Sage in the Sea

Alone

Freya and Austen were still at the castle when we arrived the following day. Freya met me as soon as I descended the carriage steps. She looped her arm through me, brushing off the guard who attempted to help me up the steps of the castle. Behind us, I could hear Piers speaking with Austen, giving him a summary of what had happened.

"I assume that my brother had them hunt down the supposed culprit," Freya said under her breath as we ascended the stairs.

"Yes, I was informed when I awoke that they had found the person who had done it," I replied.

"And do you believe that person was truly guilty?" she asked as we reached the top of the stairs. Instead of turning towards my room, we walked down the hall, past Piers' office, and around the corner. We stopped walking and I looked at her frowning.

"Of course I do. Piers and Guard Jeffies would not have taken an innocent man into custody," I told her.

She arched an eyebrow. "You truly believe that? Piers is my father's son and Guard Jeffies is as close to the king as any. My father has always regarded him as a second son."

"Has he?" I questioned. "I had not realized that Piers had known him for that long of a time."

"Oh, yes," Freya replied, releasing my arm. "Fergus was always at our house. His mother was sent to the factories and his father was sent to the fields after they attempted to hide their daughter. This was before my father cracked down on the kingdom. He took Fergus in and had him trained to become an excellent guard."

"You made it seem as though you did not know Fergus when we spoke in the kitchen, though," I told her cautiously.

"I did not want to scare you away from liking him. He is a good man, and he could be a great man if he were to escape my father's grasp," she replied, giving a small shrug. "In all honesty, I was hoping that it was him that you were involved with, more for his sake than anything."

"I do not think that he would accuse an innocent man of a crime that he did not commit," I told her.

"He would if he were being threatened," she replied, touching my arm lightly. "We all would."

"It does not matter now. It is too late," I told her.

"But wouldn't you want justice for that man's life if he was innocent?" she questioned.

"We do not know that he is truly innocent," I told her as I backed away. "I should go to bed. I am still not feeling fully well. Goodnight, Freya."

"Adelaide," she said, grabbing my wrist. I looked down at her hand and then slowly up at her. "This is much bigger than an innocent man being killed. My father's reign of terror has gone on much longer than it should have and it is time that someone puts an end to it."

"That is not the battle that I am fighting right now," I told her as I removed her hand from my arm. "Goodnight."

I turned and walked away from her. I wanted the same thing. I wanted the king to no longer be in power. I wanted innocent lives to be spared. Perhaps she was right that Fergus was still in the king's pocket. If the story she had told me was true, I could see why it would be so hard for him to break away from the king's grasp. Fergus felt as if he had no one if he did not have the king. His parents most likely are now dead from working. If he had any siblings, the king was probably using them against Fergus.

I wanted it to all end. I wanted women to have the same rights as men. I wanted people to be able to speak freely. I wanted all of the death to end. None of it would end until the king was out of power. Even if Piers and his team successfully put an end to the king's plans, he would have something else in mind. Something that could be much worse than his current plan.