The Voice of the Nightingale

Part XVI

Ash walked through the halls. It was later that day. Theodor had asked her to meet him in one of the rooms of the castle. She found the place he had asked her to go and carefully opened the door. Inside were five men, four from the council and the other one being Theodor. They stood around the small table in the room. On top of the table was a piece of parchment.
Ash stepped inside and closed the door. The whole room turned to her.
"Ash." Theodor said.
The King's face was serious. This made Ash feel uneasy. She stepped closer and saw that the parchment was a contract. There were several signatures, she counted exactly ten.
"What's this?" She asked.
"A contract allowing me to attack the nation of Riadian."
"What? I thought you needed my signature!"
Ash couldn't believe her husband. Why did he still want war? It had been several weeks since the original incident and no further crimes had been committed.
"I don't need your signature if I have the permission of the whole council." He stated.
Ash looked over the contract again. Each signature was indeed from one of the ten council members. There's really going to be a war.
"You can't do this! You're putting the whole country in danger."
"I'm doing this and that's my final decision."
Ash saw the desire for conflict in Theodor's eyes. For some reason, he wanted this war, no matter how much harm it caused his country.
"This is stupid! You are hopeless excuse for a King."
The Queen stormed out of the room, filled with ire. What is Theodor thinking? She asked herself. This was the last straw.

Ash walked through the cold halls of the castle. The air was icy. It was an autumn night, very cold in this region of the country. However, Ash carried on until she reached her destination.
There were no guards at the door : her plan had worked. They were probably having a good time at the bar with the lady Ash had hired.
She walked towards the door, opening it slowly. Creeping in, she went towards the bed. The King slept peacefully. Ash had slipped some poppy into his drink at dinner. Hopefully, it would work.
Ash raised the dagger she had in her hands. Her breathing sped up. Her heart began to race. She closed her eyes and thrust the dagger down. A warm liquid splashed onto her hands. It dripped of her fingers. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes. When she did, everything was splattered in red.