The Crown's Obsession

In the small house, a man sat in front of the fireplace which was heading itself to extinguish, fighting against the cold night. It was nearly the time of dawn, but James had not slept for the entire night. Sitting in the scarce light in the hall of his house, he stared at the fireplace in thought until he heard his father coughing in his room.

Hearing the coughing that didn't stop, James quickly made his way to the room where his father was sleeping. His father's body had curled itself in bed.

"Father?" James called, before going to the nightstand at the bed. He poured a glass of water and then went to give it to his father whilst helping the older man with another hand of his so that his father would sit upright on the bed.

He noticed how his father's hand shook. For a moment, he thought it was because of the cold night, but it wasn't so. When James went to check the temperature of his father, the man was burning with temperature.

"You have a fever, father," said James.

"I am fine," his father waved his hand, but his hand shivered.

James had heard his father coughing earlier that day, but he had thought it was something that would pass. Hearing him cough again now, he helped his father to lay back in the bed,

"Let me go and bring the logs of wood in here. God!" he sighed, reprimanding himself for not giving more attention to his father earlier that day.

James left the room after he had put the blanket to cover his father's body so that no cold air would come to reach him and make it worse. Walking to the back of his house, James looked for the log of woods, but there was only one log left in there. It seemed like they were out of logs. The log of woods used indoors were different that didn't give out too much smoke, something that Mr. Harris was good at finding and selling it out to the villagers.

Taking the last log of wood back inside the house, he went to pick the other pieces of woods which were still there in the hall. It didn't matter if it was going to exhaust in the next half an hour, but it would at least keep his old man warm. Placing them in the fireplace of the room where his father slept, James waited on him. Making sure if his father needed something, he would be right here.

James sat on the wooden chair, his mouth opening for a yawn as he didn't get any sleep. When morning arrived, he checked on his father again before heading to the kitchen, preparing breakfast for both of them. After that, James made his way outside the house, wanting to see if Mr. Harris had opened his shop so that he could get some wood. If not there, he would have to go to the forest and cut them himself, before bringing them back to the house.

When he walked towards the shop which Mr. Harris had recently received, upon the word of the King, he noticed the shop was in a different shape than what it was before. It was in a bad condition with its walls torn down.

With hands in his pockets, James looked around before stepping closer to the shop.

"Good morning, Mr. Heathcliff," a man who was walking by, whom James recognized it to be Mr. Fisher, bowed at him.

James returned the bow, "Good morning to you Mr. Fisher. Do you know what happened to the shop?" he asked the man. With the wedding gown that had to be prepared and with his own marriage with Catherine which was approaching in less than ten days, he had been quite busy and hadn't been able to take a look at this side of the village.

When James had heard about the King's generous offer to the Harris' family, it only made him understand and realize how poor he was compared to the King of Devon. Since James had taken a liking towards Madeline Harris, he always wanted to help Mr. Harris, but that day never came. James was not even a fraction of what the King was. And it was something that made him stop worrying, about how things had rolled out since the last few weeks.

Mr. Fisher looked at the shop and gave out a tired sigh. The man's face carried a look of pity, "I heard the King ordered to take it down."

James frowned, hearing this, "Why would he do that? Was there any known reason for such an action?" If the King didn't have any intention for the Harris' family to own the shop, he should have never given it.

"Have you not heard about it?" asked Mr. Fisher to him.

"Heard what?"

Mr. Fisher looked back and forth, and then said, "There has been news that has been circulating here. It seems a few days ago, young Miss Harris tried to kill herself in the castle."

James' eyes narrowed now, "What?!" That wasn't possible. He had seen her only some days ago, and she was doing fine. It was when he had gone to the castle to check the measurements of the inner dress of her wedding gown.

Mr. Fisher nodded his head, "My wife heard it from a woman, who happened to hear it from the maid's family who works in the castle. The King must have hushed the news so that it doesn't reach the public."

"Strange rumours often spread out like wildfire. People add something or anything to it," replied James. He found it hard to believe that Madeline would take such a drastic step.

When he saw her in the castle, she looked fine. Madeline looked like she was eating and sleeping well. He knew the King was obsessively in love with her, and it was something he could understand. James had decided it was not right to have feelings on one girl while he was marrying another. Madeline was going to marry the King, and his marriage had been fixed with Lady Catherine. It was a forced and threatened marriage where he could not refuse, and the wedding cards had already been sent out.

"I know it is something harsh to hear, but we need to know that, that is how the vampires are. Disgusting creatures who suck blood and throw bodies," whispered Mr. Fisher so that anyone walking past them, who was eavesdropping at them would not hear it, "I have heard so many rumours about the King. The stories that the maids share with people are frightening! The blood, the gore, the bodies that are either dumped in the forest or thrown in the river, only be found after several days or weeks. Sometimes not even that. Poor girl. To be caught by the tyrant," he shook his head before saying, "Wait, you have met the King, how is he?"

James didn't know how to respond to this.

"He, uh, he looked just like a King would. He was here in the village too, you must have missed seeing him," answered James, his words coming out to be diplomatic, "Could you tell me the name of the maid? Where I could find her."

"I will ask my wife for the address, but I doubt the maid would reveal it. The rule in the castle is not to let a secret out. If the King found out that she spoke about what happened," Mr. Fisher stopped before continuing, "I doubt he would be happy. Well, anyways. It was good talking to you, Mr. Heathcliff."

"It's been a pleasure," answered James. He saw the man leave on his way to work who wore a hat and coat to take the local carriage that would travel to the nearby towns.

James didn't know what to think about Madeline killing herself. Was she only putting up a show in front of everyone that she was alright? There had been a few instances that he came to believe that she wanted to spend her life in the castle, that she had a change of heart. James didn't hold a grudge on her. Madeline Harris was the first person he had loved, and he would pray for her happiness if that is what she wanted. But if that was not the case, he would like to protect her.

He would wait for Mr. Fisher's wife to give out the information about the maid, so that he could go and speak. To clear things.

James only hoped that it wasn't true. That Madeline was not depressed in her life and she didn't attempt to kill herself. He also doubted that the Harris' family knew about it.

Leaving the place, he then made his way to the forest, carrying his axe. James finally returned with a couple of logs of woods back home, so that it could keep the house as well as his old father warm.

"How are you feeling now, father?" asked James after his father had woken up and had eaten his breakfast, "Would you want me to go get the doctor?" he placed his hand again on his father's forehead to check if it was still warm. The temperature had reduced, and James hoped his father would feel better.

"You worry for nothing, son. The windows were open, and I didn't close them soon. The cold air must have passed through it," replied his father, "Do not worry about me. I will be fine with some more sleep," assured the old man but James continued to stare at his father.

When his father was married to his mother, his mother suffered from continuous miscarriages, turning her body weak. It was only after years that James born to his parents. His mother had passed away, and the only person he had as a family was his father.

In the beginning, when James met Lady Catherine, he didn't know who she really was. That she was the daughter of the Duke. The Duke in their land was a well-known and a powerful man, but James had never bothered to know about it. He still couldn't believe that he was going to marry Lady Catherine but the worse was, Mr. Barnes was going to be his father-in-law. The man who threatened both him and his father.

At the time of evening, James was in the shop, when Mr. Fisher visited him, "Mr. Heathcliff. Here is the address."

James was more than happy to receive the information about the maid so quickly, and he bowed his head in gratitude, "Thank you, Mr. Fisher."

Mr. Fisher noticed how worried Mr. Heathcliff looked, when he heard the news. His eyes looked at the tailorman before nodding his head, "Be sure the word doesn't spread about it. I doubt the King would be pleased to know, that the rumour has spread about young Miss Harris," and the man left.

While James stood there with the note of address in his hand, one of his assistants named Emilio stood near the door, listening to their conversation.

James placed the note in his pocket. Turning around he pushed the door to the room where his assistants were working.

"Mr. Heathcliff," Emilio addressed James, "I was wondering if I could leave early from work today. I will be here soon tomorrow in the morning." James looked around the room at the dress that was being made, and he finally nodded.

"Make sure you are not late tomorrow. We need to deliver the dress soon," James gave a stern look, and Emilio nodded his head with a smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Heathcliff!"

Emilio packed his things and quickly went to get a ride from one of the many carriages that was stationed near the tower bell in the village, "Where do you want to go?" asked the carriage man.

"To the King's castle."