The grand halls of the palace were
eerily silent
as King Lucius strode toward the Queen’s chambers, his
heart pounding
against his ribs.
It had been
too quiet.
His Queen hadn’t left her room all morning, nor had she
answered her attendants’ knocks.
He stopped in front of the heavy
oak doors
.
He raised his hand.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
No answer.
Lucius
frowned
.
A chill crept up his spine, but he shoved the feeling down.
With a
sharp breath
, he
pushed the doors open.
A Scene of Horror
The moment he stepped inside, the stench of
iron and death
slammed into him.
His breath
hitched
.
The room was a
disaster.
Shattered mirrors. Torn curtains. Splintered furniture.
And in the center of it all—
The Queen.
Her body lay
crumpled
on the marble floor, her
fingers clawing at nothing
, her
mouth twisted in a silent scream.
Her once
delicate hands
were
ruined
, nails
ripped out
, blood staining her fingertips.
Her
wide, lifeless eyes
were frozen in sheer,
unimaginable terror.
Lucius felt his stomach turn.
"No…"
He
rushed
to her side, pressing trembling fingers against her
cold
throat.
Nothing.
Her
pale lips
, her
stiff body
—she was
long gone.
A sharp gasp tore from his throat.
"Guards!" he bellowed, his voice echoing through the corridors.
A Death with No Answers
The guards burst in, their armor
clanking
, followed swiftly by the palace physician.
The physician knelt beside the Queen’s body, his
face grim
.
"What happened to her?" Lucius demanded, his voice low and
dangerous
.
The physician hesitated before speaking.
"She… went mad, Your Majesty."
Lucius’s
brows furrowed.
"Mad?"
The physician nodded, gesturing toward the
ruined room
.
"From the looks of it, she tore through everything in a fit of madness. She—" he swallowed, "—ripped her own nails out. She must have been hallucinating. She slammed her head against the table, likely in a desperate attempt to stop whatever torment was consuming her mind."
Lucius’s blood ran
cold.
"That’s impossible." His voice was sharp.
"She was fine yesterday."
The physician didn’t respond.
Because what could he say?
No poison. No visible injuries. No outside
force.
The Queen had simply…
gone insane.
And then
died.
A Message from the Shadows
Lucius exhaled shakily, running a hand through his
dark hair
—and that’s when he saw it.
A note.
It was tucked neatly
beneath her bare, bloodied feet
, almost
mocking
him.
His pulse
quickened
.
Slowly, he reached down and unfolded the paper, his hands
trembling
.
And then he read:
"Oh dear, you’re cute.
How are you today? Today’s going to be a lovely day.
By the time you read this, there will already be rumors that the Queen went crazy.
Have fun.
Oh, wait! Was today your anniversary?
Well, she’s hee—"
Lucius’s fingers
crushed
the paper before he finished reading.
A low growl rumbled in his throat as he
ripped it apart
, his nails digging into the parchment until it was nothing but
shreds.
He turned to the table, his mind racing—
And his stomach
sank.
Stacked neatly in
plain sight
were
dozens of documents.
Each one detailed
every crime the Queen had ever committed.
Illegal
kidnappings.
Framing nobles for murder.
Blackmail.
Silencing political enemies.
Everything was there.
Signed with her name.
He reached for one of the pages, flipping through them
quickly
.
His breath grew
shallow.
This wasn’t just
damning evidence
.
This was a
death sentence.
If this information
spread
…
The Queen’s
legacy
would crumble.
The
throne
would be questioned.
And the
royal family
his family
—would be
torn apart.
The Gag Order
Whispers filled the palace by the time Lucius emerged from the Queen’s chambers.
Servants exchanged
furtive glances
, guards
spoke in hushed voices
, and nobles murmured of
a curse upon the King.
It spread like
wildfire.
By noon, the entire
capital
was talking about it.
By evening, the
taverns
were flooded with speculation.
"The Queen went mad overnight!"
"They found her body in shambles!"
"Some say she screamed herself to death!"
"A curse! The royal family is cursed!"
Lucius slammed his
fist
against his throne.
"Issue a gag order," he snarled at his advisor.
"Silence anyone who speaks of this."
The advisor
bowed deeply
, hurrying to carry out the command.
And yet—
It didn’t stop.
People whispered behind
closed doors
.
Messages were passed in
alleyways
.
Even the
nobles
, bound by strict etiquette, whispered about the
"mad Queen’s death."
Lucius clenched his jaw.
He had power.
He had authority.
But he couldn’t
control the rumors.
And worse—
He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was
watching him.
A Silent Presence
That night, Lucius sat in his study, staring at the flickering candlelight.
The Queen was dead.
Her
secrets exposed.
The kingdom
questioning his rule.
And yet—
That
wasn’t
what unsettled him the most.
It was the feeling.
That
prickling sensation
on the back of his neck.
Like he was
being watched.
By something he
couldn’t see.
He turned his head
suddenly
Nothing.
Only the
flutter
of a bird’s wing outside the window.
A
white raven.
Watching.
Lucius swallowed hard.
Because in his gut, he knew—
This wasn’t over.
This was just the
beginning.