The Bloody Birds of Britain

Chapter 11

Her next mission almost, was to see Charles, they needed to talk now. She couldn't put it off for any longer. She needed to ask, no. She needed to know what his business with the blond vampire was. Did he know they were a murderer?

Hortense thought of all these burnings questions as she headed to the Great hall.

The vampires always stayed there, and if not there they're own apartments, which she presumed were located somewhere in the castle. Or at least she hoped they were. It was very late in the evening when she arrived, how long had she been talking to Valentin? It had seemed only minutes but was apparently hours as only a handful of humans remained, including a rather drunk king and upset Queen.

The Queen approached her when she arrived, her face covered in tears.

"Oh Lady Hortense thank goodness your here!" She exclaimed taking Hortenses' hand and leading her to the high table. Where Hortense was saddened to note a young blond was sitting on the Kings lap, and they were kissing, passionately. Too passionately for a mortal she thought. "She won't leave him alone! No matter what I ask,... He just doesn't seem to hear me... Please you must help," she begged tearfully falling to her knees.

"I'm sorry your Majesty but.." Hortense raised her hands feeling useless, "but I can't do anything. I'm sorry."

"You can talk to Charles-I-I-tried but he-he wouldn't-he wouldn't listen to me," she stuttered through tears holding onto the bottom of Hortense's dress.

"Why should Charles?"

"Because that's his child," she choked. Hortense's mouth turned into a small 'O' as she took in the young blond. Her skin was like snow, how could she have missed it! She must have recently been turned, as the skin still a slight pink coloring which meant the human blood in her veins was fading.

She looked around for Charles. She saw him standing in a dark corner, watching the King and his child with a small smile. The smile faded when he noticed Hortense approached him.

"She's a murderer," she stated solemnly to him, as the Queen was help to her feet by the 'Venetian". Hortense had carelessly left her there, she would have to apologize later.

"She's also very pretty don't you think," Charles added with a smug smile, complimenting his own handy work.

"As your friend I'm warning you," she said in the same solemn tone. "There are people in the court who know it was her. You've brought a murderer and placed her on the lap of the King of England for everyone to see. They're looking for a murderer - the court is grieving-"

"- No one's grieving for her, not even her husband... She's been forgotten and you'd be wise to forget too," he retorted, crossing his arms in frustration. "I thank you for your concern but I've dealt with it."

"What? You've glamoured the whole court...?" She tailed off in disgust. Disrespectful was the one thing that hung around Charles, it hung around him like an appalling odor. 

"No, I changed the populous' opinion on her manner of death. She's still died but in a less momentous way."

How?"

"She fell from a window in the Queen's quarters, she was pushed by Lady Margaret," he muttered uncaring. "I had to protect my child!"

"So you framed an innocent woman for murder!" She exclaimed, poking him angrily in the chest. Despite Lady Margaret not having been one of the kindest towards her, she did not feel the woman should go down for murder in place of a vampire. She thought of the death of the fat sailor, had  Harper and Thomas been blamed for the murder she'd committed? Were they dead now? She shook the thought out of her mind, if she carried along that line of thought she'd go mad. Too many 'accidentally' died, and as Valentin often said it's not good to dwell on the past.

"Well her mind was too stubborn," he admitted.

"You mean you couldn't change it? So what... So what you broke her?"

"Yes," he responded not meeting her eyes, perhaps he did feel remorse or respect. It was quite a feat to break a human's mind, it had to be deliberate as it took sometimes hours or days to do. Most humans who were 'broken' so to speak went insane, all their memories happening at once so in reality they could remember nothing. Only a skilled vampire could restore such a mind, and even then there was still room for error, a small possibility remained of turning the person into a shell. A shell was a person who simply functioned, they didn't live any more.

"And her husband?"

"He was quite pleased to get rid of her if I'm honest," he said pointing out Jubert who was intently starting at Hortense, despite her dull attire. "I think he likes you," Charles smirked

A thought came into her head, before falling asleep there were two guards. Two guards who had seen Charles with the blond vampire, the Queen, the King and Jubert too. Had their minds been altered? Did Charles even know about them? She glanced at him. No doubt Charles would kill the guards, they were just guards, they weren't important in his mind.

"There's something else," she found herself saying.

"What?"

"There were two guards who saw you," she choked and carried on, "with your child. They know about the murder too." She didn't mention the Monarchs or Jubert, she felt a strange sense of loyalty to them, they needed to be protected. Especially if what Valentin had said was true, she was quite tempted to inform Charles of the plot too but she refrained. It was a secret after all.

"Who were they?" He pressured, leaning in towards her so there faces were only inches apart. They hadn't been this close since... Hortense recoiled from him now though, she felt as though something had changed. The more she came to know about him, the less she liked him.

"One had a gruff voice, and the other he kept calling stupid or simple," she said with a touch of regret. She hoped they did not have families or that they had at least lived a good life. Charles would kill them at the first chance he got. Why did she tell him? Why?

A little voice spoke inside her, "he's of our kind. Ours. We're not mortal like them. He was protecting his child. It's natur-" She suppressed the voice. Only during moments of weakness did it appear, it was the same for all vampires, or at least those that she'd met. It was the animal inside them, the animal instinct that wanted control.

"Thank you," Charles smiled brushing his lips against her cheek before running off.

Hortense turned to look at the blond vampire. She didn't even know her name, she couldn't even recall being that young or lustful. Was this one vampire worth the death of two decent men and the mind of an unkind woman. She hoped so.