94: Rising tension

Rising tension

Music Recommendation: Well- Haximum

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Anastasia was about to follow Dante, but then she realised Lady Lucretia would be left unattended and alone. Deciding to stay back, she retrieved the wet cloth from earlier and wiped the blood smeared on the wall and the floor. 

On the ground floor, Dante walked past the gathered people and stepped out of the old palace. Just as he was about to mount his horse, Aziel ran up to him and inquired, "Prince Dante, where are you going?!"

Dante grasped his horse's reins and responded, "To the main palace to speak with the king and the queen." 

"Please wait!" Aziel stopped him from leaving and attempted to manage the situation by saying, "Please don't make any rash decisions that will result in further anguish." 

Usually calm and composed, Dante glared down at the minister, who regarded him warily. His eyes had turned red, and his face was twisted with fury, as if the dam that had contained the water had ruptured, releasing a flood. 

"All I asked was for a small plot to bury my mother. I would have understood my request being denied if it were when she was alive, and they felt threatened, but she was one of the concubines to the king. Sick and exiled, where I couldn't even be with her during her final moments!" Dante's voice snapped in frustration. Upon noticing the black fumes beginning to emanate from the top of the first prince's shoulders and head, the minister instinctively took a step backwards. 

"Pardon me, My Prince," Aziel offered his deepest bows before continuing, "If—If it pleases you, I will be happy to grant you a piece of land where Lady Lucretia can be laid to rest. There's a suitable location not too far from here…" 

The way the letter read, its contents seem to convey that Queen Maya had decreed that only members of the royal family directly connected by blood would be granted burial rights in the mausoleums, while the others would be denied the same privilege. 

Dante raised his hand to cover his eyes before forcefully running it through his hair in frustration. The one person who cared for and loved him had been taken away. She was gone forever, and he could only grasp at thin air as his hands clenched tightly. Blood continued to drip from his hand, falling steadily to the ground. 

He wanted to know who had intercepted the news regarding his mother yesterday. Who had been cruel enough to decide to rob him of those precious final moments to see her?

But before that, even Dante recognised the importance of providing his mother with a proper burial so she could be laid to rest. He turned to look at the walls of the old palace and uttered, 

"Make preparations for the burial." 

Aziel responded with a swift nod, signalling his readiness to make the necessary arrangements. 

Within two hours, everything was prepared, and the royal members of the Blackthorn family who resided in the old palace gathered to attend the burial of Lady Lucretia. While Dante and Aziel stood near the freshly dug ground, the women stood a short distance away, watching as the priest murmured prayers to God to guide Lady Lucretia's soul from this world into heaven. 

Anastasia stood alongside Princess Emily and Prince Victor, watching Dante's expressionless face as he gazed at his mother. And when it was time, they finally lowered Lady Lucretia into her final resting place, carefully covering her with earth until the ground concealed her completely. They then placed a stone bearing her name atop the burial mound. And while everyone paid their respects to the deceased woman, Dante remained rooted beside the tombstone, unmoving, as palanquins and horses arrived in the vicinity. 

It was the Mother Queen, Queen Maya, and Princess Niyasa who had arrived on the scene. 

The Mother Queen's footsteps were quicker than the other two, hastening to where Dante stood and wrapping her arms around her grandson. At the same time, Aziel, who stood to the side, locked eyes with her with a wary gaze. She pulled away from her grandson and cast a glance at his face, which was marked by anguish. 

Princess Niyasa's eyes fell on the tombstone, and she remarked, "We came here with the thought of attending the funeral, but it looks like we weren't needed." She then said, "My condolences to you, Brother Dante."

Dante turned away from his grandmother and directed his gaze at his second sister. He responded to her words, 

"I didn't know you were close to my mother. Considering how you didn't utter a word of protest when she was exiled from the main palace."

"If we didn't care, we wouldn't be here, Dante," Queen Maya stated, walking towards the tombstone. She continued, "I had a last minute change of heart, and came here intending to bring Lucretia back to the main palace to bury her there, but I see you found a place for her here."

Before Queen Maya could reach his mother's tombstone, Dante stopped her by saying, "Leave." 

"Are you stopping me from attending the funeral?" Queen Maya's eyes narrowed at him.

"Yes. Leave," Dante's words were curt, and he had no desire to discuss it further, as this solemn moment was a time of mourning for his mother. 

Queen Maya and the others were left speechless, as no one had ever directly impeded a queen before. Princess Niyasa asked, 

"We travelled so far just to help, and you are turning us away?"

"I will remember this disrespect from you, Dante," Queen Maya remarked, and Dante smiled at the woman. He remarked, 

"And I will remember yours."

Queen Maya began, "Given that I exiled the women to the old palace, you should—"

"You have the nerve to make it seem insignificant after everything you have done," Dante finally snapped, his earlier glare returning with double the fury. "She could have lived a day more. She suffered here all by herself, fighting to stay alive so that she could see me one last time, but you had to strip that away from her too!" His voice resonated loudly, causing people around to flinch involuntarily. 

"Lucretia possessed weak health, and it wasn't as if we didn't provide her the physicians she needed," Queen Maya asserted with a stiff expression. 

"You robbed her of her right to live. The right to see her son, the right to a dignified burial," Dante seethed, and when his midnight eyes changed to a fiery red hue, those who noticed it furrowed their brows in confusion. He said, "You should pay for that too." He took a step forward, only to be intercepted by the Mother Queen, who positioned herself between them. 

"Dante, she claims that she didn't receive the news about Lucretia's deteriorating health during her final hours yesterday," the Mother Queen informed him. 

"Then where did the letter go when it was claimed to have been delivered?!" Dante continued, glaring at them, his anger extending from Queen Maya to the Mother Queen. "Lady Sophia said the letter was sent by her, and the messenger confirmed its delivery. So where the fuck did it go?!"

"Perhaps the letter was never sent in the first place. Where is the messenger?" Princess Niyasa asked, her eyes falling on Lady Sophia. "Mother is telling the truth."

"Are you saying that I lied?" This time, Lady Sophia's tone turned indignant. 

"Aziel," Dante called the minister and commanded, "Bring the messenger here. Right now."

The minister hastened away to fetch the servant entrusted with delivering the grave news. Queen Maya said, 

"I never received the message, so it is plausible that something went awry in between or, as Niyasa suggested, the message was never dispatched from here. What possible benefit would I have gained from not sharing such news?"

Anastasia witnessed the escalating confusion that began to build among the royal family, with each member pointing an accusatory finger at another. At the same time, she overheard Lady Noor whisper to Princess Emily, 

"Did Prince Dante's eyes change colour?" 

"I thought I was the only one seeing things," Princess Emily replied with a frown. She had never seen anyone's eyes change like that before. 

"How is that possible?" Lady Noor murmured, while the others stared at Dante. 

Anastasia knew something was amiss when she questioned the minister earlier! 

Soon, when the servant who carried the message the previous evening was brought before them outside the old palace, he looked frightened because he could sense people's glaring gazes directed at him. He trembled, with his hands folded and eyes fixed on the ground. 

Dante stepped before the servant, demanding, "Were you the one who delivered the letter to the main palace yesterday?" 

"Yes, Prince Dante," the servant answered him. 

"And who gave you the letter to be delivered?" Dante continued to interrogate the servant. 

"L—Lady Sophia did. She ordered me to deliver it," the man could barely stand straight with the number of eyes trained on him. 

"And to whom did you hand the letter?" Dante questioned, determined to find out if Queen Maya was lying. 

"To one of the guards there…I informed the guard that it was to be delivered to you." 

Dante turned to look at Queen Maya, who quickly explained, "The letter was not delivered to me or Maxwell." She directed a question towards the servant, "Do you recall which guard you gave it to? We can interrogate that guard to ascertain where the letter went missing—"

"Aren't all the incoming letters to the palace reviewed by you, Queen Maya?" Dante interjected, prompting the Mother Queen to jump in to say, 

"I don't think Queen Maya receive—"

Abruptly, Dante raised his hand to halt his grandmother from speaking further. He then questioned which one of them wore the heaviest crown, saying, "Are all the letters not immediately brought to you first before they reach the intended recipients?" 

Queen Maya found herself in a difficult position and replied, "Yes, that is true. That is due to recent unsolicited activities, but neither I nor Maxwell had any reason to conceal your mother's deteriorating health. This is an accusation I shall not accept. And regarding Maxwell, he locked himself in his room last night, and I can attest to that because I went to talk to him. This servant must be lying, or Lady Sophia never sent a letter as she claimed!"

"If I never intended to send the message, I wouldn't have dispatched the letter in the first place," Lady Sophia retorted, with annoyance evident in her eyes. 

"Perhaps you knew that if you didn't send the letter, Lady Noor would have reported it in your place, and it would have reflected poorly on your part," Queen Maya replied in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"You are walking a fine line. I was the one who sat by her side, while you banished us from the palace," Lady Sophia clenched her hands in frustration.  1

"Lady Sophia," Lady Noor intervened, attempting to calm her down by placing her hand on the woman's arm before Lady Sophia would provoke Queen Maya further, giving her the satisfaction of having them expelled from this old palace as well. 

Lady Sophia jerked her hand away and said, "I am not scared of her like you, Noor, and you shouldn't be either. I specified that the letter was to be delivered to Dante." She was angry at Queen Maya's decision and actions, knowing she would receive the same treatment if she were to die. "You come here offering your sympathies, when you are the reason for our troubles."

While the women continued to argue, Anastasia's eyes moved to look at Dante, noticing a shift in his mood, and it wasn't for the better. However, the black fumes that hovered above his shoulders caught not just her eye but also the attention of the others before he remarked, 

"Both of you deny it. One claims to have sent the letter, and the other insists she never received the message, and neither did I. Then can only mean the messenger failed to do the job properly," Dante's voice was low but clear, allowing those present to detect the hollowness behind his words. 

The servant suddenly looked troubled as he glanced anxiously back and forth between the faces of the individuals present, shaking his head. He pleaded, 

"I d—didn't do anything, Prince Dante! I swear I took what was given—" Dante pulled out the dagger from his sheath, "—to me, and I delivered it. I did what I was to—"

But the servant's speech was cut off when Dante's dagger slowly sliced the front of the man's neck, which sank deep into his flesh as it slid from one side to the other, spurting and gushing blood.

Everyone's mouth and throat went dry at the sight before them, including Anastasia's. Her hands trembled, and she pressed them against her sides as she watched more blood spill from the servant's neck, which had now drenched the front of his clothes before he collapsed to the ground. 

Though they stood outside the old palace, the only sound they heard was the passing breeze against the profound silence. 

When Dante turned to face his family members, Anastasia observed the splatters of the servant's blood that stained his face. His eyes were cold, and his gaze held an intimidating power that compelled anyone who encountered it to submit to him. With a commanding presence, he said, 

"If this is not the man who was responsible for the error, rest assured, when I find the person who intercepted the message, they will soon long for the solace that death brings," Dante declared, indirectly conveying to Queen Maya that he didn't believe her either. 

Queen Maya's lips tightened, understanding the implications of Dante's words. She nodded in acknowledgement and said, "I will help you in finding the person responsible, and you will come to realise that it had nothing to do with me, despite the allegations that have been levelled against me." 

Though everyone nearby could see Dante's simmering temper manifest as exuding  fumes from his body, no one dared to question it or dared to meet his blood-red eyes. Confusion and apprehension filled the air, causing those present to be too hesitant to ask about them as the smell of his bloodlust permeated the surroundings. 

Queen Maya then said, "My condolences. I shall be returning to the palace. Niyasa," she called her daughter, and they hurriedly departed in their palanquins. 

Anastasia watched Dante leave the grounds of the old palace as if to return to his mother's grave, while the others made their way inside. The guards dragged the servant's lifeless body away, leaving a bloody trail in their wake. 

As she entered the palace, Anastasia heard Lady Sophia question the Mother Queen, "What were those black fumes? What is going on? And those red eyes?" Even Lady Noor shared the same questions as she waited for the older woman to dispel their confusion. 

"Aren't red eyes a trait inherited from our demon lineage?" Princess Emily asked. 

"None of the others have ever shown red eyes, neither your father nor your grandfather," Lady Sophia stated before turning to look at the Mother Queen. "Are you going to answer us?" 

"It is just as Emily said. The red eyes are a trait stemming from our demon bloodline, and Dante's fury has been unleashed," the Mother Queen muttered. She turned to her trusted minister and asked, "Why didn't you deliver the message?"

"I was on my way to seek additional assistance from the physicians, My Queen," Aziel confessed, wearing a guilty expression for not being more useful and for inadvertently provoking the cursed prince's inner demon. The Mother Queen looked stressed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She heard the minister ask, "Shall I go to Prince Dante?" 

"No. Let him be for now," came the firm response from the Mother Queen. 

Lucretia held immense significance to Dante, considering how she had been the one who loved and supported him when his own father had continuously ignored and failed to acknowledge him. With her gone, the delicate equilibrium had been disrupted, and she knew he needed time for himself—time to grieve the loss of his mother. 

"We all need time," the Mother Queen murmured. 

When the next day arrived, Anastasia didn't see much of Dante as he didn't stay in the old palace, and she guessed that he was spending his time in front of his mother's grave. During the course of the morning, she saw him once, and his eyes had reverted back to their usual midnight hue, his body devoid of the black fumes that carried an ominous air of impending danger. 

Another day passed before Prince Aiden arrived accompanied by the guards, having been ordered by the Mother Queen to remain at the main palace during her absence. 

"What are you doing here, Aiden?" the Mother Queen questioned with a frown. 

"I was sent here to deliver an order, Grandmother," Aiden replied, and he asked, "Where is Brother Dante?" 

"He's gone to the cemetery. What is the order?" the Mother Queen inquired. 

Aiden extended the scroll from the royal court to her, and as she unfurled it, he informed her, "The king has decided to lift your exile and has commanded that everyone return to the main palace."

Anastasia, who stood nearby, overheard the exchange between the two, and Lady Noor, standing beside her, released a sigh of relief, exclaiming, "Finally, we will be returning home."

All their belongings in the old palace were packed into the trunks, and soon everyone embarked on the journey back to the main palace. As they walked up the stairs that led to the entrance, King Maxwell came to stand before them, with his mother and sister not far behind. 

Anastasia noticed the young princess smiling as if happy about something, while Queen Maya wore a grim look on her face. 

"My deepest condolences, Brother Dante," King Maxwell offered his sympathies. He said, "I heard that Lady Lucretia had been buried somewhere near the old palace. I would like to rectify my mother's mistake by bringing her remains here and having her interred in the mausoleum."

However, the damage had been done, and it had left a scar that ran deeper than any Dante had ever received before. The anger within him remained unabated, and it continued to crawl beneath his skin in the wake of the loss of his mother. He responded, 

"Thank you for the gesture, but I would prefer that she remains in her current resting place rather than move her body again."

King Maxwell stared at the people before him, saying, "Before everyone retires to their rooms, there was something that was brought to my attention, and I thought I would deal with it now, rather than later." 

The people around waited as the king paused and then questioned, "Who here took the courtesan from the palace, contrary to my explicit orders that they are not to leave the Paradise Tower without permission?" His eyes fell on Anastasia, and he questioned, "Or did she leave of her own accord?" 

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