There was a long silence occupying the air around us. Prince Nathaniel just stood in front of me with a tilted head, probably waiting for a response. Odd, really, how a tremendous pressure wanted me to fall back and retreat from his tall figure.
But I remained in my place, my desire to know keeping me in control.
"You carry that," I pointed at the object of leather, "yet it doesn't belong to you?"
He nodded. "I found it under a pile of ashes. It was miraculously untouched."
The prince flipped it to the first page and there I saw graceful handwritings of a name that sent chills to my very bones.
Property of Isabella Duva.
I couldn't speak, breathe properly even. I could only imagine the queen at her desk, writing down her days and filling the journal with her memories through words and an elegant quill pen that meets the light slipping into her window.
"None of us knew she kept one." Prince Nathaniel spoke softly. "She seemed too open that we never realized she had her secrets."
He shut it to a close before I could see the next few dusty pages. I crossed my arms as I raised a brow at him.
"Hey, you need to do your part of the deal." I chided, clicking my heels to the ground once I put a foot forward.
"I know. I'm just trying to figure this out first." He replied with an intense expression plastered on his face. "The incident from ten years ago and your death during the Revolution this upcoming May are connected because of the Black Hood. Some things do make sense now. But what is the killer's motive?"
"Are you not worried that your people will rise for vengeance?" I asked out of blue, wondering why he wasn't deterred about the information I just shared.
"I have already prepared such a mentality to that possibility, Rosette." He answered, finally stepping back to let us both relieve the tension between the small gap from earlier. "I am aware of their displeasure towards our family, and I cannot blame them for being like that."
I recalled Prince Vante's way with the villagers and immediately understood what he meant.
"You were correct, by the way," the prince added, "I already have a suspect but I have yet to gather enough evidence to convince others. This journal gave me leads to that person."
"Who is this person?" I gulped, doubting if I was ready to know my marauder or not.
He didn't answer. The detrimental quiet was disturbing to my ears.
"You are talking about the Black Hood's identity, right?" I decided to confirm since he wouldn't reveal too much anyway. I could sense his hesitation, but he had to say something as this was a part of our deal.
"Maybe. Maybe not." He sighed, shooting a glance at the sky that reminded me of spilled ink seeping past the clouds. "But then again, how are you tethered to the incident a decade before? There are too many probable situations playing in my head that I find it hard to think."
Prince Nathaniel was trying his best, yet I still noticed it. I noticed that despite his act of staying calm, he was on the verge of falling into the abyss of defeat, of desolate confusion.
"Do not complicate yourself," I told him, my hand jerking a bit in hesitance to reach out his, "for the answer may be as simple as this-I carry clues to his enigmas and that is dangerous to him, so I must be removed."
"He?" the prince echoed with furrowed brows. "Wait, back to what you said..."
"Nathaniel, I'm not keeping up with your train of contemplations." I pressed onto my forehead, feeling a headache coming.
YOU ARE READING
Slowly and Painfully ー ✓
Fanfiction[COMPLETE] ❝Seven princes stood before me. But which of them is the one I seek?❞ Briar Rosette, a curious girl of the 21st century, was somehow captivated by one of History's greatest mysteries. It was the tale between the Painter and the Musician...
