Hansel hurried into the study as soon as he heard the guards yelling. He entered upon a scene of bloody distress. Annabelle was being half held up by a guardsmen, who kept asking if she was ok. Mia was searching through the clothes of the body, and seemed to pocket something before stepping away from it, turning to the queen. She told the guardsmen to take her to her rooms, then turned to the adviser.

“What happened?” He demanded once Annabelle had been taken from the study.

“What do you mean?” Mia asked, crossing her arms.

“There’s dead body bleeding all over the room and the queen is in emotional shambles, that’s what I mean!” Hansel growled.

“I saved her life, as is my job.” The assassin responded.

“You killed a man in front of her. Do you have any idea the impact that will have on her, especially in her emotional state?” Hansel took a step forward, glaring down at the small woman.

“I protected her. That’s what I am here for. She is alive, and unharmed. That is what I am being paid to do.” Mia stepped up closer to Hansel, her snarl coming close to his face.

The two glared at each other for several moments, all the while the guards around them began trying to clean away what they could, averting their gazes from the adviser and the assassin.

“I need to be with the queen.” Mia finally said, turning away from Hansel and walking purposefully to the door and beyond. Hansel glared after her, quivering with fury.

“Such disregard for life should not be allowed anywhere near the queen.” Hansel muttered under his breath. He shook his head as he turned back to look around the room. The body and books had been removed, but there were still blood splatters all over the floor and chair.

“Oh, my…” Hansel turned at the familiar voice. The tall man from the previous night stood in the doorway, his eyes wide in shock.

“You shouldn’t be here.” Hansel snapped.

The tall man seemed slightly taken aback. “I came to see what help I may offer.”

“Oh. Well, I don’t think there is much you can do, unless you can get stains out of carpet.” Hansel shrugged.

The tall man seemed to be considering it, but shook his head and spoke again. “How is she? Is she ok?”

“The queen? I hope so. Dear Powers above, I truly hope so.” Hansel rubbed his face, sighing. He glanced back at the tall stranger again. “What is your name? I don’t believe you told me before.”

The tall stranger stood straighter as if shocked. “No, no I haven’t. Clyde. Clyde’s my name. Of the Duranhawk family. Though I’d… Rather just go by Clyde.”

“Clyde. It is good to meet you.” Hansel said. He gestured to the door. “Perhaps we should go talk somewhere more… Appropriate.”

Clyde nodded, and followed Hansel to a drawing room elsewhere.

Hansel collapsed into a chair, his body seeming to sag with the weight of being. “If that man was an assassin… Oh, her real literature teacher might be… The poor man…”

“I’m sure we’ll find out something eventually.” Clyde offered, patting the smaller man’s back gently. “People don’t just disappear without a trace, not really. This is the physical world, tracks and scents, even mere memories, are always left behind.”

“This is the second attempt on her life in three days.” Hansel murmured. “We need to tighten security, we can’t let any unfamiliar places in until we have this sorted.”

“Probably shouldn’t let the mayors leave, either.” Clyde sat down on a sofa, his bulk making it creak a little. “Never know who decided to hire a hitman.” His lips curled in distaste. “On a child.”

“Even if that means keeping yourself here?” Hansel looked up at the man, raising an eyebrow.

“I have nothing behind that my apprentices can’t handle.” Clyde confidently crossed his arms. “Herding cattle and wrangling horses is something all my boys are adept in. They have to be, in order to last more than two hours.”

Hansel simply nodded, frowning at the floor. “I wonder how you’re brother will react.”

“Raiq?” Clyde chuckled humorlessly, “oh, he’ll likely find some way to make this your fault, the queen’s fault, and, of course, the assassin’s fault.” He ticked each off on his fingers, lingering on the one held up for the assassin. He let his hands fall on his knees, shaking his head. “While I greatly disagree with the way my brother behaved, I must say that he has a point as far as the queen’s choice in… protection.” He glanced around, and leaned in closer to Hansel, lowering his voice. “This situation does insinuate some very dangerous things about her. How are we to know that she didn’t let another assassin in here in the first place?”

“We aren’t. Not yet. Not right now. For now, her only loyalty is money. So long as we provide decent cash flow to her pockets, that ties her loyalty to the queen.” Hansel replied.

“How are we to know someone else didn’t approach her with a bigger overall number?” Clyde pressed, “she has proven she, herself, cannot harm the queen. But she could let someone else in to do it.” He gestured to the door they had entered the room from. “Sure, she killed this one. Good on her for protecting the queen. What if there are others? What if this one was simply to put us at ease about her?”

“Do you think I have not considered these possibilities?” Hansel groaned, sitting back in his chair and covering his face with his hands, rubbing his forehead. “The spell compels her to protect the queen, she has no choice but to do it. Whoever is supposed to come next will have to be much more skilled than Mia.”

“And with the queen dead, that nullifies the oath, letting her go free.” Clyde dimly mused. “How do we keep this from happening without her knowing?”

“We can’t. That’s the thing. If we have an entourage of guards following her, we’ll just be providing cover and cannon fodder to her and whoever she’s working with. These men have families, you know.” Hansel sighed heavily.

“So, we just sit and wait, and hope nothing happens.” Clyde clenched his hands into tight fists.

“Pretty much.” Hansel responded dismally.

***

The next morning, Hansel was awakened early, as was his request. The guard who had awakened him let his valet in to help him dress.

“Anything in particular going on today, my lord?” The valet asked, preparing clothes for the day.

“Oh, we’re going to make some people very angry with us.” Hansel said, removing his night shirt and slipping his arms into the fresh one his valet held for him. “We’re going to have to hold everyone here until we have figured out who hired that assassin.”

“Of course.” The valet helped Hansel into a deep, scarlet jacket, bowed, and left. Hansel glanced himself over in the mirror, and sighed. Raiq wasn’t going to be the only one wishing for his head after today.

He left his rooms and traversed to the larger dining hall, where what was to be the “farewell” breakfast was going to be held. He knew several of the mayors had already packed and were prepared to leave immediately after the “celebratory” breakfast.

He seated himself, and helped himself to a small cup of coffee. Clyde showed up a few minutes later, taking a seat a little ways down from Hansel. Servants brought up some small breakfast items for the early risers, commenting on the time and how they were awake so soon.

The men said nothing, and simply waited. Others started to trickle in slowly, with Raiq being the last to show. More breakfast was brought up to satisfy the new risers, and a sleepy talk started amongst them.

Before everyone had fully settled into their meal, the queen arrived, followed by Mia. ALl rose, bowed, and sat down after she had taken her seat. All, except for Hansel.

The adviser cleared his throat, waiting to be sure he had everyone’s attention. He took a breath, then began. “In light of recent events, all of you here will need to remain here until we have resolved the matter.”

Raiq spoke up before Hansel could even finish. “You realize we have towns that we need to get back too? We have people who depend upon us for direction, and you would keep us from them?”

Hansel didn’t directly address Raiq, but his tone had an added edge to it. “The matter being an attempt on the queen’s life.” The murmurs that had been rising fell silent. “An assassin was hired, and until we can be sure it is not one of those present at this table, no one leaves.”

“I will personally check over each of you.” Mia stepped forward, crossing her arms. “I know the kinds of people who hire assassins. Trust me, I’ve seen them all.” She smiled grimly, pinning each present with her bright, piercing eyes.

“How will we know you won’t just pin it on one of us for your own reasons?” one of the ladies demanded.

“I will be with her, investigating as well.” Hansel said, shooting a glance at the assassin. If Mia noticed, she gave no indication of it.

“What are we to do while we’re here? Being a mayor is more than just a title. We have jobs to do.” Raiq growled.

“You will have those you trust to act as interim in the meantime.” Clyde responded.

“Oh, truly? Who shall I set up as such? My nephew?” Raiq turned on his brother.

“Aran is a very capable man and could do so much more than you ever could!” Clyde stood up, glaring down at his brother.

“You can discuss this amongst yourselves later, preferably in private.” Hansel cut in, raising his voice above the other men. “What is settled right now is that all of you must stay here until this matter is resolved. We cannot risk any more attempts on the queen’s life.”

Hansel looked down at Annabelle as he mentioned her. She had closed her eyes, and was letting her shoulders slouch about her neck a little. He could hear her trying to maintain her breathing, as though she had started to panic earlier.

“Fine.” The older of the two ladies spoke up after listening to everything in silence. “We shall stay. We shall cooperate. The sooner this is over, the sooner we may return to our towns.” She gestured towards the queen. “Let us not forget that this here, is a child, however. Her mind cannot handle such stress. Can we truly be sure she can handle a kingdom?”

“What are you suggesting?” Hansel asked.

“I am suggesting nothing. I am merely stating an observation. We cannot put too many expectations on a young girl who is not even of marrying age. I will stay, and I will cooperate, but I do request that you find a way to either prepare this child for a kingdom, or find someone who can take her place.” With that, the lady left the room. The others followed behind her, grumbling amongst themselves.

Within a minute, only Hansel, Clyde, Mia, and Annabelle remained in the room. Hansel sat down next to Annabelle, who had opened her eyes, but was still refusing to look at anyone. The adviser turned to the assassin and asked sharply, “Why did you do that?”

“It’s my job to protect her, isn’t it?” Mia said, a small smile on her lips. “Besides, if any of them did hire the assassin, there’s no way you would be able to get it out of them. You have no experience with interrogation. Not like this.”

Hansel opened his mouth, then clicked it shut. He wanted to ask and you do? But he already knew the answer to that question.

“What will you do when you find the one who did it?” Her voice was small, but the queen quickly caught the attention of all in the room.

“We’ll worry about that. You don’t need to.” Hansel said softly.

“I’m the queen, aren’t I? I have to prove I’m more than just a child.” Annabelle sat up straighter, and the light from the morning sun caught the tear tracks on her face. “I can handle a kingdom. I have to prove it. Starting now.” SHe took a deep, slightly shuddering breath, then asked again, much stronger this time. “So, Hansel, what will you do if the employer of the assassin is found amongst these suspects?”

Hansel seemed taken aback, but he gathered himself quickly. “He, or she, will be questioned to find any accomplices, tried, and possibly executed.” He managed to respond.

Annabelle nodded, sighing heavily.

Mia cleared her throat. “I would like to make it known that, in the chance that the perpetrator decides to try and flee or fight, I cannot guarantee their life will be whole.”

“Of course.” Annabelle murmured.

“You will try to not kill them.” Hansel emphasized, glaring at the assassin.

“You can’t get information from a dead body. I won’t kill them. But they may end up missing a few limbs is all.”

Hansel quickly looked at Annabelle, who had gone rather pale.

“Can you try for some sensitivity?” Hansel hissed, turning back to Mia.

“Hey, you two fighting isn’t making things any better.” Clyde suddenly growled. He had moved beside the queen, a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Listen, Mia, is it?” the assassin nodded. “Look, you are working with a twelve year old here. Please, show some tact. Hansel, that is the queen’s body guard, and she is very experienced. Let her deal with things the way she feels she needs to.”

Mia and Hansel glared at each other for a few seconds. Hansel then sighed wearily, turning away from the assassin’s gaze. “We do need to work together. We need to find who hired that assassin, how they got in, and how to deal with them.”

Mia nodded, also sitting down. “I suggest we start a couple hours before lunch is to be served. They’ll have time to think on it, and they’ll start getting hungry without being too much so that they can’t focus.”

“Alright. Before lunch.” Hansel agreed.

“The queen will have to be with us.” Mia added. When Hansel started to protest, she raised a hand. “I am her body guard. If I’m going to help with the investigation, that means I’ll be in their rooms, or a study, or whereever they will be, and she will have to be with me.” She smiled. “Besides, having her majesty right there might also help us win with a little sympathy card.”

“I do not like the idea of using her like that, but… You are right, she needs to stay with you.” Hansel groaned. “And I thought her hiring you would be the worst of all this…”

***

Annabelle sat quietly in a corner of the room, a book in her hands. She read the same line over and over again, not really taking it in. SHe didn’t even know which book she was holding. Hansel had simply handed it to her. SHe thought it was one of her school books.

She did hear much of what was being said, low as Mia’s voice was.

“Why would I want to hire an assassin?” The young woman said, crossing her arms defiantly. She stared up at Mia with confidence, though it steadily dwindled until she dropped her gaze to uneasily study the desk in front of her.

“Perhaps to cause some shock, some turmoil, stir things up a bit. Has this kingdom ever lost two rulers within mere days of each other?” Mia asked, leaning on the desk. Hansel sat next to her, his fingers steepled before his face.

“N-not to my knowledge, no.” The woman said, playing with her chocolate brown hair.

“So, this kingdom would not have much idea, let alone practice, in setting up a good ‘replacement’, would it?” Mia continued.

“No…” The woman meekly replied.

“It would make things easier, wouldn’t it? To just jump on the throne while all is chaotic and confused?” Mia leaned in closer.

“I… I suppose it would…” The woman seemed to squeak. “But, I would never… I couldn’t…. I have so many people at home, I couldn’t…”

“Couldn’t, what?”

“I couldn’t hire anyone to kill her… I couldn’t…” The woman wrapped herself in her arms, glancing at the queen in the corner of the room. “I couldn’t…”

Mia stared down at the woman, tapping her fingers on the desk. She let the near silence fill the room, letting her rhythmic tapping wear on the woman’s nerves. Annabelle found herself looking up from her book instead of just listening. The woman’s eyes found hers and seemed to stick. The woman visibly had to tear herself away from Annabelle, shuddering.

“Go.” Mia said, standing up straight.

“I, what?” The woman asked, looking back up into Mia’s face.

“Go, you’re done. Go on.” Mia casually waved a hand at the door. The woman slowly stood and walked from the room. As soon as the door closed, her footsteps could be heard, picking up her pace, down the hall.

“Well?” Hansel asked expectantly.

“It wasn’t her. SHe breaks too easy, and is far too emotional when it comes to such matters. If she had intended for it be done yesterday, she wouldn’t have been here.” Mia sat down in the other chair next to Hansel. “That, and she’s married, in case you didn’t notice her ring. Probably has kids around her age.” She nodded towards the queen. “Did you see her expression when she looked at Anna? It wasn’t her.”

“Alright.” Hansel said, writing notes down on a piece of parchment he had been keeping folded in his pocket.

“Alright.” Mia clapped her hands together, “Who’s next?”

“I think we should get Raiq done.” Hansel said, folding up his sheet again and pocketing it. “He’s likely got the most motive, he’s expressed his ‘concerns’ the most, and has riled up the others.” Hansel paused, then added, “I also never liked him.”

Mia nodded, smirking a little. “I was hoping to save him for last, but sure. I’ve a feeling he’ll be more challenging.”

“Isn’t that… a bad thing?” Hansel asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Only if you intend to never improve upon yourself.” Mia chided. “There’s always room for improvement. Remember that, kiddo, before you get as old as gramps here.”

Hansel started, then retorted, “I’m shy of fifty, yet!”

“My statement stands.” Mia grinned at him. Before he could say any more, she jumped up from her chair. “Well, shall we have our dearest guest join us?” She almost skipped over to the door, opened it, said something to one of the guards, then skipped back, hopped up and sat on the table, slid across it’s surface, and landed on her feet on the other side.

Hansel shot her an exasperated look, but Annabelle found herself grinning a little in amusement. She had never seen an adult act in such a childish manner. It was, fun.

“Don’t, no, don’t be encouraging her into such… such obnoxious things.” Hansel said when he caught sight of the queen’s face. “She needs to learn to be mature.”

“What better way to learn to be mature than to learn to have a sense of humour?” Mia sat down in the chair again, putting her feet up on the desk.

“Could you please prepare yourself for Raiq?” Hansel grimaced at her boots on the polished surface.

“I am.” Mia replied matter-of-factly.

The door opened before either could say anymore, and Raiq entered, tall and dark. Annabelle felt her heart clench on itself, and her stomach seemed to twist in a lurching way. The man sneered at Mia and her casual manner. He took the empty seat across from the two. He glanced at the queen and grimaced in annoyance. Annabelle had a sudden wish to be able to disappear into the shadows as Mia could.

Raiq began talking first. “So, I am suspected of hiring an assassin. Allow me to save you time, it was not me.”

Mia grinned broadly. “Funny, but everyone, even those who do hire assassin’s, always say that.” She left a leg and crossed it over the other, still smiling at Raiq, baring her almost wolfish teeth. “Unfortunately for you, I’m the one who says when we’re done. You don’t leave this room until I’m satisfied.”

Raiq stiffened his back, glaring at the assassin. “Why don’t you tell me proof that you weren’t involved?”

“Oh, didn’t you hear? I was involved. I killed him, saving the queen’s life.” Mia swept her legs off the table and leaned forward, getting closer to Raiq’s face. Her voice was low, but Annabelle could still pick out what she said.

“I do know you. You won’t know me, but I know so very much about you. I can start listing off facts if you want.” Annabelle could see a mischievous, almost bloodthirsty grin on Mia’s face. Her eyes were unsettling, oddly full of vigor yet devoid of a caring soul.

“How do you know me?” Raiq asked, irritated disbelief dripping from his words.

“I’m an assassin. Whether you’re my target or not, I learn secrets about everyone. Sometimes whole life stories.” She Leaned back. “I have heard some fairly interesting things about you. I really find it amazing, the fact that your mother was so close to-.”

“Enough!” Raiq raised a hand. Mia smiled and closed her mouth. “I did not hire an assassin, I assure you. If I had, they would not have failed.”

Mia stared at him, silent. Raiq stared back, glaring at the assassin, arms folded across his chest, his jaw set. What felt like several minutes passed before Raiq turned his gaze on Hansel.

“Are we done?” He asked.

“Yes,” Mia replied, not break her stare, “I think we are.”

Raiq stood up and left the room, letting the door slam behind him.

“He did it.” Mia said.

“How can you be sure?” Hansel questioned, taking out his notes again.

“He did it. He must have used a middle man, though. He wasn’t lying. He didn’t specifically hire that assassin. But he hired someone else to hire an assassin.” Mia stood up, stretching. “Everyone can be sent home, now.”

“Wait, hold on.” Hansel rubbed his forehead, then held it out to Mia, asking for continued quiet, “He did it. But what proof do we have?”

“None.” Mia replied simply.

“So…” Hansel sighed exasperatedly. “Well, we can’t do anything without any proof. How do we get proof?”

“Easy, we let him try again.” Mia replied.

“Ah, no, absolutely not! You are not putting her life in danger like that!” Hansel stood, pointing forcefully at Mia. “She has been through more than enough already.”

“What you would you propose? You two have a kingdom to run. You can’t run off hunting for clues. I can’t, either. I have a little kid to protect.”

“I’m not little.” Hansel and Mia turned to the queen. “I’m not. I am, however, the queen, and I will be a part of this discussion. Especially seeing as it concerns me.” Annabelle stood, holding her shoulders back and her chin up, letting ice settle in her eyes. “I feel that Mia is right. We will have to let him try again if we want to get any sort of proof.”

Hansel stuttered, but Mia spoke up before he could. “I’m glad you agree, your majesty.” She made a small bow, smiling. “If we can catch the assassin, we may be able to get the middle man out of him. Find the middle man, and we may be able to trace him back to Raiq.”

Hansel finally stepped forward. “Your majesty! Please, reconsider! If things should go astray, you know your life is forfeit!”

“I know, Hansel. And I appreciate your concern. But this is my decision. And, as your queen, it is final.” Annabelle stood a little straighter. Hansel worked his mouth before closing it, shaking his head.

“Very well. As you say, your majesty.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 4