"Have you seen Miss Prior?"
The four-worded question was the only sentence that left Tobias' lips.
Frantically, he urged every person who passed by the same question, to which none had the answer.
Servants snickered and gossiped about the prince's panicked state, never having seen any of the Royals behave in such a manner.
Yet, Tobias could care less about how he appeared. He beat himself up over and over for the way the day had turned after the disastrous brunch. Since then, not only could he not find Beatrice, but his father was missing as well.
In fact, only his mother's location was known - crying in the dining hall with a drink in her hand.
He paused at the sight of his mother's handmaidens walking his way, whispering to one another. He rushed over to them, blocking their path. They stopped and stuffed their hands into their opposing sleeves, amused at how desperate the prince stood before them.
"Have you seen Miss Prior?" he asked slowly.
One of the handmaids furrowed her brows, unsure of an answer for the first time in her life. Even her partner was equally confused, not having expected such a question.
They slowly looked wearily to one another, masking their fear everywhere except their eyes.
As knowledgeable as they were, they were very aware of the fight that ensued in the dining hall over brunch. Yet, come to think of it, they had no idea where the infamous Miss Prior had gone.
"I-" the handmaid stuttered out, confusion pouring out of her. For the first time in their lives, the two handmaidens had not a clue about something going on in the castle. "I have no idea, Your Highness."
Tobias grunted, turning away from them. For a know-it-all reputation such as theirs, they are quite useless, he insulted.
The handmaid fiddled with her fingers before stepping forward. "Perhaps Christina would know!"
He stopped walking, looking back to them.
"Yes," she continued. "They are close."
"Where might I find her?" he urged for a quicker response.
The handmaid regained her confidence, knowing the answer to this question. "She fainted earlier. Last we heard, she was being escorted to her bedroom by the King's Page Boy."
He nodded and turned from them, rushing toward the servant hall. As much as he appreciated their clues, he detested the feeling of participating in some kind of scavenger hunt. Especially since the target was much too important.
He stumbled down the stairs, looking wearily around the seemingly thousands of closed doors. Without a further thought, Tobias walked toward Beatrice's door, fumbling with the locked handle. He turned and stopped at the sight of the door across, remembering faintly the memory of his encounter with Christina.
He knocked with haste, hoping he would find not only Christina, but Beatrice inside with her.
The door flung open as Will stood in front of the prince. He faltered, his breath hitched. "Prince Tobias?"
"Is Beatrice with you?" he rushed out.
Will widened his eyes, fear filling him whole. "Has she gone missing?"
Tobias clenched his fist and pushed open the door, inviting himself in. He looked around and spotted Christina lying in her bed, unconscious. He walked over and towered over her, wanting nothing more than to force her awake to get some answers.
"Please, tell me what is going on," Will begged as he returned by Christina's side.
"What happened to her?" Tobias asked, staring.
"I have no idea," he groaned, rubbing his temples. "I found her slumped against the wall like this, no one in sight. I fear she was attacked."
Tobias glanced at him. I am unsure as to how or why, but I believe his words, he thought.
"Who might have done this?" he asked softly.
Will shook his head.
Tobias rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Surely you must know something! What was she doing before this happened? I remember you both spoke to Beatrice before..." his breath hitched. "Think!"
Will flinched, recalling the last conversation he had with Christina. It was about what she had overheard. The plan.
He shakily looked over at the woman he loved. Did they do this to her? With clenched fists, Will sneered at the prince. "She was attacked by you!"
"Me?" Tobias repeated incredulously. He scoffed and grabbed Christina's shoulders, shaking her awake, despite Will's repeated protests. "You think this is some kind of game? That I wish to spend my time in a servant's bedroom helping him recall his memory? I wish to find Beatrice! She knows where Beatrice is!"
"Enough!" Will intervened, stepping in front of the bed. He sighed and turned to Christina, sitting by her unconscious body. He held her wrist and shook her softly, whispering for her to wake up.
Tobias crossed his arms and tapped his foot, growing impatient by the second. He left the useless Page Boy and stormed into the bathroom, grabbing a bucket and filling it with water. Oblivious to Will, Tobias returned and dumped the bucket of water over Christina.
Christina gasped into consciousness, sitting straight up. She caught her breath as she processed her now drenched state, staring forward at a shocked Will.
Without a moment to waste, she grabbed his hands and pulled him nearer. "Will! They followed her! The guard he grabbed me and-" she stopped as she tilted her head and stared at the prince standing by their side. The prince she had not noticed until this moment.
Tobias' eyes were wide as he stared back, eager to listen to the rest of her story. The anger that bubbled inside him was like smoke erupting from his ears.
"Tobias?" she breathed out, fearful. In her eyes, she figured what a father could plot, a son could execute. For all she knew, the prince standing by her side could be one of the culrpits.
"Where is Beatrice?" he asked slowly in an attempt to control his nearing outburst.
Christina covered her mouth and stifled a cry. "No! She's gone!"
"Gone where?!"
"Those guards!" she shook her head. "It was your father," she sneered, pressing her hands to the side of her head. "Your father!" she screamed.
Will wrapped his arm around her, offering his comfort to try and calm her down. As tears streamed down her face, she shook her head continuously. She looked up and flinched at the sight of the prince's angered face.
Tobias stumbled back, taking in her words. He turned and hid his shaking hands. His mind rattled with millions of thoughts all at once. The images of Beatrice surrounded him like a nightmare, disappearing at the hands of his father.
His father.
"Continue," he spoke assertively.
"Hold on," Will interrupted once more. "Christina, you were attacked? Do you remember by who?"
"The King's guards," she explained, running a hand through her hair. "One of them put his hand over my mouth and grabbed me, preventing me from alerting Beatrice. Then he put his hand on my neck and ... it's all a blur."
"And what of Beatrice, then?" Tobias asked. "Where is she?"
"I don't know!" she cried out.
"If you knew she was in trouble, why would you keep the information to yourself like a coward?!" Tobias yelled.
"I tried to get into the dining hall!" She urged. "I did! I told the guards to go get you so I could explain, but Beatrice came running out so soon, and the guard grabbed me!"
He clenched his fists and pushed the contents of the nearby dressor on the floor. "You could have prevented this!"
Will stepped up. "This is not her fault! Christina was attacked by the guards enacting your father's plan! Do not blame her!"
Tobias shook his head profusely, running his hand back and forth against his scalp. "I need to know where she is!"
"Do you remember the guards who did this?" Will asked.
Christina opened her mouth to answer, but Tobias interrupted instead, laughing. "Are you aware of how many guards occupy this castle?! Let alone how many are assigned to my father?!" he laughed stressfully, his eyes growing wider with fear.
She glanced up at Will and nodded, confirming the prince's words. She could not separate their faces from the hundreds of guards stationned inside the castle.
In an equally fearful state, Christina glanced at the frantic prince. She looked wearily to Will, more afraid of Tobias' distressed actions than the memory of her attack. As she regained her composure, it was clear he was far from regaining his.
She stood from the bed, taking a deep breath. "You need to confront your father."
Tobias glanced at her, broken away from his frightfully impeding thoughts.
"I am most positive of what I heard," she continued. "If Beatrice is missing, it's at the hands of the King."
The prince bit his finger. "What an accusation..." he muttered.
"You both can't possibly think he would just confess!" Will intervened. "Your Highness, if I may, he will surely shut you down and label you mad! The King is not a reasonable man!"
He laughed. "Do you think I am not aware? Have you had the misfortune of being his son for twenty years?"
Christina wrapped her hand around Will's. "You must confront him still," she pushed. "He is the one with the answer. Please - do it for Beatrice."
Tobias winced at the mention of her name. He turned away and stormed out of the bedroom, rushing up the steps and toward the lobby. Although not as panicked as before, the anger within him forced him into a sort of calmed state. One that would surely burst at the merest poke.
And who better to poke it but none other than his father.
The prince stopped at the sight of Marcus walking down the hall, fixing his cufflinks. He took a deep breath and approached his father, his first clenched.
With no other thought in mind but the woman he loved, Tobias retracted his arm and threw it toward his father.
Marcus glanced to the side just in time to raise his hand and catch his son's fist middair, pressing his fingers down as he lowered the arm.
"What do you think you are doing?" Marcus sneered.
"Where is Beatrice?" Tobias asked, masking the pain he felt by his father's fingers digging into his hand.
Marcus faltered for a second at his son's words. His grasp on Tobias' hand loosened, allowing Tobias to set his fist free and return it to his side. Marcus lowered his hand, thinking over his next words. He was rattled.
"Do not tell me you do not know, because we both know you are responsible," Tobias continued in a low voice.
Marcus took a step back, regaining his composure. "How dare you? You may think of your father as some monster, Tobias, but I am still your father. And your King."
"You are neither," he spat.
"Do not test me," Marcus replied, angered by the lack of respect.
"I should say the same for you," Tobias grunted as he rose his clenched fist once more.
"No!" a third voice cried, interrupting their conversation. Evelyn dropped the drink in her hand, letting it shatter on the floor. She ignored the mess and rushed over to her husband and son, feeling a bit woozy from her time in the dining hall.
"Evelyn, be gone," Marcus spoke quickly, annoyed by her presence.
"Do not speak to her," Tobias intervened. "Tell me where Beatrice is!"
Evelyn furrowed her brows. "Beatrice? Is she missing?"
Marcus scoffed. "Your son is mad."
"He took her, mother!" Tobias urged. "He orchestrated the brunch to erupt in a fight so that he could take her!"
Evelyn scoffed to herself. "Why would-"
Just as quickly as her words left, they stopped. A fear filled her whole at the recollection of her husband's words the day she told him of her plan to trick her son into terminating his relationship through Beatrice.
A plan she had now grown to regret with her entire being.
"We will make sure it never comes to that" he promised her, sealing it with a kiss on her hand. A contract with the devil standing in front of her.
"No," Evelyn gulped, her hand shaking as she replayed the memory in her mind.
Marcus sneered once more. "Evelyn, be gone!" he repeated.
Tobias looked between his parents, shaking at the sight of the fear sprawled across his mother's face. With no hesitation, he retracted his arm and successfully planted a punch to his father's face.
Evelyn reached for her son's face, pulling him toward her. She stared into his eyes, fearing his outburst would lead him to become just like his father.
Like the man who had taken the woman her son loved.
A guard approached the Royal Family, standing at a safe enough distance away from the enraged prince and king. Evelyn waved him over and pushed her son gently in his direction. "Take the prince into his bedroom. Do not let him leave until my orders. My orders."
The guard nodded as he wrapped his hands on Tobias' wrists, ignoring the protests. Tobias called out for his mother, begging her to find Beatrice, as he was dragged away to his bedroom.
Evelyn turned to her husband, who was still recovering from the punch. "Did you do it, Marcus?" she asked, sober as could be.
Marcus touched the blood coming from his nose and laughed slightly. He looked up at his wife and shook his head in laughter.
"Please, Marcus," she continued, pushing past the break in her voice. "She is just a confused, poor girl. She does not deserve to be hurt."
Marcus looked up at his wife. He scoffed as is she were the one not making sense. "I did it for our son. I did it for us."
Evelyn covered her mouth, shaking her head. "No! You did this for yourself! You did this to protect your filthy reputation! You idiot! You have destroyed our son's life!"
"Quiet down," Marcus shushed, grabbing her arm. She winced in his grasp at the unexpected pain.
She looked up at him, her head tilted in pain from his hold on her wrist. "What did you do to her? Where is she?"
"Taken care of."
"What did you do?" she urged.
Marcus looked into his wife's eyes. He knew he had to say this, and after he'd spill these two words, nothing would ever be the same between them. But he was prepared to do so to ensure the future for his son, and the successful marriage between him and Princess Lauren. "She's dead."
Evelyn cried out at his words, gasping. Marcus looked at her with hooded eyes before letting go of her, flinging her to the side. Evelyn stumbled in her steps, holding her pained wrist as she processed her husband's words.
Caught in the whirlwind of the unexpected news and emotions, she turned away. Marcus paused and looked over his shoulder at his wife. A slight pain formed in his stomach at the sight of her state.
At how she behaved upon hearing his words.
"What will you do?" he finally asked.
She glanced at him with red eyes. "Tobias can never know. He has already lost her; he must not know you are responsible. He is the only heir. We can not risk any rash actions on his behalf."
"Evelyn-"
She rose her hand, silencing him. "We will let this charade prolong for a few more days. Then, I will tell him of her death."
"I did this for us-" he repeated.
"No," she interrupted, staring into his eyes. "No, Marcus. I will no longer stand by you. You did this for yourself, but I am doing this for my son."
"I did this for him, too!" he insisted.
"You killed the woman he loved," she answered in a voice that made him shiver. "Nothing I do will ever bring her back. That is the only reason I am not revealing to him what you did."
"It was for our future."
"There is no more 'our'," she replied. "Do not come near me, nor my son, unless I grant you permission."
Marcus stuttered out syllables as he watched his wife walk away from him. He grunted, contemplating for the first time if he had made the right decision in regards to Beatrice. If his plan was what truly needed to be done.
If there was, somehow, another way.
He shook his head, ultimately deciding there was nothing else that could be done. That Evleyn would grow to understand. That Tobias would grow to appreciate.
"No one can ever know," he whispered to himself before walking away. "No one."