Unloving His Majesty

Beheaded

Prince Maxwell was taken aback by Lady Mary’s actions. He angrily untangled himself from her. She felt all wrong in his arms. She was not his wife. He could feel his body tensing, repelling her. Not only was his entire being rejecting his childhood sweetheart, he also found it very odd that she showed up the very day his wife was almost poisoned.

“I recall banning you from coming here,” he pointed out with a tone so cold, chills descended Lady Mary’s spine before she dropped on her knees and bowed her head. She frowned when he did not stop her from bowing as he did previously.

“I know, Max, but I heard about Zania’s death and came. I am so sorry. I wanted to be there for you,” she explained with a shaky voice that usually guaranteed her everything she wanted.

Princess Zania was about to join the two when she heard her name mentioned and hid out of sight. She was curious to know how her husband who was claiming to love her would treat his so-called ex when she was not with him.

“My wife and I have titles,” the prince snapped while Lady Mary shrank before him. His reception was far from what she expected. She was convinced that the princess bewitched the prince. As far as she knew, a spell is broken when the person who casted it dies. She expected him to be crazy in love with her as he was before the kings died.

“Forgive me, Your Highness. I mean no disrespect, I am just worried about you,” she responded with misty eyes. He could not help recalling how that manipulative behaviour fooled him in the past.

“You heard about my queen’s death?” he asked with a neutral tone, his suspicions getting confirmed. It was not in the same order, but so far everything that happened in his past life seemed to be repeating itself. The kings were murdered, prisoners were apparently committing suicide under his nose and his wife almost got killed right under his nose again.

Lady Mary nodded her head, no longer sure of herself. The prince seemed and felt very distant to her. The hatred she sensed before seemed to have multiplied. She wondered if he perhaps found out that her family was involved in getting rid of the kings.

“I heard that she was poisoned. It’s horrible! I had to come and be there for you.”

Lady Mary’s concerned voice got the princess rolling her eyes. Even a fool could tell that she was faking it. She was interested in finding out if her husband would fall for it since he believed everything she said to him in the past.

Sir Luke walked in to that scene and frowned. He could see Princess Zania standing just out of sight from the two and decided to quietly join his friend. His intention was to alert his friend that his queen could hear and see his interaction with his ex. He could only hope that he had not said or done anything that could widen the divide between him and his wife.

“Interesting. How exactly did you know of my queen’s death?” the prince enquired from the unsuspecting woman, who was digging her own grave before turning to Sir Luke and filling him in.

“Mary heard about my queen being poisoned and her death. She came here to console me.”

“I see,” Sir Luke responded, also arriving to the same conclusion as his friend. It seemed the prince’s decision to keep his wife in their chambers most of that day was drawing out the culprits. Lady Mary showing up like this was their biggest breakthrough because the chef died before being questioned.

Lady Mary picked up Prince Maxwell’s cynical tone and threaded carefully.

“I…I…she was our queen. The news of her passing is all over. The nation is in mourning, Your Highness.”

She tried to sound sad about the incident but unfortunately for her, they knew better.

The two men exchanged knowing looks before putting her on a trial.

“I command to know exactly who told you about it,” the prince pressed on.

“Your Highness?” she asked, suddenly feeling unsafe. His whole expression terrified her.

“Who told you?” the prince roared, startling her. He was not showing it, but someone almost killing his wife again when he was trying to correct his past mistakes shook him to the core. He knew that he had to act fast and be ruthless if need be in order to prevent the past from repeating itself.

“I don’t know. Someone told Daddy about it,” Lady Mary replied before her eyes almost popped out of her skull.

“Impossible,” she muttered to herself when Princess Zania showed up to join them.

“Your…Your Highness. You are alive!” Lady Mary exclaimed, unable to help herself. The poison was potent. The chef and the guards told her father about the chef’s assistant and food taster who died. She could not understand how the princess was alive.

“Why would I not be alive, Mary?”

Princess Zania’s question got her cursing inside. She looked as guilty as charged. She opened and never got a chance to close her mouth, her head rolled on the floor, severed from her body.

“Max!” Princess Zania cried, shocked by his actions. In a split second he had pulled out his sword and beheaded his ex. Mary’s lifeless body laid on the floor, crimson blood soaked the ground, yet she saw no signs of sadness or regret in him.

The prince threw his sword on the floor before taking out his handkerchief and wiping his hands. That’s when he got closer to his wife and gazed at her eyes, making her cheeks burn.

“Forgive me for that barbaric act, my love. I am not taking any chances with your life ever again,” he explained with a voice so gentle, her heart was immediately captured.

“Ahem!” Sir Luke cleared his throat, snapping the two people who seemed lost in each other.

“Apprehend the Lokey household and bring them here,” the prince commanded, his eyes not leaving his wife’s.

“On it.”

Sir Luke was soon gone, leaving the two still glued to each other.

“Can we get out of here?” Princess Zania suggested. The Prince raised his eyebrows with his lips curled up. His wife’s expression told him everything he yearned for.

“To somewhere private,” the princess clarified and got whisked off her feet.

The guards quickly ran in to remove Lady Mary’s body while the maids cleaned the place up. It dawned to all of them that the prince meant it when he made his wife the authority. Those who were loyal to the Lokey’s started feeling uncomfortable. If he could behead Lady Mary like that, no one was safe.

A Lokey spy who was one of the castle maids had just arrived in the Lokey household to inform them of Lady Mary’s execution when Sir Luke and forty guards arrived to apprehend the family.