Chapter 12

Cassian and Emil walked side by side down the dimly lit hallways, on night patrol of the castle together. So far, they had barely spoken a word to each other. Cassian had assigned Emil to patrol with him in the hopes of trying to talk to the young guard, but he couldn’t figure out what to say, and Emil was as sullen as usual. However, Cassian was taken off guard slightly when suddenly Emil decided to speak.

“Cassian… I was wondering if I could… ask you for some advice…” Emil managed to push out haltingly, making it apparent that saying such a thing was a strain for him.

Cassian gave the soldier a look of utter bewilderment. “You’re asking for advice from me?” he questioned in disbelief.

Emil let out a small huff, crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. “Yeah yeah, I know, you hate me, forget I even said anything,” he said dismissively.

“Hate you? Emil, I don’t hate you. Sure, you can be a right pain in the ass sometimes, but I know you’re just acting out because…” Cassian trailed off, unsure if he wanted to broach that topic right away. “Go on, what did you want to ask me about?”

The tension had left Emil’s posture somewhat, but he still didn’t look at the officer. “I… what do you do when the person you… want… already has someone…” he asked very awkwardly and uncomfortably, and Cassian could see his cheeks starting to redden.

“This is about Beowulf, isn’t it?” Cassian asked gently, which only caused Emil to look slightly alarmed and even more embarrassed.

“Is it… that obvious?” the younger guard asked, looking around anxiously.

“You’d have to be pretty blind not to see it lad,” Cassian answered frankly.

Emil hunched his shoulders, frowning. “Then you think he… knows? Is he just being nice and not saying anything?”

Raising a finger to his mouth Cassian looked upwards slightly, thinking for a moment. “Could be but… Beowulf… well, surely you realise that he isn’t the sharpest weapon on the rack…”

“Big handsome idiot…” Emil muttered to himself, which made Cassian smile.

“But you’re right, the fact of the matter is that he already has a lover. Usually when that is the case, you’re supposed to just let the person go, find someone else,” Cassian explained tactfully.

“But… it feels almost like… there is something there between us, you know?” Emil said, finally turning his head to actually look at Cassian with his bright green eyes and an earnest expression.

Cassian pursed his lips with uncertainty. “Beowulf is a very nice lad to everyone you know. You sure you're not just reading what you want to see into his actions?” he countered gently.

“I…” Emil’s expression suddenly fell, and he looked downwards. “He called me ‘pretty boy’...”

“Is that so?” Cassian responded with light surprise. “Well, I-” he was suddenly cut off by a loud, high-pitched scream echoing down the hallway. The two guards looked at each other with shock for a moment, before they quickly started hurrying towards the sound.

The scream had cut off, now replaced by the sounds of yelling, which became clearer as the guards drew closer to the source. The yells also ceased as Cassian and Emil approached the room they were coming from, though the sight just outside the door to the room caused them to slow down and take pause.

A figure was laying on the carpeted hallway floor next to the door. Cassian slowly approached it, Emil trailing close behind him. Once he could see the figure better, he recognised it as Effie, the princess’s nursemaid. Her white blouse was covered in blood from her slit throat.

Cassian slowly turned to look at the door, which he realised in horror was the door into the princess’s room. The old soldier approached the door, glanced back at Emil for a moment and saw the lad looked ever so pale and fearful, and then pushed the door open.

The smell of more fresh blood hit Cassian hard, and he could see Emil physically recoil in his peripheral vision. Peering into the dark room, he saw a large figure standing in the middle. It was Beowulf, who was panting heavily while staring blankly at the floor, his plain bedclothes and large hands stained with blood.

Two figures lay at Beowulf’s feet. They were bloody and battered, unmoving, unbreathing. One of them appeared to have had his head crushed. Near each body lay a steel dagger, both stained with blood.

Cassian took a single step towards Beowulf, who flinched slightly, and then collapsed down onto one knee, still breathing heavily and staring ahead of himself with wide, vacant eyes.

Glancing over at the bed, Cassian saw the princess’s head poking out from a mound of blankets, staring at Beowulf in shock.

“Oh no, Richard,” Cassian suddenly said, snapping out of his stupor. “Emil, stay here, help Beowulf,” the officer quickly instructed as he turned towards the door and rushed out of the room.

Cassian hurried down the hallways as fast as he could, heading straight for the king’s room. When he arrived, he found the guard that had been stationed outside the door slumped against the wall, throat cut open much like the nursemaid’s had been. The door to the king’s room was left open, much to Cassian’s rising dread. The officer stepped into the dark room.

A figure lay on the bed, still under the covers, which were smeared with blood. Cassian grimaced and looked away from the king’s body. “Forgive me, sire,” he muttered lowly, before turning his back on the corpse and stepping back over to the door. Cassian reached out and grabbed the door frame, gripping it tightly to steady himself, closing his eyes and shaking his head slowly.

“Sir?” a voice snapped Cassian back to reality, and he opened his eyes and looked up. A few guards were gathered around the door, looking at the officer in concern.

Cassian’s mouth felt so dry when he opened it and tried to speak, the words dying in his throat at the first attempt. He cleared his throat and let go of the door frame, straightening up. “The… King Richard has been assassinated. Two of you stay here with the body. The rest of you go round up the rest of the guards and sweep the castle for any intruders,” Cassian instructed with as much authority as he could muster, before pushing past the guards and stalking off down the corridor, back towards the princess’s room.

As he walked Cassian’s stomach felt like it was churning. He was trying to get his thoughts straight, figure out what to do next. As he approached the princess’s room again, he saw Balthasar and Thedrick also coming towards it from the other end of the hallway. The chirurgeon wore his usual steely expression while the jester appeared extremely worried. Thedrick suddenly ran ahead of his grim friend and slipped into the room.

Once Balthasar reached the nursemaid’s body he stopped, and knelt down next to it, looking her over with his grey eyes. He reached out to gently close her eyes with his long slim fingers, before sighing and getting to his feet. By this time Cassian had reached him, and the officer looked up at the chirurgeon's face.

“Richard has been assassinated. Maerwynn is safe, thanks to Beowulf,” Cassian briefly explained, gesturing towards the door into Maerwynn’s room. Balthasar took a deep breath and nodded, before striding into the room. Some more guards had gathered around them in the meantime, and Cassian looked around their expectant and worried faces.

“Take her body to the infirmary,” he instructed a couple of the guards, and then gestured to the others to follow him into the room.

When Cassian stepped back inside the princess’s room, the scene hadn’t changed much since he left it. The corpses of the assassin’s still lay on the floor where Beowulf had felled them. Beowulf was sitting on the floor with Emil kneeling next to him, the noble holding the giant bloodstained hands in his own and rubbing them reassuringly while talking to him softly.

On the princess’s bed, Thedrick sat with his arms wrapped around his daughter, holding her close to his chest while they both looked over at Beowulf. Balthasar stood next to the bed, leaning over as he seemed to be asking Thedrick if Maerwynn was alright. Thedrick nodded, which Balthasar returned in kind, and then the chirurgeon made his way over to Beowulf.

Cassian turned slightly towards the guards that had gathered behind him. “Take the bodies to the infirmary. Someone wake the housekeepers and send them up here. After that, join the others searching the castle and grounds,” he directed in a very scratchy voice, as his throat felt rather tight. The soldiers nodded, then jumped into action, picking up the bodies between them and carrying them out of the room.

Cassian slowly approached Beowulf while Balthasar quickly looked him over, the big guy’s bright blue eyes still staring blankly into space while he held onto Emil’s hands.

“He seemed physically unharmed. The blood on the daggers must just be Richard and Effie’s,” Balthasar concluded clinically as he straightened up and stepped back slightly, turning towards Cassian.

Meanwhile Beowulf suddenly reached out and grabbed Emil by the waist, pulling the smaller guard into his lap, holding him closely to his chest and squeezing his eyes shut, which pushed some tears out of them. Emil made a sound of surprise at first but then didn’t struggle, letting the huge man hold him for comfort.

“Beowulf… you certainly fulfilled your duty…” Cassian said softly while watching the giant guard openly sob, then bury his wet face in Emil’s brown curls. The noble looked rather awkward and slightly embarrassed, but didn’t say anything, just gently stroked Beowulf’s blood-stained arms which were wrapped around him.

“I guess I’m not really of much use here, I’ll go and see to the arrangements for movement of the king’s body,” Balthasar said emotionlessly, nodding towards Cassian before striding out of the room.

Reaching up and rubbing at one of his eyes, Cassian turned and walked over to the princess’s bed. The two vampires were still holding onto each other, Thedrick stroking Maerwynn’s hair gently.

“Are you alright, your majesty?” Cassian asked softly, and two pairs of large red eyes turned to look up at him. Maerwynn nodded, frowning uncertainly.

“Balthasar said… the king’s body… is Richard…?” Thedrick asked haltingly, then broke off, glancing away.

Cassian nodded sadly. Thedrick seemed to tighten his grip around his daughter.

“... Your majesty… can you tell me about what happened? Was that your screaming that we heard?” Cassian asked, wanting to change the topic away from Richard and also fill in the details of the situation, and it appeared that Beowulf was in no state of mind to explain at the moment, while the princess didn’t seem that shaken up.

Maerwynn shook her head. “E-Effie read us a bedtime story… Wulfy fell asleep holding me and then I think I did too, but then the scream outside woke us up, and Wulfy jumped out of bed, and then the men came in and Wulfy fought with them and they were yelling but then he put them to sleep…”

“That must have been very scary for you princess,” Cassian remarked, surprised at how well Maerwynn seemed to be handling the situation.

“It was a bit scary… but I knew Wulfy would protect me and he did…” she said softly.

Cassian nodded in agreement. “Yes, he did a very good job. Now, your highness, we should probably move you into another room for tonight, so the servants can clean up all the blood. Don’t worry, the guard will be on high alert to keep you safe.” He gestured to Thedrick to follow him with the princess.

“Can Wulfy come too?” she asked as she was picked up by Thedrick and carried towards the door.

“Of course,” Cassian said as he followed behind, then looked back over at Beowulf and Emil. He made a gesture to Thedrick to wait by the door, then stepped back over to the two guards, proceeding to kneel down next to Beowulf.

“Hey big guy, can you stand? We’d like to move you into another room,” Cassian said lightly, placing a hand on Beowulf’s shoulder. The soldier still had his face buried in Emil’s hair. “Maybe you can put Emil down for a moment?”

Suddenly Beowulf shifted, and was soon rising to his feet, still clutching Emil tightly, who had a look of mild surprise on his face. He lumbered over to the doorway, following a concerned looking Thedrick out of the room, carrying Emil out into the hallway. Cassian got to his feet and trailed behind them.

****

The nobles most certainly seemed concerned, clearly a lot more so than the members of castle staff also present in the room, such as Balthasar and the seneschal. It made sense after all, if assassination plots were afoot, it was not the servants that were going to be mainly in danger. Effie just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Though the nobles shouldn’t feel at risk right here, as Cassian had guards stationed both inside and outside of the room to keep everybody safe, and most of the nobles seemed to have brought their own personal guards along with them as well, which stood behind their chairs.

“Why have we been gathered here at this ungodly hour for this?” one of the nobles, a small plump woman who was well known for her tendency to voice complaints, loudly questioned. “Yes, Richard is dead, but he is still going to be dead in the morning, can’t this wait until then?”

“When we announce the king’s death in the morning, which we must else news of it will spread anyway from the guard and servants, the people will want reassurance that their leadership is in control of the situation and is taking the appropriate steps,” the seneschal said firmly, glaring down at the seated nobles around the table from where he stood.

“Where is the princess?” another noble asked brusquely.

“We have her safe in a room with her bodyguard and a second guard, with a detail of soldiers posted outside the door,” Cassian explained plainly. “She is unharmed,” he added before anyone could ask.

“Are there assassins still on the loose?” asked another noble, a small, weedy, nervous man who was looking around with fearful eyes.

“It appears as if there were only the two of them. Evidence points towards them killing the king’s guard, entering Richard’s room and killing him in his bed. Then they made their way down to the princess’s room, met the nursemaid outside, killed her but her scream woke the princess’s bodyguard, who promptly took care of both of them,” Cassian explained to the nobles. “No other intruders or suspicious people have been found during the guards’ sweep of the castle and town.”

“Who would have done this?” one of the nobles asked in apparent disbelief.

“The enemy of course,” another answered with a scowl, clearly referring to the kingdom that theirs had been at war with in the past and only had a tentative peace brokered with. “Anyone could figure that out. They want to resume their invasion of our lands, the bastards.”

“Which is why it is important that we resolve the issue of leadership as quickly as possible, so as to not show any weakness!” the seneschal snapped, trying to get the useless group of nobles to focus on the topic at hand.

“Well of course, a regent will need to be put in place,” the noble who had mentioned the enemy kingdom said plainly. “The only question is who.”

The nobles started looking between each other and whispering in hushed tones. Cassian noticed Balthasar rolling his eyes at the proceedings and had to stop himself from smiling.

“I’ll do it,” a voice loudly grumbled from down the other end of the table. Everyone turned to look and saw Richard’s brother Tybalt with his hand raised and a scowl on his face. "I mean, it is what you were all about to suggest right? Vivienne has no family left, and I'm Richard's only family, so I suppose it falls to me to take responsibility."

"You don't sound very happy about it, do you not wish to fulfil such a duty?" one of the other nobles asked, while everyone kept looking at Tybalt with slight surprise at his attitude. 

"I don't know if you have realised, but my little brother was just murdered, so I'm sorry if I'm not jumping for joy right now," Tybalt grunted, staring everyone down. He resembled Richard in some ways, such as his black hair and brown skin, but was also quite different in many other aspects. While the king had a beard and mane of hair, his brother was clean shaven with shorter hair. And while Richard was quite laid back and easy going, Tybalt was a lot more surly, probably due to the chronic pain he suffered from an injury he sustained during the war, which had left him reliant on a cane.

“Well, you are the obvious choice. If everyone is in agreement, then in the morning we will announce that Tybalt will act as regent until the young queen comes of age,” one of the more outspoken nobles said, and looked around the table to see all the others nodding in approval.

“Also, you should grant Beowulf a knighthood,” Cassian suggested, mostly towards Tybalt. “A celebration of the courage of a hero will help rally the people’s spirits.”
Tybalt nodded sharply, and the other nobles made various noises of agreement.