Click here for Part 3. Chapter 4
It felt like so long since Derry had had a chance to be alone with his thoughts, he’d stolen an hour to himself in a dimly lit room, with a bucket of hot water and a mirror to shave with, while Molly fulfilled her duties elsewhere. As he perched on his stool starring at the mirror, dragging the small sharp blade across his cheek he could barely keep his hand steady, the rush and excitement of the past week was better than he’d ever dreamed it could be. He was about to marry the Queen of Cauci, and with his brother dead he was all but King of Manapii himself. Two Kingdoms wed would make him the most powerful ruler since King Lahey ruled over four Kingdoms, over five hundred years ago. All it had taken was the death of King Rose and his daughter. He was surprised that this sort of thing didn’t happen more often, or that there weren’t more protections in place to prevent the King and his blood line from harm. His younger brother John had neither the brains nor the brawn to carry out a plot to kill him. That didn’t stop Derry having several plans in place as a precaution. His people were paid to listen and react to any hint of betrayal before it gained momentum. He had contingencies for any outcome his family might throw at him. Once his father passed he planned take over the Kingdom and remain in power until he died of old age. He expected to be adored, and so far, rescuing Molly and arranging to marry her had made them both the jewels of the Kingdom. The people of Cauci were begging for him to become their king by her side, to see them both live happily ever after. If he could keep them eating from his hand long enough the people would eventually bend to his every will. Once he is wed to Molly, he planned to extend their rule as far as possible, my any means necessary. Politics was meant to be a difficult game, so his father always said. So far though, all he’d had to do was create a mess from afar, give himself an obvious alibi, and then swoop in to save the day, overcoming false odds. People wanted a hero, they wanted him to succeed, he was only giving them their wish. The door creaked open, he continued to focus his attention on the blade in his hand, running across his cheek slowly, tearing through his hair strand by strand. “Just me, my love” a familiar voice called out. Molly had returned form her errands. “Hello, you! Will we be meeting for dinner in the main hall tonight?” Derry replied, he didn’t particularly enjoy small talk, but he felt so excited he couldn’t help it. He loved to see Molly calm, the ordeal of losing her father had cut her deep, but he’d made sure she was looked after and that she understood it wasn’t her fault. “Soon, I wanted to talk to you in private first…” He tilted the mirror slightly so he could see her looking at him from a stool behind him. “What about, darling?” he replied, knowing she would be fretting about one thing or another from their plan, as usual. “My mother. We haven’t heard anything about her yet. My sister has been killed, Fin and my father too. My mother has no should have been found by now. Yet she is still missing? I cannot sleep knowing she is out there still, why would anyone-” “I don’t know.” Derry cut in. “Maybe she tried to fight her way out of trouble and someone decided it was best to just take her away? Maybe one of the bandits we hired was acting on someone else's behalf? I honestly don’t know where she could be” He meant it too. “Is there anyone else we can send out to look for her?” Molly replied, her voice sounded worn and tired, far from the happy and excited tone that she came into the room with. She was always good at hiding her true emotions, something that Derry found captivating. “Leave it with me, you head off down stairs. Send for Euan on your way and I will see whether he can arrange for anything more to be done. We also need to find a suitable enough corpse for your sister’s funeral, otherwise she’ll need to be cremated” “The Roses would never cremate their dead! She’ll be buried with my father.” “It’s not her, Molly.” He reminded her. “But everyone has to think it is, and if we don’t bury someone with my father then people will wonder why, and whether she’s really dead. What if people question whether her cremation is a cover up of some kind. We need her funeral to seem heartfelt and to move the Kingdom to tears. Only then will people feel this grave injustice has come to an end.” Derry loved how calculating she could be, he’d planned to simply throw some remains into a coffin and bury her with a quiet and respectable send off that they could then point to as proof of her death. Molly’s plan to turn things into a grand and heartfelt farewell for the whole Kingdom made much more sense. Let the people cry their hearts out for their loss, and leave no doubt in their minds that the woman laying dead before them is what remains of their heir to the throne. Molly looked like she shuddered as she walked towards the door. “I’ll send him right away, don’t take too long!” she called, the door closing behind her with a quiet knock. Derry wiped his face, taking away the untidy remains of his shave. He felt much better now he’d had some time to clear his thoughts, and his face. Molly had given him an extra boost with her plans, maybe he didn’t know everything there was to know about politics after all, but with her by his side he was pretty damn close. He had barely finished dressing himself for dinner when there was a knock at the door. “Come in…” he called, using his most commanding tone. He wanted to get his approach right before he became King, authoritative yet noble. He knew Euan would see right through it, he had known Derry since he was a child of five or six and witnessed his attempts at proving himself time and time again. He was a loyal servant, a good twenty years older than Derry, and experienced in finding almost anything required to get the job done. Derry trusted him above all others, and had seen him sacrifice plenty over the years to prove his commitment. “My prince, the princess sent for me?” he called as he entered the room. “I need two things from you, dear friend. There have been some…issues with the corpse of princess Hanora. Find me a girl of similar height and build to take her place at the funeral. Search the slums and see if you can find someone suitable that we can trade for? See that her family are well fed for their silence.” “Consider it done…and the second thing?” “What word have we had regarding Queen Rose? I specifically said kidnap the princesses, kill Hanora, murder the King and leave the Queen as witness to it all. She has been missing too long, Molly is beginning to ask too many questions and we can’t have that.” “I have already checked with the bandits, they claim the Queen was left well alone. She didn’t even leave the King’s chamber when he came out to fight. Anyone fleeing the castle during the assault was killed, but no women were met. The princesses were taken by separate teams, once King Rose was dead they admitted to ransacking the area, and stealing some of your fiancé’s wealth, but no-one came across the Queen and they had all left in time for you to come after them and rescue princess Molly. Derry knew all of this, it was the plan they’d worked on together, every angle was covered to ensure any witnesses were accounted for and only the right people died. “Well tell them I demand some of the items they stole be returned to Cauci, they had their payment, not a single coin should have left these walls. Anyone who wants to keep what they took best be on the look out for Queen Rose, any word of her whereabouts or her capture will be rewarded.” “Understood, will there be anything else?” Derry pondered for a moment, the funeral would be taken care of, the Queen would turn up dead or alive eventually, all that remained was for him and Molly to wed and then this phase of his plan was finally over with. “That’s everything for now, we will discuss the wedding tomorrow, I want to carry it out straight after the funeral, lift the Kingdom right out of their depression as soon as possible and get them celebrating a new era under our rule.” “An excellent plan, I will head out tonight and find a suitable girl. How would you like her to be presented at the funeral sir?” “Peaceful, don’t damage the face or the hands. We want people to be certain about who they’re seeing. If it proves too much, then we’ll say she was stabbed in the eye and you can make do.” “I’ll do my best, no one will be able to tell the difference one way or another once I’m finished.” Euan left at a casual pace, this wasn’t the first time Derry had given him orders like this and he always managed his demands with the same dead eyes and rigid attention. He’d never set a foot wrong, always giving him the right solution at the right time, which is why the Queen’s untimely disappearance was all the more mysterious, he couldn’t think of a reasonable excuse. He waited a moment, collecting his thoughts an composing himself, before heading down stairs to be with Molly again. The smell of roasted meat washed over him as he entered the dining hall, there were torches lining the walls, the heat toasting his face lightly as he made his way down the long dining table to sit opposite Molly. She was already eating her first course, there were several different options laid out on the table for her, she looked swamped on her own with so much food in front of her on such a long table. “Save some for me!” he called out with a smile as he came close to his seat. “Make sure you try the venison, it’s beautiful!” she replied, taking another bite of her food without waiting to greet him. He loved how casual their relationship was now, they’d known each other so long. The King and Queen were always so formal with one another, his mother had been the same with his father as far as he could recall. She had been dead for ten years now and his memories were becoming hazy. He couldn’t bare the formalities, he just wanted to eat and drink, enjoy his days with his beautiful wife to be, and plot his next step on his rise to power. “I have seen to our little problem, Euan will take care of it…we will say our farewells before the wedding begins. This time tomorrow you will be Queen and I will be your consort. The whole of Cauci will be calling your name with love and adoration.” Molly chewed her food, looking uncomfortable with what he was saying. After a moment she swallowed awkwardly and then looked Derry in the eyes. “I can’t believe we’re doing this…” she said, letting out a sigh. Derry looked towards the servants and then back at Molly, wondering if they should be having this conversation out in the open. “We have to lay your sister to rest, it’s the only way the Kingdom can have peace and say farewell to her. It’s what your father would have wanted if he were still with us.” Molly didn’t look convinced, before she could speak he wanted to put away any concerns she had about what they’d done so far. “You could not have saved her, our fate has been decided and you are to be the Queen of Cauci, for the good of the Kingdom. You will be their saviour, thousands will live because of you.” She seemed satisfied with the thought that they were heroes, so he settled into his meal, starting with the Venison.