The Crown

Chapter Eighteen

The first shake shook the castle.

Evelyn stirred groggily awake, draping her arm over her eyes. "What on earth was that noise?"

Marcus groaned and reached for his reading glasses, looking at the time on the clock. "I am going to make the person responsible for that noise burn in the pits of fire."

As the couple slowly drifted back to sleep, a second shake jolted them completely awake this time. Marcus rolled over and fell to the floor, yelling as he collided. Evelyn quickly stood and helped her husband up. 

Their relationship had grown strenuous since Marcus' imposition of the wedding between their son and the princess without any consent from the groom to be nor his mother. Evelyn rarely chose to speak with him, but in the midst of her panic and fear, she pushed her concerns aside.

"What is happening?" She asked, sitting down on the bed.

Marcus reached for their robes, helping his wife into hers. He quickly slipped into his own, holding out for her hand. "It must be a terrible earthquake."

She sighed as she tightened the robe. "I do hope no one was hurt."

Marcus, who never cared much for the wellbeing of anyone but himself, ignored her comment as he walked to the door. He opened it just in time to watch as soldiers dressed in white ran their way, guns drawn. He swiftly closed the door and lunged to the side as bullets fired outside. Evelyn screamed as she ducked behind the bed, shaking in fear. 

The door swung open and in walked the soldiers dressed in white. They grabbed a hold of Marcus quickly, hauling him off his knees and into their captivity. Other soldiers seized the Queen, holding her tight against them.

Marcus turned his head and fought against the soldiers who captured him, resisting in order to attempt to escape to his wife. 

"Marcus!" Evelyn cried as one of the soldiers approached and stuck a large needle on the side of her neck.

The soldiers dragged an unconscious Evelyn as Marcus was pushed to follow, his arms tied behind him by two strong hands. They walked down a long corridor as the screams of servants were heard. It filled his ears, but did not disturb him in any way. His mind was more worried about his personal situation at hand.

He glanced back and noticed a figure standing not too far from their bedroom. He furrowed his brows until he heard the loud yell of what could only be his son.

"Tobias!" He called out, panicked. A hand covered his mouth and pushed him forward.

Inside, Lieutenant Peter stood from the chair he was sitting on, along with his subordinates who locked and pointed their guns at the newcomers. Evelyn was thrown into a chair where she slumped, unconscious. 

Marcus looked at the corner of the room, cringing at the sight of someone at his desk. The woman beside it smiled, turning toward the newcomers. Empress Jeanine.

The Empress, much like her husband, was just as hungry for entire domination. Her blonde hair was tucked tightly in a bun on the back of her head. She looked the King up and down, sitting on top of the desk in a dress that clutched to her skin. 

The chair by the desk turned to reveal Emperor Eric, who smiled maliciously at Marcus.

"Marcus," he greeted and motioned for him to take a seat. "We finally get to work out our discrepancies, face to face."

The enemies had met before at a territory meeting. A nearby kingdom had fallen, so the two fought to gain parts of the fallen land. Bribing the rest of the leaders, Marcus managed to convince Eric to buy unusable territory, keeping the richer land to himself. Eric soon realized how valueless the territory he received was, and how cheated he was during the meeting.