Chapter 46: Fragments of you
Anastasia felt as if her soul had left her body, and her body swayed towards the wall for support. Her lips moved while her eyes watered in shock, not knowing what was happening.
She looked away from the scene. No, this is not true, she said to herself. She had seen Marianne back in the alley at the Bazaar, and she had hugged her. There was no way this was true. But when her eyes moved to look at Marianne’s lifeless body, tears spilt from her eyes.
There lay Marianne on the cold floor, with blood pooling around her body. Her lifeless, green eyes stared at the ceiling, and her lips were parted.
"W—what happened?!" Prince Aiden was equally shocked at seeing his father dead.
He quickly moved to where his father lay and tried to wake him by jerking the body, "Father! Father! Please wake up! I am here. I promise to not leave the palace!" He shouted, but the prince’s pleas fell on deaf ears.
The other members of the Blackthorn family surrounded King William, who were in shock, and some cried. The rims of Queen Sophia’s eyes turned red while she held back her tears. "We should have King William placed on a table... Maybe the physician can help him." But everyone knew he was dead and long gone.
The Mother Queen turned to the guards and said, "Bring the glass case and place him inside it until tomorrow. Zion," she called the Vizier before ordering, "Gather all the guests. I want everyone to be questioned about their whereabouts for the last two hours. Make sure no one can leave the palace, and if they do, bring them to me."
Lady Maya brought her hand up to cover her mouth as tears slipped from her eyes. She asked, "Who could have dared do something like this? To kill the king."
Princess Emily, who hadn’t stopped crying since she heard the news about her father’s death, hugged Aiden for comfort as she sobbed. When her eyes moved, they fell on Prince Maxwell, who stared into space. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she said,
"Brother Maxwell... your hands..."
Queen Sophia turned to look at Prince Maxwell’s bloody hands, and she demanded,