The Crown's Obsession (WN)

Music Recommendation: The Soul of the piano by Dmitry Myachin

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When the next day arrived, Queen Morganna woke up like any other day with the maids and her servants waiting on her at her every beck and call. She was bathed by the help of the maids, and dressed in the finest silks and wore jewels that were brought from the other lands. But when she stepped out of the room, she hadn't expected to have her two maids disappeared and not standing in front of her.

"Where is Edith and Sybil? I haven't seen them since the time of morning," questioned Morganna, her red eyes sweeping through the servants who were around.

"They must be busy with some other work, my Queen," replied another maid, bowing her head, but Morganna was not pleased, and she found it to be rather odd.

"I am the only one who gives orders to them. And everyone in the castle knows that they are my personnel maids. Nicola! Go find them and bring them here to me immediately," ordered the Queen and the maid who had answered earlier, bowed her head in compliance.

"Right away, milady," and the maid quickly walked away.

"What are the recent news for today, Maurice?" demanded Morganna, making her way out of her room and through the corridors. "How have things been in the castle?"

"Just as you wanted, my Queen. I made sure to keep the kitchen keys with me after locking the kitchen doors, and I cleared every room that had fruits or any other eatables in there. Even the sheds and barns have been locked until the wake of dawn," informed the man named Maurice, who was the Queen's main informer and eyes in the castle. "The two young men who arrived yesterday with King Laurence haven't left their rooms since last night, and I can tell that they have been starved."

"Starved is not the right word, Maurice," Morganna dismissed the maids who had been following her as they were of no more use to her right now, and if she did need them, she could always summon them upon her one word. "What my son did yesterday, it is something unforgivable, but he is the King of Devon, and it is his words over mine. The boy needs to be kicked out of the castle at the earliest with the other boy with him."

"Forgive me, my Queen, but is it possible? King Laurence seems intent on keeping the boy as Calhoun is his son and be used to rule Devon," Maurice quickly bowed his head when Morganna's eyes shifted to look at him.

Morganna took no offence at her loyal servant's words, and she huffed.

"My son is having another illusion. He doesn't understand what I am doing here is for his gain and not just for my sake. Keeping Devon within the family is important. We cannot hand it to a boy who has no clue about how things work in here but who isn't even someone I want to consider as my grandson. He has quite some nerve to show his face here in the castle, seems like what happened to his mother was not enough, and he needs to be reminded again."

She had faced many people in her lives, and a young man like Calhoun was nothing but a speck of dust. All she had to do was blow the dust, and it would disappear. But Morganna didn't know that Calhoun was the dust that could trouble an eye until it spilt tears from it.

When Morganna entered the dining room, the royal family members were already present, and so were the two young men. Even her granddaughter seemed to have made her presence in the dining room after skipping last night.

"Looks like you finally found your way towards the dining room without getting lost and going back to your room," commented Morganna, staring at Lucy, who bowed her head in greeting.

Lucy knew if she was going to avoid having food with her family, her grandmother would find something worse, and who knew if Calhoun would stand up for her or not. But if they did, the maids would turn to nothing less to chicken, and the maid's headcount would decrease in the castle. She was only being thoughtful about it, thought Lucy to herself, and she grinned.

"Oh no," Lucy shook her head, and she smiled, "I didn't want to trouble the maids. It would be troublesome in the end, and I thought it was best for the maids and the servants, and also you."

"For someone who didn't have her supper last night and didn't eat until now, you seemed to be very energetic," stated Morganna, taking her seat at the table.

In response, Lucy asked, "Can you tell?" her head tilted to the side.

Since she had woken up in the morning, Lucy felt energetic, and her vision had turned much more clearer than before, and so did her hearing. She was sure it was because of the blood she had drank from the maid. Even though it was something she was not supposed to feel, she could feel her throat turn dry and her mouth water at the same time, thinking about the potent taste of fresh blood on her tongue.

Lucy felt someone nudge her leg, and she turned to see her mother, who glared at her to behave herself right this instance.

"It looks like sweet Lucy snuck out and ate something, did you not, dear?" asked Lady Rosamund, a polite and friendly smile on her lips.

"How is that possible, Aunt Rosamund, when grandmother clearly ordered everyone not to let me eat and starve," came the quick words from Lucy, and everyone heard a clatter come from Morganna's plate as her knife had hit her plate.

"Lucy Hawthrone, what do you mean by this?" demanded Morganna, her eyes narrowed and waiting for her granddaughter to speak.

Theodore, who stood near the wall, wondered if the young vampiress had the same blood that he had. Because he was normal but the vampiress, she looked like someone high on sweets or alcohol. Her thoughts were straightforward, and clearly, the Queen didn't appreciate it.