Princess Dominica
Once again they all met at an empty classroom before they all got ready for dinner. The other three, the really killers, all looked so relieved that it was almost obvious to her brother that they were the ones who committed the crime and not her. The only reason why her brother had no idea that she was lying to him was because there was no reason to doubt her… yet. As long as this problem died with Edward, there was no reason for the killer to be brought into question.
"So now that it's over we can just focus on our exams, finish and then graduate." Elswyth said with a smile.
"Yeah, but we would like to have a word with Derek if you don't mind." Dominic said as he locked eyes with Derek.
"About what?" Derek asked in confusion.
"Nothing serious, just something that could benefit all of us now that this is all over." Dominica said. After a moment of confusion, the other two left the room leaving just her, her brother and her probable betrothed.
"I would want you to marry my sister, or at least be engaged to her before we graduate." Dominic began.
"What?" Derek asked in surprise. "Why?"
"Trust me it is not because of any positive values you have, we just want someone of reasonable family power who can be understanding." She said.
"You mean… you want someone you can control; what for?"
"If my father dies today, I have no idea what would happen to my brother, I don't know the law about succession; father wouldn't let me any where near the book and it sure as hell isn't in the Tower. Thus I have to find an alternative way to protecting my brother. For all I know, my uncle could be king after my father dies and it is no secret how much hatred my uncle has for my brother."
Derek looked at her for a moment before he looked at her brother. "So you are willing to hand your sister over to some stranger just so you could live a life of luxury?"
"First of all Derek, I am not a piece of property that can be handed over anyone. And secondly, I think you are overvaluing yourself in this situation." She said as she walked towards him with her eyes telling him exactly what she could do next if he didn't cooperate.
Derek gulped at her words before he turned to look at her brother again and then back at her. "What do I get out of this deal?"
"You get to be King, isn't that like a dream come true for every guy in Syera?" Dominic asked before he looked at her and then Derek, he was beginning to suspect something, but for now he could find nothing.
She very well knew how angry her brother was going to be the moment he found out that she had been lying to him all this while, he wouldn't hate her of course but they would have a disagreement, something they had never had in their entire life together. The only thing she used in consoling herself was that everything she was doing was to protect her brother.
She knew her father really well, the King would have grabbed this opportunity to out the blame on her brother and finally have a reason strong enough to kill his own son. Bullying, torturing and abusing him was one thing but to kill; he needed a really good story to sell lest he be known as a kin killer. Sure he had attempted to do that many times over the years but all had been through proxy, for him to do it himself was a whole different ball game.
"Okay fine, I will do it. I just have to get approval from my parents and this will all be sorted out by week's end when we graduate." Derek said.
"I am so glad you are so willing to help us out here, thank you." She said as she walked back to her brother and allowed Derek to leave the room. Now everything was going to be alright.
"It's over brother." She whispered as they met up in the hallway after leaving their rooms all showered and heading to the dining hall for lunch.
"Yes it is." He replied with a smile.
Moments later she and her brother arrived at the dining hall and took their respective seats to be served dinner. As the food arrived, she began to eat as a princess does while her brother tried his best to eat like a prince but as everyone was already looking at him in disdain, it didn't really matter how good he ate, but he tried anyway. All through the dinner all that the students could talk about was the dead Edward like he had been some model citizen, the prick had bullied over half of the student population in the school when he had been alive but now that he was dead he had suddenly became the pinnacle of a modern man. It was depressing to listen to.
Trying her best to ignore their mindless chatter, she kept eating however once she was half way through her meal, a letter landed on her lap from literally no where, which meant that she had been giving a message though magic. Releasing a sigh, she opened it and at first it was blank but then suddenly words began to appear on it.
"I KNOW WHAT YOU DID.
FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTIONS AND THE TRUTH WILL DIE WITH THE SIX OF US.
Yours truly
Lady Clarence."
Now what the fuck was this about?
****************
Biting her fingernails Dominica walked from one end of the classroom wall to the other thinking about the letter she had received in the dining hall. She didn't know what to make of the letter it was quite mysterious, it seemed to suggest that someone else had seen what had happened the night that Edward had gone missing; someone else knew that the five of them had done it and she had no idea what to do about it. Taking this letter seriously was in mind but then what if the person was bluffing, she had no idea of knowing. She had to talk about this with her friends well more like her brother and the others who had done the deed so that they could come to a decision of whether to take this Lady Clarence seriously or to ignore the letter and let her do her worst.
While she paced the ends of the classroom Dominic walked in with his face a bit concerned as he noticed her panicked look. He took a seat and relaxed into it to observe her pacing as the others worked in.
"What's wrong Dominica?" Dominic asked as he observed her patiently.
Elswyth cautiously approached her as she dropped her bag on a table. They all looked worried for as, as if they were expecting her to breakdown and begin to scream bloody murder. The worried looks on Curtis and Derek were even more pronounced than the one Dominic gave her and it was obvious why.
"Did you hear something alarming today?" Elswyth asked as she placed a hand on her shoulder.
Locking eyes with Dominic, she could see the way she looked at her friends with suspicion all over his face. Sure it was okay for them to worry about her but the way they were worried about her made him suspect there was more to it than the surface suggested. Dominica had to avert her eyes from her brother's piercing gaze to look at the floor and then at her new friends before setting them back on him. His eyes never left hers nor did his facial expression break not until she said the words that had made her panic since lunch.
"Someone knows that we did and they plan to blackmail us for the foreseeable future." She said, showing then the letter.
In a second, Dominic went from suspicious to worried and then battle ready the moment he read the content of the letter. "They could be bluffing, we should ignore them." He said
"What if they are not bluffing, do we want to risk the truth coming out?" Curtis asked. "After everything we did to ensure Edward's death looked like suicide and a very long night of panic until the rain fell and washed our foot prints away; do we want to test them and undo all our work?" Curtis asked in disbelief.
"We cannot let them control us like this. If this Lady Clarence knew something, don't you think she would have told Lady Amanda?" Dominic asked. "The fact that she hasn't means either of two things. It means she doesn't know shit, or she does know something but wants to torture us. Either way, we will not play her game."
"Then I thank the Divine that this is not a decision that only you have to make." Derek said quietly.
Dominica had to close her eyes as Derek said that because if Dominic wasn't suspicious before well now he was. Surely he must be asking himself why they would be this worried about keeping her secret when they were just witnesses. Dominic suspected there was more to the story she had told him thanks to the eyes he had placed on hers, but he didn't want to have a fight with her in the presence of the others, that had been his principle for a very long time. If they were going to fight they better do it in private he didn't want anyone to think that the Royal twins who were tight as ever were having a problem.
Before they could further discuss the next plan the letter which had been returned to her began go hot and the words disappeared from them until it was blank once more. Worried about the turn of event, she looked up to tell the others what had just happened, however before she could say anything, words began to bleed onto the paper once more.
"DOMINICA,
MAKE OUT WITH YOUR BROTHER AS INTENSELY AS LOVERS DO IN THE MESS HALL WHERE EVERYONE WILL SEE.
DO IT DURING DINNER TOMORROW OR THE KNIFE THAT ELSWYTH HAS WILL BE EXPOSED FOR LADY AMANDA TO FIND AND CONNECT THE DOTS.
YOURS TRULY,
LADY CLARENCE."
With shaking hands she began to hand out the letter once more for the others to read. She had no idea what to think of Lady Clarence, she was either a pervert or a sadist who wanted to torture her, because if she did this and everyone saw this, she was going to be branded with all kinds of names that would drop her political power from 100 to a 0. No one ever looked at a person practicing incest with anything other than disgust. Her father would hear about this and hate her while her mother would be embarrassed for her, people that she thought were on her side would begin to a hate her with everything they had, hell she could be hated even more than they hated Dominic.
As each and every one of them read the letter, they all looked at her concerned. If she did this her reputation would be gone; she would no longer be seen as a powerful princess instead she will be seen as some perverted princess. Dominic kept shaking his head, he didn't want her to do this neither did her friends but the second paragraph in that letter didn't just allude to the fact that perhaps Lady Clarence knew something. The second part of the letter said without an iota of doubt that Lady Clarence knew what they had done and was going to blackmail them and punish them if they didn't do her bidding. She didn't want them to hang for their crimes she wanted them to suffer for their crimes.
Well, they were well and truly fucked.