George woke up by the following morning, feeling very satisfied. He turned in his bed to find Patricia still asleep beside him, he rolled over to where she lay peacefully and hugged her tightly. The lady groaned in her sleep, finding a comfortable spot in his arms, and fell back asleep.
George smiled. His mind went back to the previous night when Patricia had come in to see him, he remembered the way she kept talking about Calhoun, saying something was wrong with him or so. He sighed, what was wrong with him anyway?
"Tricia, what did you say happened to Calhoun?" He hummed softly. Patricia muttered some inaudible words under her breath and turned to the other side to sleep.
"Tricia... Tricia... Wake up dear." He shook her as he spoke softly. "What happened to Calhoun?"
"Who's Calhoun?" Tricia mumbled, rubbing her still sleepy eyes. George was a rogue in bed and had kept her wide awake for a long time. He never got tired and only stopped when she was on the verge of passing out.
"The king, Tricia! What happened to him?" George reiterated.
Patricia sighed and sat up, trying to understand what he was saying. She turned to look around the unfamiliar bedroom where she had slept. Her eyes widened as bits and pieces of last night's event began to play in her head. She put her head in her hands, regretting coming over in the first place. How could George mate with her before Calhoun could?
What even led her to come over? She asked herself in her head, still trying to remember everything. She had been asked to cook for the king and after serving him, he sent for his wine and when she brought it to him, he was... He was...?
"The king!" She exclaimed with a loud gasp. "George, the king was dying!" She exclaimed. She quickly bolted off his bed and headed towards the door.
"You're still naked, dear," George said, trying to put on his clothes as well. Patricia returned and grabbed her clothes, putting them on haphazardly.
"What do I do?" She cried. "If the king is dead then everyone will point their hands to me."
"Calm down, Patricia," George stated. "We have to plan things out otherwise we would be suspected."
Patricia began to sob. "This is all my fault, I shouldn't have come out, I shouldn't have troubled him, perhaps if I hadn't, he wouldn't have asked me to make food for him and even if this had happened, I wouldn't be a suspect!"
"Shut up Patricia!" George bellowed. "Now hurry to the king's chamber and prepare his bath. Go to wake him up and after a while of waking him, let out a scream."
"Why?" Patricia asked. "Does it matter what happens? He might be dead or worse."
George chuckled. "What could be worse than death?"
"I heard that losing the ability to wolf out is the worst thing that could happen to a werewolf, it's worse than death." She explained.
George smiled. "I can see you did your homework. Now go and do as I have said, go and do exactly what I have asked you to do. Time it properly and make sure your expression is top-notch. Don't cry too much, and don't cry too little. Don't act as if you expected it, show your surprise but let it not be too surprising, more like a sad shock."
Patricia nodded, fidgeting badly. She couldn't help but shake so much. She stared into his eyes, her fear and guilt were visible.
"Hide your guilt, Patricia," George warned, pulling her slowly to himself. He bent lower and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Patricia could feel her heart calm down in the way it raced. She opened her eyes to see him smiling at her.
"Go."
Patricia turned and left his room. She met a servant in the corridor and the person stared suspiciously at her. She put her gaze down and made her way to the king's chamber. She knocked on the door twice.
"My king? Are you awake yet? I want to prepare you for a bath." She announced. When she didn't hear any response, she opened the door and went in. The meal was still set on the table, the same way she had left. She quickly took the food and disposed of it into a plastic bag and sealed it. She took the dishes to the bathroom and washed it in his sink, then she hid the plates in his cupboard.
She prepared his bath water to the temperature he loved and went to his bedroom to wake him.
"My king.." she called softly, bowing her head just in case Calhoun would jump out of the bed and laugh and say it was all a joke. Perhaps call her April's fool. She shook her head softly, this was June and not April.
"My king, I have prepared your bath." She said again. She shook him softly, tapping his shoulder as she did. Calhoun's face was peaceful, void of all his cruel expression. He looked very calm and innocent, his body was slightly pale and his lips were almost colorless. She touched it and his body was soft as if he was dead. His breathing had reduced gradually and it was almost unnoticeable. Patricia began to sob shakily.
"I'm sorry my king, I don't know what happened." She whispered to herself.
She heard some footsteps approaching and she shut her eyes tightly, sending the tears that threatened to fall back inside.
When she opened them, her eyes were void of any expression. She opened her mouth and let out a scream.
"My king!" She screamed. "Wake up, my king! What ... My king..."
The door flew open and Felix ran into the king's room. He found Patricia seriously trying to wake him up, shaking his body, forgetting that she was a slave and he was the king. Felix wasn't bothered by that at the moment.
What he was worried about was the fact that the king was not moving at all.
He pushed her away slightly, staring at Calhoun's beautiful face. Calhoun looked more handsome on his deathbed.
"What happened to him?" He asked lowly.
"I... I don't know.." she stuttered, tears falling freely from her eyes. Truthfully, she wasn't acting anymore. She was crying so hard, she really couldn't help herself anymore.
Felix stared at her bawling figure. "What do you mean by you don't know?"
"I don't know, I can only say that I came in to prepare his bath and I informed him that it was ready and he did not respond. So I walked over to his bed and tapped him, but he did not respond as well. I shook his body and he still did not move at all. I stopped to notice his movements and I found him not breathing again."
Felix scowled at her explanation. How could she have woken the king and he didn't wake up, then instead of calling George or anyone else, she began to shake him.
"Patricia, when you informed the king of his bath water being ready and he did not move, you were supposed to inform George," Felix stated. "It was not in your place to try and wake him up."
Patricia was at loss for words. She did exactly what George had asked her to do, how could she have been wrong?
"Besides, if the king was not waking up, why are you so concerned about it? Did you give him anything that could have caused him to react this way?" Felix asked. "Or perhaps you feel guilty? I hope you know that if this matter comes up before the court, you will most likely lose your freedom, or worse, lose your head."
Patricia began to shake. She put her gaze low, trying to mask the fear and guilt that must have been very visible in her eyes.
George walked in right at that moment.
"My king I-... Oh, Beta Felix. Good morning." George greeted. "Tricia, what are you doing here at this time? Have you prepared the king's bath?"
"Y...yes I have." She said, keeping her gaze low.
"So why are you still here? Did the king ask you to wait?" He fired non-stop. "I have told you severally, the king isn't interested in you-"
"That's not the issue now, George." Felix scolded instantly. He could smell foul play. "The king has refused to be awoken."
George stared at him, then at Patricia. Sighing to himself, he walked towards the King's bed to speak to him by himself.
"My lord." He called. "Calhoun..." He shook the king's arm and there was no reaction. He sighed and got up. "The king doesn't seem to be dead, but he seems to be ill sort of."
"How can you tell?" Felix asked.
"Look at his expression, it is calm and cool. Unlike what he would naturally have looked like. This is Calhoun, he will never keep a straight face." George explained, pointing to Calhoun. "His body is so soft and his breathing seems to have reduced by a great amount. I think I have seen something similar to this."
"Where?" Felix asked. "You know what? I think we need to inform the other officials, and we need to call the judges into this matter."
"What for? So that they can arrest all the servants in the castle? Felix, we need this to be as discreet as possible." George said softly. "If anyone else finds out about this then it's inevitable for Yara and the rest to find out. If they do, it's going to be the end of Wisteria until Calhoun awakes."
"And if he doesn't awake?" Felix asked softly.
"Then it's the end of us all," George whispered. Felix gripped his palm in a tight fist. He could feel his nails digging into his skin.
Patricia kept her gaze low, still sobbing softly.
"What about her?" Felix asked. "What do we do to her? We can't allow her to go free! She is to be tried for this."
"We let the king decide on the matter," George said. "That would be when he wakes. Perhaps we can lock her up in a room until then."
"No," Felix exclaimed. "We must put her in the dungeon. She knows something about the king's strange illness and I can feel it in the depths of my soul."
George stuttered, trying to avoid meeting her pleading eyes. "I don't know about this, Felix. You are the beta and the king's right-hand man after all."
Patricia began to cry out, falling to her knees immediately. She grabbed Felix's trousers in a desperate plea.
"Have mercy on me, I did nothing." She cried. "I swear!"
Felix turned his gaze away. "Take her to the dungeon and lock her. Perhaps a peaceful one where she would be away from the worst offenders."
George nodded once.
"And when you're done, inform Evander and Simon that I wish to see them in the king's chamber as soon as possible," Felix said still.
"So what, I take orders from you now? The king isn't dead, you know?"
Felix scowled. "And when the Alpha is indisposed, who comes in next?"
"The beta," George mumbled, slightly angered.
"Where indisposed doesn't always mean dead, it could also mean if the king were on a vacation, or was sick, or unconscious, or perhaps wishes to be alone in his chamber,"
Felix explained. "Meaning you should refute or even question my decisions."
"Whatever," George muttered. "Come with me." He said, pulling Patricia by the arm.
"Help me, please. I did nothing to the king." She begged George. "You cannot lock me in the dungeon, I cannot survive the place."
George shook his head against her pleas, he was helpless as well, and helping her would also jeopardize himself. If he helped her escape the punishment, he would also become a suspect because why should he help a suspect evade punishment?
It was too much of a risk to take, and he wasn't someone who liked taking many risks.
"I will come to visit you when I can," George said. He pushed her into the prison and slammed the gate shut. He left the bars unlocked and ran out. Patricia cried for a while and then she raised her head to notice that George had left the bars unlocked. She smiled in her heart.