He had just finished tidying up for the day when a flurry of footsteps outside of his door grabbed his attention. Within moments, his mother intruded without his consent and made her way towards him. To come to his room so late at night when she usually treating him like nothing more than a fart really left him not only speechless but also wary. It was a well known fact that his mother and her family were schemers through and through.
However, when faced with her face full of worry and tenderness, he found himself too baffled to turn her away.
"I'm alright, mother. You know I can't stand stuffy atmospheres." Although he spoke with care, his stiff body language told a different story as he distanced himself from her cool hands.
"If that is all, you should return to your room. We have a long day tomorrow with the hunt and everything." Conflicted by an overwhelming wave of bittersweet emotions, Sasha decided to turn in for the night, feeling exhausted from her unexplained actions. His mother was a clever woman, it didn't take her much to realize her visit was an unwelcome surprise. The moment she left, Sasha breathed in a sigh of relief and went to bed.
~~~
The following morning, Sasha awoke to find Alys preparing everything he needed for the day like usual. When she noticed he had awakened, she greeted him with a bright smile, the events from the night before conveniently stored away in the deepest recesses of her mind.
"Good morning, Your Highness. Have you slept well? I've prepared your medicine." As she spoke she brought over the usual concoction, mixed in the sweetest of juices to conceal the bitterness of the herbs.
He downed it in one go without a thought, oblivious to a certain mistress' alteration, and went about his morning routine with Alys caring for his every need. The vivid blue shade of his riding wear contrasted on his fair skin as he finished signing a few documents concerning the famine in the countryside just to get them out of the way. It wasn't as if his father wouldn't review them later on anyway. After completing as much of the pile of paperwork as he could, he head down to breakfast, bumping into his older brother along the way.
A bright shade of red tinted his ears as he experienced a wave of embarrassment for looking a fool before him. He hadn't expected the italian Queen to just out him like that after their talk. He coughed away the awkward atmosphere that threatened to form and nodded his head in understanding to Damien, too embarrassed to meet his warm gaze.
"Thanks for the support, I'll see you later."
With Damien gone, Sasha continued to head towards the kitchen once more, only to be obstructed by one of his father's servants after taking only a step. Although he was a little annoyed by the constant stops, it wasn't as if he could simply chase the man away. He was a well respected servant who his father trusted with his every word for one reason and one reason alone; the man was mute and illiterate, leaving him unable to communicate with anyone unable to decipher the hand signs the king had personally made up and taught him.
As the crown prince, Sasha naturally was taught a few signs and knew just enough to understand the most basic of phrases. However, that knowledge wasn't necessary to find out something was wrong. The man looked haggard and afraid as if he had not slept the night before. Knowing how well this man was cared for, Sasha immediately tensed up and questioned him.
"Is something the matter?" The man was clearly flustered as he rushed his signing so quickly, Sasha couldn't quite keep up with his current understanding of the signs.
"Sleep? The king is sleeping?" As he tried figuring out what the man was signing, Alys felt her blood run cold as she also picked up on some of the signs. Having been by the prince's side for so long, she naturally picked up on some of what he learned as well.
"Poison?" She questioned with but a whisper, as if she was afraid to be heard by a third party.
Putting two and two together, Sasha also found himself falling into a daze.
'Someone dared to poison the king?!' More shocked than distraught, the French prince called for Alys to take care of the man as he slowly continued on to breakfast. By the time he arrived, he fully digested the information and planned on asking his mother about it later on. It didn't take much to see who was behind it. One had to simply look at who would benefit the most from such an act. Most people would point their fingers at him as he was next in line for the throne, however Sasha knew more than anyone else that he'd never try such a thing. If he truly wished to gain the throne, he would end his father's life permanently.
Now that he was before others, he put on a polite smile and took his seat beside the French Queen. Before he could even greet her, a certain man made his presence known. His uncle had made an unexpected appearance. For a moment, he found that the siblings truly took after one another.
"Welcome, Uncle. Glad you could find time to join us." His words were polite as he greeted Ruslan, who he never truly got along with, yet his tone did nothing to mask his "excitement". It was as dry as Alys' personal cooking, a meal he would hopefully never have the honour of trying again. After the greeting, he turned his attention away from his uncle to look over the guests instead, unconsciously searching for a certain brunette.
Alys took the man out of the castle through one of the many secret exits and signed for him to leave after handing him enough gold to live off of for decades. It was no longer safe for him here with the Queen in charge. She gagged as thoughts she thought she repressed sprang up once more. After making sure the man was safe, she returned to Sasha's side and took her place behind him as if she was there the whole time.
She tried to focus on her task of pouring his drink for him when it emptied but couldn't help but make eye contact with Damien who seemed to be sitting there so casually, it would be hard to charge him with the crime she believed he commited. Her eyes filled with disgust for but a moment before she regained her composure and turned back to her task and tried to forget all she saw. After filling Sasha's glass for the third time, she once again glanced over at the guests and was shocked to have found the Queen's brother among the guests. A sense of dread washed over her. That man showing up out of nowhere was never good news.
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