Chp.28: Poisonous

She wore her gown, marron was it's colour and a blue and black shawl that the king gifted her on the new year's day. She was weak and her smile for trembling, but he knew she was happy. She squinted her eyes when she smiled.

"You have to become the king Duncan and take what's yours.", suddenly and the atmosphere turned cold around him.

"Huh?" Duncan was confused.

He could see his mother's expressions changing as she looked at him with passion.

"You have to become the king, you will become the king of Kuravos." His mother started saying loudly as she laughed loudly and wickedly.

"Mother?" Duncan was taken aback by this sudden change in his mother's demeanor. "Mother, calm down." He tried stopping her by shaking her with his little hands.

But it felt as though she had completely forgotten the fact that Duncan was just a child. She was laughing and laughing and looking at her expressions, a sudden chill ran down Duncan's spine.

His eyes were distant and he shifted back. Away from his mother. He looked at her in horror. He could see her face changing. Changing to something he wouldn't have ever imagined.

"No, this can't be her. This can't be my mother." He kept mumbling as he shifted back and away from her. Denying what he saw right in front of him.

And then suddenly she stopped. She looked at Duncan.

*Badump*

His heart stopped there for a second as he saw the face of the woman who sat in front of him now. She had the same black hair and flushed pink cheeks, but her expression was far more foreign.

"You think you can live peacefully Duncan." Her expressions were more than hatred. It was malice. She reflected malice in her eyes as she looked down on Duncan.

"You are nothing more than a pathetic bastard. You will never be Desmond. You will always be inferior. You will never be loved." The woman cursed at him loudly as she threw her poisonous words as him.

He sat there trembling. Fear had consumed him. His pupils wavering as he was scared for his life. The woman kept repeating her words. Throwing them at him with even more hate everytime she uttered them.

Duncan could feel his heart breaking into peices as a crack occured everytime she said something to him, anything to him.

"Stop it." He kept mumbling as he instinctively put his hands on his ears and closed his eyes shut. "Stop it." He said in a low voice.

But she kept on going. "You will never be loved. You are pathetic Duncan. King you say? You are nothing more than a bastard." She kept on blabbering.

Duncan took a deep breath and looked the woman in her eyes.

"You can't come an haunt me anymore Isabella. You just can't." He yelled on the top of his lungs and everything around them suddenly became quiet. There was only the sound of the rain that was falling outside

He opened his eyes.

Only the sound of the rain was constant.

He let out a heavy sigh. "Again that dream." He ran his hands through his hair and sat up straight. His neck was already aching since he dozed off in an awkward position.

"I really do need to change some habits." He mumbled to himself as he got up rubbing the back of his neck.

In that very moment there was a knock on the door.

"Your majesty?" It was a familiar voice.

"Yes, yes Hilton come on inside." Duncan said. His voice was still a bit cranky as he just got up from his litte evening nap and that too with an aching neck.

The guards standing outside his chambers, opened the doors for Hilton and he walked in with his usual smal file of documents.

"Good evening you majesty." Hilton said as he bowed to Duncan.

"Ya, ya it's fine. But why are you here?" Duncan said as he stood in front of the juge mirror in the corner of his room massaging his neck.

"Had a bad nap?" Hilton asked with a giggly tone. But Duncan gave him a death stare.

"Ahem so anyways.." Hilton quickly got to know that maybe Duncan was upset and his mood was literally the worst. So he decided to get done with his work quickly. "So yeah, you have to sign a few documents, and sign the agreement documents for the Stanton's..." Duncan's ears tweaked at this name. "Stanton." He mumbled. Hilton didn't listen to his expression and went on ahead.

"Also in the next 15 minutes you have the dinner planned with the queen." Hilton took a long breath after narrating the seemingly long list of things to Duncan.

Duncan was caught off guard, "What? Dinner? It's already that time?" He asked Hilton as he was almost on the verge of panicking.

"Yes, your majesty, it's time." Hilton said with a fine professional smile.

"Don't stand there smiling help me call the servant and get ready." Duncan started to fret and just paced back and forth nervously.

"I must get there on time." Duncan mumbled.

"Oh! Oh yeah. I will call all the servants and help you get ready." Hilton kept the file of his papers on the tea table near the couch and dashed out of Duncan's chambers.

"Damn. What will she think if I'm late?" Duncan thought as he suddenly could feel his intestines cramping togther. Maybe due to excitement or maybe due to nervousness. Whatever the reason was, he wanted to get over that feeling.

And then he noticed the file of papers that Hilton kept on the tea table.

One of the paper that was partially peeking out of the file read - Stanton.

"Duke Stanton." He mumbled to himself as he proceeded to pick up the folder from the table. "What agreement is this about?" He thought for a couple of seconds.

He shuffled through those pages and found the subject of the agreement. "Railway line, near the Astana area in the south." The subject read.

"Hmm?" Duncan suddenly became intrested in the subject and walked towards his work table and sat down to read the agreement.

"Your majesty?" Hilton came again and knocked on the doors.

"Yes, come in Hilton." Duncan said.

Hilton walked inside with two male servants with him. "It's almost time for your dinner. We shall get you ready." Hilton said in a bright and happy tone.

"Yeah? Leave that, get me more papers on the railway works in Astana." Duncan ordered Hilton.

"But your majesty..." he was a little hesitant.