Doves and Lovelies

The Dove Uprising

(POV: Edgar)

I stood near an open window with the sun shining on my face and watched the perching birds chirp from the floor above me. I waited near the throne room for the doors to open and allow me entrance to see my father. Carrying my briefcase in one arm, I rested my right hand on my empty scabbard tied to my hip. Just as the royal guards had confiscated my sword, they had also taken my gun, which I kept strapped to my chest. Tapping my foot on the marble tile, I sighed with a soft breath, which drew the gazes of the two guards that stood framing the throne's golden double doors. Nodding to them, I turned my attention to the end of the hall. Every window was open. A cool breeze swept through the corridor, and I enjoyed the gentle caress on my skin for a moment before returning my attention to my surroundings.

I had my back facing the wall. With an assassin roaming the halls, I did not want to give them any chances of killing me. My entourage could harbor the killer for all I knew. What I did not understand was why my stepmother wanted to have me killed? She has yet to bear an heir for my father, and as I was the rightful heir to the throne, her unborn son would be next in line. Since she did not have a son, the Duke of Heliotrope was next in line after me. What purpose did she have in letting him inherit?

I contemplated the Queen's plan. Why would she openly let the enemy know of her scheme? If only she had kept silent, I would have never found out about the assassin. She could have had me killed off in silence, and no one would have suspected her. Now that I knew her plan, I would be on guard, and I have already taken steps to monitor her with a new spy.

Yet, my stepmother was a sly woman. She covered the truth about my half-brother's death and had successfully kept it hidden from my father and the kingdom all these years. I knew there was more to her master plan, and I would find out what it was.

The Queen would eventually slither her way into my friendships as she had with my spy and my half-brother. I trusted Lewis, Teddy, and Charles, but she only needed one secret to blackmail them into submission. Loneliness was my constant companion, and even though I had close bonds with my friends, I could never confess what I genuinely thought to them. How could I? If I subjected them to the burden that I carried, I would place them in even more danger. Maybe it was arrogant of me to think in this way. I would rather keep them alive than reveal the truth about the festering evil hidden deep within the castle's dungeons.

Screaming pulled me from my thoughts. I glanced down at the gardens from the window and saw a young servant woman covered in blood. Two men, dressed as royal knights, dragged her by the hair as they lumbered in an unstable gait. I could barely make out her features from the seventh floor to identify who she was. Blood smothered her torn clothes. Bruises and cuts covered her arms and legs.

I knew how they shifted in their armor and their poor marching form that they were not knights. I needed to know more about the situation, so I pulled my cell phone from the inside of my jacket and dialed the one I knew would be near the gardens. The call went through on the second ring, and I asked, "Are you near the gardens, Teddy?"

His soft voice replied, "Yes. Why?"

"Do you hear or see a young woman being dragged to a van?"

"Well, I hear her, but I don't see anyone. I'm at the training grounds."

"Run."

I heard shuffling and Teddy's heavy breathing through the earpiece. I shifted to hide from being seen in the window. An open van sat parked near the edge of the gardens, and I could barely make out what they were saying.

"Damn it, Edgar. You know how to make my day," he growled.

"Good thing you stick to your routines, unlike someone we know," I said with a laugh. I glanced at the royal knights behind me as I shifted the phone to my other ear while setting my briefcase down next to my feet.