CONSPIRACY

Gerard was very surprised when suddenly Annabelle was in front of his room. If anyone saw the Lady in front of his room, it could be a scandal that would defame Louis' family name, so Gerard immediately came out and took Annabelle to a safer place.

"My Lady, aren't you hunting with Lord Albert? How did you get here?" asked Gerard looking surprised.

"I can't tell you. Come with me, now!"

"What is it, my lady? Next time, you can ask the maid to call me if you need my rock," said Gerard.

"There is no next time, when Albert needs you now, he is dying. Someone is intent on killing him, and he only trusts you to help him. Don't let any of the servants find out what happened to Albert," Annabelle explained.

"Who wants to kill Lord Albert? I'll be there soon, you can go there first. I will prepare my equipment."

"I don't know who is behind all this. Do you know where I took Albert?"

"Yeah, I know, it was meant to be a hideout in case something happened."

"Alright, hurry up and meet Albert. I'll be there first," said Annabelle who then left Gerard.

"My Lady...!" called Gerard, stopping Annabelle's steps, she turned her body to look at Gerard.

"What's the matter, Gerard? Is there anything I forgot?" Annabelle asked.

"You haven't forgotten anything, My Lady. I just wanted to say, be careful, make sure no one is following you," Gerard replied.

"Yes, of course," said Annabelle who then turned back and left Gerard.

Annabelle got to Albert's room quickly. He made sure no one saw him. Not long after, Gerard entered the room with his equipment. His eyes widened when he saw Albert's condition, which was quite severe with an arrow stuck in his shoulder very deep.

"I can't let go of this arrow myself, My Lady. I'll call Simon to help me."

"Can he be trusted?"

"Of course, My Lady. Simon's whole life he has devoted to the Louis family. His loyalty is unquestionable."

"Alright, quickly call Simon!" Annabelle ordered.

***

The pain in his shoulder seemed like he couldn't take it anymore. The pulse reached his head, making his head feel like it was about to explode. Albert's hazy eyes looked at his wife who was sitting holding her head and holding her there.

Someone stuffed something into his mouth, in a semi-conscious state, Albert could recognize it if the man was Simon. Albert's heavy eyes glanced to his right. Seen a hot knife that is red burning due to burning, while Gerard is preparing.

As Gerard approached him, Albert tried to struggle with the last of his strength, but Simon held him tightly. Annabelle was holding her head. Albert couldn't scream because his mouth was gagged. Gerard used the hot knife to open the wound on Albert's shoulder and tried to pull the arrow out of Albert's body.

The pain was excruciating, stinging his body. Albert shouted as loudly as he could, but his screams were muffled by the cloth in his mouth. Annabelle shed tears seeing her husband's pain. Her hands still tightly gripped her husband's head, so he wouldn't rebel.

Unable to bear the pain he was feeling, Albert lost consciousness in Annabelle's arms. Annabelle's hands trembled as she felt her husband drooping and motionless in his arms. Gerard immediately checked Albert's pulse and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lord Albert just fainted, My Lady," said Gerard who then finished his task quickly.

Finally, he managed to pull the arrow from Albert's shoulder and immediately closed the wound. The red liquid from Albert's body, stained the white sheets where Albert lay. Annabelle's dress was also affected by the stain. Annabelle put her husband's head on the pillow and quickly cleaned herself and changed into her dress.

When Annabelle came back into Albert's room, the sheets on Albert's bed were clean. Simon has replaced it with a new one. Albert's wound had also been neatly bandaged by Gerard. Albert fell asleep with his upper body exposed, and a white cloth wrapped around his shoulders. Albert's face was as pale as a corpse. Annabelle tried to be steadfast, though her heart ached to see her husband's helpless state.

"Lord Albert must be safe, My Lady. I have given a potion to prevent the Lord's wound from spreading. Luckily, the arrows weren't poisoned," said Gerard, comforting Annabelle.

"You can leave now," Annabelle ordered.

"Very well, My Lady," Gerard and Simon replied at the same time as they bowed and turned to leave Annabelle alone with her husband.

After Gerard and Simon came out of the room, Annabelle got into bed and lay down beside her husband. Her hand gently rubbed the cloth that wrapped her husband's wound. His hand moved to caress Albert's face, his once handsome and red face was now pale with dark hollows under his eyes.

"Hold on, Albert. You need to get well soon and uncover who is behind all this," Annabelle muttered in Albert's ear.

Annabelle covered them both with the blanket and lifted them up to her husband's chest. Make sure that Albert is not cold. Annabelle also rubbed Albert's chest, until finally Annabelle herself fell asleep because of the fatigue she felt. Her struggle to be able to bring her husband home to the castle, drains her strength.

***

The night of the full moon, a royal carriage exited silently from the majestic building behind it. A woman in a blue hood with her face covered, was in the carriage. Her hands were tightly wrapped in gloves, the accessories she wore, indicating that the woman was no ordinary noble.

The carriage stopped at an old castle and entered without anyone noticing. The castle has long been abandoned by its inhabitants. There is no lighting there. Only the moonlight illuminates the outside of the castle. While on the inside, only the meeting hall looks bright with several torches as a source of lighting.

Several people had been waiting for the woman there. Seen if the meeting is a closed meeting and secret. In the castle hall sat about 5 men in black clothes. One of them was Lord Falkner.

When the blue hooded woman entered, all eyes turned to her. The woman took off her hood to be recognized. Everyone in the hall immediately bowed their bodies respectfully when they found out who was behind the hood.

"My Queen!" call everyone there respectfully.

With her confident steps, Queen Victoria sat down among all the men.

"So, what news should I hear?" said Queen Victoria in her cold tone.

"We haven't been able to find the body, My Queen."

Braaaakkk

Queen Victoria's hand pounded the table very hard. "YOU ARE UNUSED!!"

"Forgive us, My Queen. The circumstances were very different from our plans. In fact, he was with a woman who was very good at riding. The lady took Albert on her horse and made us lose track of him. It seems that woman knows the forest very well."

"I don't care about the reason, you all are STUPID. We can't re-plan Albert's murder, because that would make Anne's loyal followers suspicious. I'll find another way. And you Falkner, make sure you win your candidacy. Otherwise, I would never have handed the Golden Land into your hands," Queen Victoria said furiously.

"Okay, My Queen. I will confirm if I will sit in a parliamentary seat."

"I don't need your promises, I need your concrete results," said Queen Victoria loudly, causing everyone in the room to fall silent.

"I've put a spy on Louis' castle. He will be our eyes and ears if something happens there," said one of the men at the meeting.

"Good, keep me informed of the progress," said Queen Victoria who then quickly left the meeting.

***