king and queen died.

"Yes sir. My lord, have you thought about releasing the hound? To find the older girl and protect her, I mean."

The old man waved his hand dismissively.

"We can't take that chance. The dog will draw attention to the girl, and whatever way she's managed to hide herself, it will be ruined. We would find her, certainly, but her enemies could find her first, with a giant dog bumping around her."

"Aye. And if she compromises herself before we find her?"

"We'll just have to take that chance and trust her to protect herself."

"Yes, my lord. We'll redouble our search efforts. The princess IS here."

"I trust you'll be discreet. If the assassin finds out, you will have endangered the princess even more."

"Yes, my lord. I'll send word as soon as I find anything."

"Very good."

They walked out of the library, and I sank down into a chair with shaking knees, my mind whirling. Their conversation kept replaying in my mind, snatches of words and phrases coming back to me, but one memory stood out; a recollection of my mother telling me when I was little; "We all have secrets, Lucia, just some of them are bigger than others."
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Short chapter! Oh, by the way, today's kind of my birthday, so please

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