Long May They Reign

Its starting

Steve was seeing red and had left when he encountered Sam and James in the courtyard.
"We have news from the woods! Something is coming, we don't know but it's not good."
"Someone just tried to kill her."
"What?!"
"They poisoned a dress and forged my signature so she'd think it was a present from me."
"Well what we have to say isn't going to make any of this easier." Sam said.

"Did you find anything in the woods?"
"We found lots. And something else. We think there's a darkness coming or already here. And by what you just told us- it's here and had been here for awhile."
"You think the poisoning was just the beginning?"
If that's true than they're in a lot of trouble....

When she woke up she felt groggy and she reached out for Steve only to find he wasn't next to her and that she wasn't even in their bed.

"Honey?" Sarah's voice reaches her and she turns confused.

"Something happened. Where's Steve?!" She sat up quickly and regretted it as her vision started swimming.

"Easy dear. Someone tried to poison you and maybe Steven. It was on the dress you had put on."

"I- I was going to show him the dress. I thought he gave it as a gift for me. He said he didn't. You think whoever put it in our rooms wanted to murder us?!" She coughed.

"Sweetheart if it's too hard for you to talk you don't have to. We can wait for you to heal better."

"No! I mean, I want to tell you. I need to. I can't live my life in fear." Nat said through the pain in her throat.

"We're not sure. But we thought maybe it was a group of rebels."

"Surely a group of ragtag rebels wouldn't actually go so far as to try to murder any of us?"

"Nat."

"Steve!" She reached as far as she could and hugged him, "When I woke you weren't there."

"My apologies. I was out waiting for James and Sam to arrive back to the palace."

"Steven. They found something out didn't they? I can tell." His mother asked him worried.

"They don't know exactly what they found but it doesn't sound good." As he finished speaking, James and Sam burst into the room.

"I think we've figured it out!"

"It's not a group of rebels. It's something more. Something bigger."

"What do you mean?" Nat asked.

"They're trying to topple the monarchy. The way to do that is to take out the heir and his wife. I think they meant for the poison to take effect later than it did."

"What?"

"Because I had it directly on my skin you mean?"

"What are you talking about Nat?" Steve wasn't getting it.

"Usually we wear other layers but I was just trying it on. So it made contact with my skin faster."

"Anything else?"

"We found an abandoned home. It looked old and dirty but there was a ton of blood all over. And the drawings on the wall. It was like a prophetic message - multiple messages- were being drawn out among the four walls. Steven and Natalia are both mentioned." Sam finished.

"What did it say about them?"

"It mentioned them and stars falling from the sky. We aren't sure what it means but afterwards it mentioned bloodshed and a lot of it. Starting with the crown and going all the way down to the lowest of the statuses."

"Someone wants us dead Steve!"

"I'm going to have your father get you two more guards. We're going to also pull everyone from the countryside and their schools."

"What if that's what they're wanting us to do mother."

"Your mother is right Steven. We will be safe together. We'll find out the allegiances of all those who work here and we will wrong out the traitors." Robert spoke from behind them at the door.

"Starting tomorrow everyone will be given news to come home as soon as possible."

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Faint singing down in the servants quarters....

Ding, dong, down goes the crown and down goes the state.

Ding, dong, down goes the crown and all they know.

Ding, dong, down goes them all.

Ding, dong, we here in the bottom will rise

The bloodshed starts tonight, the ending is near, the best is yet to come!
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