Chapter 81: How could you?

Chapter 81:

How could you?

Where is he? Alywin huffed to himself, panting as he hurried down the hall, I've looked everywhere he should be, so where is he hiding? Alywin finally stopped at the end of the hall, resting his hands on his knees, as he hunched over, panting and wiping the sweat from his forehead, Where the hell is that bastard?! I'm going to kill Clarence for making me run all over the place! Alywin looked down at his clothes, now disheveled from running throughout the palace and the grounds. He could feel a vein throb in his forehead as he took in his frumpled appearance that he had so meticulously put together. He is dead when I find him. Alywin's eyebrow flinched angrily as he glanced around his environment, listening closely for any odd sounds.

To Alywin's utter frustration, there were no unfamiliar sounds or any indication of nearby movement. The palace was unusually silent.

Alywin sighed and ran his hand down his face, letting it hang by his chin as he thought. The only place he could think to check now was the dungeon. Though it would not be very strange to find him in the dungeon, with their "guest" locked away in the dungeon, Alywin still found the whole situation very odd.

What exactly are you up to, Clarence? Alywin thought to himself as he stepped down the lower hall, making his way towards the single inner stairwell to the dungeon. As he entered the stone hall leading to the dungeon, he made eye contact with someone, and he could not contain his surprise as he said,

"I finally found you! Clarence asked me to come find you, but I didn't think you'd actually be in the dungeon!" Alywin's brows were furrowed as Earnest looked up from the ground, his demeanor quieter than usual as he stopped only a few feet away from the young marquis. The dark circles under his eyes were noticeable, and it looked as if the young physician had slept very little in the past few days. Even the color of his hair and his pallor had dulled, making the young man appear older than his age, "Are you alright? And what were you doing in the dungeon anyway?"

Earnest looked somewhat dazed as he responded to Alywin, "I was checking on the patient." Earnest paused as he said patient, as if he were looking to find the right word to use. "But why did you come for me, Marquis Cyneric?"

"What do you mean?" Alywin responded, his expression shifting as he thought of Clarence's flippant attitude when they had last spoken before the hunt.

"Prince Clarence said you'd be busy completing a task, that's all." Earnest said awkwardly, watching Alywin's expression change as his face shifted from surprise to anger.

That son of a bitch. He is hiding something. I knew it! Alywin thought to himself, gritting his teeth as he shook his head and responded, "Well, he asked me to come get you, so we need to get back to the hunt. Come on." He grabbed Earnest's hand and began to drag him down the hall unceremoniously, tugging the weak-legged young man towards the side entrance of the palace towards the shortcut out of the palace.

"Wait!" Earnest said, pulling his hand back out of Alywin's heavy grip, "There's one more thing I need to do before that."

Alywin's face dropped, his anxiety could not quelled yet, knowing Clarence had plans that he had not shared with Alywin. It was very unlike Clarence, who shared almost everything with his closest confidant. This caused Alywin to become quickly annoyed as he frowned, "Can it wait? We need to get back to Clarence." He wanted to turn on his heel and start walking back, but Earnest stopped him with a stern tug.

Earnest shook his head furiously, "No, I have to do it." Earnest paused before nervously saying, "Either come with me or don't, but I'm going."

Alywin sighed and rolled his eyes, recognizing the stubborn look. They would just waste time arguing about it, "Alright, but let's hurry."

Earnest released the tense breath he had been holding as he hurried forward ahead of Duke Cyneric, his footsteps falling heavily against the mirror-like, freshly cleaned titles. As the pair ran, their soiled shoes sprinkled trails of dirt as they walked, leaving crumbs at their heels as Earnest led the pair towards the back exit of the palace, towards the garden.

…

Clarence smiled as he guided his horse forward, following the well-traveled trail through the forest as the trees whizzed by him. Tied to the horse's side was Clarence's bow, tucked safely away in a leather scabbard. Clarence glanced behind him, ensuring he had lost the entourage that was following him, then looked back forward, enjoying the short reprieve. Now, for a short while, he would have no one following him, watching his every movement, waiting for the slightest hint of a mistake. Instead, Clarence could do whatever he wanted.

He suddenly felt the urge to shout at the top of his lungs, but he instead smiled wider, letting a small laugh escape his lips. A heavy burden Clarence had always lived with was suddenly lifted, making him feel weightless, as if he would float right out of his saddle.

But Clarence knew this freedom would not remain for long. Instead, he needed to stay focused. There was so much to do, and if he lost his concentration, all his hard work would be for nothing.

As he was lost in his thoughts, he heard rustling from the trees ahead. Suddenly birds flew out in a massive black cloud, blocking the sun as they desperately flew away. Yet, even the blocking of the sun could not hide the flying bird that was hit with an arrow, its body coiling with the impact of the sharp arrow. As it let out a pained cry, its wings curled in on itself, and the creature fell back into the forest, most likely where one of the many nobles participating in the hunt would be waiting to claim his prize.

At least they seem distracted for now. Clarence thought to himself, taking note of the small ribbon tied to a tree branch to his left. Good, not far now. Now all that is left is to see what my little puppet has done in my absence.

Clarence smiled again as he leaned his body against his horse, letting the horse's coarse mane tickle his chin as they hurried forward, plunging towards the prince's ultimate goal.

…

Time felt as if it stood still as the four young women huddled together in the bushes, refusing to so much as breathe as they stared into the clearing. Instead, they squeezed each other's hands, trying to pass reassurances to each other as Sagara lifted her head just enough to see above the foliage, closely listening to the sounds in the forest. After minutes passed of complete silence, other than the sounds of birds crying and crickets chirping, Sagara slowly lifted her head out of the bush, glancing around her.

"I think it's safe." Sagara whispered, rising to her feet. Wrapped tightly around her fingers was the poisonous vial, ready to be used at a moment's notice. Though Sagara seemed composed, her hands shook violently.

Sagara stepped out of the bush with small footsteps, her steps silent, and Charlotte, Olicia, and Philomena followed closely behind her, glancing around them frequently, their ears tuned to the environment.

Charlotte took a deep breath, attempting to compose herself as she looked away from Annmaria's limp body, "My knight shouldn't be far. He'll be able to take us back to the garden. If we wait, he'll find us soon enough."

No one responded.

Instead, Sagara walked to Annmaria's still-warm corpse and removed the shawl that hung around her shoulders. She draped it over Annmaria, letting it fall and stick to the blood that seeped from her wounds over her shoulders and chest. Sagara finally released the tip of her shawl over Annmaria's face, through her hair, covered with fresh blood, and covered her pale face with the fine silk fabric.

As Sagara did this, she mumbled something under her breath over the dead young woman in an unfamiliar language, her words succinct and quiet, full of a somber mood.

As Sagara spoke to Annmaria, Olicia stepped towards the dead countess's corpse, her voice breaking as she whispered, "How could this have happened?" Olicia immediately looked away, unable to stand the sight of the blood blooming on the shawl, and squeezed her arms tightly around herself, "Was this what he had planned the whole time?"

Olicia's quiet words caught Charlotte's attention, who turned her head towards her with a biting chill, "What did you say?"

At the realization she was heard, Olicia's eyes widened in shock, finally realizing that she had spoken aloud. Olicia attempted to rescind what she had said, but Charlotte would not let her, repeatedly asking her to repeat herself as she spoke over Olicia's progressively quieting voice.

"Did you have something to do with this?" Philomena asked, her voice raising as she glared at a shaking, fumbling Olicia, her eyes flooded with tears of rage.

"N-no!" Olicia said immediately, shaking her head furiously, "I didn't!" Her fists were clenched at her sides, making even the tall marchioness appear weak in front of the three women around her.

"Everyone, hush." Sagara heatedly whispered, "Do not forget we are in our enemy's territory. It would not be wise to bring attention to ourselves."

"I agree," Charlotte said coldly, her voice much softer, "But if we have a traitor amongst us, I would rather know immediately."

Finding her voice, Olicia could no longer stay silent. "I am not a traitor!" Olicia said heatedly, her voice hardly above a whisper, "Please, you all have to believe me." Olicia felt like she was withering under the 3 pairs of eyes that looked at her, glaring at her as if she were a specimen to be examined and then disposed of, "I only did what he asked me to do!" She pleaded.

"Who?" Charlotte asked coldly, her eyes like ice as they remained locked onto Olicia.

Olicia opened, then closed her mouth, unsure if she should say. Her eyes darted to Annmaria's body, full of guilt.

"If you don't say who and what immediately, I will have my knight drag you into the forest and leave your fate to that rabid monster that did this." Charlotte said, her finger pointing towards the bloodied shawl and the limp form under it. This seemed to destroy the final pieces of Olicia's resolve, as she broke down in tears.

"Prince Clarence asked me to bring you all into the forest. He told me to find a reason, so when I saw Annmaria and Ophira go into the forest, I asked you all to come with me." Olicia's voice broke, but she did not wait to compose herself as she continued, "He didn't tell me why though! And I didn't know Annmaria would be killed! I swear! I thought he was just trying to give us a challenge or meet with us secretly! I promise I never would have-"

Olicia was unable to finish her sentence, because Philomena stepped forward and with a fierce grimace, she struck Olicia across the face. As Olicia leaned to the side, holding her swelling, red cheek with both of her hands, Philomena raised her hand again, smacking her swiftly on the other cheek. Again and again Philomena slapped Olicia, sobbing as she did so.

"How could you?!" Philomena screamed as she cried, "I saw you as a friend! I trusted you!" As Philomena continued to smack Olicia, who silently took the blows, only letting out small whimpers and sobs, Charlotte and Sagara watched silently, tears sliding down each of their faces, ruining their once perfectly prepared makeup.

Over and over Philomena smacked and punched Olicia, beating all over the thin woman's shaking body. All of Philomena's rage and sadness was flowing from her body into her hands, which brutally cut and hit the victim of her anger.

"How could you do this to me?! To us?!" Philomena shouted, unable to control her voice as she screamed, "We all looked out for each other! We were supposed to protect each other!"

As Philomena's blows began to weaken, her anger still bubbling, but her body fatiguing, Sagara finally stepped in, grabbing Philomena's red, bruised hands in hers, "That's enough. You've proven your point. At this point, you're just hurting yourself." Sagara did not look at Olicia, who collapsed to the ground in a ball. Philomena sobs intensified as she turned towards Sagara and wrapped her arms around her back, burrowing her head into Sagara's chest as she sobbed. Sagara whispered reassurances to her as she rubbed her back, trying to hold back the tears that sprang to her eyes again.

Charlotte took this opportunity to crouch down and roughly grab Olicia by the root of her hair, dragging her up. Charlotte spoke louder as Olicia cried in pain, trying to push Charlotte's hands away from her hair, "Tell me what else he told you."

"Nothing." Olicia mumbled with a weak expression, her face bloodied and red, "He did not tell me anything! Not any of us!"

Charlotte paused, taking in what Olicia said, "'Us'? Are there more of you?"

"Don't you think that's enough, Princess Charlotte? That's not a very good way to treat a friend." A delighted voice said as a figure emerged from the bushes. Charlotte's face shot towards the direction of the figure's voice as she dropped Olicia, whose face fell to the ground. Sagara and Philomena separated with a gasp, shocked by the sudden appearance of a new guest. With an amused smile, Clarence lifted up his hands, signaling he came peacefully as he stopped only a few steps into the clearing, smelling the fresh scent of blood with an amused smile.

"Clarence!" Charlotte said, rising to her feet in anger. Her usually warm, gentle expression was full of anger, "Is what Olicia said true?! Did you plan to have all of us out here?!"

Clarence's eyes moved to the still figure of Olicia, then over to the rest of the angry, shaken women with a lackadaisical glance as he responded sardonically, "Well, you all look awful. I would have gotten here sooner, but I was distracted. I apologize for being so late." Clarence's charming smile did not move any of the women. Instead, it incited them.

"Answer my question, Clarence!" Charlotte snapped, her dirtied face growing red with rage.

"All in good time, Charlotte." Clarence said dismissively, paying no mind to the disheveled Bethellian princess, nor the two shaking princesses, as he walked over to the bloodied shawl covering Countess Annmaria's bloodless face. He bent down at the knees, looking at the covered body with piqued interest. Without a second thought, Clarence grabbed the bloodied shawl with his bare hand and whipped it away to the side, revealing the body underneath.

"No." Clarence whispered, his curiosity quickly transforming to anger. He rose to his feet, swiftly kicking the dead body that lopped with the ferocious kick, "Are you kidding me?!" Clarence screamed, looking up at the sky with an angry shout. Everyone stared at him in bewilderment, finding themselves at a loss for words as the prince complained loudly to no one in particular. Clarence rolled his eyes, leaving the body uncovered as he walked towards Charlotte, his long strides taking her by surprise. She instinctively stepped back because of his approach, but he ignored her and continued his moderate pace. Stopping suddenly, Clarence squatted down next to Olicia, shaking her roughly by the shoulder with his bloodied hand, stained by the shawl.

"Get up." Clarence said, aggravated, "I need to know where she is." When Olicia did not respond, this seemed to anger Clarence further. He roughly grabbed her by the shoulder, flipping her on her back. He took one look at her unconscious face and rolled his eyes again, reaching behind him and grabbing his metal canteen. With a quick twist, the lid popped off, and Clarence flipped the canteen over, dumping all of its contents on Olicia's face. Olicia woke with a start, coughing as she tried to get the water out of her mouth and nose. Clarence did not wait for her to finish though, as he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

"Where is she?" Clarence said slowly, evenly, his tone suddenly calm. Olicia's eyes were blurry, and she continued to cough weakly. Not receiving the answer he wanted, Clarence rapidly slapped her on the cheek, trying to get her to gain some level of consciousness. Her eyes opened again, and the slaps seemed to catch her attention enough that she was able to mumble,

"Not far." Olicia gestured with her eyes to the left of her, before she shut them again.

This reply seemed to please Clarence. His stiff facial expression made a sudden shift, and he was now smiling brilliantly as he nodded, dropping Olicia's chin resolutely, letting her drop back down to the ground with a thud. He then rose to his feet, turning towards the forest as he said in a commanding tone, "Captain Beau? You heard that, didn't you? Go get her please."

Suddenly, Beau emerged from the forest, his expression lifeless as he took in the scene in front of him. As soon as he arrived, he turned his back and disappeared without a word to any of them, following the path Olicia had pointed to. Following behind him was Charlotte's knight, Basch, who stopped in his tracks as he emerged from the forest and into the clearing. His body tensed as he looked around him and towards the corpse, but quietly sighed in relief when his eyes fell upon the disheveled, shaken Charlotte. Charlotte's eyes softened when she saw her knight emerge from the forest behind Beau, her knees almost buckling in the sudden relief that violently coursed through her.

As he returned to her side, quickly taking in her appearance in case she was injured, Charlotte focused her attention back to Clarence, anger and strength resurging through her with her shadow's reappearance.

"Clarence, explain to us what has happened. Right. Now." Charlotte seethed, body shaking with anger at the realization that everything they were put through, the horrors they had to witness, were the prince's fault.

Clarence laughed at Charlotte's anger, amused by her undignified response that was so unlike her. He laughed so hard, he had to wipe away a tear that came to his eye, "Is this the real you, Charlotte? Someone who screams with a red face? You look like a screaming baby." Clarence asked, the comment causing him to laugh again. This angered Charlotte more, her face reddening and her fists clenching. She felt the sudden urge to kill Clarence.

When a hand gently placed itself on her shoulder, Charlotte jumped. When she turned, ready to snap, next to her with a sad frown was Sagara. Sagara slowly released Charlotte's shoulder and turned towards Clarence.

"Whether you believe it or not, we all deserve an explanation, Prince Clarence." Sagara said calmly. Charlotte looked at her in shock, her anger fading into an immense sadness. Charlotte could barely control the overwhelming sense to cry as she stared at Sagara, who stood unwavering next to her.

"I understand your feelings, Princess Naceri. I sincerely apologize that you all have been put through this." Clarence began, smiling as he continued, "If you are willing to wait, I promise everything will make sense soon enough."

"How could someone being murdered in front of us ever make sense?!" Philomena, who had before this been as silent and still as a statue, screamed at the top of her lungs, "An elf killed Annmaria in front of us! And we couldn't do anything about it! So how could that make sense?!"

As Philomena stood, shaking violently as she began to sob, overwhelmed by the grief she was feeling, Clarence barely held back rolling his eyes. He was growing quickly tired of their complaints and sobbing.

What could possibly be keeping them so long? Clarence thought to himself, glancing back into the forest, I want these loose ends tied up immediately.

Some time had passed as the group was plagued in an awkward silence. Everyone sat still in their positions, unsure where to continue after such a scene. That was when there was rustling in the woods behind them, everyone but Clarence and Basch jumped. Basch readied his sword and stepped in front of the young women, but Clarence shot him a look of irritation. With another shake of the bushes, Earnest emerged from the forest brush, followed by Alywin, who was grumbling with annoyance. Both young men froze when they finally looked at the scene in front of them, their eyes wide and their mouths slightly agape.

"Is that-?" Alywin asked, stepping around Earnest and approaching the uncovered dead body. Alywin slowly squatted down, reaching his hand out to move the bloody, caked hair that covered the face of Annmaria, "Is she-?"

"Yes, but it's the wrong one." Clarence replied, annoyance dripping with every word. Then Clarence turned towards Earnest, "The captain is handling the rest. Were you able to finish what I needed you to?"

"Yes, she's waiting for you back at the castle." Earnest mumbled, his eyes locked onto the dead body in the clearing, watching the blood still around Annmaria, like a blossoming peony. The tips of his fingers trembled as he looked at the stiff body, knowing even from a distance that there was no chance the young woman was still alive.

As the others stood, awkwardly and angrily staring at each other, Alywin recovered with the sticky, bloody shawl from the ground, where it had thrown it aside with little care. Annmaria's blood stuck to Alywin's hands and smeared across his fingers, but he did not notice as he clasped his hands together, saying a prayer for the dead young woman. He then held the shawl in his hand, draping it back over the deceased woman's face. As the shawl fell with the contours of her turned face, an inexplicable feeling took hold of Alywin. He took one final look at the covered face, a shiver running down his spine.

Alywin was scared. He could hardly recognize the young man near him. Someone who he had known as being so sweet and kind, so soft and tender, so uplifting to the less fortunate, had turned into something he had not seen since he met Clarence for the first time. And he found that he was not the only one who felt this way, as he glanced at the three princesses around him. Their looks of shock and disgust were one he found himself wearing. He felt ashamed.

Rising to his feet, he turned back to face the prince, who had already spoken to Earnest with an eerie expression.

"Perfect. Thank you, Earnest." Clarence said with a dashing smile, excited for the coming conclusion, "Can you go summon the guards?" Earnest froze for a minute, unable to answer. Alywin rising to his feet seemed to snap him back to consciousness however, because he quickly nodded before he looked towards the girls one last time and turned away as ran back into the forest without looking back.

The only sounds in the forest that could be heard were Basch speaking in hushed tones to Charlotte as he passed her his handkerchief, holding the princess's hand in his own as he wiped the dirt and grime off her hand. Philomena had long since stopped crying, tears soaking her makeup to the point of madness. Even Alywin's appearance could not stir any warm feelings in her heart at this moment. Sagara stood near Charlotte, but she still held the vial in her hand, twisting the porcelain item in her fingers with a dazed, angered look, far from the usual wise and sisterly appearance she often held.

Olicia laid limp on the ground, much like the corpse only feet away from her. The tears on her face were still wet, and her eyes flushed red and raw. Her hands covered her face, as if she were attempting to shield herself from the guilt eating away at her soul. The bruises all over her body were painful, but all Olicia could feel was the pain in her chest and the numbness in her mind. She was played like a fool.

With the candidates present and Alywin by his side, Clarence began to speak. "After waiting for so long," He rubbed his hands together excitedly, smiling like a bright star as he finished his words in an eager tone, "The real show is about to begin. And you all get to witness it with me!"

…

Important note: An important sentence has been added to Chapter 78 to make more sense with this chapter regarding Olicia's intentions. We forgot to add it before, sorry ;; We just got booted off of our google sheets draft at chapter 79, so it threw us a bit.... with a new draft up, we're better!

Favorite word of this week: Sardonic. It's a lovely word for when you need something that's not as biting as sarcastic, but still holds some humor to it. This whole chapter really feels like that, and I couldn't help but laugh at some points with Clare's presentation, if you can even call it that. He's really changed, and if you have been questioning his yandereness, I present to you Clare now.

The new arc will be coming soon (arc 4 now?), and when that comes Hunny and I will take a week off. Not sure when that will be yet, but it will be soon. This portion will wrap up, then we will see the reunion, finally, with Malcolm in the palace ♥ teehee. Can't wait for it all to come together! Thank you always for reading, and a huge thanks to Hunny for killing it this week on the chapter ♥

New cover WIP on my twitter! I did some painting, and I'm still working on it, so enjoy!