Chapter 239: Journey to the Barony of James IX

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Now that the crisis in the palace in Zenith is over, more and more questions keep popping up. My wife has retired to our bedroom, and I'm sitting with my council right now. I'm surprised someone is bold enough to send an assassin after me in such a manner. "There are no clues on the body. There is also no way to tell where the assassin came from based on skin color. The only thing we do know is this is a statement from whoever this enemy is." One of my Generals, Killian, describes the situation to the best he can with the current information we have.

I have an idea of who this is. Gregory isn't happy with my move, and my actions have jeopardized the coalition. Something that gives him more authority than most would like to give to another ruler. I'm free from that, however, and I'm sure that others will follow. Seeing the benefits of no longer being tied to the church or the coalition. "It's either two things. Gregory is trying to send a message and is preparing to do something in retaliation. The other is someone using the conflict between Gregory and you, my King." That's actually a brilliant point too.

One that I didn't think of. It has a lot of merits. There is only one problem, though, Gregory is the only obvious enemy. I have no idea who a possible mysterious enemy might be. "I want our spies to dig into both these theories. More so, the second one. Gregory is mad and might become this drastic, but I can see the second theory being more plausible." I look at my head of spies, Willok. He slowly nods his head and stands up to leave. He must want to start right away. I sigh as I rub my forehead in slight pain—a headache coming from many hours without sleep.

That leaves another subject to talk about. The feather we received from Slayer Zern is proving to be more than just a feather. It did come from his wings, after all. The golden feather emitted a perfect white light, and with that white light came a defense that couldn't be broken through. As well as a devastating offense. One that crushed the assassin as if he were nothing. "What do we know about the feather and its powers?" I ask the question to the room, but no one says anything. It's currently with my wife still as she sleeps. She might not ever want to part with it after this.

Not that I blame her for feeling that way, the feather has proved capable of protecting from threats and killing them as well. "The magic department has some theories on why that is. However, without an analysis of the feather, we won't know for sure." Before the conversation can continue, a heavy knocking can be heard from the door to the council chambers. The only reason to ever interrupt a meeting of the council is because of an emergency. One of the royal guards in the room walks to the door and opens it.

The guard captain falls in with heavy breaths. The royal guards help him to his feet, and he shoves them off in frustration. "There's been another attack! Someone tried to kill Queen Tessa!" I feel a pit in my stomach form, and I stand up in a fury. We should've seen it! They didn't want to kill us in the throne room. They wanted to separate us so that they can have an easier single target! I rush out of the room and charge down the hall. Navigating the long corridors and turns. I see our room up ahead, and there are guards everywhere.

I see blood leaking out from the room, and I fear the worst. I run even harder, and as I enter the room, I see the mangled body of an assassin, just like the one in the throne room. I dart my eyes around the room, and I don't see Tessa anywhere. "Where is she!?" I shout to every guard in the room, and a group of them part away from the bathroom. She is hiding in the bathroom, trying to get away from all the people. "Everyone leave us!" They obey and close the door behind them as they leave. I walk up to the door and silently stand in front of it.

I knock a couple of times, seeing if Tessa will answer. "He tried to kill me..." I hear a small voice behind the door, and my anger rises as I hear her say those words. I hear footsteps come towards the door, and she opens it. I look down at her, and her eyes are puffy, and she has blood on her nightwear. "He said that if I didn't hand over the feather... He'd kill me... Before I could respond, he attacked... The feather protected me again..." I look at the feather as it still rests in her hair. Undisturbed and perfect. As if nothing could break it.

We should've looked deeper. It wasn't an attack on us but a mission to retrieve the feather. Someone must have known that the feather has unique magical properties. She starts crying again and falls into my chest. I wrap my arms around her, and she does the same. "We'll find out who's doing this and take care of them. Until then, we'll have to remove the feather and place it in the treasure vault." Tessa cries a little harder, and I don't know why. She pulls away and looks up at me, shaking her head no. I look at her in confusion.

Before I can ask, she undoes the braid in her hair so the feather can fall out. However, that doesn't work. She lifts the feather for me to see. What I see completely shocks me. The feather has begun to fuse with her beautiful hair. "What the..." She looks down at it with me. The feather can't be removed without cutting her hair now. "Does cutting it work?" I ask my next move hoping that she has already tried that. She shakes her head no, and I feel more worry build in me. While this situation isn't bad, it isn't good either.

She dries her tears as she fiddles with the feather and the hair around it that has turned a vibrant white. "When I tried to cut the hair, the scissors broke. It's made my hair indestructible and slowly turning it a heavenly white. Watch." She angles the white patch of hair attached to the feather into the light. It begins to sparkle and dance. "I don't know what's going on... I'm scared, Jack..." I hold her tightly as she says that. I wouldn't have let her wear the feather in her hair if I knew this would happen. Did Slayer Zern know this would happen?

Soon the doors to the room creak open, and some guards and my council members walk into the room. Some go to inspect the body immediately. "This means our initial theories were wrong. What do you suggest we do now?" Killian begins to speak, asking the room what the next step will be. My anger and rage build the more I think about it. This is the second time today that my wife has been attacked. The second time that she hasn't felt safe in her own home. Whoever is doing this will have a war on their hands.

I hold Tessa as I walk to Killian. I lean in to talk quietly. "When we find out who's doing this. Declare war. It's obviously not Gregory, and someone is trying to get what Slayer Zern left for us." Killian nods his head with the new orders, and he leaves. The rest follow suit, and I sigh. "C'mon, let's go find somewhere else to sleep tonight." Tessa slowly nods her head, and we leave. The servants and guards will clean this all up by tomorrow, but I doubt she'll ever want to sleep in this room again. We slowly walk the halls as we hold each other.

My thoughts are racing as we continue to walk. Heading to a room that is fully furnished and ready for use. Guards are trailing behind us and making sure that we are safe. "How long do you think it'll take before we find out who did this?" I honestly don't know how to answer her question. There is no way to say we will definitely. There are plenty of people who'd want the feather. Religious fanatics, power-hungry nobles, people wanting power. The feather seems to be capable of many things, and who knows how much more will be discovered about it. It's still fusing with her hair.