I burped as I entered the Queen’s chamber again, feeling my stomach full of delicious food for the first time in almost 8 years. I barely remembered the last time I had eaten such a grand feast. It was when my parents were still alive and worked right here at the castle.

Even then, it was here at the castle when I had been given such a vast array of dishes.

Feeling full and saddened suddenly, I went to go sit at the bed. The weight of the armour still on my body was constricting my lungs suddenly, and I quickly got it off me to breathe properly. It was just this wild feeling that usually took over me. It was like I couldn’t breathe right.

The armour fell onto the floor as I sighed a breath of relief.

But that wasn’t enough to let the sadness just ride out of me. It hit me with its usual strength and everything inside of me just let it.

I didn’t know how life could move forwards even when I didn’t have the two people most important to me in it. The day I found out my parents were murdered, I had believed that everything would halt but the birds still flew above my head, and the flowers still bloomed in the forest.

People still moved around me as if nothing could affect their pace.

Before my parents' death, I was also amongst them. Knowing inside of my heart that nothing could stop me from anything. Everything was achievable.

Sighing heavily, I laid down on the bed, feeling the softness of the pillow under my head.

“Her bed is so damned soft.” A tear escaped my eye as I turned on my side. Her bed felt like a warm embrace, and I hated it more than I hated the Queen herself at the moment. She didn’t deserve this hug every night she went to sleep. She deserved to be filled with the same sadness as me.

I closed my eyes as more tears threatened to spill out of my eyes. But before I could let them out, I heard the door of the room opening.

Immediately sitting up, I looked at the door with vigilance. When I saw the Queen entering inside, I frowned. She mirrored my expression as she closed the door behind her. Crossing her arms in front of herself, she regarded me in a way which felt like she was preparing herself to scold me. Somehow, I was right on that. “You didn’t wait for me at dinner.”

Well, yes. I didn’t want to pass away from hunger just waiting for her to get there.

“If you’ve forgotten, I fought multiple men at the arena today, and I had nothing to eat right after.” Suddenly, a look of sympathy crossed her face, and she nodded her head. “I understand, I apologize to keep you waiting for so long.”

Hm, I wasn’t expecting a sudden apology from her. But this could just be a trick to make me act nicer with her.

She moved to go over to the foot of the bed as she sat down. I watched her back before I remembered to wipe away the tears that were still in my eyes. I didn’t want her to see me being vulnerable.

What I also didn’t want her to see was my surprise when she suddenly started to take off the dress she was wearing. My eyes widened and I grabbed the blanket on the bed to cover myself.

Why was I covering myself again?

“What are you doing?!” My voice had raised an octave as I looked away from her suddenly naked back. The window that led to her balcony looked far more appealing than she did in the nude. That was all that I was thinking. Yes. I was thinking about the window. The beautiful window and not the Queen’s blatant nudity.

“I’m preparing myself for bed. Not such a difficult concept to comprehend.” I heard her chuckle, and it made me frown. Was she making fun of me?

Scoffing at her casual reply, I stood up from the bed with the blanket still held to my body. My eyes were still looking at the beautiful window and definitely not noticing the Queen’s nudity from my peripheral view.

“Where are you going?” I heard the question and I made sure to turn my back towards the redheaded woman. I could notice her front in my peripheral vision, and I didn’t want to witness that. “I’m going to sleep on the... chair over there!” I pointed over to the chair which was right in front of the balcony window. It looked uncomfortable but I didn’t care.

Sleeping beside a naked Queen was not something I aspired to do anytime soon.

“Shouldn’t we be sharing the bed? It is our first night together.” I heard a giggle from her, and I wondered how she could be so indifferent about this situation. This was not funny to me, and neither should it be for her. I was not comfortable with her at all, and definitely not with her being in the nude.

“I don’t know what you think but I’m not like that.” I spoke looking at the window but heard a reply immediately. “It doesn’t matter what you are like, Bran. We are married and I have to uphold face. I don’t want the people in this castle talking about how we didn’t spend our first night together in the same bed.”

I frowned. Who was even going to know that we didn’t sleep in the same bed anyway? And why did her voice sound so nearer at the end there?

My eyes widened even before I knew what was happening. The blanket wrapped around my shoulders was pulled and I found myself being turned around to face the very Queen herself. Her eyes were dark, and I tried not to glance down at her body. But it was futile since she was standing straighter than an arrow.

“We’re married anyway. Might as well go all the way.” I was certain that my eyes were going to remain enlarged since each word out of the Queen’s mouth was giving me distress.

She pulled on the blanket again, and I involuntarily fell forwards. It was so quick that I didn’t even realize when my lips joined hers. It was only when I felt the movement of her lips that I pushed her away. “We’re playing that game again now, are we?” She looked at me with a frown and I watched her with confusion. And then I slapped myself for watching her before turning my head away from her nudity.

I knew she wanted to say or do something else, but a knock on the door saved me from getting my eyes burned. “I’ll get that!” I was quick to walk past her and towards the door. I could hear her shuffling with her clothes. Halting myself from opening the door, I waited for some reason. Well, I just didn’t want her to be indecent in front of someone else.

“Thank you, you can open the door now.” Amelia’s voice drifted over to me which had me opening the door. I frowned when I saw Elric standing there with a frown on his face. “Where is the Queen?” He looked to be in a hurry as he immediately asked.

I frowned when I felt the Queen’s presence right beside me now. How does she even move so silently?!

“What is it?”

Elric glanced at me before he bowed his head immediately. “Your highness, there is something you must see to, this very instance.”

I couldn’t help but glance at the redhead, who had also turned to me. Our eyes met and we frowned. It wasn’t like Elric would just come to her room with something unimportant. If he was here and he looked disturbed, something big must’ve happened.

“May I go?” She asked me and I raised an eyebrow in question. Was she actually asking me that question? Even Elric thought of it as odd by the look on his face, but he didn’t voice out his opinions. “Am I allowed to go with you?” I asked in reply. I wanted to see what had Elric so worried.

But seeing how Elric’s eyes widened, and he began shaking his head, I knew that he didn’t want me to come along. “Only the Queen should see to this matter.”

Immediately, Amelia was turning to the advisor with a frown. “She’s the King now. She should also be involved with matters of this kingdom.”

“We don’t have time for these discussions, your majesty.” Elric sighed out as he turned around. “The King may come along.” I wanted to rejoice but also question why them calling me King sounded like such a curse.

I felt a hand grab onto my own as we followed the direction Elric was moving in. It was beyond me that this woman initiated so much physical contact. I swallowed when I remembered how her lips had been on mine only a few moments ago too.

It was shocking that she would be so comfortable initiating such intimate contact with me. Even now, she was holding my hand as if I was a child or if I was going to run away from her. Probably both.

We moved through the hallways until we reached the front entrance of the castle.

I frowned when I noticed the several maids and guards standing around the front foyer. “Why is everybody here?” Even the Queen found it odd as she looked around the servants with a frown on her face. Elric didn’t reply to the Queen and remained walking.

He had even left the castle as we followed closely behind him.

“Elric, what has happened?” The urgency and concern in the Queen’s voice even made me feel worried. What was it that had the servants gathering around, and Elric’s haste. Finally, as we exited the castle, my eyes focused on the multiple guards standing around something.

Elric glanced from over his shoulder at us before he announced. “Move away, men!”

Immediately the guards were moving away from what they had been looking at and covering up. My eyes widened as soon as I watched the sight before me. It brought a series of emotions out of my heart, but I couldn’t look away.

I wouldn’t look away.

The hand holding my own tightened considerably and I turned to look at the Queen begrudgingly. Her face was pale as she looked at the sight in front of her with wide eyes as well. Being so absorbed in my own trauma, I completely forgot that her parents had also been murdered.

“W-What? What happened?” Amelia looked at Elric who shook his head. “He was the kitchen hand. The cooks say he didn’t come back for supper.”

My eyes turned to the mangled body of the young man, who had his eyes still open. I swallowed the bile that tried to rise in my throat. But despite the sickness I felt in my stomach for seeing the horrible way the young man had died, I let go of the Queen’s hand.

There was nothing that I could’ve done when I had first witnessed such a thing before, but I had the ability to do so now.

When my parents had been lying right in front of the castle gates, no one had let me close to them. I had watched the way their lifeless eyes stared into the distance as if there was something interesting there that they were watching.

The memory had been ingrained in my mind since I was 13 and nothing could stop me from thinking back on it. But now that memory was being stacked over by this sight in front of me.

Walking over to the dead body, I bent down and hesitantly touched the eyelids of the man. A constricting feeling rose in my chest as his eyes closed. “Did any of you send for his family?” I turned to look at the multiple guards standing by the body.

One of them stepped forward and shook his head. “No, uh, your majesty.”

What kind of heartless men were they?

“Send for them immediately! And bring something over to cover him up! You should have enough decency to do so without needing directions from anyone!” I was angered further when none of the guards moved to do what I had instructed.

“Did you not hear your King?” My attention turned away from the guards as I looked over to the Queen, who was glaring at them. It was as if everyone had sprung into action and the guards immediately moved away from the body.

Amelia looked at me for a long time as I frowned. I didn’t know why she was staring at me, but her attention moved from me when Elric addressed her.

Seeing how they had begun to have a conversation; I was about to look away from them, but I heard the Queen’s voice drifting over to me. “Elric would like to have a word with us, Bran.” She waved over to me as if she was calling over a child or a small animal. But I obediently went over to them despite Elric sending glares over to me.

“This is the first murder after they stopped happening 5 years ago.” Elric didn’t have to remind us of what had happened then to stop the murders completely as I felt a hand grasping onto my own tightly. “We didn’t find out who was doing such a thing.”

“I still have my suspicions on Aunt Leila.” Elric shook his head as he turned to look at the now covered body of the man as a guard went to cover it up with a fleece blanket. “Your highness, she doesn’t possess any such man in her sentry that is capable of doing such damage. It is almost wild and unplanned.”

I nodded my head at Elric, remembering the clear similarities between the man’s body and the state of my parents’ bodies. It was like they had been attacked by a wild animal, but the clear insertion of a knife had been evident in the neck. I shivered at the memory and the hand holding my own tightened. “Does this disturb you? We can go back to our chamber.”

Elric and I looked at the Queen’s evident worry. I shook my head. It was surprising that she didn’t feel the same disturbance I felt even when she had also witnessed her own parents’ bodies.

This was the only time I was going to feel any kind of sympathy for her. Only because she had gone through the same thing as I had. But even then, she had the liberty to properly lay her parents to rest. I, on the other hand, still didn’t know where my parents were buried or burned, if they were.

“I will raise alert for the castle immediately and place a curfew on everyone in the castle.” Elric notified as he looked around at the guards around us. They were enough to secure the castle but even then, something had happened.

“What about the rest of the kingdom?” Amelia asked up. “Whoever is doing this, is only targeting the castle.” Elric looked at me with a frown before nodding his head. “Bran is right. Even before, only people from the castle were being killed, before the late--” Elric cut himself off as he cleared his throat. “We are the only targets.” He continued and I nodded.

I just didn’t know why the castle was only targeted. Even then, I had the same question. Why was it that the people of the castle were being killed and not anyone else? I also wondered why my parents had to work at the castle. They could’ve easily gotten work at the city centre. Good, honest work where their lives were far from danger.

But they just had to work for the previous King and Queen.

A sigh escaped my lips and immediately, the Queen was turning to me. “We should get back to the chamber now. Elric can handle the rest now.”

“Yes, your highness.”

I nodded my head, not feeling the need to be there for any longer. I could tell that Amelia also didn’t like being there. If I was reminded of my parents immediately after seeing such a horrific sight, she must’ve thought about it as well.

Strangely, this was the only thing we had in common.

Murdered parents and an orphaned existence.

Hopefully, she wasn’t going to continue with what she had started in the room. It felt like this was not the time anymore to be doing anything.

Just grieve and prepare. For something neither of us knew of.