The Stolen Crown

Chapter 5: Her Decision

Rains battered the window with a tumultuous sting, while as if frightened by it, a lit candle fluttered on its sheltered side. Stone floors echoed softly in the candle's company, as drops of rain found their way onto them through the carried embrace of a cloak. The one who brought them in was slow to advance, while a slight trail of mud and water followed her.

Through the short and narrow hallway she went, her pace gripped by too much labor and too little rest. Step after step followed one another, until there before a dark door, she fell still. With a slow whine, the door that kept the sheltered flame at bay opened, as she stopped at its threshold.

Like a treasure, the room held something that called her gaze and forced her to linger despite the dark bags that pulled on her tired eyes. There they lay, what she had traveled to see, the very same thing she had traveled to provide for; her children.

With a soft gaze she watched as her two children slept peacefully in the company of each other. They each lay wrapped by love and the warmth of their blankets, as the cold of the night seemed to be a distant dream.

Though, her presence in the structure did not go unnoticed and from the depths of its shelter there came another. With a shadow cast far and wide, a figure that was familiar to the woman in the doorway approached. A trimmed beard and mature hair graced him, as the bushy brows between them lay scattered and disorderly.

"You're back," he said with a soft whisper, wrapping his arms around her and pressing himself close to her. "I heard what happened, Helene. Terrible."

"Yeah," she replied softly, persisting in the embrace. "Back for a little, Johann. Only a little. I think the Queen will want to have me running off somewhere else soon. I think I will have to."

"Is it true?" Johann asked.

"I would think all the world knows," Helene replied with a sigh.

"But is it true?" Johann pressed.

"Not now," Helene replied, as she continued to watch her children. "I'm tired. I just want a moment."

"Sorry," Johann said pulling away. "I will wait for you in the other room. I got some food there. It's cold. Thought you would have been back earlier, but it's good."

"I will be there in a little," Helene replied. "I will tell you what happened."

With receding steps, Johann left Helene to the slumbering company of her children. She stood there with her eyes on them, as their gentle breaths raised and dropped the blankets that gave them warmth.

"I can't," Helene finally said to herself with a whisper, as she slowly and quietly closed the door. "I am sorry my Queen, but I can't. I cannot risk them."

With slow steps, Helene made her way through her home and eventually reached the sanctuary that lay laden with food, drink, a place to sit and some company. The room was simple containing a table lacking splinters with a few cups and bowls and a pair of benches on either side of it. With a sigh she took a seat and rested there with her eyes closed for a moment.

"Tired?" Johann asked.

"How were the children?" Helene asked, ignoring the question.

"Fine, they missed you though," Johann replied, moving his limbs and bringing forth some wine and bread for his wife. "You know you made a mess when you came in. Dragged in a bit of mud with you."

"What about the Queen's daughters, Anne and little Elizabeth?" Helene asked, ignoring the stray in topic.

"They are fine," Johann stated. "Do you know what will happen to them? There is already talk. Quite a bit of it."

Helene was silent as she stared out towards a sight that no one other than herself could see. "Talk?" she finally asked with a whisper.

"I overheard some nobles say that they would push for the Queen's children to be married to secure the border and gain better claim on the other kingdoms," Johann explained, seemingly to himself. "They don't think the Queen will be able to maintain her authority without her husband. Would not be so bad if it were not for the Ottomans. They are talking about having her marry someone else. And don't even get me started on the unborn child. Some say if it is a girl, they will see her sent to the Ottomans as some form of tribute. And if it's a boy, well you don't even want to know. But, I don't know, I just don't know. I can't help but think, what are we going to do? I mean, will we have work for much longer? Should we be looking to the nobles? Maybe we can take care of some of their children instead? We have a few pieces of silver saved, but that won't last us long if we have to leave."

"The Queen will look after us," Helene replied, finally turning her gaze on him.

"Yeah, but how do you know?" Johann asked, as he tore a piece of bread and put it between his teeth. "She doesn't even have a husband, how is she going to take care of herself? Right now, the nobles are working to tie a leash around her or worse a noose."

"She will look after us," Helene echoed, her tone a note higher.

"You say that, but how do you know?" Johann pressed, searching for some measure of comfort. "I mean, she is in no position to—"

"I know what I have to do," Helene suddenly interrupted as she spoke to herself with a tone that silenced her husband. "I know what I have to do."

"What?" Johann asked. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Helene replied. "We will be fine, and the Queen will be fine. And before you ask, I know because I will look after her and she will look after me."

A momentary hiatus settled, as the conversation was left in a lull, only the faint sounds of his chewing filled the air. Finally, with a sigh, Helene pressed against the table and rose back onto her tired feet.

"Where are you going?" Johann asked, mouth half full. "Shouldn't we talk? At least about the funeral? At least about what we're going to do?"

"Bed," Helene stated more than replied. "I am tired."

"But you haven't eaten," Johann said, as she turned away. "And we haven't—"

"Just clean up when you're done," Helene whispered as she vanished.