The year that passed was the swiftest one for Diana. Working with the main office and returning to care for her child made her day very full of activities and she never had a dull moment. The only time she had nothing to do was when she was asleep.
Diana took her son to the nanny's home where most working mothers kept their children when going to work. The nanny loved Coco because he was a calm child, he didn't make noise or trouble her as the other children did. Coco would stay in the same position he was kept and if he moved, he would just move a little.
Diana was late this particular day. She was so stressed that she had woken up late. She still hurried to prepare and took her son to the nanny's home.
"Why Diana, you happen to be so late today. Are you still going to make it to work?" The nanny asked. "You might as well just join us today."
Diana chuckled lightly. "Not at all nana, I have to go still. I might as well come in late from work."
The nanny nodded in understanding. "I understand my dear. Alright, let me take him off you so that you can be on your way."
Diana handed Coco to the nanny and kissed him goodbye. She hurried to the post office. Since she wasn't exactly rich, she didn't take rides to the office, she simply walked.
Once she got in, her boss was standing outside, looking very pissed.
"I'm so sorry sir!" She apologized immediately.
"What are you coming by this time for? Why so late? Huh? You were always so early!"
"Pardon me sir but my son didn't sleep until the early hours of the morning and that's when I was also able to sleep," Diana explained.
The man stared at her. "Now that you're late, you have to work with the sorting department for incoming mail. Nobody in that department showed up today." He said.
Diana didn't mind. She was going to do anything at all so long as her salary would be intact by the end of the month.
"Yes sir!" She quickly hurried into the office and located the department for incoming mail. The place was a huge mess, she wondered how long they had stopped coming. There was mail in every nook and cranny of the office. She couldn't even find a place to step foot. Diana first gathered the emails together, then she began to sort them by sender. She assumed that one sender would only send to one location.
The boss came in while she was doing that.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to sort them by the sender." She answered, still focused on her work.
"No! You sort them by the receiver. Town by town. Then you send it to the second sorting department who will then sort it by address and hand them to the delivery department." He explained.
"Oh, okay. Town by town it is then." Diana knew that the man was still there, watching her. She felt uneasy under his watchful gaze. She didn't like it one bit. After a moment of silence, he finally left and Diana could breathe in properly.
While she focused on sorting, she found one piece of mail that had a familiar seal on it. She paused in her movements. That seal...
"Wisteria." She whispered, running her fingers over the seal, feeling its smooth texture. The paper style was one in the world and was only ever known by the castle. "How did Calhoun know I was here?"
"It's addressed to the capital city here.." she read the address in her mind. "The governor?"
She frowned. "What business does Calhoun have with the governor of Fraco?"
Without thinking any further, she tore the mail open and took it out. From the handwriting, she could tell that it wasn't written by Calhoun. She sat down to read it.
This is to inform you that the king of Wisteria is in grief for having lost his woman, he has been distracted by that and has lost his passion for the kingdom. You can strike whenever you want.
Diana read it again and again. She smirked. Calhoun was in grief because he lost his woman. So Calhoun already replaced her?
She folded the piece of paper and placed it in her boot. She resumed her work, taking her time to sort the mail out, even down to the address. Once she was done, she took them to the delivery department. Diana left the company when it was dark. She went to the nanny's home to pick up Coco.
"You came in too late today." The nanny said.
"Is it because you went late?"
"I suppose," Diana replied. Taking Coco in her arms, she smiled widely. "Hey baby, how are you faring today?" The boy giggled in her arms, snuggling into her bosom. Diana laughed softly.
"You missed mama? Mama missed you too!"
"I see how happy he is now, and you look rather stress-free too.
Diana smiled. "What do you mean?"
"When you walked in, you looked too stressed, I could tell that the day was almost awful. You must have done a lot of work. But once you saw him smile, the stress was eased off your face."
Diana's smile faltered. She had been mostly stressed because she wanted to get rid of the thoughts of Calhoun swirling around in her head. She wanted to be free!
"I might want to ask a question though," Diana said. The nanny led her to the couch where she sat comfortably. She turned to face the older woman who had already gone in to serve her tea. Once she arrived back out, Diana cleared her throat.
"What's that dear? What do you want to ask?"
"Nana, if you hear that someone is planning something bad against a person you love and the people in the place you love altogether, how well will you take it?" She asked.
"Well if I have the means to stop it, I will go ahead and stop it. If I can't, I will alert the people who live there to get ready."
"What if they rejected you earlier on?" Diana asked softly.
The nanny kept silent while in thought. "Diana, if you love that place then save it. Forget about who did you wrong or not. After all, you're doing it for the love you have for your people."
Diana stared at her. Did she have people? She was only going to save them because she loved Wisteria and she could still go back by chance. If she ever did, she would want her son to experience life in Wisteria.
"Thank you nana." She said, offering the older woman a smile. "I have to go now. It's getting very dark and I don't want to wake up late tomorrow again."
The nanny nodded. She walked her to the door and allowed her to leave.
Diana's mind was stuck on the part where she had to save them. She didn't know how else to save them other than to write to Calhoun himself. Since she was working in the post office, she could always sneak a letter out of the country.
She took out a paper and began her writing.
Hello Calhoun, you may or may not know who's sending this and I honestly do not wish for you to know-
"Nope." She shook her head and squeezed the paper. "Not gonna work."
Calhoun, take heed. Your enemies have received word that you are in grief and that this is perfect timing to be struck.
She shook her head again, throwing the paper in the basket.
She took out a third one and wrote it. After adding the letter written to her governor, she folded the letter and put it in a small purse which she hung on the wall. Diana went to sleep, eager for the following day so that she could send the letter to him.
She wrote the castle's address and carefully added it on the back saying that no one aside from the king is to open it.
The following day, she returned to her usual department and was eagerly working. The moment it was time to take out written letters to the train station, Diana ran out frantically, holding a white paper in her hand.
"What's that, Diana?" The boss inquired.
"I forgot this part." She said.
The boss was angered. "If you forgot anything next time, forget about it completely and wait till the following day!"
"Yes sir." She quickly slipped the letter in between the others and stood back to watch her plan set into motion. She smiled as the train began to move with the male guards in it.
Calhoun was in his chamber, a few days after Diana had sent the letter when he received it. The letter was brought to him by the same guard who had sent the first one.
Calhoun read what was written on the back. It was to be opened by him alone. Calhoun took the letter upstairs to his chamber. He sat down in his seat and tore it open.
The letter fell out and he bent down to pick it up and unfold it. With every word he read, his eyes turned darker. He got very angry in an instant.
Diana had ended it with; I know you're a good king hence I took it upon myself to warn you. Don't worry, my governor would never see the letter since I have returned it to you.
He scowled angrily. "George!"
George was running to his chamber in no time. As soon as he entered, he bowed his head in greeting.
"Inform all the servants and guards and maids to gather at the front of the castle for a brief meeting."
George stood for a few more seconds, trying to understand why the king would want to meet with the guards.
"Are you hard of hearing? I sent you on an errand!" Calhoun yelled. George bowed quickly and ran to the servants' quarters to inform them of the king's words. Calhoun's mind was bothered by who had seen the letter.
Did the person know him? The person said they knew he was a good king. How can they know him so well? He waited until George came back to his room.
"My king, they are all gathered," George said.
"What next?"
"Lock all exits and entries. Someone is about to die." Calhoun growled, his eyes flashing a bright red.
George followed Calhoun to the place where the meeting was to take place. The moment Calhoun entered among the servants, he could already guess who were cohorts in the betrayal. His cruel smirk appeared on his face. The other servants who had zero ideas as to what was happening began to tremble.
"Fear not. For if I find you innocent, you shall leave and you have my word. But if I find you guilty, you shall be killed in the worst way possible." Calhoun announced. "In the way that suits my grieving heart."
The guard's expression began to change. From the moment he was called by the other servants, he knew that something was wrong. Now that the king had mentioned a word he used in his letter, he felt even more afraid.
Calhoun pointed to a servant there. "You, come out."
The man shakily came out, praying in his heart that he hadn't been set up.
"George, take him in and have him write something for me," Calhoun said discreetly.
George nodded and took the servant inside. He was asked to write with both hands. George returned with him, giving Calhoun a slight shaking of the head to prove that he was innocent.
Calhoun roamed his eyes around the crowd and they landed on another man. "You, follow George."
The servants began to mumble among themselves. They hated having to be the ones to irk Calhoun.