章 18: Chapter 17.
Oliver stared at the woman, he would one day call his wife, wondering if maybe it wasn't such a great idea to make her queen.
Charlotte had a wide-eyed, evil look in his eyes that told him she had not been joking when she suggested drinking the poisoned soup.
He turned to the doctor, who shared the same bewildered look on his face, except his was masked by fear.
"I don't understand. What happened here, Magnus?"
The old man looked back at the maid on the bed. Oliver could see that he hated being the one to tell him.
"It appears the soup that was served for her ladyship was meant to abort a baby." he winced at his own words.
"Except, I am not pregnant." Charlotte chipped in, the same wild look in her eyes.
"Her ladyship did not drink it." The doctor added, wearily.
"It was Beatrice, I'm telling you, that woman does not like me at all." Charlotte was saying.
Oliver was at her side in a moment and grabbing her roughly, he said, his voice a hoarse whisper.
"You keep your voice low! And do not make such accusations in the palace without evidence!"
The look Charlotte gave him made him hate himself immediately. The wild look gone, Charlotte was now angry. And yet again, her anger was directed at him.
She withdrew her hand from his roughly and turned her back on him, settling beside the maid, who was still fast asleep.
"Look, Charlotte, the doctor will agree with me, The chief maid wouldn't dare poison your food and deliver it herself, it must be a mistake."
Charlotte laughed cruelly. A laugh he had almost gotten used to by now, he wondered if she would ever even smile at him as genuinely as she had the knight.
"Someone made a mistake, and Anne almost died." she chuckled again, "Twice since I came into this palace, someone has tried to kill me, all within a day, but whatever you say, Your Highness, someone made a mistake."
Oliver hurt at the pure disdain in her voice. How had he managed to make everything worse? He wondered, as he turned her back on her and left without another word.
Charlotte watched him leave quietly, her eyes hurting with unshed tears, the lump at her throat made it hard for her to breathe. She stroked Anne's smooth hair, glad of the peace and quiet in the room, the doctor forgotten to her.
"May I please look at your feet milady?"
She looked up sharply.
"What feet? Didn't you hear? There were no assassins, I did not hurt my feet." she said, bitterly, a cruel smile on her face.
The old man's shoulders slumped even more, the weight he carried suddenly heavier.
"I'm sorry milady," he said.
The resigned tone in his voice softened Charlotte's heart. It was not his fault his prince was stupid and arrogant. He reminded her of her father, who she missed.
"It's okay," she said, "I'm the one that's sorry." her voice was just as resigned as his. The old man pitied her.
She propped her foot on a stool as the old man walked around the bed to look at it, surprised at how red the bandages were.
The doctor worked silently on removing the wet bandages and cleaning her bloody feet.
"Will she be okay?" Charlotte asked quietly.
"She will live a normal life if she is lucky, she could have a child, but I would advise against it."
"There doesn't seem to be much luck running around anymore, huh?"
"No child, there doesn't seem to be." The old man shot her an understanding look.
He applied a cold salve to her foot and bandaged her feet up again.
"Would you please refrain from putting pressure on this foot for at least a day?" he pleaded, smiling.
"I'll try." she smiled back at him.
He took her other foot.
"Don't look too bad," he said. "The soup wasn't too hot."
He applied a different salve and collected his belongings, ready to leave.
"What's wrong with everyone in this building?" Charlotte found herself asking.
The doctor smiled painfully, "Power? I don't know. You tell me when you find out."
Charlotte smiled back at him.
"I will send more medicine for both of you later. Take care the palace doesn't change you into someone you are not," he said, before leaving. The guards at her door shut the doors behind him.
Charlotte wondered if she was now a prisoner, again.
Anne stirred in her sleep, opening her eyes a minute later.
"What happened?" she moaned, her voice croaky.
"Someone poisoned the soup you drank, I'm sorry," Charlotte answered bluntly, seeing the irony that just minutes ago, she had been the one in the bed asking questions.
Anne was quiet, her face going blank. Charlotte wondered how she would tell the maid that she would probably never have children.
"The doctor said you will be fine…" she said.
"Oh," came the meek voice.
"But, the broth was meant to expel a foetus,-"
"Oh."
"-I'm sorry Anne, the doctor said you might never have children."
"Oh." a single tear ran down her cheek.
Charlotte studied the young maid, wondering what was going through her head. Other than the single tear that stained her cheek, Charlotte could not tell what the maid felt. She stroked her hair quietly, understanding that most girls her age wanted to fill their wombs with as many babies as possible, and Anne's future had probably been crushed forever.
"I'm sorry," she repeated.
Anne did not respond.
'Does she blame me?' Charlotte wondered. Feeling the distance grow between herself and the young maid.
Anne sat up on the bed.
"I better get going, your ladyship should not have to take care of me," she said, swinging her feet off the bed.
"No, Anne, the doctor instructed that you should rest a while." Charlotte pleaded.
Anne was surprised by the concern in her voice. 'Greed will be the end of you', her mother had said, now she would never make a proper wife.
"I'm sorry milady, but I should get my rest in the maid's quarters. Otherwise, I will get in trouble."
She tried to stand, but her stomach cramps would not allow her to stand up, and her legs were too weak.
Charlotte walked to the door and called on a passing maid.
"Help me get her to her feet, then take us to the maid's quarters."
"Yes milady." the maid curtsied.
They helped Anne to her feet, her hands on each of their shoulders. Charlotte winced as she put pressure on her wounded leg.
"I can manage on my own, milady." The new maid said. Charlotte ignored her.
Maids stared as the three walked through the halls and Charlotte could tell that Anne was uncomfortable with the attention.
The maid's quarters were a big hall with beds so close to each other that there was barely any room for the three between the beds. They took Anne to a bed she pointed out in the corner, lowered her into it, and covered her up.
Charlotte, seated on the bed beside the maid, was surprised with how thin the mattresses were. She could feel the rails of the bed beneath the thin mattress press onto her bottom.
She wondered how the maids slept in such conditions. The hall was adjacent to the king's stable, on the other side of the wall, and Charlotte could smell the horse dung and hear the neighs of the horses as clearly as if they were in the room with them.
She turned to Anne, "Maybe you should come…"
The maid was already fast asleep.
"Sleep well," she whispered in her ear.
She turned to the other maid. "She is not to do any duties without my knowledge. She serves me, and until, I need her, she serves no one else. Understand?" her voice was hard.
The maid nodded meekly, wishing the lady she served would treat her with as half as much humanity as Charlotte did Anne.
"Report her progress to me," Charlotte said, before leaving the maid's quarters. The maids stared as she left.
As she headed towards her room, there was a commotion in the hallway and she thought she could hear her father's voice. She pushed her poor leg to the limit hurrying towards the sound.
"I need to see my daughter," her father was saying. His sword was in his hands and the two guards stood between him and Oliver, their swords also poised, ready for an attack.
Charlotte took in the scene in a second, realizing her father could be hanged for treason for pulling his sword on the crown prince.
Oliver was saying something, she couldn't hear. His face was calm.
"Father!" she breathed.
Her father turned to face her, his stoic expression crumbling at her sight.
"Charlotte!" the relief in his voice brought tears to Charlotte's own eyes.
He sheathed his sword back and was in front of her in three big steps, wrapping his hands around her in a lock that made it hard for Charlotte to breathe.
When he pulled back, there were tears in his eyes, his face a shade of red she had never seen on his face.
"I thought you were dead and they were hiding you from me," he said, his voice breaking. "I thought they killed you." he pulled her back into his arms.
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