Deception

Chapter 83

"And rightly so, I believe. There are those who would take advantage of any interregnum to further their own ends." The Prince supported his answer as the Archbishop raised an eyebrow.

"I shall consult with the Royal Council."

"I am the rightful heir, am I not?" The Prince snapped, as the Archbishop looks him up and down, then looks to his left at Sheridan, then back at the Prince.

"Indeed. first...... there will need to be a state funeral in London." The Archbishop slowly spoke after he paused and walked the length of the coffin before folding his arms over his chest towards the Prince.

"And there shall be one. I shall see to it myself. London was my brother's seat of power, after all. But... power, as you know, is finely balanced between the north and south, and now that the tragic news is out, any delay could cause that balance to shift, which is why I propose making my seat, Nottingham, the new capital of England." The Prince spoke causing my head to snap up in his direction as I looked over to see Prince John look at Sheridan and make a slight jerk of the head towards the Archbishop.

"As the claim in uncontested, I saw no barrier in bringing the crown with me. Everything is in place." Sheridan informed taking another step forward as the Archbishop looks at Prince John, who raises his eyebrows expectantly.

"So be it." The Archbishop nodded as the crusaders moved his body into the crypt.

"I shall return to the castle. Lord Wolf, walk with me" The Archbishop requested as I was shocked for a brief moment before bowing towards the Prince in dismissal and walked beside the Archbishop outside. Neither of us spoke as the Archbishop mounted Sheridan's horse and rode fast into the forest with me following quickly after him. He randomly stopped at the clearing as my horse jolted with a whine to a halt as I rubbed his neck soothingly as I circled the Archbishop.

"Your Grace we should return back to the castle" I informed him as he remained silent and closed his eyes. His lips moved slowly in a silent prayer as I lowered my head in respect and patiently waited. My nose twitched to the smell of something burning as I turned in my saddle to see black smoke begin to rise up from the abbey as I frowned and looked back towards the Archbishop. He slowly breathed in through his nose and let out a breath before he continued towards the castle.

Once I was sure he had made it back safely I turned my horse back in the direction of the smoke to try and pinpoint the cause of the fire. Surely someone wasn't camping? I didn't go far in the forest before Robin and the gang looked smoked and furious stormed out and paused at the sight of me.

"What happened?" I asked slowly down my horse as Robin kicked at the ground.

"The Prince burned it. The body was made of wax and he had it burned to destroy the evidence!" He snapped as I tightened my grip on the reigns.

"He cannot be crowned King! You need to get into the castle and steal the crown. Without the crown there can be no coronation," I informed as he nodded. Grabbing hold of the keys at my belt I threw them towards Robin as he caught them easily.

"I had a copy of the castle dungeon's keys made, put them to good use" I informed before I rode back to the castle. A stable boy came and took my horse from me as I made my way through the castle in search for the Archbishop and the Prince. The great hall was flooded with drunken nobles laughing away at the festivities hosted by the Prince, but he was nowhere in sight. I soon found him walking down the exterior corridor with the Archbishop.

"Now, I want the theme of my coronation to be "out of the darkness, into the light." And I want all the guards with mirrored shields to reflect the glory of my leadership far and wide." The Prince spoke as he walked with the Archbishop down the eastern corridor. I followed lazily behind them like a bodyguard of the crown would as I could see how the Archbishop was growing sick and revolted with the Prince's behavior and attitude.