Isadora looked back at Queen Victoria and Lord Richard in fear. What was she even supposed to say? Say that her dagger, laced with an unknown poison was the one that hurt the prince making him to be in this current condition? No! She wouldn’t dare say that. The queen would not hesitate to behead her. Her gaze shifted to the dagger on the nightstand and she swallowed. She had to get it no matter what.

"Are you deaf or what? Didn’t you hear my question?" Queen Victoria demanded. But Isadora’s mind was concentrated on how she would get her hands on the dagger. "Silence means you are the one who poisoned my son." The queen said giving her a hard stare. "Guards?" She called.

Isadora’s heart skipped a beat at this. Was she really going to be arrested? So soon? She could even count the number of days she had stayed here. But throwing her in prison would only worsen the situation. She was the only one who could find out what type of poison that was. Throwing her in the cellar would only make the matters worse. She stared at Alexander and fear gripped her when she saw his face turn even more paler. The chief physician was staring at him pathetically as if he was destined to die a few minutes to come.

The door creaked open and two men dressed in knight’s attire stepped in ready to receive an order from the queen. "Cease her!" Queen Victoria said pointing at Isadora. Her panic intensified as she stared at the dagger. She would not leave it here. What if it hurt more people? She could now hear the faint steps of the knights approaching. She looked at the dagger one more time before she dashed between the queen and Lord Richard making them to lose balance. Lord Richard was quick to regain his stamina before he fell but the queen fell down with her buttocks. She winced in pain.

"My queen?" Lord Richard called as he ran to help her up. She was now fuming in anger as she stared daggers at the direction of where Isadora was now. She was kneeling on the nightstand facing the other direction. But none of them discovered what she was doing. Isadora had successfully tucked the dagger in her blouse. No one could notice it.

"What are you still waiting for? Take her to the dungeon!" Queen Victoria almost yelled and the now stagnant knights moved. They caught Isadora’s arm each and led her out of the room. She didn’t protest though. Protesting would only lead her to some more trouble.

"Please do something," Queen Victoria said as she stared at her unmoving son. She was pacing restlessly in the room as if this would bring a miracle and cure Alexander. The chief physician had tried all he could but Alexander’s condition seemed to worsen. Sweat was now dripping his face as he mixed different kinds of herbs. He had even lost count of the time he had stayed by Alexander’s side and his back was aching. He placed the drink on Alexander’s lips before he poured it in his mouth. He then placed his hand on his wrist and frowned for the nth time.

"What happened? Is he well now?" The queen questioned the physician when he drew back and stood back.

"Let the physician do his work My queen. You might be pressuring him a lot and he might be nervous. Just give him time and space." Came Lord Richard’s voice. Queen Victoria shot him a hard glare but she eventually calmed down. She slowly sat beside Lord Richard while staring at her hands in grief.

"My husband is in a bad condition and now, it’s my son." A tear fell down her cheek but she was quick to rub it before Lord Richard could see it. A queen had to stay strong and not show weakness in front of her subjects. But thinking about Lord Richard, was he even a subject to her or was it the other way round? Unfortunately, Lord Richard had seen her cry and he placed his hand on her shoulder making her to stiffen.

"I’m with you on this," he said, his voice laced with emotions. She looked at him with mixed feelings. She knew what those words meant. It meant more to her and a deeper hidden meaning was in them that only she and him understood.

The chief physician watched as the roller coaster of emotions unfolded in front of him. Maybe this is the perfect time, he thought. He placed the bowl on the nightstand before he stood up looking at the couple, or rather, Lord Richard and the queen. But the way they were holding hands now painted the image of a couple.

"My queen?" He called out nervously. Lord Richard and Queen Victoria braced themselves as Victoria wiped the tears on her face. She looked at the physician in anticipation but for some odd reason, she feared what he was about to say. The fear on his face made her guess for the worst.

"When I was coming to His Highness’s Prince Alexander’s room earlier," he begun and paused for a while filling the room with tension. His gaze shifted to the queen’s eyes and he could see the fear in them. Maybe she already knew or anticipated what he was about to say. On the other hand, Lord Richard was staring at him curiously. This at least gave him the motivation to continue.

"I had another motive in mind rather than curing him. But when I found him in this condition, I gave up the idea of what I was about to inform him." He breathed out heavily adding the tension that had already built in the atmosphere. He stared at the queen and Lord Richard and they stared back at him in anticipation. ’Or should I just give up and tell them later,’ he thought.

"And?" Lord Richard asked raising a brow. "What did you want to tell the crown prince." The physician looked at the Queen rather than Lord Richard before he let the cat out of the bag.

"It is with a heavy heart and with a lot of grief that I announce to you the death of King Edgar the second. His majesty rested with the gods earlier this afternoon. I’m sorry for your loss your majesty." He said and looked to see her reaction.

The queen’s face turned from one of fear to that of misbelief, grief and surprise. She looked at the physician as if to confirm if what he was saying is true. But the solemn and pitiful look on his face answered it all. She stared at her hands in grief but strangely, no tears flowed out of her eyes.

"My husband is dead?" She whispered that to herself more than anyone else. But saying the words made it out sound more real and tears now began flowing uncontrollably on her cheeks. Still, a part of her scolded her for leaving her husband alone these past days. She had not visited him for almost a week now. Maybe that was the reason why he died so soon. She scolded herself again as more tears ran across her face.