"But, you can't just-"
Raising my eyebrow in annoyance, I silenced the servant girl.
"I have been fulfilling obligations all day," I said irritably. "I don't think it's too much to expect a moment for myself. Do you?"
"No, Your Highness," she said meekly.
"You will go back and tell Roberta that I wasn't here when you arrived."
"Yes, Miss."
"You may go."
The girl curtsied and scurried away as I scowled at her. Roberta didn't actually have any authority over me any longer, but she still liked to pretend she did by planning an endless number of appointments.
I might not have been so irritated if I hadn't been kept running from one appointment to the next all day already. Apparently Roberta wanted to keep the trend going. Even if I hadn't planned to meet Alex already, I wasn't about to subject myself to more of that today.
Shaking it off, I grabbed the book I planned to give to Aunt Keira for Mother before heading out the door.
Normally I'd have wished to spend more time with my aunt than the few minutes she had to spare to meet me for the book, but I hadn't had much time with Alex all week. He miraculously had some free time this afternoon, so we were going to spend a few hours in our hiding place after I met Aunt Keira.
A minute after I'd reached a more central hallway, I felt someone behind me and turned to look.
"Good afternoon, Your Highness," the man said with a bow. I thought he looked a little familiar, but I didn't know him.
"Hello," I answered.
"On your way to the library?" he asked pleasantly.
Surprised by his intuition, I stared at him. The library was not the first place that anyone would guess a woman would be visiting.
He glanced pointedly at the book in my hand in answer to the question in my eyes.
I was still a little puzzled about his assumption, but I said, "just briefly." Even hidden as our secret room was, I didn't want anyone thinking of looking for me there. Especially since Roberta might try to send me another message.
"Have an enjoyable time," he said before bowing again.
Something in his smile was off, so I was glad he didn't plan on walking with me for any length of time. I smiled and nodded before continuing on down the hall.
As I walked, that feeling didn't go away, and after a few more minutes I turned around to find that he was still behind me. He just smiled again and said nothing.
I guess it wasn't the strangest thing in the world that he was going in the same direction that I was, but it just felt odd to have him walking behind me.
Quickening my step, I continued toward the library. When I checked again a few moments later, he was still following me with that odd smile.
This couldn't be coincidence, could it? That he'd needed to make all the same turns down the various hallways that I did? And that he had needed to match his pace with mine? I really didn't think so and I was beginning to feel very uncomfortable with his presence. Especially since this section of the castle was pretty deserted.
Turning the last corner that led to the library, I hurried toward the guard who was apparently patrolling the area.
"I think someone is following me," I said looking back toward the corner.
Sure enough, in another second, he appeared. I was a little more calm with the guard at my back, but what was he doing? Alex would have a fit to learn that someone was trying to scare me. It was just plain stupid on his part.
I was about to order the guard to do something, but the guard surprised me by grabbing me and covering my mouth.
"Make it quick, would ya?" he said to the other man. "I want to get out of here."
Terrified now, I realized that I'd only mistaken this man for a guard. I'd been too frightened to notice that he wasn't dressed exactly right. Hearing him speak, I realized by his accent that he must be from somewhere other than the kingdom.
I struggled instinctively and tried to scream, but the man had a firm grip. I wasn't sure what their plan was, but I was almost positive that it didn't involve taking me anywhere. There's no way they'd be able to get near one of the exits without attracting a lot of attention. And hearing the one tell his accomplice to hurry, made me think that they probably planned on hurting me in some way. Or worse.
The one who'd originally frightened me drew nearer and his smile became much more menacing. So it was probably the worse option, I relaized.
I forced myself to calm as much as possible and focus. Unfortunately this was not the first time I'd been in a situation like this, and thanks to Aunt Keira, I was not totally helpless.
Making a fist, I jabbed my elbow into the stomach of the man who held me. He grunted and his grip loosened, but he didn't entirely let go. I turned and used my palm to hit him hard in the nose, making him forget me and clutch his face.
When I turned back, the other one grabbed my arms and I forcefully pulled my knee up between his legs, shocking him into releasing me too.
Taking what was undoubtedly only a brief moment of freedom, I ran through the library and quickly slipped behind the curtain that led to the secret room. I could have run through the other exit, but I wasn't sure if there were any more men in on their plan.
Seconds later, I heard the one man's voice inside the library.
"Find her," he ordered his friend. "I'll stand look out."
As quietly as possible, I took the steps up to the room and peeked out the stained glass window that overlooked the library.
The first man went to check the other exit before he began searching the stacks. The one who was pretending to be a guard, stood at the entrance, holding the book I'd dropped and dabbing at his nose with a handkerchief.
They wouldn't find me, I tried to comfort myself. And Alex would be along soon. He'd know what to do.
For a few tense minutes, I watched the one man exhaustively check over the library. What would he do when he failed to find me? He knew I didn't take the other exit. Would he know to look for a hidden room?
Aunt Keira appeared in the doorway and I wanted to yell for her, but I was afraid of the man in the library getting to me while she dealt with his accomplice.
She said something to the man at the entrance before suspiciously looking around and then eyeing him more closely. She nodded to the book in his hand and said something.
Whatever the man said in answer, apparently told her something was wrong. She instantly pulled her sword and pointed it at him, obviously demanding to know where I was.
He held up his hands and appeared to be playing dumb.
The other man was searching more discretely, but I noticed with a start that he was looking for false areas in the wall.
Should I call to her? Would she be able to fight off the one man before the other could get to me?
Alex appeared a second later, took one look at the scene and became furious. He took the man's sword from his holster and held it to his throat.
The man gestured down the hall. Maybe telling them I ran that way? Whatever he said, he was apparently trying to make them leave the library. Probably so the other one could find me.
Deciding it was time to call for them, I was about to move toward the door but gasped when I saw that the other man had found the hidden doorway and quickly slipped through the curtain.
I ran to the door seconds before he reached it and fought to keep him out.
"Alex!" I shrieked, praying he could hear me. "Alex, upstairs! Our room!"
I fought with all my might but within seconds, he overpowered me and pushed the door all the way open. Backing away from the man who was now holding a knife, I grabbed one of the chairs and threw it at him. The most I managed to accomplish was to irritate him as he quickly dodged out of the way. Picking up the other chair, I held it in front of me to act as a barrier.
The man just grinned and ripped it from my hands before throwing it off to the side.
"Alex! Aunt Keira!" I cried. In my haste to back away from him, I fell in the pile of pillows.
Throwing my arms up, I turned my head away and squeezed my eyes shut so I wouldn't see whatever was coming.
Maybe my perception of time was off because of how scared I was, but it seemed to be taking him a long time to do what he intended.
Hearing strange noises that I hadn't expected, I peeked back in time to see Alex, enraged as he pulled his sword from the man's back and then jabbed it in a second time.
"Alex!" I cried, relieved.
He pulled his sword from the man's body again and shoved him away. If he wasn't dead, I guessed that he was close to it because he offered no resistance and didn't even try to brace himself as he hit the floor.
Alex tossed the sword, kicked the man's knife away, and reached for me.
Scrambling up, I lept into his arms, clinging to him and crying.
"Are you alright?" he asked, gripping me tightly.
Unable to answer due to how hard I was crying, I nodded.
We clung to each other for a long time and I couldn't help peeking at the man on the floor to make sure he was dead. He hadn't moved an inch.
Alex pushed me back after a bit to look at me.
"You're sure you're okay?" he asked anxiously. "They didn't hurt you?"
I shook my head, wiping the tears from my face. "They just grabbed me."
"And you got away?" He sounded surprised.
"You forget who my aunt is," I said making him laugh a little.
"Thank God for that," he said, hugging me again and I couldn't agree more.
"I know you'll hate this, but..."
I pulled away to look at him.
"I think I'm going to have to see about assigning you a personal body guard," he said.
My instinct was to fight him and insist I'd be fine, but after glancing again at the dead man on the floor, I couldn't.
"I'll hand pick him and make sure he's not intrusive."
"Alright." I sighed.
Alex seemed a little surprised but relieved before he looked down at the man on the floor.
"Let's go," he said. "Your aunt is holding the other one."
Happy to get away from this room, I let him lead me down the steps and into the library. By the time we reached Aunt Keira, actual guards were taking the man into custody.
She pulled me in for a tight hug and then made me assure her I was alright like Alex had.
"Whoever's behind this must have been desperate," she observed once she was satisfied.
Alex nodded. "Yes, and when I find out who it is..." He glared at the man's back as the guards led him down the hall.
He didn't have to finish his thought - when he found out, that other man's death was going to seem extremely merciful.
"Any ideas?" Aunt Keira said as we all turned to go in the other direction from the guards.
"A few. The trouble will be proving it. Not that I need physical proof," he said carelessly. "But I need to be sure."
"At least we have one of them to question," she said. "I assume the other won't be saying anything any time soon?"
Alex nodded. "I'll have to send someone to clean up," he mused.
They continued talking as we walked and Alex held tightly to my hand. I wondered who might have done it. Who really hated me that much?
Lord Houghton came to mind, but was he that stupid? He must know that he would be a suspect if something happened to me. But Aunt Keira did say whoever it was had to be desperate. He was pretty humiliated and out of the king's graces right now. But was he desperate? Desperate enough to try to kill me?
Or was someone else attempting to pin something on him? It wasn't that hard to imagine that he had enemies. Maybe someone hoped to make him look guilty by killing me.
My head was starting to spin with possibilities and I was glad that I wouldn't have to figure it out.
We reached the conference room as several men, including Papa were exiting. Alex motioned them back inside, still holding tight to my hand. Normally I wasn't supposed to be in any of these meetings, but I guessed that Alex didn't plan on letting me out of his sight any time soon.
After hearing what happened, Papa hugged me tightly and it felt nice to lean into him for a few minutes until Alex pulled me back to himself to keep me close.
I tried to watch the faces of the men in the room, particularly Lord Houghton and ones like him, to see if there was any indication of guilt on their part. I thought I saw something flicker on Lord Houghton's face, but I honestly couldn't tell if it was guilt. It could have been disappointment that the man failed to kill me, worry over being made a suspect, or even just surprise at hearing the news.
Again I was glad that I wouldn't have to figure it out. I snuggled under Alex's arm and listened to the strategy plans.
Listening to them, I understood what Aunt Keira had meant about him being desperate. I'd assumed it was due to the fact that those men guessed that they might be on a suicide mission, but now that I realized just how much effort was going to be put into finding the guilty party, it really was very stupid of whoever it was to try it.