In Jaden's office, with some of his trusted workers standing in front of his desk and with Zuri behind him, the prince sat on his chair with his fingers intertwined and under his jaw, holding his head up.
"I think something is brewing behind the scenes and I want to get to the bottom of it," Jaden said to the men present.
One of them nodded and spoke up, apparently, he was the leader of the unit and he was called Khad. He said, "My Prince, I heard word that these rogue vampires were infected by a disease…"
All the other men looked at him wondering where he must have heard such a piece of information from.
Jaden observed him and slowly got up from his chair. He had his suspicions and only wanted to clear or verify them and this worker was here speculating a rumor. However, Jaden knew that it would not hurt to know where this rumor had stemmed from. Good or bad pieces of information were valuable, Jaden knew that much.
"Where did you hear that from?" Jaden asked, standing directly in front of Khad now.
Zuri watched from where she was and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She wondered what the prince was going to do since she was beginning to study him and understand his body language. He wasn't so nice and was always strict and serious with people. The only time she'd seen him a bit loosened up was with her -- when they were alone.
"I heard it from one of Prince Kane's workers…" Khad replied sharply and nervously.
"Tell me all that you heard," Jaden said. "I am sure that it was not in bits and pieces like the way you are dishing it out."
Just then, the door to the office flew open as one of the guards ran into the room.
"Prince! There has been an attack!"
"Another attack?" Jaden replied with a frown on his face as he moved Khad out of his way.
"Yes!" the guard replied. "The king… His Majesty was attacked!"
Jaden grabbed the collar of the guard that had brought the news to him. "Where is he now?" he snarled into the guard's face. "Is he— Is he dead?" Jaden stuttered. The fear of the response he would get was clear on his face.
Trembling, and with an arm up to protect and hide his face from the prince's anger, the guard shook his head and replied, "H-He is in his ch-chambers. His Majesty is being attended to, my prince, b-but he is not awake."
A whimper escaped the mouth of the guard as he staggered backward after Jaden had roughly let go of his shirt. The prince stared in disbelief at what he had just heard. He looked from one point to the other as his mind tried to fathom what could have happened to his father.
The tension in the room was almost visible as the men there looked at one another, their eyes carrying shock and confusion at the same time.
This was unheard of and had never happened in history. An attack on the king? Unheard of! Where were the guards that were supposed to be around him? They all knew how powerful the monarch was so it was confusing that the assailants had almost succeeded in killing the vampire king.
A few moments passed and Jaden stormed out of the office after he had gathered his thoughts, even if only a little.
Both Zuri and all the men that were there ran after the prince but Zuri had such a fright and concern in her for Jaden. She wondered how it was one thing to the other in this kingdom. She had never experienced such an eventful place as Bellmare was nowhere like Transmere.
Zuri kept her eyes fixed on Jaden so that she would not lose sight of him. She followed after him very closely.
"Jaden!"
He had heard but didn't stop even at the sound of his sister's voice. He kept on walking with determination in his steps. His mind was full and his thoughts were cramped. Jaden thought about how the kingdom had become so porous to attackers and how the feral vampires' case could be linked to this unexpected attempt on his father's life.
Jessica watched as her brother walked on without stopping to answer her call. However, Zuri stopped in front of her and bowed her head in greeting.
"Thank you, " Jessica said, "But what is the matter with him? Do you know?"
Zuri stared with guided eyes at the pleasant princess. It seemed like she hadn't heard what had happened to the king. Zuri quickly thought of the best way to break the news to her but figured that there was no good way to tell someone that their father had been attacked and almost killed.
"It's the king," Zuri said in a low tone.
Jessica froze.
"Wh-What about my father?"
"He…"
"Yes?" Jessica asked as she grabbed Zuri by her forearm and shook her a little.
For the past hour, since she had woken up that day, Jessica had been having an unsettling feeling deep within her. She could only hope that nothing bad had happened to her father. Could that be why Jaden had been the way he was?
"What happened to him, Zuri?" Jessica asked again, her voice warped with dread.
"He was attacked… An attempt was made on his life. But..." Zuri said the last part of the statement in a high-pitched tone so that Jessica would not go into shock or something, "But… he is not um… dead. He is in his chambers… according to the guard that brought the message to Prince Jaden," Zuri explained.
Jessica didn't utter a word. Slowly and absentmindedly, she backed away from Zuri. After a few steps, she dashed down the hallway with vampiric speed, straight for her dear father's chambers.
Meanwhile, in Kane's quarters, one of the nobles that were among the people in charge of the matters in the royal court was seated, talking about what had just happened to the king.
"Have you gone to see him?"
"Is he dead?" Kane asked emotionlessly as he used a little dagger to pick at his teeth after feasting on a pound of human flesh that was just served to him.
"No," Sir Tyrian said. "He was close to it though. You should show your face there and look sad so that no one would suspect you, you know. Very soon, we will commence the discussion of who would rule in King Raymond's absence."
"You already know who that should be," Kane said matter-of-factly. "The crown prince is sickly and can hardly get out of his sickbed… and the other," he scowled, "that Jaden of a pest knows nothing about ruling a kingdom. He would be the next one out of the picture."
"I am on your side, you know that," Sir Tyrian muttered with a smirk on his face.
Kane nodded. "Of course you are."