55. Memory
“Nicholas, Mother and Father have been looking for you, I tried to cover for you as best as I could, but they aren’t impressed that you didn’t return home last night.”
April scowled at me as I stepped through the side entrance of the castle, cloaked in shadows. Of course, my dear sister could hear my thoughts, so she knew where to find me. She stepped out from her own shadows, crossing her arms over her chest as I headed up the staircase towards our wing.
“I know. I lost track of time. I’m sure they understand.”
Rolling her eyes at me, she walked next to me as we headed up the stairs and down the many corridors to our rooms. Vanessa and Morgana were shouting at each other in their rooms, as always. Being so close in age possibly made it worse. I hoped this wasn’t going to be my life, always breaking them apart as they would soon end up fist fighting each other.
For now, April could deal with it. I needed to sleep.
“Where were you?” she asked as she leaned against the door frame of my room.
“Out.”
“Out where?”
“My apologies, April. I didn’t know you were the oldest and I had to report my every move to you.”
She huffed as she stepped further in and started playing with some bits of parchment and a quill on my writing desk.
One thing I hated about having three sisters was the fact Mother and Father didn’t wait around to have us all. All within one year of each other. Once April was born, I lost all the attention and then it only got worse when Vanessa and Morgana arrived.
“Father was asking again about where you’d run off to this time. Mother managed to make up some elaborate lie, but I don’t think he bought it this time. He told me to summon you when you returned.”
“Well, Father can wait. I need rest.”
“I don’t think even the heir can make the king wait. Get washed and changed. Mother and Father should still be in their chambers.”
Knowing there was no point arguing with April, I shrugged my shoulders and headed into the washroom to clean up and get changed before heading across to the other side of the castle to my mother and father’s bedroom.
Knocking on their door, I eyed the two guards stationed outside. They didn’t shift to open the door as it wasn’t permitted unless a bell from inside rang. When it didn’t, I suspected it may have been too early for me to show up. Except, I was summoned. April made it perfectly clear I was to come immediately.
Not waiting another second, I lowered the handle and pushed the doors open. No curtains were open. The candles and fire had long gone out and the strangest feeling crawled up my spine.
Something wasn’t right.
Two half full glasses of wine were still on the small table in front of the smouldering fire. Father’s recent letters were scattered across the same table, some even on the floor. Perhaps I was just nervous about the punishment I’d get. Father already forbade me from seeing Ornella and I’d gone against his wishes a month later.
I just needed to see her one last time.
To say goodbye to her.
Even if it was tearing up my heart to keep myself away from her, it was for the best.
Silence. The room was deathly silent.
Not even the sound of Father’s loud snoring came from the bedroom.
Shaking as I slowly drew the drapes from around their bed, I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. I believed it to be the only sound in the room and it took me a second to pull myself together to draw back the curtains.
‘Don’t be silly, Nicholas. They are probably just sleeping, drunk on wine again,’ I thought.
But as I drew the curtains back, they looked peaceful, deep in slumber. At first, I was caught off guard, sighing and turning away before my eyes caught something on the edge of the crisp white bed sheets.
A pool of dark red.
Blood.
Blood stained their sheets.
I wasn’t sure when I shouted for help, or when the mountain of guards pooled into the room. I just remembered telling them to keep my sisters out.
My parents. Our parents had been murdered. Throats slashed in the night and left to bleed to death. Father had his arm draped across Mother’s waist. She had her head turned to look at him. Both their eyes locked on each other. As if they knew, they sensed it coming.
Falling to my knees, Nora barked orders to search the castle and find the person who did this. But I knew, they were long gone by now. The fire told me so.
As the guards bowed in front of me only minutes later, I felt the weight of the crown rest upon my head. My parents were killed in cold blood and I became the new king.
A job I did not ever wish to gain this way.