The Usurper's Queen | COMPLETED

18 | to love and to kill

The palace was eerie at night, but even ghosts would be terrified of me after witnessing all the crimes I had committed. The chilly wind blew past me, and a shiver ran down my spine. I recalled Susan Lakely's snot-filled face. Back when I poisoned Lady Grace Ainsworth, I did show some remorse, but now, my heart was cold and empty. In my mind, she deserved it. Susan Lakely had overstepped her boundaries and disrespected me, and death is the reward I give her.

Oh, poor Susan Lakely, so believing, so gullible. In fact, there was no head crusher being crafted, and she would have been hanged instead. Not very dramatic, but it gets the job done. Instead of receiving an honorable death, she chose to disgracefully die by her own hands. The five feet of white linen was my final gift to her.

I was ready to return to my bedchambers when I saw a tall figure standing at the darker end of the hallway. It stood there silently, as if waiting for me to come closer. I felt somewhat afraid, but then I noticed that he was wearing a long embroidered cloak, and I recognised the embroidery very well. Of course I did, since I was the one who sew them on.

"Edmund," I greeted, smiling brightly as he walked closer. His face was very clear underneath the moonlight, and his lips were pressed into a thin smile.

"Annie," he said softly, but his eyes were filled with both worry and concern. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

I pursed my lips and looked down, and my hands became clammy. "I had to run some errands for the queen," I murmured.

Edmund let out a heavy sigh and reached for my hands, clutching them tightly. "Annie, did you cause the queen to miscarry?"

"Yes," I answered simply, and Edmund's face became downcast, as if I just confirmed his suspicions.

"Why, Annie? You are too close to her-it will be so easy to implicate you!" he objected.

"I'm not stupid, Edmund. If I were, I would've been rotting in the dungeons ," I hissed. "Besides, I already silenced that woman."

"Susan Lakely?"

"I gave her five feet of white linen, Edmund. She had disgraced me, and I ought to return the favor," I murmured.

"Disgraced you? What do you mean by that, Annie?" Edmund asked urgently.

"I never told you what Queen Jane ordered me to do, did I? I became a mere servant to her, one that cleans feet, at that. And that woman, Susan Lakely, had proudly shoved her feet into my face and ordered me to scrub them clean with my own hands. So I gave her death, Edmund."

"She made you do that, Annie? Why did you not tell me? Even if she is the Queen, she should not be permitted to treat you this way. You are an Earl's daughter, not a maid she can push around," he said, now with more ire than before.

"I wanted to be near her, so I can destroy her tiniest chances at having an heir. And I succeeded, didn't I?" I protested. Edmund smiled bitterly.

"At what cost, Annie? I shall tell my uncle about this, and she ought to treat you better. And Annie, if the queen were to be with child again, don't go around doing things on your own. It is dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt just because of me."

I scoffed and looked at him with amusement. "I did not do it for you, dearest. I did it for myself. Every time the queen miscarries, the likeliness of her bearing a child becomes lesser, which brings you closer to the throne. And by extension, me as well."

Edmund smiled softly and brought my hands close to his lips.

"I know, Annie. The crown on her head shall become yours, and you no longer have to serve her. I only want you to be cautious, Annie."

Several weeks after the miscarriage, everything went back to usual, and Queen Jane chose to wear even more provocative, egregious clothing. I knew that she was determined to bear an heir, and I wanted nothing more than to nip her hopes in the bud, but I followed Edmund's instructions and did nothing.

However, I had to return home for a very important event in my family, and I asked for a pardon from Queen Jane. My sister Lisbeth was getting married at last, and my mother had prepared a lavish dowry for her.

I had never met this Lord Cedric Byron before, and I was surprised to see the rather short, slender man with vibrant golden blond hair and sky blue eyes. He had a pretty face, like that of a girl's, and his pale hair was delightfully curly. When standing next to my sister, he barely reached her ear, and looked more like a child rather than a youth of twenty summers.

Lisbeth looked as if she were at a funeral rather than her own wedding, and the innocent, cheerful smile on Cedric's face rather saddened me. Here he was, so excited to get married, while his bride refused to even look at him. Edmund had attended the wedding as well, and Lisbeth stared at him longingly the entire time, her face full of envy directed towards me.

However, I was quite pleased as she would no longer meddle in my life, nor with the lives of my remaining family members. Ever since I entered the palace, I only returned home a handful of times, and I missed my brother dearly.

However, this time, his face was sullen. He barely ate, and when he smiled, it did not reach his eyes. I was concerned, but I already knew why he was acting that way.

"Princess Margaret is going to marry Henri du Terre of Terrawyn instead of me. I shall have to marry Princess Cecily," he spoke softly. I did not have the heart to tell him that I knew of this a long time ago, and I have seen Princess Margaret packing up her dowry to be taken to Terrawyn, while Princess Cecily had collected the little possessions she had so she could take them with her when she married Gilbert.

"I don't love her, Annie. I can't do this!" Gilbert protested childishly.

"Why, because she's not pretty like Princess Margaret?" I countered, but Gilbert shook his head wildly.

"She scares me, Annie! When I danced with her during the banquet that night, she did not speak at all and only stared at me with those wide eyes of hers!" he cried. "I tried talking to her, but she just stared! I never knew that she was mute!"

"She's not mute, Gibbs. She can speak just fine, she's just shy," I said with a sigh. Gilbert didn't seem to care, and he sat on the stone staircase with a heartbroken look on his face.

"I guess I'll just die, Annie. I can't even marry the girl I love-what is there to live for?" he lamented sadly.

"Oh, shut up, will you?" I scoffed. "You've talked to her for five times and you claim that she is your soulmate!"

"I loved her Annie!" he choked. "What do you know about heartbreak? You're going to marry that duke of yours anyways, and there's no one stopping you from doing so!"

"Don't be stupid, Gilbert. You barely know her, and you only love her because of her looks! Those feelings of yours will pass!" I retorted.

Between sobs, Gilbert retrieved a letter from his pocket and handed it to me with dramatically shaky hands. "Annie, when you return to the palace, please give this to her. Although, by the time she reads it I'm probably not alive anymore."

I rolled my eyes with annoyance and smacked the back of Gilbert's head. Hard. He let out a loud yelp and simultaneously stood up while rubbing his sore head.

"What was that for, Annie?" he sobbed, now crying even louder.

"You talk of wanting to die, but a single smack to the head makes you cry. Are you really that weak, brother?" I said with a smirk.

Gilbert glared at me and spat, "I'm not, Annie! If you want me to marry Princess Cecily so much, then I'll marry her! I shall tell Father that I accept the proposal, and soon she will be your sister-in-law!"

I found his outburst amusing, but deep down I was relieved. From the very beginning, I felt that it was better if Gilbert married Princess Cecily rather than Princess Margaret. It is true that the latter is much prettier and is of good health, but after hearing Princess Cecily saying that her sister had beat her up, I had mixed feelings about the strawberry blonde haired princess.

"Perfect, then," I said with a smile.