Chapter 10 : Checkmate
She stood up slowly, holding the handrail, batting her wide emerald eyes and looking at us blankly, with nothing in them—not even a thought—as if she had no soul.
If this is your first time here, welcome aboard⚓️! Let’s start from Chapter 1:
Becoming an annual paid subscriber (ONLY 3.32/mo.) to Alice by the Palm will get you a 6-month paid subscription to this novel:
*
*
*
Places mentioned:
Castle Katella
A self-sufficient, city-like castle where the King and the Queen and the unmarried Valrinos live.
Spring
The capital city of Tyrannoson.
Kent:
A dynamic, inclusive town in the outskirt of Spring, swarming with foreign traders and merchants. All imported goods must pass here before entering the capital city.
*
*
Creatures (that can speak and have names) mentioned:
Leopoldo Valrino
The King of Tyrannoson, and the sixth monarch of the Valrino family.
Yisreal Valrino
A son of the King. Leopoldo met the young Yisreal in the woods while hunting. Then the King brought him back to Castle Katella and announced him to be his son.
Chester Valrino
The first-born son of King Leopoldo and Queen Evelyn.
Sean Valrino
The second son of the Queen.
Leslie Valrino
The third son of the Queen. When Leopoldo first brought Yisreal back from hunting, the Queen was pregnant with Leslie.
Nicholas Valrino
The youngest son of the Queen.
Carwen Valrino
King Leopoldo’s only daughter.
Elan
A gladiator Carwen rescued from the arena three years ago, now is Yisreal’s groom.
Susan
A royal pharmacist.
Howard
A royal pharmacist.
Lewis
An apprentice at the Medical Tower.
*
*
*
10
Checkmate
“Yisreal?”
“Yes, Prince Chester had a fever when he returned at dawn. Princess Irene sent for us, but His Highness insisted on not waking you up.”
My head was filled with questions, so I blurted them out one after another. “And Yisreal was fine? Did he come back with Chester? What about Nick—I mean, Prince Nicholas—”
“The castle guards saw Chester and Yisreal returned together last night, but not Nicholas.”
“How were they when they came back? Were they riding horses?”
Right away, I felt stupid for asking. Yisreal had replaced Chester as the executioner, so he must have been perfectly fine.
“Never mind. Just tell me, how’s Chester?”
“He seems to have an infection. Mr. Galorde and I have already sterilized his wounds. Were you in trouble last night? But who dared to touch them?”
I was surprised that Lewis had been called last night to serve. He was only an apprentice and typically worked behind the scenes in the medical tower—shopping, running errands, or treating sick servants. Mr. Galorde must have intentionally skipped Howard and Susan.
“How bad was it?” I asked.
“Arms, shoulders, thighs—that’s it. The trunk is safe.”
I headed to the palace. The servants let me into the chamber at once, where Irene was changing the cold towels on Chester’s forehead. She asked me when his temperature would go down. I asked for a bowl of warm water, dissolved a pill in it, and then let Irene help me feed it to Chester.
“His Highness should be fine,” I comforted her, checking the bandaged wounds on his body. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when he came back last night.”
“Don’t be, Maester. Chester said if it weren’t for you, Sean wouldn’t have survived last night. What happened? Who attacked them?”
“I believe the investigation has started.”
She nodded. It wasn't until I withdrew from the room that I realized I was unkempt before the princess. It was better that I looked like I had rushed out from my bed to attend Chester. I decided to take a bath, and the moment I stepped into my chamber, I saw the most horrifying scene since Lucas came back from Sanlostier Forest—
My servant boy, Kimo, was lying on the ground, naked, with a nasty, stinking hole in his chest, where ripped veins climbed out of the margin, breaking from the heart they were connected to. I staggered back screaming, but a strong hand covered my mouth.
“Stop!” The suppressed voice behind me said.
I turned around to another shock. It was Yisreal. I glanced through him and spotted no obvious injuries. He looked composed, organized, and clean, wearing a plain linen shirt similar to the one I saw him in for the first time, in its natural color, with subtle invisible embroidery. No scarf or jewels; the only decoration was the Valrino house symbol engraved on the buckle of his leather belt and boots.
He sat down in my chair. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
I hissed at him, word by word, “What—is—going—on?”
He frowned, glancing at me with surprise, somewhat entertained by my rage.
“Was it that woman?” I asked. “How did she get into my chamber? Was it last night?”
“Yes,” he answered.
“How did she get in here?”
“I brought her here.”
I was outraged and ranted, almost wishing everybody passing by my door outside could hear it. “Why the hell did you do that?”
He tapped the arms of the chair with his fingers. “I didn’t know you had a servant here, and I also didn’t predict that she would kill one more man.”
I shook my head in boiling indignation. “Why? Why on earth did you do this? Did Chester know? Did he allow you to put her here instead of the dungeon?”
Yisreal stood up and walked toward the door.
“Hey!” I yelled at his back.
“I believe I’m still your prince,” he said without turning around.
“You didn’t execute her, did you?”
He stopped at the door.
I blurted out my assumption, formed since this morning’s conversation with Lewis. “Yes, you are the prince! And you executed an innocent woman instead of that murderess! Do you realize what you’re doing, Your Highness?”