Music Recommendation: A bad night by Danny Bensi
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The guards who had been sent by the King to find Constance had returned to the castle, making their way to where the King was.
“My King!” The two guards entered the room where King Laurence was drinking blood in one of the rooms of the castle—sitting on a luxurious couch and waiting for the good news. But he was not interested in the guards, and his eyes looked behind them to notice they had come without the woman.
“Where is she?” demanded the King, his eyes narrowed.
“Milord,” one of the guards started to speak, “The woman named Constance passed away a week ago. It seems she has been sick for a few weeks.”
Laurence’s lips twisted, “What about her son? Is he alive?” That was the last hope he had been holding on to, to keep the throne to himself.
“Yes, my King,” the other guard answered.
“What are you waiting for then?” King Laurence raised his eyebrows, “Go fetch him right away! And make sure you treat him well,” he rubbed his chin, watching the guards leave.
On the other side of the castle and in the West wing where Queen Morganna’s quarters was, in her room, she stood in front of the window looking outside. When the doors behind her opened. She didn’t turn around as she could tell by the footsteps who it belonged to. Her daughter, Rosamund had come to meet her as she had been ordered to meet her immediately.
“You wanted to see me, mother?” Lady Rosamund dropped the honorifics as they were now alone in the room.
Queen Morganna didn’t turn and continued to stand in front of the window with her head held up high, “Yes, Rosa. There’s an important matter that needs to be discussed,” and she finally turned around to meet her daughter’s gaze, “Take a seat.”
Rosamund didn’t know why she was summoned, but considering how the invitation was from her mother, she could only believe it was something of grave importance. Walking towards the couch, she took herself to sit in one of them.
Queen Morganna made her way to sit on the opposite couch, facing her daughter. Making herself comfortable, she said, “I called you here to discuss the matter about appointing Markus as the next King of Devon. What do you think about it?”
Rosamund looked taken aback, not expecting her mother to utter such good news to her, “Did brother Laurence agree?”
“No,” came the sullen voice of the Queen. She placed both her hands on her lap, holding them together, and she said, “I don’t think he would accept it, which is why I decided to speak to you. Of course, any King wouldn’t happily hand over his throne and kingdom to another person except for his own son. But considering the current circumstances, where Laurence has no male heir of his own, it puts not only the kingdom but also our family in danger.”
Queen Morganna knew her daughter well. Unlike Laurence, Rosamund listened to her every word. In the past, when she had to get rid of that wench who had coiled around her son’s life, she and her daughter together had thrown the woman out of the castle.
“I have already asked Patrick Moryett to hand me the concerned documents that need to be changed and rewritten before submitting them in the royal court. This way, the process will be faster, and we won’t lose the control on the throne because of your brother’s stupidity,” stated Queen Morganna.
Rosamund couldn’t believe herself that her wishes had finally come true, and she could barely wait to go back home and relay the message to her husband and her children. This was the moment she had been waiting for so long.
“What about brother though?” questioned Rosamund. She was well aware of how dear the throne and the crown was to Laurence.
“Maybe in the future if he has a male heir, we can reconsider it and prepare another document to pass the authority back to him. But for now he will need to swallow it up,” replied Queen Morganna before continuing to say, “I have already ordered the ministers and the magistrates to come and attend the proceedings tomorrow. Tomorrow bring Markus so that we can go ahead and get everyone’s approval.”
Rosamund was quick to nod to this, “I will make sure to see that Markus knows his responsibilities and duties towards Devon.”
“Good, he will need it all,” said Queen Morganna. She then motioned one of her maids and ordered, “Get an old bottle of wine. I would like to celebrate with my daughter.” The maid bowed her head before leaving the room.
To Queen Morganna, it didn’t matter if the throne went to her son’s hands or her daughter’s son because it was the same. Even with her husband dead, she still had people who listened to her words more than her son, and she controlled and ruled Devon.
When the next day arrived, the magistrates and the ministers who were supposed to give their consent of agreement to the next heir of Devon had gathered themselves in the royal court room. Queen Morganna, Lady Rosamund had brought her son Markus along with her family, and Lady Samara, and her daughter Lucy were some of the royals who were present.
Lady Rosamund’s happiness knew no bounds, and there was a constant smile on her lips.
Queen Morganna continued, “As I have said before, Devon is in danger because the Kings of the other lands see it to be an opportunity to steal what we have here. It is only right that we protect.”
“Does King Laurence agree to it?” asked one of the magistrates who stood at the side. “The King is not here, and it wouldn’t be right to decide without him here.”
Queen Morganna was unimpressed by the magistrate’s words, and she said, “King Laurence has gone to attend an important work. He is already informed about today’s meeting. It is why Queen Samara and Princess Lucy are here. His absence shows he has full faith in my decision, and it would be right if you respect it unless you disagree, Mr. Letterford.”
The magistrate bowed his head, “My apologies, my Queen.”
Queen Morganna stared at the man, and the other people who were present could tell that the magistrate’s hours to live were short, and he would soon die in an ‘accident’.
