He Strikes at the Hotel

Chapter Thirty Eight

The conversation flowed seemingly well considering we were sat with the King of England and his family. It seemed like we were all part of a normal dysfunctional family eating dinner together, throwing banter towards each other along with conversations about our lives. Pierre was also very proud of himself as he got to the point where he was able to crack a subtle joke towards the King about his greying hair, to which the King laughed at, leaving Pierre with a satisfied grin on his face.

Thankfully, there was no beetroot soup on offer. We had a beautiful array of canapés; bread and olives; prawns; scallops and tomato and basil bruschetta. The room smelt amazing with all of the amazing food on offer, along with the sweet smell of the champagne flowing around us. This really is an unforgettable event. I now realise why everyone was always so fixated on gaining an invitation to attend.

Jeremy seemed very quiet amongst his peers and didn't really engage in the conversation around the table like everyone else. Zachery had assured me that this was just his way, with nothing personal meant by it. 'Typical little baby brother' as Zachery said.

By the time the main meal was finished, I had gotten a couple of sentences out of Jeremy, it was minimal, but there was progress from his blunt one word answers earlier. Zachery was slipping me glances every now and then to silently congratulate me for trying with him, even if it held no prevail.

The night was flying by at a speed I couldn't understand. It was like the clocks were permanently on fast forward with us being none the wiser. The desert came and went within seconds, with everyone being quite merry by this point on the champagne and various wines and spirits on offer. I too was even feeling rosy cheeked by what I had consumed. Nerissa was giddy and full of energy and unanswered questions for everyone who would listen. Pierre was gazing at Nerissa in adoration and laughing along with everyone in unison.

There was only half an hour until the performance was meant to begin. This meant that I had approximately fifteen minutes of calm, five minutes of preparation of self defence moves and ten minutes consisting of the lights being lowered and waiting for something to happen. Once we got to this point, Zachery and I could figure out who was behind the disappearances, hand them over to the bodyguards and get on with our night. It sounded pretty simple when it was put in those terms, but my heart was beating so loud I had to make sure no one around me could hear it, or see my chest pounding.

"Are you alright, Kitten?" Zachery asked, leaning over towards me, his face awfully close to mine. He placed his elbows on the table and held his hands together, twiddling his thumbs as we spoke.

"Yes, I'm fine. Are you? I mean... How are you feeling about this?" I asked, nervously juddering my foot up and down.

"I would much rather us be enjoying our evening together without this worry over us, however, beggars can't be choosers, can they?" He slipped his fingers between mine and held my hand tight, controlling my nerves for a split second.

"Yes, well... I've got it all planned. If anyone tries to take me and they get past you, I will simply use my attack of a swift drop kick to the throat and be done with it. I have it all figured out." I gave a nervous laugh as everyone's conversations began to merge into one loud noise, which was clouding my mind like a bee buzzing too closely to your ears.

Zachery looked concerned, but still managed to give me a reassuring nod of approval towards my brutality. The curtains began to drape over the stage in preparation for what was to come. They were a deep red with golden stripes throughout, much like the colour scheme of the hotel itself. They hung low onto the stage floor, crumpling at the bottom into a pit of fabric. That meant there was now only ten minutes until the show.

The lights were already beginning to dim slowly, as one by one, candles were being blown out to add to the atmosphere. The smell of burnt out candle wicks lingered in the air, which was a soothing smell to me normally; but the smell of the smoke only made me think of fire, and danger.

As the room was getting darker, there were more people bustling about trying to get back to their seats, going for a bathroom break or topping up their drinks. There were people all around us moving, which made it harder to spot anyone that looked oddly suspicious.

I wanted to look around and see if there were any obvious faces missing from the ballroom, but the lighting had already gone past the point of spotting faces; all I could fathom was that Jeremy had left again, for the fourth time this evening. Zachery paid no attention to his brother and his odd ways, and his parents were so immersed in conversation that they had hardly noticed either. I seemed to be the only one recognising the lack of his presence.

"Shall we go refill our champagne glasses, whilst everyone else is occupied?" Zachery offered, noticeably getting fidgety.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, we have been sat still for far too long." I said with false sincerity. In my mind I was screaming "I need to get out of here" but luckily the filter between my mind and mouth worked for once.

We both rose from our seats and headed towards the magnificent champagne fountain, which I still couldn't quite get over.

"I cannot imagine the time and effort it must of taken to create this fountain. It's a piece of art." I blurted out, trying to make conversation with the little inspiration I had round me.

"Tell you what, Kitten, if we both get out of this alive and well, killer caught, I will gift you an exact replica." Zachery said, tracing his fingers over the base of the fountain, like he was considering the offer himself still.

"As lovely as that sounds, I don't think it would fit in very well within my room. You could hold it for me for safe keeping if you wish." I sighed out, realising that once this night was over, I was back to my little life as the chambermaid. I had never wished for another life; I have always been fond of my work and where I live, it's comfortable. Experiencing this period of time with Zachery, however, has made me realise that there may actually be something more that I want from life.

"Maybe one day we could create a house of our own to store it in. Create a shrine to it if you like." His wit could never be tamed, even in tonight's circumstances.

There were a lot of people bustling past us from every direction going to and from the fountain, making it difficult to stay close to Zachery, especially with many people coming up to him to greet him. I had forgotten he was one of the main guests for the Royal Grand Ball.

One gentleman came up to Zachery and quickly interrupted our conversation by introducing himself as a member of the Royal Navy, with him wishing to congratulate Zachery on all of the charity work he has done which has helped them. It was very sweet how Zachery always tried to have time for people, with him smiling and nodding away to everything this man was saying to him. I got lost in their own conversation as I stood slightly aback from them, taking in the sweet and caring generosity that Zachery has shown to so many people.

It made me fall for him a little bit more.

I was smiling in a way which made me think of how Pierre smiled at Nerissa, in pure amazement of the human being in front of them. I was caught off guard, completely distracted by my own emotions. That's when a strong hand appeared from behind me, gripping itself along with a damp cloth around my mouth. I tried to scream, but the grip was so tight, that the force wouldn't even allow me to take in any air, let alone scream. All that came out was a puff of an attempted breath. I couldn't breathe. The room was getting darker as I was being pulled away from Zachery and the gentleman he was speaking to.

Neither of them noticed anything, because I had made no sound. I was unable to. I was unable to even stay awake. Why was I getting so sleepy? I hadn't lost that much oxygen yet... I could see everyone's silhouettes around me beginning to get fuzzy... Oh no...

The cloth. Chloroform.

I made one more attempt to scream, but no muscles in my body would move. I had no power over myself. My eyes were so heavy, I couldn't even keep them open to see where I was going, but I had a horrible feeling I knew.

I fought to stay awake with every piece of fight left in me, but I couldn't do it. The lights went out in my mind.