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Eva didn’t sleep well. Saying that she hasn’t slept at all would probably be closer to the truth. The few precious minutes of sleep she got were filled with nightmares about daggers in the dark, arrows flying around, burying themselves deep into flesh, streams of blood filling the streets, fire consuming the city. She jerked awake from a nightmare of the night right into the nightmare of the day – cramps running all over right side of her body, muscles on her thigh as hard as stone. She bit her lip not to scream out at loud and suffered in silence until the sun popped up over the horizon and she could finally move a little. She spat out the blood on the floor, she must have bitten the lip too hard. The door opened, Eva didn’t even have to look to know it’s Garret, the only person who could enter her room at this hour and without knocking.

He gently grabbed her and carried her to the bathroom, where there was a full tub of hot water already waiting for her. A sigh of relief escaped her lips and she had to fight hard not to let any tears escape her eyes. Now that she could finally turn from a heap of flesh screaming for help into a normal person, she had time to think about previous day. To her regret, she wasn’t allowed to go back to interrogating the assassin. As soon as she told Superior Jennal the name that the woman screamed out, all investigations were halted temporarily, waiting for the king to decide on the next steps.

Fenros was to be arrested, that was without a shadow of doubt. Whether he would be handed over to the inquisition immediately, that was uncertain. He was an important person in the court, and the evidence against him wasn’t very solid. Eva didn’t know what the history between the king and the knight was, but the ruler must have had great trust in him to put the responsibility of guarding the princess’ life solely on his shoulders.

[i]‘A bodyguard of the queen’[/i], that was what the woman said. Eva thought about the queen for a moment, but if there was one thing to be known about her, it was the love for her children. While there could be some hidden tension between her and the king, it was unthinkable to even consider the possibility that she would want to harm prince Aaron. But what about the princess? The assassin said that the deaths of the king and the prince were certain, but not a word about princess Eleanor. Just that Fenros was the bodyguard of the queen.

Thoughts rolled slowly in her head, a new idea formed somewhere deep in her subconsciousness. Eva examined it carefully from each angle she could think of, poking and probing it, looking for mistakes and weak spots. It wasn’t until the water in the bath was almost cold when she summoned Garret to help her get dressed, her eyebrows drawn together, and her mind still lost in thoughts.

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She had to wait in the hallway for several minutes before being taken to the Superior’s office, gritting her teeth as she had to lean against the wall to take the weight off her leg. When she was finally allowed to enter, one or two drops of sweat had already formed on her forehead. 

[b]“Eva Gallard,”[/b] he looked at her from behind his desk, laying down a quill. [b]“I thought you will get some rest before we need your services again.”[/b]

Eva had to suppress a frown. [i]‘I’m busy, get out and wait till I call for you,’[/i] that was what he was really saying. He must have guessed what she was thinking about, because a wide smile appeared on his lips and he got up to greet her. With a sigh of relief, she lowered herself down onto a chair and accepted a glass with dark liquid he was offering her. [color=ed145b][b]“I do apologize for interrupting you, but there is one more thing I wanted to discuss with you. It might be nothing, but…”[/b][/color] She didn’t have to finish to get his full attention. While they didn’t particularly like each other on a personal level, the Superior had learned to trust her instincts and listen to what she had to say. She took a sip from the glass and nodded with an appreciative smile.

[b]“Yerusian mead. I got a few bottles left from last year’s harvest festival. I’m not really a wine person this early in the morning, but this thing puts you up on your feet,”[/b] he talked, letting her gather her thoughts.

Eva nodded, already feeling the warmth spreading inside her body. [b][color=ed145b]“There was something else the prisoner had told me yesterday. At first, I dismissed it as her mistake or inaccurate information, but…”[/color][/b]

[b]“But?”[/b]

[b][color=ed145b]“There might be something to it. When she said that Fenros was responsible for the sabotage, she also mentioned, that he was the bodyguard of the queen.”[/color][/b]

Jennal shook his head. [b]“The queen has her own bodyguards, Fenros was tasked only to protect princess Eleanor.”[/b]

[b][color=ed145b]“Yes. But the woman didn’t mention her at all. She said the king is as good as dead, alongside with ‘the unworthy prince’, which we assume to be prince Aaron. But nothing about princess Eleanor.”[/color][/b]

[b]“It might be because the princess is of little consequence,”[/b] Jennal replied, but then frowned. [b]“But if the king and the prince were dead…”[/b] he stopped, realizing where she was headed to.

Was she really going to say this out loud? If it turned out to be a lie, she would probably be considered a traitor to the crown herself. But then again, if it turned out to be truth, the consequences were huge. She took a deep breath. [b][color=ed145b]“In that case, Eleanor would inherit the crown,” she finished his thought. “She would be the queen and Fenros would truly be the queen’s bodyguard.”[/color][/b] There was a moment of silence when they both contemplated on the gravity of the situation they have found themselves in. [b][color=ed145b]“Now this is just a theory, based on a few words of a woman we know nothing about.”[/color][/b]

Jennal nodded. [b]“Indeed. But it is still a theory the king should be notified about. I will go and talk to him right away, we will leave it to him to decide what to do next. Meanwhile, you should get ready. There is a special guest in the dungeons that will be waiting for you.”[/b]

A corner of Eva’s mouth turned up in an evil grin. [b][color=ed145b]“The king handed him over to us?”[/color][/b]

[b]“Without a second of hesitation. But he will not be easy to break.”[/b]

[b][color=ed145b]“Oh, I’m counting on that.”[/color][/b] Her smile got wider as she limped towards the office doors.