The Traitor's Daughter

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

Elizabeth hadn't thought about the consequences of her actions.

She stood in the middle of absolute chaos, surrounded by people screaming and rushing toward a body laying on the floor a short distance away from her. Moments earlier, she had been the center of attention. She had been sitting in a gilded throne, wearing a gold dress that shimmered in the candlelight, a crown on top of her head. She sat still while others danced around her, the movements of their arms bringing the attention to Elizabeth.

She had been content. She was confident that her plan for revenge for Edward and Anne Hastings would take place with no flaws, just as it had for Thomas Drake. She hadn't planned for anything to go wrong. She hadn't planned for there to be any evidence that would point back to her. Yet, people were screaming and crying out, and she couldn't help but feel like someone was staring at her accusingly.

She stood from the throne, then stood on her tiptoes and craned her neck to try and see over the circle of people surrounding the body. She still had no idea about who the person on the ground was, and needed to know immediately. She felt sick to her stomach, imagining that it could be someone she cared about on the ground. Her eyes searched the area for those who mattered to her, and she saw Mary standing nearby, her hands held up to her mouth, as if to contain the scream that was certain to escape if her hands weren't there. She was safe.

Elizabeth continued to look around the area, but couldn't see much more, since there were so many people in front of her. She pushed through the bodies in her way, ignoring those who called after her or attempted to push her back. She tried to look at every face that she passed, in the hopes that she'd find Henry. She prayed that he wasn't the person on the floor.

With her heart beating fast, and her palms sweaty, Elizabeth pushed past the last of the crowd, her ears ringing. She followed everyone's horrified gazes, and found that her face suddenly mirrored theirs. There, on the ground, she found Henry knelt down by the king, who was cradling his wife's motionless body in his arms, his face bright red.

"Poison," The king muttered. He reached forward and rested his hand on the queen's belly, his face revealing his pain. "My son," He murmured.

Elizabeth felt bile rise up in her throat as she watched the scene unfold. The fact that the king was more upset about losing his unborn child than he was the queen, sickened her, and she wanted to go up to Owen and shake some sense into him.

She stared down at the queen's still face, the woman's eyes closed. She couldn't be dead. It simply didn't make any sense. Moments before, the queen had been watching her ladies dance in the masque that she had put together. She had been clapping her hands to the music, a smile on her face. In the blink of an eye, she was laying on the ground, choking, while the king called for his guards, who were now standing nearby, their eyes on their king, while they waited for another order.

"My son," The king suddenly screamed, his voice echoing throughout the eaves in the dining hall. He suddenly looked up and met Elizabeth's startled gaze, a glare on his face. "Guards," He began, his gaze still on Elizabeth. "Arrest her."

~*~*~*~*~

Hours Earlier

After speaking to Henry, Elizabeth was on the way back to her room, when the king's page nearly ran into her, his face showing his relief once he saw the woman.

"I've been looking everywhere for you, my lady," The page huffed, his face red from all of the running he had been doing. "The king would like to see you in his apartments. If you would please follow me," He motioned with his hand.