Royal Mess

Chapter Twenty-Four

May 2221 

"I hope to the Gods that my father is going to be alright," Nathan muttered, as we headed inside of the palace. 

I took his hand in my own then, to give it a gentle squeeze, and he looked towards me appreciatively. 

"He is going to be just fine," I assured him. 

He gave a nod. 

We continued on down the palace halls, with Jack leading ahead. 

I placed a hand to my bump then, to feel that the baby was kicking rather aggressively. It appeared that even he or she was preparing for a fight, too. 

"This could be very B.A.D," Jack said, as we walked on. 

"Bad? Yeah, no kidding," I replied. 

Despite our worries, we continued onward. 

I was with Nathan in hoping that his father was alright. I hoped that the queen would be okay, too. It had been some time since I had been at the palace, and anything could happen if Vivienne had struck. 

Nathan squeezed my hand this time around. 

"We're going to be just fine, guys!" Jack said optimistically, "We have absolutely nothing to worry about!" he said. 

Then we came face to face with the woman dressed in black herself. 

Madame Vivienne. 

Jack released a nervous laugh, "Well, you know, except...except that," he said. 

Vivienne was dressed from head to toe in black attire, as though reliving a punk or gothic phase. She even wore a black funeral, but I had to silently hope that the only funeral she was preparing for was her own. 

She looked a little ominous, in all honesty, and it send a shiver down my spine. 

"Vivienne," I spoke. 

"Hello, Trixie," she replied then, in her perfectly cool tone of voice, "Lovely to see you again," she replied. 

"We both know that's a damn lie," I replied. 

"Trixie," Nathan said to me, then, in a warning tone. 

I met his gaze for a second. 

"What? It is," I insisted. 

Madame Vivienne's mouth just motioned into an unsettling sneer. 

"Now, I was just about to speak with the king about some things. What are you all doing here?" she asked. 

"We know what you're up to, Vivienne,"  I said. 

"And what's that, girl?" she asked. 

"You're involved with the Northern rebels, aren't you?" 

Vivienne's eyes widened slightly at my question, then, but she quickly make her features form into a serious expression, once more. 

Nicholas began to stride towards us, then. 

"Nicholas," Vivienne said. 

"That's King Nicholas, to you, Madame Vivienne. And with all due respect, we know what you're up to," he said then. 

"What?" she asked. 

"We know that you are involved with the Northern rebels, and that the attack that almost took place was orchestrated by you," he said. 

She narrowed her eyes. 

"I don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about," she replied, then. 

King Nicholas gave a subtle shake of his head. 

"Well, you clearly do. Otherwise, you wouldn't try to deny it as much as you currently are," he said. 

Vivienne sighed. 

"I was only trying to help my people, Nicholas, and if you won't help me in what I seek to do, I will do it my damn self," she stated. 

King Nicholas waved his hand dismissively. 

"By all means, go ahead, Vivienne. I doubt very much you will be able to do much with that, though," he stated. 

Vivienne gave a huff in response. 

"Ridiculous," she stated. 

"The only ridiculous thing here is you, Vivienne," Diane stated, as she joined all of us. 

"I just want power over this pathetic city. Is that too much to ask for?" Vivienne asked. 

"I may believe that there are many religions, Vivienne, and I respect them all. However, what you want to do is entirely demonic. You want to remove the royal family and start creating a society and nation all ruled by you.  You wish to take the throne for yourself. You will massacre anyone who disagrees with your visions for power and control. We will not submit to those beliefs," Diane vowed. 

"I-" Vivienne started to say. 

"Am not interested in hearing any defense of what you wish to say," Diane stated, and nodded to a nearby guard for Vivienne to be taken away, then. 

Diane turned to me, then, and probably noticed my mouth was slightly a gap in admiration of her. 

"Are we going to be okay?" I asked her. 

"We are going to be just fine, Trixie," Diane replied. 

I nodded in response, following after Diane as she led down the palace halls. 

The king came with us, and we soon arrived in his main office. 

He soon sat down at his desk, and I quickly straightened up my shirt and checked for any pizza stains as I prepared to speak with him. 

"I am glad you are alright, King Nicholas," I said then. 

"Thank you, Trixie," he replied, "Suffice to say I...hadn't been expecting to have all of Vivienne's plans revealed to me so soon," he stated. 

"Who did reveal them, your majesty?" I asked. 

He gave a slight shake of his head, then. 

"I am sure that the person who did will speak to you soon enough," he replied. 

I gave a small smile at that, but had to wonder who had been wise enough to uncover Vivienne's dark secrets. 

I left the King and Queen in peace for a moment, as I headed back out into the hall to find that Amelie was stood there. 

"Amelie," I greeted her. 

"Hi Trixie," she replied, with a kind smile, "I really need to speak with you," she added, then. 

"Of course," I replied, "You can talk to me about absolutely anything," I assured her. 

The two of us went to sit upon a bench in the hall, then, and she turned to me with a serious expression upon her face. 

"Alright..." she trailed off. 

"Alright?" I questioned. 

"You may recall that I received a stab wound earlier," she stated. 

I nodded, following along in my mind. 

"So...Madame Vivienne was responsible for that. I refused to  comply with her demands for me to attempt to seduce the prince," she said then. 

I inhaled sharply at this confession, and just looked towards Amelie with an apologetic expression. 

"I just couldn't do that to a friend," she added. 

"Amelie, I am so sorry," I said then. 

She shrugged, and then took my hands in her own. 

"It's okay, Trixie. I'm safe now," she said with a small smile, "At least I think so, is it over?" she asked. 

"Yes, Amelie," I assured her, with a gentle smile, "I believe it's over," I replied.