The Lady Ambrose

THREE

I stand in complete and utter shock. The king, his advisers, the royal counsel, and a few of the royal guards were gathered together in the throne room, faced with a dilemma that I know no one was prepared for.

Ruben the wise, the kings most trusted adviser, identified the body found in princess Eunoia's washroom as the princess herself. I was not allowed to see her, frankly I wasn't convinced that I wanted to see my best friend like that.

Felix and Warren had their hands tightly gripping mine, though I couldn't say whether it was to comfort them or me; perhaps it was both. I could see Felix was ready to cry but still trying to put on a tough face, Warren however was secretly already shedding tears.

My emotions were bottled up inside me. I couldn't decide what to show. Moments I'd had with her, especially from earlier this afternoon, played in my mind like an old movie. Even memories from my parents flashed in my mind. But now all of that was gone... I was sad, nearly depressed even. I could feel myself spiraling, but every once in a while Felix would squeeze my fingers and keep me present in the conversation.

"This is an outrage!" The king exclaimed. "They come here asking for peace and arrange a marriage with my baby, only to turn around and kill her?? I demand vengeance!"

"This is ridiculous." Felix replied. "They must not really want peace if they are so cruel enough to pull something like this. We must avenge my sister!"

Warren and many others have a harsh battle cry. "Avenge the princess!"

"Silence!" The king exclaimed, he sighed and punched his brow before looking over at his advisers. "Ruben. You've been awfully quiet."

Ruben spares a long glance at me and then looks to the king. "You are right. What has happened is unjust, the killer must be found and punished for his crime. However, we must investigate thoroughly before we point fingers, especially if we want to keep the peace between our kingdoms."

Many whispers and murmurs echoed in the hall as Ruben began to explain his plan.

"I propose, an undercover operation." He says, taking steps towards the middle of the room. I watched him carefully. He always has so much wisdom and insight to things, I always look forward to hearing what he says. "Someone to go with the Montecroix's in the place of Princess Eunoia, until we can determine whether or not the murderer is in fact someone of the Montecroix family or staff. This will ensure a time period of peace until we can get to the bottom of this mystery."

"Interesting idea, Ruben." The king remarks. "More than anything I want justice, but I promised our kingdom peace after Eunoia's marriage. This solution will benefit both of those needs."

"What happens if we do this," I ask aloud, finally speaking for the first time since finding Eunoia dead an hour ago, "and we find out the Montecroix's are the murderers? What happens to the decoy?"

Ruben smiled. "At that point she would be evacuated and we would lay seige to the palace, starting the fifth war between our kingdoms. However," he pauses walking towards me. "I would beg the question of how they would know which court lady was princess Eunoia, since the princess has been raised in seclusion her whole life. If the murderer is a Montecroix, then it's likely that when the decoy is presented to the prince one of two things will happen."

He turns to the king. "Either they will greet the decoy and accept her as the royal princess, or they will accuse the king of lying and make a scene. The Montecroix's are unaware of her seclusion and the fact that many in the kingdom have never laid eyes on her. Only the murderer would know the decoy was not princess Eunoia." His words made sense, but it felt like something was missing.