My Shadow

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

“Edward?” the hoarse but deep voice asked again. It was coming from the bed. Lizzy turned back to the king who was looking around the room at all the figures that stood there. “Edward, is that you?”

Eddy moved forwards and knelt by the bed of the king. “Yes, Your Majesty, it is I, Edward.” Eddy bowed his head. “If you do not mind my asking, how do you know my name?” The king laughed but it came out as a cough. Lizzy and Anne were by his side in a flash. He waved them away.

“How could I not know the name of my son?” The king said. Eddy looked up.

“Son? You must be mistaken; I am Charles and Catherine Hutchinson’s son, even if I have disowned them.”

“Of course, of course, you would not remember.” The king said.

“Edward, Thomas, if you could leave now, the king needs his rest.” Anne said. The boys left the room. “Your Majesty, you have been poisoned but we have given you an antidote. It is time for you to rest now and we will come back later to check up on you. You must not worry yourself or stress. Just rest, please.”

After making sure that the king was comfortable and that he was actually going to rest, the girls left the room also.

“How was he poisoned? Edward told me a little but he was talking so fast I had no idea what he was saying. I thought it better to hear off of you.”

“Catherine basically hates me and decided to poison my parents, which is why they died. Then they decided for some reason, possibly power or greed, to kill the king as well. It was lucky we got there in time. Any later and he would not be here now.”

“Do you not think it could be the fact that Edward is his son that they poisoned the king?”

“Possibly, but we can never be sure.” Lizzy said as they made their way down the hallway.

They found the boys hiding in the library. “Of all places to go?” Anne asked.

“No one comes in here apart from the royal family. Seen as that is only the king and now Eddy, we are perfectly safe. So long as we stay quiet and no one saw us come in here.”

“The hallway was empty, no one was around. It seems like no one is here.” Lizzy said, taking a seat next to Eddy.

“There are people here; they are just in the kitchen. They have nothing much to do now, that is all.” Anne said, taking her place next to Thomas, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“What happened?” Lizzy asked.

“When the queen died, the king did not need anything much. Just three meals a day and a clean in the main rooms that are used. No one knew why he did not just get rid of all the staff he did not need. Now it seems we know. He was waiting for his son to return so he could start up the castle again. The only excitement the servants have had for a while is when the Hutchinson’s came. Then they had something to do and some people to look after. The Hutchinson’s demanded a lot of things. It kept us all busy.”

“So now they are bored. Do they never run away?”

“No. They wish to stay. To find out what happens. Most people have been cast out of their homes and have nowhere else to go, or else they have served too long here to want to leave.”

“Oh.” Lizzy could not imagine someone who would not want to leave their work if they got a chance. The work she knew was hard and cruel and anyone who got the chance, stopped working. Some only did it to keep their families fed, like her father.