The sound of the bell

Two Days later.

"you have to stay away from that boy when I am gone; we can not afford for your reputation to be ruined," King Lorenzo warned his daughter as he got ready to enter the carriage.

"I will be fine, father, Have a safe journey," Jessica smiled. Even if she wanted to see Ramsey, it was impossible, given that Ramsey was part of the men guarding her father to Gousho.

"you would not even promise your father this?" king Lorenzo asked. He could not understand what was so good about Ramsey that his daughter was willing to give up anything for him.

"What is the use of my promise? You are taking him to Gousho with you. You already ensured that I would not see him," Princess Jessica pursed her lips.

King Lorenzo had a puzzled look; he did not make such arrangements; after all, he trusted that his daughter would care about her reputation no matter what. Jessica looked at her father; she seemed to have realised that she had misjudged her father.

"I am sorry; it must be a coincidence," Jessica apologised. She knew her father too well; he would never lie to her. From his expression, she could tell that he did not arrange for Ramsey to go with him.

"take care of yourself," king Lorenzo was not angry with his daughter. He assumed that his trust aid must have made this arrangement. Jessica smiled, "I will be fine, father," she replied.

King Lorenzo finally got into his carriage, and the soldiers mounted their horses. The journey to Gousho royal city would take at least three days from Dumbi. The king will be gone for seven days at least, and during this time, Jessica will take care of the kingdom.

Jessica watched her father leave; she felt guilty lying to her father. She knew the man would never hurt her, but she was unwilling to let go of Ramsey.

"How is the thing I asked you to find out," she turned to her maid.

"My princess, we have made the arrangements," the maid replied.

Princess Jessica nodded her head. This was the best time to make plans, with the king's journey, she could make her plans without his knowledge.

....

Seven days later.

Princess Jessica was going through some affair in the kingdom. The ministers from the small villages in Dumbi had sent their report for the full moon. Dumbi had six small villages, so there were six reports for her to read. She also had to confirm this report with what had been sent by the royal spies in those villages. While reading the information, Jessica felt thirsty, so she reached to pour water from the jar placed on a tall stool close to her table.

Jessica likes to work in a quiet environment, so there was no maid to serve her. As soon as her hand made contact with the water jar, it sipped and fell to the floor.

Jessica's heart missed a bit; she did not expect a thing like that to happen. She felt uneasy for no reason. Her gaze was fixed on the shattered jar. An incident like this in Dumbi was considered a bad omen, so Jessica felt more uncomfortable.

"Father," she called, feeling bitter; The king had been the princess's pillar of support since she was young, so she thought of him once she felt uncomfortable. She looked outside the window and saw that evening was near. Her father should have returned.

"May," she called out to her maid, who she was certain was waiting outside the door.

"My princess," the maid walked into the study moments later.

"get someone to clean that up," Jessica could no longer work. She wanted to take a walk in the garden and clear her head. The bad feeling within her was growing.

The maid bowed and left the room. "Molson, has there been news about father's arrival at the royal gate?" Jessica asked her guard as they walked toward the garden.

"my princess, there has been no sign; maybe the king extended his stay," Molson replied. Jessica nodded her head, but she did not believe this excuse. she had a feeling that something unexpected had happened, but she did not dare voice it out as she did not want to consider such a thing.

Later at night.

Jessica was woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of the bell. She listened calmly and realised that the sound of the bell was that for mourning. The people of Dumbi had a custom of a bell ringing. Different bell sounds were meant for different occasions. At this time, she could tell that someone important had died. If the bell rang three times, it was for a person with small status, a small lord or a solider. If it was five times, then it was a general or a prominent lord or minister. If it was seven times, then it was someone from the royal family.

The sound of the fifth bell came, and Jessica felt her heart miss a beat as the bell went the sixth time. She jumped out of bed; there were just two members of the royal family, herself and her father. Although ringing the bell six times meant nothing, she prayed and hope that there would not be another.

She just calmed herself down when the bell went off the seventh time. " no, no," Jessica shook her head in denial. " father can't die; maybe i counted wrong," she tried to console herself.

"Your highness," she heard the voice of Molson calling her outside the door.

"What?" Jessica tried to calm herself; as a princess, she had learned to hide her pains.

"the king has arrived," Molson said. Jessica felt like her heart had been stabbed; she knew what he meant by that statement. The tears that she had been fighting dropped down her cheeks; she felt that the walls were closing in on her. Her father was in good health, so she would not have expected him to die without warning.

"I will be out shortly," Jessica finally calmed down after a long silence.

"i will start making the arrangement," Molson could tell that the princess was not in a good mood. Jessica sat at her dressing table for a long time but could not change her clothes or leave the room.