The Bleeding Heart
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Chapter 26
Gwyneth Markham’s funeral was over by noon. Eugenie couldn’t stop her tears from falling in the front row, with Adrian putting an arm around her for support and comfort although he was crying himself. Erielle had watched the pair in their sorrow and even though she knew that they were only depressed, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy within her.
Soon after lunch, the king had called for a council meeting with the two Bale brothers and Adviser Llionel Scott since the issue that they were dealing with was sensitive and the king knew to not trust everyone in court. Gwyneth Markham’s death was proof of that.
“Even though Miss Markham’s death would probably be considered as an accident, it was the library that exploded and therefore, it caused the accident,” Theo said. “But why did the library explode all of the sudden?”
“If there really is a spy,” Llionel answered. “Then there’s no doubt that it was he who destroyed the library and hoping that the explosion would take the lives of two of the scholars who were investigating this problem.”
“The adviser is right,” Head Scholar Bale agreed. “We have records and restricted information inside the library – information that might help reveal the identity of the spy.”
“And so,” General Bale cut in. “The spy probably thought that Miss Rennes and Miss Markham were nearing the bull’s eye and quickly thought of a way to dispose the both of them.”
“If that’s the case, then Miss Rennes’ life is also in danger,” Theo mused.
“Shall we have a knight guard her then?” General Bale suggested.
“Maybe,” Head Scholar Bale nodded his head. “I’m not sure if Miss Rennes would approve of that though…she’s always been a stubborn and proud student of mine.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Llionel said. “Her knowledge on this whole matter is of utmost importance. And if someone were to take her out, then that would give us a large problem.”
“Yes,” Theo agreed, his voice grave. “We can’t say that King Edric did this, just as we can’t accuse him of poisoning my wife since we don’t have evidence that it was Aria who did both deeds. Riza’s poisoning is probably only accidental, they’ll say. And Gwyneth Markham’s death as well.”
“Can Miss Rennes continue this investigation on her own?” General Bale turned towards his brother.
“She has the ability to do so, no question,” Head Scholar Bale said. “But it would take time to get her mind back on track.”
“Why?”
“Miss Markham was her cousin,” Head Scholar Bale explained. “And to lose her so suddenly like that, it scarred Eugenie. She’s not in the right mind to do this investigation right now…it would be best to give her time. Please understand, Your Majesty.”
“I understand,” the king nodded. “To lose a close friend like that, it’s hard. I should know – I almost lost my wife and son. And that alone terrified me. I could only imagine what it would do to Miss Rennes who experienced a far worse situation than I had. Alright, we’ll give her time. In any case, we still have other scholars working on this case, right?”
“Adrian Levi is also working with Miss Rennes and Miss Markham,” Head Scholar Bale said.
“Oh yes, that’s right,” Theo nodded. “So I suppose he’d carry on with this investigation without Miss Rennes in the meantime?”
“Yes, I have already spoken to him,” Head Scholar Bale revealed. “As much as he’s depressed with the loss of Gwyneth Markham, he’s in a better state than Miss Rennes is.”
“Good,” Theo said.
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“You should get some rest,” Adrian said softly, sitting Eugenie on her bed.
Eugenie’s tears still flowed down her cheeks, her voice trembling, “She’s gone…”
“I know, I know,” Adrian knelt in front of her, rubbing her upper arm comfortingly. “But knowing Gwyneth, she’s happy where she is.”
“I…I lost her, Adrian,” Eugenie hiccupped. “And what’s worse is that she died…the same way Ryan did. It’s all too much.”
“What…” Adrian’s eyes widened. So that’s why… “Eugenie…”
“They both died because of me,” Eugenie covered her face with both hands. “I was supposed to die…not them! It was supposed to be me!”
“Eugenie…” Adrian felt the tears in his eyes threatening to flow. He hugged Eugenie tightly, sobbing as well. Eugenie clutched his shirt as she cried endlessly.
“It’s not your fault,” Adrian shook his head. “I’m sure…that Ryan and Gwyneth wouldn’t want you to blame yourself.”
“Head Scholar…” Eugenie’s voice was muffled but Adrian could still hear what she was saying. “He…he said it was meant to be…but that’s – that’s crap!...he said that Gwyneth was the one in the prophecy…”
“What…” Adrian trailed off when realization dawned upon him and he released Eugenie from their embrace. “One shall be lost…to save the land…Gwyneth…”
“Gwyneth…” Eugenie sobbed.
“No, don’t do this to yourself, Eugenie,” Adrian told her. “Don’t do this again! Please…you can’t blame yourself for this! You said so yourself, it was all said in the prophecy.”
“But it could’ve been me!” Eugenie argued. “It should’ve been me!”
Adrian sighed, not knowing what to say. He just held her until she fell asleep from crying. He laid her on her bed and sat down on the edge of it himself, a hand massaging the bridge of his nose.
Gwyneth…
Ryan…
Why did you guys leave us already…?
He spared Eugenie a glance. Even in her sleep, she was sweating and trembling. Bad dreams… He placed a hand over hers in an attempt to comfort her, even though she’s asleep.
Then suddenly, someone burst through the door. “Adrian, someone said that you were…here…”
Erielle’s voice trailed off at the sight. Eugenie was on the bed, breathing rapidly while Adrian was sitting at the edge of her bed, his hand on top of hers. Her eyes widened. Adrian’s head snapped towards her, giving her a sad smile. Erielle then clenched both of her fists and glared at Adrian.
“Eri – ”
But she ran away from the room. Adrian’s eyes widened and rushed to find her. “What…”
“Erielle!” he called out, grabbing her wrist.
“Get off me!” Erielle tried to get her wrist out of Adrian’s grasp.
“Erielle, what are you – ” Adrian asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
“Don’t you need to be with your Eugenie?” Erielle responded bitterly.
“With my Eugenie? Erielle – ” Adrian raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“Look, I know that you love her, okay?” Erielle said as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “So, please, just go away.”
“Erielle, what are you talking about?” Adrian asked, clearly confused. “I don’t understand.”
“I saw you, Adrian! You were holding her hand, sitting at the edge of her bed. Clearly, you love her – ” Erielle told him, her teeth gritted.
“Erielle, she’s depressed right now. She just lost her cousin! I’m just being there for her. Can’t you understand that?” Adrian shook his head in disbelief.
“I understand that!” Erielle said. “I understand that perfectly!”
“Well, if you understand that then why are you acting like this?!” Adrian demanded.
“Because – because I don’t want to lose you, Adrian! I love you – ” Erielle confessed.
“You love me?” Adrian cut her off.
“Well, yes! But it’s rather clear that you don’t love me back, so just go to Eugenie already!” Erielle turned her head away from Adrian.
“I love you, Erielle. I love you so, so much,” Adrian said softly, turning Erielle’s body to him and crushing her in an embrace.
“Liar,” she tried to push him away, but to no avail. “You love Eugenie!”
“No, I don’t. Well, yeah, I do love her,” Erielle froze at that statement. “But not in the way you’d think. I love her as a sister.”
“But, I saw you two – the way you act around each other, the way you’re both so comfortable with each other – it’s all so obvious!” Erielle argued.
“That’s because she’s one of my best friends! We grew up together, remember?” Adrian explained.
“But we grew up together too!” Erielle contested.
“Well, you’re different,” Adrian said calmly. “Eugenie, Gwyneth and Ryan have been my companions in the Academy. We studied together, we spent a lot of time researching together, we’ve gotten into an awful lot of mischief too. They know me inside out…”
“Don’t we do all those things too? Don’t I know you as much as they know you?” Erielle asked, her eyes pleading.
“Of course you do. But Erielle, if you have Anne and Elysia, I have Eugenie, Gwyneth and Ryan. That’s all there is to it,” Adrian brushed a stray strand of hair away from Erielle’s face.
“But you changed…five years ago…when Ryan died,” Erielle bit her lip. “You and Eugenie became so much closer and you…I think you were avoiding me.”
“Avoiding you? I didn’t avoid you, Eri,” Adrian shook his head. “I became closer to Eugenie because we were both so sad and depressed. Ryan was a great part of our lives, especially Eugenie’s. She blames herself for his death and that’s why Gwyneth and I were so worried about her.”
“…”
“She’d almost always wake up in the middle of the night, screaming for Ryan and she visits his grave every day. She’s that depressed, Eri,” Adrian told her. “And as her friend, it is my duty to be there for her.”
“Well, you were sad too…” Erielle said. “Ryan was your best friend, too.”
“Yes, he was. I was depressed. I mean, I lost my best friend just like that. But he was Eugenie’s boyfriend. And at that time, they were in a fight. Imagine what she went through. It was bad enough that she lost him but you know…their relationship didn’t even end well…”
“But…you two…you were always…” Erielle stuttered.
“Actually, it was Eugenie who always told me to go after you,” Adrian revealed, smiling a little.
“What?” Erielle was shocked.
“She wanted us to become a couple,” Adrian explained further.
“Why?” Erielle widened her eyes.
“She always said that Ryan often pressured me into asking you out but wasn’t able to and so she was just carrying on the unfinished business,” Adrian shook his head, laughing lightly.
“Oh…I thought…” Erielle looked at the gorund, a blush creeping to her cheeks.
“Eri, if I liked her that way, I would’ve asked her out a long time ago,” Adrian softly lifted Erielle’s chin with a finger. “But I didn’t. And you know why?”
“Why?” Erielle gulped.
“Because you were the only woman I ever loved,” Adrian confessed, touching their foreheads together.
“Adrian…I…” Erielle trailed off.
“I love you, princess. And there’s no one else who’ll make me love them as much I love you right now,” Adrian told her before touching her lips with his. It was a chaste kiss, a gentle one.
When they parted, Erielle’s blush was visible as she stammered, “I – I’m so sorry…I shouldn’t have been…so jealous.”
“It’s fine. Besides, I like how you’re jealous,” Adrian grinned. “At least I know that you like me like that too.”
Erielle smiled at that, “Always.”
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“I hope everything will turn out alright,” Denise sighed, sipping tea. “I can’t believe…”
“At this rate, King Theodore might be contemplating on attacking Aria,” Anne shook her head. “But maybe, the Arians took it too far as well.”
“Ambushes, poisoning and now destroying the royal library,” Denise bit her lip. “Why are they doing this? It just doesn’t make sense.”
“Nothing in this world ever makes sense,” Anne said solemnly.
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“This is stupid…” Lis said, muttering.
“Hm?” Keith, who was walking beside her, turned his head to her direction. “Did you say something?”
“Hm…no, I was only thinking why everyone’s so stupid,” Lis crossed her arms in exasperation. “Why can’t we just settle the whole thing already?!”
“We can’t,” Arden cut in. “Because we don’t trust each other. We won’t know if the other side is telling the truth or not. Look here, they said that they won’t attack us unless we’re concealing the murder’s identity, right? But during Erielle’s ball, they ambushed us, wanting to kill Erielle. That alone speaks for itself.”
“That we can’t trust Aria?” Lis said.
“Bingo,” Arden nodded.
“Well, that’s stupid,” Lis grumbled.
“The world’s been stupid for ages, Lis,” Arden sighed.
“He’s right, you know,” Keith nodded. “The world’s been stupid for ages. And it would take a very long time before it learns its lesson.”
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Richelle was walking along the lawn when she spotted Queen Riza happily talking with Trisha Klaus. She smiled to herself. She’s glad that she’s alright. She only hoped that Aunt Penelope won’t be accused for poisoning the queen.
Then suddenly, she saw something dark dart through the trees. She ran to get a better angle of the man. When she saw that he landed on a tree, she observed that he was wearing all black. Even his face was wrapped in a black cloth that only his eyes and nose can be seen.
Richelle strained her eyes to see what he was trying to do. She then gasped when she saw that he was readying his bow and loading his arrow. His target was the queen!
Richelle’s eyes widened as she ran for the queen. No…no way…
“Watch out!” she screamed which caught Riza and Trisha’s attention.
“Lady Chalot,” Trisha gasped. “What are you – ”
But her words were stuck in her throat when Richalle suddenly fell in front of Riza, an arrow lodged in her chest. Both women’s eyes widened. Trisha looked around to see a man in the trees, preparing to load another arrow. “Riza…”
Riza knelt beside Richelle, “Please stay awake…we’ll get some help right away.”
Richelle’s face was changing. She became pale then bright red but she only told the queen one thing, “Run…”