The Red Throne | TUQ Book Two

34 | imbroglio

The sun had yet to set when Edmund burst into my chambers. He often spent these hours of the day in his study, so seeing him now was quite out of the ordinary.

And like his actions, today's occurrences were also out of the ordinary.

           "Anne, I heard about what happened today from Mama-" he explained, then paused for a moment due to fatigue. "I will send Anna-Claudia away right now if you'd want me to. She has definitely crossed the line this time. I do not know what has gotten into her-"

           "No, there is no need," I murmured in return.

Melissa Hasteburn is almost six months pregnant now, and Anna-Claudia had ever so kindly volunteered to come and care for her 'royal nephew'.

Her remarks about Melissa's bastard being a boy barely hurt me anymore, but I completely lost it when I heard about this analogy that she had been spreading around.

    Anna-Claudia had been making comparisons between me and the dead Queen Helene.

   To start, there is the firstborn daughter who was so beautiful that everyone forgets that she is ineligible to become an heir. That was Princess Margaret, and in my case, Princess Elisabeth.

     Then, there is the second daughter who brought on nothing but disappointment and dread. That would be Cecily, and my daughter, Verena.

     Lastly, the long-awaited heir, who would soon end up dying prematurely and tragically. Needless to say, that was Prince George.

Anna-Claudia had been predicting the birth and death of my next child, while wholeheartedly suggesting that Melissa's bastard should be crowned prince, and if it was not a boy, then her silly little boy, Edgar, shall be made heir.

                "Anne, I will have her sent away. Keeping her here at the palace will bring you nothing but heartache. I do not want that," Edmund said softly as he sat down on the bed beside me, helping me to pull out the golden pins embedded in my hair.

                  "She is your sister," I say with a sigh. "I would not want her to go around saying that I deliberately put her under house arrest just because I did not like her."

Which is true. I indeed did not like her. At first, I did. But now, she had grown into a hateful little swine that did nothing but cry and whine whenever things did not go the way she wanted to.

                   "And you are my wife," Edmund whispered, dropping the pins into my lap. "It is my duty to protect you. Not just your safety, but also your feelings. Do you understand, Annie ?"

I nodded quietly. Edmund had been particularly protective of me ever since the incident on the day of the banquet, and while I found his affection suffocating at times, I actually somewhat enjoyed it.

I picked up the pins on my lap and placed them on the table before allowing Edmund's arms to slither around my waist.

As I laid my head against his chest, I could hear him say, "Anne, do you still remember the day we first met ?"

              "Of course I do," I chuckled softly. "Our first meeting had almost cost you your arm."

I gently lifted up the sleeve of his shirt, revealing the glistening pale skin of his arm. The scar from the wound I made was barely visible anymore, but I could feel that it was still there when I touched it.

             "I'm sorry," I murmured as I stroked the scar.

             "Don't be," he said in reply. "I am so happy to have met you, Anne. But I still can't forget the time when you said that you had a stomach ache and had to leave."