𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 | 𝐥.𝐫.𝐡

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐕

Part 2! Most of it is just dialogue but you better sit down for this one...

The loud scream echoed through my ears as we worriedly ran across the forest but just then, I spotted Mari, Louise and a few other people kneeling down on the floor, but it wasn't until I saw chunks of snow absorbed by bright red bloods that I realised who it was.

"Clara!" I yelled, picking up my skirt and running over as fast as I could. "What on earth happened?" I asked as I reached the circle and Louise looked up at me, her eyes filled with tears.

"W-We found her like this." she quietly said, watching as I pushed past everyone.

My hand clasped over my mouth as I laid my eyes on Clara's shaking body and lying in a pool of blood, and I scrambled to my knees. Her eyes weakly opened as she felt me gently lift her head up, exactly where the source of the blood loss was and I stared down at the young girl in complete shock.

"Clara." I breathed, a wave of panic coming over me. "Why haven't any of you called a doctor?"

"No..." she coughed with a wince of pain as more blood gushed out. "T-too m-much blood." she panted, managing to tightly wrap her hand over my wrist. My own breathing became heavy from seeing the state she was in and it didn't take long for the girls around to let out loud sniffles and cries. "You must-" she breathed, letting her eyes roll up to the sky. "I-Ignore Edmu-" she let out a last breath and just like that, her eyes slowly closed and her head dropped to the side.

The girls immediately burst into tears whilst I shakily stood up and had difficulty in breathing properly. I glanced down at my blood covered hands and wiped them on my dress as well as trying to work out how suddenly this had happened...

"I-I don't understand! You found her like this?" I sobbed, taking my eyes away from my friends dead body, only to see a hooded figure standing opposite with a small pouch in their hand. A green and silver medallion hung around their neck and as soon as I recognised it, I desperately gasped for air.

One of Edmunds men...

He quickly disappeared into the forest before I could lash out at him and so I dropped to my knees and started to loudly bawl into my hands, not believing my eyes.

Edmund poisoned her; killed her. Killed one of my closest friends just to scare me once again. Yet this time, I was terrified than never before. This was his last attempt to keep me from Luke and unfortunately for all of us, he had succeeded...

--

After we somehow managed to tell the King and Queen of this news, all royals were immediately escorted back to the castle. Everyone was shocked and in upheaval about the situation, making Andrew order more guards to be sent out to the village, just in case.

The girls and I remained silent on the way back to the castle, too heartbroken to even say another word. I mourned with them for a while but then caught up in the thought of what Edmund would be planning next.

I was warned that he would do anything to get what he wanted but killing one my own ladies was very triggering. For him to manage to kill someone that was so close to me made it even easier for him to get through to Luke and I was now convinced that he really would do it.

Even if I knew that she was poisoned, the cause of Clara's death to others was unknown, which is why Liz and Andrew felt responsible for a murder that happened on their own castles grounds. Thus, Andrew decided that he would go to Ocerallia to confront Clara's family. I was offered to go too but I simply could not bare the thought of it...