The Crown

Chapter Twenty Four

"Aha!" Matthew laughed, pointing to the back of Evleyn's neck. "Your mother had been implanted with a chip."

"A chip?!" Tobias exclaimed, rushing over. He stared at the silver bullet-like orb in the back of his mother's neck. "I demand you to take it out!"

Matthew rolled his eyes and smiled, setting back down the Queen. The doctors he brought prepared the extraction while the scientists waited to collect the chip.

"How could this have happened?! Who did this?!" Tobias demanded, pacing around the room.

"Eric," A third voice said.

They turned and watched King Marcus enter the room, his arms crossed. He looked around and admired the sight of everyone bowing to him, sneering at his son who stayed purposefully still. He glanced at his wife and sighed, reaching out to hold her hand.

"Do you care to elaborate?" Tobias snapped.

"When those henchmen came and took us," Marcus explained. "They grabbed your mother and injected her with a something," he let go of her hand and stepped away, clearly upset. "I thought nothing of it because she had passed out so quickly afterward. I assumed the purpose was to put her to sleep."

"That is incredibly helpful, Your Majesty," Matthew commented, grabbing a notebook and jotting down information. "The subjects we are able to survey who were implanted are dead when they come into our care. We never had a concrete idea of how the chip was placed."

Marcus glared at the man who spoke, unaware of his importance in the room. He had assumed he was another servant. "What are you doing here?"

Tobias stepped forward, flashing a fake smile. "Father, I invited Matthew to observe Mother in order to better understand her condition. Matthew is a...." he cleared his throat, careful not to expose his true role. "...scientist who studies the effects of an attack on people."

Marcus squinted his eyes. "How convenient," he mumbled, turning back to his wife to hold her hand once more. "And, for once, not an idiotic decision on your part."

Tobias rolled his eyes, clenching his fist and turning away.

Carefully, the doctors extracted the chip and placed it into the care of the scientists. One of the doctors sighed in relief, removing his surgical gloves and bowing once more to the King. "The Queen should wake up shortly. We will stay to make sure she awakens safely."

Matthew looked at the prince and nodded toward the door, silencing requesting they both leave the room. They exited quickly, relaxing once they found themselves in the silence of an empty hall.

Tobias paced outside, biting his thumb as he thought over again the events of the attack. By failing to retrieve my parents in time, I allowed her to suffer in silence through this chip, he repeatedly told himself, tormented.

"Could you tell me what happened that day?" Matthew asked quietly.

The prince glanced at the man in front of him. As much as he hated reliving the day, Tobias cleared his throat and decided to talk about it. "It happened a couple hours after you had left. While they created a diversion blasting through the gates of the castle, the rest infiltrated inside instantly. There was no time."

Matthew shivered at his words, guilt washing over him at the constant reminder that he abandoned his soldiers the day they were in need of his guidance.

"Why did you leave?" Tobias asked. "Did you know the attack would be that day?"

"No," Matthew answered truthfully, pain in his voice. "It was all a coincidence. I had orders to return back to base. I can't refuse a direct order," he sighed and leaned against the wall. "I fear other soldiers think like you do; that my abandonment was tied to the attack being the same day."