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I stood over a table in Harry's office while he was still in bed. I woke up this morning, my nausea getting the better of me so I decided to be productive today. I had all of the notes Harry had begun gathering against Niall and Greg.
Greg was fairly straightforward. He had a wife and son and also had a job. His daily outings were generally from his house to work, to the shops, and back home. He lived a quiet life, occasionally he would go and visit his father. But it was only about once every week. His mail told us nothing of strange whereabouts either.
Niall, however, is vastly different. He's leaving at odd hours of the night and coming back just a few hours later. He goes to the most random places in the neighborhood; the middle of the forest, behind abandoned buildings, etc. He was also mailing back and forth with someone back in Gaelic country. Always the same addressee with the same handwriting, though different addresses every time.
"What are you up to?" I whispered, sitting down in Harry's chair. My blue eyes scanned over the documents, curiosity filling me. The office phone range.
"Hello?" I asked, picking it off the receiver.
"Now, you would think I'd be dumb calling my own office, but I didn't know where else to call," Harry chuckled through the phone. "Have you had breakfast?" he asked.
"No," I said. "Before you start yelling at me, I wasn't feeling well, but I'm feeling fine now. Bring me food."
"Yes Ma'am," he chuckled before bidding me a goodbye on the phone. I hung it up and went back to looking at the papers in front of me.
Something oddly peculiar was happening, and I wanted to know what Niall was up to. Without a doubt, I knew it was Niall behind these attacks, I just had to figure out how. He had people in his own country and in Ula backing him. People inside this palace. I grabbed a notebook and began jotting things down:
*Intercept all of Niall's mail
*Question people in the palace
As I continued to look over the papers, my brows furrowed, the swift click of the door opening sounded making me look up. Harry walked in holding a bag of food and had a glass of juice in his other hand. He smiled at me before coming over to me and kissing my cheek, handing me the food.
"What's going on?" he questioned me.
"Nothing much, but the attack that killed your father," I started. "Someone working with Niall—"
"We don't know if it's Niall for sure, love."
"He's involved somehow," I said. "The attack. There had to have been someone on the inside who let them in. There is no way that the rebels could have just broke in. It had to have been a guard," I said.
"A guard?" Harry asked. "What makes you think that?"
"There's no other way in is there? There's guards at all the entrances," I said and Harry's face grimaced. "What are you not telling me?"
"Eat your breakfast and I'll show you," he sighed. "Why didn't I think of it before?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I followed Harry as we weaved through the corridors until we got to one of the farthest corridors of the castle. He took a key out of his pocket and turned the lock until the lock unhinged. He took it off the door and put the lock and key in his pocket.
"Only certain people have these keys," Harry said upon seeing my curious face. "Me and like six or seven others."
"Wouldn't that narrow down the list?" I asked.
"It would if they really did do it," he said, letting me past him. I stopped once I stepped down one stair. Harry had a torch in his hand that he clicked on and he reached for my hand, and led me down the stairs. "Would you mind holding the torch?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said taking it from him. Harry's other hand held the sword that was attached to his belt. His hand covering the sword's hilt waiting to grab it if anything were to happen.
"Where are we?" I asked as we continued descending stairs.
"The underground tunnels," Harry said. "We have these in case the royal family needs to escape quickly. That's only happened three times in the history of Ula. The first was my sixth time great grandfather, he was a crazy codger, he was under the influence of some sort of drug and was convinced that his wife was out to murder him. He called for emergency escape and his wife to be poisoned."
"Oh my," I gasped.
"The second time was two generations later. His granddaughter, who obviously wasn't in line, she was having an affair with one of the stable boys and fell pregnant. She hid it extremely well for nine months. She always wore shawls anyways. Her maids were sworn to secrecy on the matter, she threatened to poison them for disobeying her. She didn't call for an emergency exit, but the man who fathered her child, he had a horse and buggy waiting on the other side as she sent notice that she was in labor. She gave birth at his house to their son where her family found her later on."
"How did they find out?" I asked.
"One of the guards saw them sneaking away. When she was leaving, she was wearing nothing but her shift. A thin piece of fabric that women wore beneath their dresses at the time. Those clung to women's bodies and he saw that she was pregnant and informed the king."
"What happened to them?"
"Well, she and her newfound family were forced to wed and their son was baptized under the name of Joseph O'Sullivan. The stable boy was from Gaelic Country. After they were wed, her father exiled them to Souther Gaelic Country and disowned her and took her titles away."
"She was in love," I said.
"I know," he smiled. "They had seven more kids," he laughed. "But in the king's eyes, he lost a tie to another kingdom. She was supposed to bring an alliance, and that was no longer possible as she wasn't a virgin."
"Obviously," I laughed. "Honestly? How many of the kings and their queens were virgins when they got married? We weren't."
"I have thought of that," he said. "But I have no idea. I doubt we're the only ones."
"The third?"
"It was during my grandfather's reign, actually. My parents weren't courting yet, but I think your mum was here if I'm not mistaken," Harry said. "I know my father was going through the process of choosing a wife, and he only had a few here. Your mum and mine were the longest ones. Anyways, there was a small fire started by a candle in one of the rooms. It was put out pretty quickly, but the smoke was horrendous and my grandfather had terrible asthma, so he called to have the royal family moved to one of the holiday homes while they 'aired the place out.'"
"That's probably the tamest one of them all," I said to him.
"Yeah," he nodded. "Most people don't have the keys to this place, or they forget about it. I often do."
We finally reached the bottom of the stairs and there was a dark and long tunnel. Harry let go of my hand, silently instructing me to stay behind him. His eyes were averted to the ground a few feet in front of him, he walked up to it, squatted down and stared at the gravel floor.
"This is a shoe print," he pointed out. "Size eight men's," he noted.
"Small," I said.
"It is," he nodded. "About the size of a child's."
"A child?" I asked, my eyes widened. "You can't—"
"It's possible," Harry nodded. "Parents who believe in a cause will have their children join and risk their lives for the sake of it. That's what happened with that Jacobite cause in Scotland a few centuries ago. Bonnie Prince Charlie's followers, the Jacobite's, fought at Culloden and most of them were members of the clans. The English lost a little over two hundred men, and the Jacobite's lost thousands. Anyone who was involved in the Jacobite cause was hung or shot by the English for a few years and then held in prison."
"How do you know so much?" I asked. "About history?"
"I like it," he smiled. "You learn something new everyday don't you Em?"
"I do," I grinned.
I walked around, my hands pressed to the cold, damp stone wall running over the uneven surface as I looked around. Harry circled around, surveying the area. The tunnels themselves weren't long, it was the stairs that made them long. He found a large wedge in the corner and lifted it up to me with raised brows. He pulled at the doors and they opened easily.
"Damn it," he muttered, hanging his head. "This is how they got in. Someone came through the top and unlocked this door. They used the wedge for light to be let through when they hid down here. They must have gotten in overnight when security was weak. We didn't have as many guards at entrances then, but we do now." He said, assuring me. "Which bastard is it that works for the other side?"
"Well, have Waters make a list of those who do," I said, shrugging gently.
"That's the problem," Harry said. "Waters also has a key."
I knew that in the back of my mind, but didn't want to fully believe it. Harry and Waters were good friends, best friends probably, and the idea that one of his closest friends could have betrayed him and his kingdom is unsettling. I wouldn't know what to do in the situation he was in.
I walked over to him and gave him a side hug, curling into his side.
"I suppose I should begin interviewing everyone, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah," I nodded. "I think it's for the best."
Harry let out a sigh and kissed my lips gently. His hand pressed against my slightly protruded stomach, his fingers spread out wide as he looked down at his hand. Harry glanced up at me.
"I'm going to protect you guys as best as I can," he said softly. "I'm going to make it my duty to figure out a way to catch the sons of bitches before our baby arrives in May," he said to me. "I promise you that."
"We'll get them," I whispered. "I know we will," I said, bringing his lips to mine.