Simon stared at the lady in surprise. He realized that everyone was waiting on him to tell him why he had asked to meet the girl. Staring into her eyes, he could feel a slight rage build within him. He signaled for the guard to leave her, and the guard did.
"You must be Patricia." He said, masking his surprise and swallowing every other word he had to say that wasn't related to his spoken reason for wanting to see her. "I'm Simon, come with me."
Patricia put her gaze down and followed behind the man. Simon didn't take her to the king's chamber, he took her to a different room, not knowing it belonged to Thomas.
"Patricia? Really?" He whispered. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean by that? What am I doing here? Of course, I work for the king!" She replied, whispering as well. Simon turned around to see if anyone was there, he inched closer to her, grabbing her arm in a tight grip.
"It was you wasn't it?" He demanded. "It was you that served the king the poisoned food."
Patricia shook his hand off, releasing herself. "What's it to you? I didn't know the food was poisoned, I only served him."
Simon rolled his eyes. "Do you expect me to believe that? You didn't know the food was poisoned? You just somehow happened to serve the king food which you didn't ever do, and he managed to die?"
"He's not dead!" Patricia glowered. Her eyes flashed with anger and then she quickly masked it with soberness. "Is he?"
"You're asking me?" Simon demanded. "Tricia, the poison which the king has taken is a rare one and the only place it's ever found is in my care. At home!"
"It could only mean that you stole it the last time you visited home."
Patricia was alarmed at his words. "I beg your pardon, how can you suggest such accusations against me?"
"I am your father and I can tell what kind of child you are! Your longing to relate to the werewolf kind has driven you mad!"
"Is that why I always lived as a slave with you, father?" She mocked. "Perhaps I was never really up to your standards and it was simply because I was human!"
"Human or not, you are my child!"
"Never." Patricia clamored. "Or I might as well tell everyone that you sent me on this mission."
"So you did it?"
"I did not." She answered truthfully. "At least not knowingly."
"Then? Why would you risk your freedom or your life for nothing?"
"Nothing?" She repeated. "Hm... Nothing. You think that seeing you get punished for treason is nothing?"
Simon scowled. "What do you mean by getting punished for treason? What treason have I committed?"
"The one where you sent your hated human daughter to poison the king just so you can accept her as your own, and you will become king before her trial." Patricia sang.
Simon burst into laughter. "Everyone would know that you cooked it up. How can I become king when Felix and Evander are available? They come before anyone else."
"Moreover, I'm certain the king has a book where he has written names of the kind of people that could succeed him."
"Father, you fool." Patricia cursed. "You think Calhoun will want someone as weak as Evander to replace him? Or someone as feeble-minded as Felix?"
Simon frowned again. "It would not matter what Calhoun wanted when he died, it's tradition for the beta to take the place of the alpha when he is indisposed."
"Of course. That's just another way to soothe your conscience." Patricia said, shrugging her shoulders. "You will grant me my freedom and I will be your eyes and ears among the servants. Until then, we do not know each other."
Simon watched the girl glare at him for a long time and then her expression became cowardly and almost afraid. She turned and walked slowly out of the room. He exhaled sharply.
Patricia was his daughter, his illegitimate daughter. He had somehow slept with a human lady and she birthed Patricia and died during birth. Since his wife had no daughters and three sons, she asked to take the child as her own and he granted. At least, the girl will not know she was of a human mother and they had made up a few stories as to why she couldn't wolf out yet.
The girl had believed it until she found out that somehow she was very different from the rest of the family. Somehow her brothers were closer to each other and their parents. Then she began to hear the whisperings of the humans and she found out the truth. She had confronted them and they called her ungrateful.
Since then, her life has been a living hell at home. She had to run away and the only place she knew she could stay hidden was in the palace.
When she figured her father was among the men that sat with the king, she began to avoid being with him then. At least it was difficult from Diana's own where the king forced her to be with him everywhere.
Simon hated being looked down upon, and that was exactly what his daughter had done. If he could disown her, he would. But his wife would never allow it.
Why, all the women in his life liked to control him and he hated it.
He was about to leave the room when he began to sniff something. He turned to find a man standing by the wall, leaning on it. He scowled slightly because the man looked somewhat familiar.
The man leaned on the wall, hands in his pocket, looking as if he was about to charm a lady. Simon frowned at him. What was he doing here? Mostly, did he hear the conversation he had with Patricia?
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Simon snapped. "Why are you looking at me in such a manner? How did you get in here? Where did you come in from?"
"That's all the questions you could ask?" Thomas asked, shaking his head sadly. "You might have missed the most important question."
"What do you mean?"
"I think it should be, how can you be so disrespectful, barging into someone else's room with a lady, whispering about only God knows what, and then be stupid enough to ask me what I'm doing in my room?"
"Don't insult me." Simon glowered. "For all I know you might just be a prisoner the king has had mercy upon and decided to treat nicely."
Thomas chuckled. "I am the king's father-in-law."
"What?" Simon asked, scowling. "Calhoun's father-in-law? Calhoun isn't married and hasn't been married, ever. So how can you be his father-in-law?"
"Next time you want to whisper, find somewhere private." Thomas said, ignoring his surprise and the questions that followed. "Leave my room."
Simon growled at him, expecting him to cower back in fright. But Thomas growled even more ferociously. Simon smiled. He turned and left.
Thomas waited for a few minutes after he had left and sat in his bed.
Calhoun was poisoned? Did Patricia do it? If so, was Simon a cohort? He needed to see for himself. That too when nobody was there.
Otherwise, if he was caught, he could also become a potential suspect and would be thrown back into the dungeon. He hated that place so much and he never wanted to return there. It was worse than the prison which the court had recently amended when it was worse.
He decided to stroll the corridors. He found Simon and George whispering in the corridor and he walked passed them without sparing them a glance.
"Who's that man?" Simon asked, diverting from their initial discussion.
George scratched the back of his head. "He's a man who found favor before the king. The father to the one woman who could by any chance become Calhoun's bride."
Simon scowled. So the man had not been playing when he said he was Calhoun's father-in-law? He hated that fact. Perhaps if Patricia had allowed herself to be groomed by the family, she could have also become the king's potential mate.
"Don't think too much about it, it's more than the regular mating of a thing," George explained. "She did something no one else could do."
Simon nodded. "I wonder where he's headed."
George shrugged. "Perhaps to see the king."
Simon nodded again. "See the king? No one is allowed to see the king! Hurry, we have to go."
"Allow him," George said. "There are some people we shouldn't hide such a thing from."
"He will eventually find out and who knows, a wolf as rogue as Thomas could have a shortcut to finding the antidote."
"Thomas has lived a reckless life before, so seeing illnesses that are rare should be inevitable for him."
"Except he is as stupid as someone once said. But I haven't seen any traces of stupidity in him, the man seems rather smart. Too smart even."
Simon scowled. "Still, let's walk in on him with the king. That way we can also gauge his reaction. Remember everyone is a suspect. Everyone who lives and resides in the castle."
George exhaled sharply. "Fine, let's go."
Thomas had walked passed them and he heard everything they said. He chuckled. He simply strolled passed the king's chamber and into the next room after it. It was a smaller room that he had never seen anyone go into, not even the king.
When he entered, the room was dark. The curtains were thick and covered the windows. The lights were off.
He found the switch and turned it on. What he saw was marveling. He couldn't believe his eyes. There were various kinds of paintings there. Staring closely at them, he recognized some of the things there.
They were things he had seen before, things that somehow brought memories of his past to him. He moved closer and grabbed one painting of a woman he could have never believed to see again; his late wife.
How could someone paint exactly what she looked like without meeting her? Except it was someone who knew her perfectly. Was it Diana? He had never seen Diana paint! But it could only be her. No one else.
Was Diana this gifted in painting? If she was, then why did she never say anything about it?
He picked the painting up and stared into the eyes of the woman who seemed to be smiling. All of a sudden, the eyes seemed to stop smiling at him and started to judge him.
Thomas knew it was his conscience pricking him for the ways he had mistreated Diana but he could never just forgive himself for it.
He softly kissed the painting and placed it back on the board. He found another one where it was the same woman with another man and Diana. He could already tell that the man was Diana's father.
He exhaled sharply. Staying in the room was bringing old and painful memories to him. He put everything back in place and turned the lights off. Just then, he heard George and Simon leave the king's chamber.
He came out of the room to see that they had left the corridor altogether. Smiling, he slipped into the king's chamber.
He went into the king's bedroom to find him truly asleep, looking all innocent and calm, almost as if he was harmless. How could this be possible?
He moved closer to the bed and knelt beside him. He placed his hand on Calhoun's arm, gripping it tightly.
"My king." He whispered. "It's me, Thomas." He said again.
"If this is a joke, please stop it. I don't think this kingdom can perform without you on the throne. You can just say something to me knowing you are still alive."
"Please don't die, I will bring Diana to you and how will you expect her to feel if she returns and finds you dead? Or half dead?"
"What if... What if she had truly borne your son?" He whispered.
There was silence and he sighed. Perhaps the poison worked too fast. It was uncommon for Calhoun not to detect the poison in his meal though, was he distracted? How could he have been distracted?
"I still can't understand what happened,"
Thomas said, getting up. Instantly, a hand reached out to grab his own and he turned to find Calhoun's arm on his own in a tight grip.
His lips were moving slightly but his voice was inaudible.
Thomas was staring as fear gripped his heart. What would happen if anyone walked in on them?
The door to the outer chamber flew open and Simon and George barged into the king's chamber.