Matilda & Patrick (ON HOLD)

Chapter Thirteen

The King was livid. Frank knew that he would be as soon as Matilda had began questioning the Fairy about his request for a divorce. But he didn't think that the King would be as mad as he was now, his wings flapping as fast as they could without lifting him off the ground.

The King paced in front of Frank and some other guards who were also charged with protecting a particular person and the Queen who was sitting elegantly in a chair while reading a book. Although she was sneaking peaks at her husband when she thought no one was looking.

"How could she be that ignorant?" He thought aloud. Frank's tongue hurt from biting it to keep himself quiet. "I never should have left her in charge, she's been too much of a brat lately."

Frank fought back the urge to remind the King that she wouldn't have been if she hadn't been put through hell. But he had told Matilda to behave, so he needed to as well. 

"I don't want her to leave her room. She is to have lessons and that's it. Any visits go through me first. Is that understood?" He asks Frank who nods his head. It would be up to him to ensure that Matilda stays in her room throughout his shift. He knew that if he wasn't there, Maxwell would make sure that it was one of his guards making sure Matilda followed the rules. Frank nearly grimaced at the thought of that. Matilda hated following the rules.

"Yes, your Majesty," Frank said.

-

That night Frank was to have a meeting with the other guards while their Relievers were on duty. When he arrived, most the other guards were already talking.

"-And because we all thought him dead, he was brought right in! Gave everyone a bit of a fright when he awoke. Lucky he missed the Kings throat." One of them said.

"What's this?" Frank asked as he sat down at the long oval table. He knew that there was a disturbance in the castle today during Court, but Frank had to stay with Matilda and hadn't been able to find out what had happened. Perhaps it was the reason why the King seemed to be in an even more horrid state than usual.

"Didn't you hear? An old guard attempted to kill the King!" Another guard exclaimed. 

"It was old Tom! You remember, he used to guard the King's Primary Adviser?" A guard at the back of the room called.

"Yeah, apparently because he was fired by the King personally, and you know what it's like out there for a disgraced guard," another said.

Frank did know what it was like for a disgraced guard. They found it nearly impossible to find work and support their families after they were fired from the palace. Nobody wanted to hire a guard who wasn't good enough at their job.

"So he decides to kill the King?" Frank tried not to sound too disappointed at the failure. He knew that some guards didn't like the King, but it was still treason to say it aloud and it wasn't a smart idea to be sad about an attempted murder. "How did he sneak back into the palace?"

"That's the thing, none of us know!" The guard at the back called. 

"I was the one to bring him in. He was laying just outside the palace gates, but he was dead. I mean there was absolutely no pulse and his wings had already started decaying." The first guard shivered, "so me and a few of the relief guards bought him in, ya know, to give him a proper burial. He did serve here his entire adult life."

The Kings personal guard joined in then, "I was notified and I told the King who came to do a blessing like he does whenever a guard passes on, I don't think he even remembered firing him," yet another shiver, "and then the guy just, woke up! He was dead, wings were decaying and he was pale. All of a sudden he was alive, heart beating again and everything. It was creepy."

Frank got an idea, "what happened to him? I mean, did he get sentenced?" 

"Yeah," the King's guard said, filling his cup full of water. "The King just put him in a cell. Said that he didn't need to waste an execution on him because he was old and close to death anyway. He's just a few cells down from you-know-what," he said, winking at Frank. Not everyone knew of Patrick being in the cell. It was top secret. The guards all knew, but no one was supposed to know about it, so everyone pretended like they knew nothing.

Frank's mind started spinning with opportunity. When the meeting officially started and they were all running each other through security risks, Frank felt the room slowly caging him in. He needed to see the guard, Tom, who attempted to kill the King. The guard who had been dead, but was brought back to life.

--

HELLLOOOOO Lovelies! 

Guess who's running off six cups of coffee and it's only 9:30 AM?

Yup, ya guessed it, tis I, the frenchiest fry.

ANYWAY, sorry it's such a short chapter. I had to travel this weekend and it was so much driving and I was so tired and I have work now in an hour and a bit and I have to enrol in my uni classes and ugh. So much stuff, so little coffee. 

But here it is! Look at that, not even a trigger warning. I feel civil. 

Also, I just thought I'd let you all know, I started doing the reader/commenter of the week by just dedicating the chapters to them. Also I think it's a nice little way of letting you all know how much I appreciate you, so comment for a chance to have a chapter dedicated to you! (It's not much, but it makes people notice your name and also I'm starting to double up on dedications)

Have a lovely week!