The Second Queen

Chapter 32

King Edward

"Majesty, Mister Corneilus Gardiner has arrived."

"Send him in." A thin, pale man, carrying a stack of papers walks into my study. He bows and approaches my desk. "Thank you for coming, Mister Gardiner."

"It is a pleasure Majesty. I have gone through the papers that have been sent to me. This is a very interesting case; although I must admit at a moment's glance it does seem quite solved already. Two assassinations and one assassin caught. Though, what I find the most interesting is that you say one of the deaths was a case of felo de se, but in the letter you sent with the papers you did not seem so sure."

"Yes. We were not able to decide whether or not it was indeed a case of felo de se; with the lack of time and professionals, such as yourself."

"You flatter me sire. I ask you this, why have you called upon me when you have caught Louis VonParte, after he killed the Countess Joan de' Esree?"

"I do not believe that he is the only assassin in my palace."

He smiles, "I see. Why do you suggest that?"

"The styles. The first death was clean and simple, the second was bloody and sloppy."

"Many successful assassins will use different styles, Your Majesty."

"That may be true, but VonParte claimed that he knew nothing of Thomas Alby's death other than what we released to the public."

"Did he say why he killed the countess?"

"He was hired. His master received the request from a man by the name Iehan de Pectu; but there is no written record of a man by that name."

"An alias perhaps?"

"That is what I thought, and if there are multiple assassins in my palace they all seem to be Imonian."

"Yes, but why?"

"This is what is most puzzling sir; see the Imonians have sent many young noblewomen to my home, and they are allied with Aral, which is the only country Asura has many grievances with. But why would Aral ask Imon to kill off nobles with their own Crown Princess in the target area? When word gets out I can only assume that there will be more assassins trying to get into the palace, by paying assassins to kill off nobles they would only be putting their royalty in danger."

"You make a very good point, your Majesty, but I cannot help but to point out that out of the three deaths one was an Imonian countess."

"Exactly, VonParte cannot be the only one. But it is impossible to tell if Dudley did indeed kill herself or if someone killed her."

"Majesty, it is not impossible to make murder look like suicide. It is quite easy for one who is skilled against an unsuspecting noblewoman, especially at night."

"And we have so many of them."

"Aye. your home is not as safe as it once was Majesty, a competition like this calls for people to die. You have brought too many enemies into the same place. Be careful to see that you are not next."

"Of course, thank you Minister. Do you need anything else to help you with this case?"

"Yes, I would like to see the Countesses' chambers and the halls where Sir Alby and the Lady Dudley died."

"As you wish, I will have Jowchet escort you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Thank you for your help, Minister." He bows and leaves the study, following the guard down the hall. 

A/N: big things are coming... mwhahahaha. please vote. love, M