Chapter 255

255 Unchanged

****THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS 18+ CONTENT. LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE, AND SEXUAL CONTENT. VIEWER’S DISCRETION IS ADVISED****

Skye was glad that Alfred and Zas had been nearby when Angelica had ambushed them. It made filling out the report a million times easier than it would’ve been, especially since Zas was one of the witnesses. As the General went to get a guard, people started to gather around out of curiosity.

Many knew that Skye and Angelica Bibalow were enemies, and the rumors that cropped up pertained to it. A select few said that Skye planned it to get rid of her, but most ignored that theory. The most popular one was that Angelica had hired multiple people, and Skye beat them all.

Skye had to laugh as she listened in on their conversations with her Tank trait. ‘How do people even come up with this stuff?! Haha! Wonder what they’d say if they found out that she had accidentally killed herself..’

When Zas came back, he told Skye not to worry about helping out for the rest of the day, so long as she finished the original errand.

“Since you’ll be at the medical tent, tell them to send someone to collect the body. I’ll send a guard to track down Lord Bibalow with a copy of my report. He needs to know the circumstances of his daughter’s death.”

Zas flashed a serious expression before he added; “The last thing any of us needs is Bibalow sending people after you, or coming after you himself. The report states that she died from a self-inflicted wound.. I didn’t add all the details: just the basics. Less details means less gossip.”

“I appreciate that Zas, thank ye,” Skye replied as she started walking backwards.

Zas smiled as he called out to her before turning away; “Doesn’t mean there won’t be any, though! Be prepared for that!”

.....

“Tis already started, but aye! Oh! I almost forgot! Please tell Klaus and Ronnie I’ll be at the palace seein’ me folks off!” Skye called back as she, too, turned and took off.

As she took off, Zas called out: “SURE THING!”

He was happy that Skye didn’t stick around, or ask a bunch of questions. Angelica Bibalow was obviously a pawn. There was no way she could get her hands on such a rare and expensive poison by herself.

‘Lord Bibalow never would’ve paid for it, and she didn’t have any money if her own. There’s only one of two ways she could’ve gotten it: she stole it, or someone gave it to her..’

Signaling to one of the guards, Zas told him to go track down doctors Gohan and Stein. He was to tell them to meet him at the RMC Headquarters in two hours. The news of Angelica’s death was already spreading quickly.

‘I just hope I get to them before they figure out why I want to talk to them. I need to know if one of them was her accomplice, or if she was working with someone else...’

************

The Crowned Princess was sent into a foul mood the moment that Karena had heard about Angelica Bibalow. Draco was coming back from checking their house for clues as to where they went when he’d heard.

“The stupid bitch has already attempted, and failed, to kill Skye. To make matters worse; I couldn’t retrieve the knife without tipping Skye and Zas of that the she had accomplices. Which they’ve probably already figured out.”

Karena basically did the same thing that she always did when Draco had told her before dinner. Smash a few things, berate someone, then take her sweet time with Draco. He hated sleeping with her, but Marco’s orders had literally included having sex with her to keep her more docile.

At first, Draco had found it entertaining, but it quickly turned boring and repetitious. She was always on top, only took care of herself, then she’d bend over to allow him to finish. Their couplings were the same every time.

He’d change up the monotony by sleeping with servant girls, or tavern tramps, but it could never be for more than a few nights. Even though Karena held no feelings towards Draco other than lust, she was still possessive of him.

Only once had he come close to a real relationship with a baker’s daughter, but Karena destroyed it. Draco had made the mistake of telling Karena that he had someone he cared for enough to not want to sleep with her anymore. He was young and na?ve at the time, so he didn’t think she’d hurt the lass..

After Karena had her beaten, the poor girl was dropped off in the slums with barely any clothes on.. She died from her injuries on the side of the road. After that experience, Draco never built personal relationships with anyone.

No family, no friends; just his duty. All Draco had to look forward to now was the day he got to kill Karena. He often fantasized about how he would do it.

‘Stab her? Shoot her? Slice her throat open? No.. Strangling her would be the most gratifying. Then I could watch the light leave her eyes..’

Draco had been so lost in his thoughts that he’d barely felt Karena slap him as she screamed; “Are you even listening to me?! What are we supposed to do now?! They have the knife! The poison we gave her was too rare! They’ll know that it Had to come from the palace!”

Draco sighed as he started to unbutton his shirt. ‘Always the same.. First she needs reassurances, then she’ll make me fuck her. I wish Prince Marco would just kill his father already. Slowly poisoning him doesn’t seem to be working, not with that hot little princess running around.’

“Even if they do trace it back, Dr. Stein can just say she stole it. She’s been in and out of the palace with her father. He could just say it’s not something he touches often enough to notice that some was missing. Don’t worry; they can’t trace it back to you.”

Karena visibly relaxed at Draco’s assurance. It wasn’t that he was genuinely trying to comfort her, he just wanted her to shut up. The quicker he finished his business with her, the sooner he could report to Marco. He would not be happy that Karena had tried to kill ‘his prize’, as he called her.

‘Maybe he’ll let me kill her early, so long as I make it look like an accident? Probably not, but I can hope..’

************

After Skye had stopped off at the medical tent, she headed straight for the palace. Her parents weren’t supposed to leave until after dinner, so she wanted to spend a little time with them before they left. When she got to the front of the palace, both of her parents were getting ready to leave.

Anger, hurt, and panic swirled around within Skye as she ran over to them. The not-so-happy looks on their faces made it hurt even more. Her lungs burned as she came to a stop in front of them, and demanded answers.

“So ye were gonna leave without so much as a goodbye?! What the hell?!”

Lucas stepped forward with an apologetic look on his face; “Ima sorry, me sweet.. We have to go now so Petrie and I can discuss the temporary treaty with Murdoc. I wanted to have more time, but-”

“Ye could’ve spent some time with me if ye would’ve come to see me at all,” Skye looked directly at her mother; “At least Da made an effort to talk to me. Which is a hella lot more than I can say about you.”

Lidia shrank back at Skye harsh tone. She knew that avoiding her would hurt her, but what else was she to do? Magnus had warned Lucas about the conversation he and Skye had during dinner a while back.

Magnus had told Skye’s father that she might be doubtful of her lineage now, and that he knew all along that Sorcha was her mother.. Which sent Lucas into a rage.

“So all the times ye called me away when she was pregnant, ye knew?! You Rotten Bastard!”

If Magnus wouldn’t have been the king, Lucas would’ve beat him to death. He missed so much because of Magnus’ pettiness. Skye’s first kick, Sorcha’s cravings, her smile, her laugh.. He’d lost months of time with her, and it was all his supposed friend’s fault.

After Lucas broke some very expensive things in his room, the two had Petrie come back in and say his piece. Once he’d finished, Magnus gave Petrie the Ambassador’s Crest, then sent him off so the two could cover Everything...

Lucas had told his wife about their talk, which terrified Lidia. Skye would soon be asking questions she couldn’t answer. ‘How can I explain that the man she thinks is her father is actually her uncle?! Without giving away that I’m not her mother?! It can’t be done!’

Lidia was about to have a stroke due to her anxiety over it all. Lucas saw his wife’s state, and knew that the coming conversation needed to be done in private. There were enough ears around them to cause their daughter some serious complications if they weren’t careful about how they handled the situation.

“Let’s head to yer quarters for a talk. We can leave once everything is resolved,” Skye’s father motioned to the stairs as he spoke.

The childish side of her wanted to tell her parents to just leave, but Skye felt more calm and collected than normal. She had for a while now, which was strange to her. Anger was Skye’s go-to emotion, but lately her common sense had prevailed more often.

As they climbed the steps without a word, Skye found herself lost in her thoughts on the matter. ‘Maybe Ima just gettin’ older? No, this doesn’t feel like a natural progression-type thing.. I feel calm, but edgy. Tis odd..’

As they started to make their way through the hallways, Skye realized that her parents had no trouble making their way around the palace. If irritated her even more knowing that they couldn’t use the excuse of ‘getting lost on their way to find her’.

As they turned down the final main hall, Peggy came into view. She was heading back to Skye’s quarters with her arms full of underskirts, stockings, and dresses. As soon as she saw Skye and her parents, she knew something was wrong.

No one looked happy, which was odd to Peggy since Skye had been looking forward to seeing her parents. As the family approached, Peggy could see the ire in in Skye eyes. Without a word, she led them into Skye’s quarters.

As soon as they were all in, Peggy closed the door. Skye gestured to the table for her parents to sit as she asked; “So.. Why didn’t anyone here Ever tell me that Da isn’t me real father?”