Shatter Like Midnight

Part Two-Ashlin

     Ash spent the next several days in total fear.

Edris had sent a message to the palace the day after the ball regarding her information. Hazel had locked herself in her room and cried for hours. She only rejoined the household when the response from the palace arrived three days later.

Ashlin lingered in the doorway as her stepmother read the letter to her daughters.

"Lady Edris," Edris read, "we have received word about your claim. Someone from the palace will be sent to your home shortly to investigate and question you. Thank you for your service to the crown."

"Ooh!" Piper exclaimed. "Do you think they'll send someone royal?"

"I doubt it," Edris replies, stuffing the letter into her bag as though it was a valuable heirloom. Ash's eyes flitted to her hand. Where was her mother's ring now? Did it have blood on it? If so, had someone scrubbed it off? Likely not. Everyone considered it evidence.

Sipping her tea, Ash's stepmother added, "I suspect they shall send a member of the guard."

Ash swallowed. What if it was Peder? What if he fingered her in the killing?

"Are there any royals even left?" Hazel asked. "The King is deathly ill; I heard the staff whispering about it."

"There's the prince's brother," Piper recalled.

"Yes," Hazel said thoughtfully. "What was his name?"

"Peder," Ash whispered. Edris' head trend towards eyes. Her eyes had a mad glint in them. Ash cursed herself mentally.

"You are familiar with the royal family, Ash?" her stepmother asked. Ashlin swallowed.

"I heard Hazel or Piper mention him once," she lied. This excuse convinced her stepsisters, who immediately began discussing the royal family once more. Edris, however, continued to watch Ash. Her beady eyes did not move away from er stepdaughter even for a second until someone knocked on the door several minutes later.

"I'll get it," Edris said, leaping to her feet. She thrust her tea cup into Ash's empty hands and stride towards the door. The servants scampered out of Edris' path. Like Ash, they had been eavesdropping, and much like her, they knew who Edris was expecting.

Ash dropped the teacup when she heard the visitor's voice. Her stepsisters had been right. Peder had come personally.

     "—did not expect you so soon," her stepmother was saying as she led him into the parlor. Ash hastily began cleaning up her mess, careful not to let the captain see her face.

"I apologize for that, ma'am," Peder replied. "Palace protocol. I am sure you understand."

Edris bristled at the word ma'am. As a High Lady of the court, she was no ma'am. Ash wondered if the word had been an intentional slight. If so, it'd had its intended affect.

      "It is no trouble, really," Edris replied. Someone who did know her wouldn't have noticed her terse tone.

     "Would you care to sit down?" Edris continued, her voice much more enthusiastic than it had been mere seconds before.

     Peder nodded politely. Edris gestured for him to sit across from Hazel. Ash realized immediately what Edris' plan was. Involve herself in the investigation for the status, obviously, but she also hoped that Hazel might still be able to snare the son of the king.

     "Now," Peder said, "would you mind explaining to me what you saw the night of the ball?"

      "Of course. Where should I begin?"

     Ash managed to get all the pieces of the cup and mop up the mess as Edris described what she had seen that night. She kept glancing furtively at her stepmother and the captain, concerned that Peder might notice her, or that Edris might draw attention to her. Fortunately, her stepfamily seemed too interested in the captain to pay her any mind.

     Only when Ash was leaving the room did her luck run out.

    "Ash," her stepmother snapped. "Fetch this good man some parchment and one of my quills. He needs to be taking this down."

      Ash dared not turn around.

     "Yes, milady," she said quietly, careful to use her stepmother's title. She walked into the hallway.

     "There is really no need—" she heard Peder begin, but Piper cut him off.

     "May we see the ring?" she asked. Ash froze. This was it. She was going to die. The royal family would have her executed, if Edris did not kill her first. They would never believe that she was not the killer. They would probably testify against her if it would get them into the king's good graces.

      To Ash's relief, Peder replied, "I am afraid not. It is private evidence."

     "You can describe it, can't you?" Hazel presses. "Mother knows every family crest in Viridian."

     "I do not think she will be able to help with this. The suspect is Azurian."

      "Azurian, really?" Edris asked.

      She knew. There was no denying it. She knew Ash had wanted to go to the ball. What were the odds a different Azurian aas in attendance? Paired with Ash's suspicious behavior the past several days, Ash was certain Edris would come to that conclusion. She would turn her in.

     Sure enough, Edris said, "Would you excuse me for a minute, Captain?"

     "Of course," Peder said. If he suspected anything was awry, he didn't let on

     Hearing her stepmother's footsteps approaching the hall, Ash made a quick dash for the stairs. Edris' voice stopped her cold.

     "Ashlin, is there something you need to tell me?"