The King's Mistress

Chapter 36: Same Boat

In an instant, Cassandra’s attitude changed. A smile replaced the scowl on her face moments before as she gently locked arms with Agnes, bringing her back to the table. The sudden change in her attitude made her extremely uneasy but she continued to play along.

"Princess Agnes, we’re both in the same boat," Cassandra said sweetly as she have her maid pour Agnes a cup of tea as she continued to speak, "So I would appreciate it if we can remain cordial with one another. You wouldn’t want to get on my bad side, now would you?"

Her words were like poisoned honey. Agnes gulped as she looked down at the cup of tea that was presented to her. She did not dare to take a single sip. Just as she was trying to find a way to decline in, a messenger knocked on the door and entered the room.

They came up to Cassandra’s maid and whispered in her ear before leaving immediately. The maid then relayed the information to the princess.

A smile formed on her face as she glanced over to Agnes, "It seems like our woes are over. The loose thread is dead and our little expedition to Cair is about to pay off. They will return in two days with good news."

Down the corridor, up in the attic, Sierra was preparing to have an early night. Three days in the dungeon was not what she had expected to get. As she rubbed the back of her neck, she let out a yawn.

"Princess! Does your neck hurt? Let me massage it for you!" Ida said as she quickly put down what she was doing to tend to Sierra.

Ever since Sierra was released from the dungeon, Ida refused to let her do anything. She just wanted Sierra to get ample amounts of rest and recover from the dreadful experience.

But in truth, it was not as bad as others thought. Only her quality of sleep suffered a little. But it was nothing she could not handle. Back when she was living on the streets, fending for herself before she was adopted by General Leon, Sierra slept anywhere.

She had spent many moons in a cave, with nothing but the clothes on her back. She would curl up, holding her knees close to her chest while attempting to rock herself to sleep.

"Ida, I’m alright, don’t worry about me."

All the care the maid was showing her made her feel a little uneasy. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Ida went to open it, leading the guest up the stairs as she re-entered the room.

It was Myra. She was here to see Sierra. The expression on her face seemed to say it all.

"What’s wrong, Myra? Is everything alright?" Sierra asked worriedly.

"I just got the news, Sierra. The man they caught in your room, he’s... he’s dead."

Ida gasped in shock as her eyes widened in horror.

Sierra was taken by surprise too, but her expression did not show. She got up from her seat on the side of the bed and paced around in the room, deep in thought.

"Did they say how he died?" Sierra asked.

Myra shook her head, "I’m afraid not. I came here to relay the news as soon as I heard."

Sierra bit her lip. There was something fishy about the situation, she was sure of it. Though she had knocked the man unconscious in her room, she was certain those injuries were nowhere near fatal.

She had to find out the cause of his death to confirm her suspicions. It was likely to have been murder.

"I need to find out more," Sierra muttered to herself.

The cogs in her mind turned and churned as she came up with a plan. Her body moved on its own as she prepared things that she would need, including a well-concealed dagger. She belted her swords on her belt.

"Your Highness."

Ida called out to Sierra. She was so lost in her own thoughts, she did not hear Ida.

"Princess Sierra," Ida attempted to get her attention again.

Still no response.

Myra gave it a try. She walked up to Sierra and placed her hand on her shoulder, "Sierra."

Only then did she stop what she was doing and turned to face them. She blinked her eyes, wondering why they were all looking at her with furrowed brows.

"What’s the matter?"

"What are you doing, princess?" Ida asked her, unblinking.

Sierra looked at them, then back at herself. She was all dressed in black-colored gear with her weapons on her belt. She almost looked like an assassin.

"I...I’m going to go and investigate this matter. Don’t wait up for me," Sierra replied without skipping a beat as she made her way over to the window.

"What?! That’s dangerous! Your Highness, you can’t go like this. You’re going out that window? Oh heavens, it’s too dangerous!" Ida pleaded with her. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

"Ida is right, Sierra. We can find a different way to conduct the investigation. You’re climbing out of a window in the middle of the night, this can’t be safe!" she clutched the hems of her dress as she added, "What if something goes wrong?"

Sierra already had one foot out of the window. She turned back to look at them. Though they had only met for a short period of time, they had shown her more care than some of the other people in her life.

She gave them a reassuring smile, "Don’t worry. I’ll be alright. I will be back before dawn. In the meantime, cover for me, alright?"

With that, Sierra climbed out of the window and onto the roof. Ida’s heart skipped a beat as she rushed to the window with Myra by her side. Both of them stuck their heads out and looked up above, watching Sierra skillfully walking on the roof of the building towards the main building of the castle.

"Princess Myra, what should we do? We can’t just let her go like this... can we?" Ida asked as she looked out the window at Sierra’s form disappearing into the distance.

Myra pulled her back in and signaled her to lower her voice. What was done, was done. They could not turn back time now. All they could do was pray that Sierra made it back in one piece and did not get caught.

"I’m sure she’ll be able to take care of herself. We’ll just have to wait and see."