Filed to story: The Rejected Werewolf Princess (Camilla & Tyson) by Didi Adeyemi >>
“I was in charge of the maids in the palace for thirty years. I know more than half of the people in there. News like this never stays hidden for long especially with that recent attack on the stream. He has his mother’s ruthlessness, that is for sure.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “She had never mentioned anything about Eva being ruthless before.”
She hesitated and dropped her voice into a whisper. “There is a girl, her name was Gabby but she will not be on your lists. She worked in the palace for two days Gabby was beautiful with blond hair and innocent eyes. Everyone wanted her, even the king. Eva was furious that Gabby had the king’s attention and she made sure to voice it out. One night, Gabby told a friend about how the king had called. her beautiful and asked to see her‘
I had a feeling I knew where the story was going but I found myself inclining my ear to listen.
“The next morning, Gabby was found tied to her bed with a horrible haircut and she was blind. Someone had gone into her room at night and poured washing fluid into her eyes. She would not say who it was but Gabby was never heard of again,” the old woman sat up straighter. “If that boy was raised by Eva alone then goddess help you all.”
We left her house shortly after that but her words didn’t leave me. Even Camilla seemed to be pondering over her words and I hoped it was enough to change her mind on Frederick. If anything that woman said was true then Frederick was not the innocent and redeemable child that she thought he was. I wanted to talk to her and find out where her head was at but as soon as we got into the palace, we were ushered into the council room where the elders were waiting.
“Is there a reason for this last–minute meeting?” Camilla asked sounding as annoyed as I felt. “I thought you were supposed to be helping with the damage. control from the stream incident.”
“We were doing that, but we are afraid that it is more than that,” one of them spoke. “The people know about Frederick.”
“What do you mean by that?” the words left me before I could stop them.
“They know that he is the son of the king and the people are torn on it. He has a lot of supporters among the people and even those who do not support him fear that you cannot defeat him. The kingdom is divided and torn by fear. It does not make it any better that you have not been seen leaving the palace since that incident.”
“Whose fault is it that I have not left the palace?” Camilla quipped and the elders fell silent. “It was your idea to keep me locked in. Do not make it seem like I did it out of cowardice.” There was annoyance in her tone and when she realized, she exhaled deeply to calm herself down. “What do you propose that we do?”
“If you could hold an emergency meeting in one of the squares. The people will come and they can hear you publicly discredit Frederick and his claims.”
“His claims are true.”
“No one knows that. The only people who do are dead. Anything he says will be seen as a lie and a desperate attempt to steal the throne.”
It was at that moment that I realized just how brilliant the elders really were. If only they could put aside their pride and animosity once in a while then they would be a formidable asset to the kingdom.
“That is going to hurt him,” Camilla looked unsure.
I always knew her kind heart would be a stumbling block on the road to being a great Queen and while I didn’t want her to lose it, I wanted he to be able to identify times where kindness was not the right course of action.
“You know it is the only way,” I mind linked her. “You are Queen now and it isn’t just about you or him. There are thousands of people looking up to you. Think about your kingdom, Camilla. Do what is best for them.”
I broke the mind link but she still said nothing.
“You are in a war, your majesty,” I could hear an undercurrent of frustration in the elder’s voice. “This is a kill or be killed situation. You can either discredit him or watch him take your throne from under your fingertips. It is your choice.”
CAMILLA’S PO.V
Two days later and I still hated the idea. It just felt wrong to me and I tried searching for another solution to the problem but there was none. The people were worried and there had been more fights breaking out in the last two days. than in the last month combined. Everyone had a different opinion on how what they thought was supposed to happen and the rumor mill was alive with theories. Some were closer to the truth than I would have liked while others were so unbelievable that I could not fathom how anyone possibly came up with it. A small gurgle interrupted me and I glanced down at Aurora lying peacefully in her bassinet. I couldn’t leave her alone for an extended period of time so she was going with us. She and Audrey were going to be in a safe tent with Christine but it still didn’t stop me from worrying. There were so many things that could go wrong and I couldn’t help but feel like something bad was going to happen. The door to the room opened and I turned to see Ryker. He was dressed in tailored slacks with a button–up shirt. His coat was slung over his shoulder and despite the more casual look to his outfit, he still looked every part of the royal that he was. He crossed the length of the room and came to stand right next to me. I put on a practiced smile hoping he wouldn’t see the worry on my face. “I felt your anxiety,” he said casually without looking up at me. “Do you want to talk about it?” I shook my head. “It will be a quick meeting, in and out. It doesn’t have to last up to half an hour. All you need to do is tell them that you heard the rumors and they are unfounded.”
“You should have been king instead,” I muttered. “You’re so good at this already, I have no idea what I am doing.”
“Cut yourself some slack, you’ve barely been queen for a year. You’ll learn and you will get better at it. You’re already a great Queen as it is.”
“Going to war in your first year as Queen does not exactly scream ‘great,” I couldn’t keep the condescending edge out of my tone. Ryker sighed and opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by someone mind linking us both.
“They carriage is ready,” Christine said. “It is time.”
She broke off the mind link and I just stood there in silence. Ryker offered me a small smile of encouragement before picking up our daughter. Audrey was already with Christine. He held out his hand to me and I gingerly took it. That uneasy feeling hadn’t left but for the first time since I woke up, I felt a little confident that things weren’t going to end up badly.
I was quiet for the entire carriage ride. Audrey chattered nonstop while Ryker entertained her. As soon as we got out of the palace, I was handed some notes to serve as pointers for what I was supposed to say. As I read through them, I couldn’t help but feel a certain level of guilt. I knew I couldn’t say half of the things that were written down.
Basically, the strategy was to expose his mother but paint her as a whore who tried to pin a pregnancy on the king. They wanted to make Eva and Frederick. look so unbelievable in the eyes of the people by painting them as deranged and desperate. It was a brilliant strategy but it was also cruel and for the entire ride I pondered on whether or not I wanted to do it.
The meeting was to hold in the large town square. It had already been set up. Christine led the children into the hall where they would be safe while I was taken to the back to ensure that I was ready. Immediately we were alone, I went to the elders.
“I can’t say this,” I told them and there was a collective sigh.