The Crown's Obsession

The night was quiet in the town, and Theodore looked outside the window with his shirt unbuttoned and his finger holding a cigar between his fingers. It seemed like most of the townspeople had already returned to their houses, leaving the streets and the alleys deserted except for the homeless ones.

A pair of hands came to circle around his waist that belonged to the woman Lady Selena.

"What are you doing here, instead of lying in the bed with me?" she questioned, placing one side of her cheek against his back while continuing to hug him.

"I wanted to smoke," replied Theodore, stepping forward so that the woman would release her thin hands away from him. "This is the time I usually smoke and I was missing it."

When he turned around, the woman smiled, looking at him, "I thought you were a mere guard of Advisor Calhoun. I would have never pegged you like the rest of the vampires," she chuckled, bringing a cigar from the table before lighting it using Theodore's already lit cigar.

"What did you think?" questioned Theodore, his eyes calm like still water.

The woman chuckled, "I am not sure if I should say this, but then we have done the dirty deed. I guess it can stay as our little secret."

A smirk appeared on Theodore's lips, and he responded with, "I love secrets. It has a certain thrill in it, doesn't it?" Without pushing the woman, he waited for her to start speaking.

"You know how people don't look at Advisor Calhoun favourably. He is an illegitimate son, someone who clearly doesn't have the right to hold the status in the castle or in Devon. It makes me wonder why you still work for him," stated the woman in wonderment, her eyes meeting his gaze.

"We all work for our own benefits, don't we, Selena," he took a drag from the cigar before his lips allowed the smoke to be ejected straight into the air. "We all want to climb the status ladder. To improve our status or our wealth. Which one is yours?"

Selena wore only a black robe on her body, where she had not bothered to tie it, to entice Theodore back to her bed.

"Aren't you too eager to know about me?" asked Selena, a coy smile on her lips as she threw the cigar out of the window.

Theodore tapped the cigar and then said with a straight face, "What can I say, you must have bewitched me tonight. I just want to know more about you."

The woman chuckled, walking towards the bed. She laid down before tapping on the surface of the bed as if inviting Theodore to join her.

"The Queen pays a good wager because I do more than handle Devon's treasury records," proudly said Selena. When Theodore extinguished his cigar and came towards the bed, she said, "Just because I know your motive and how you are not actually too attached towards Calhoun, I suggest that it would be better for you to work for the Queen than for him, it will also increase your reputation."

"I will think about it," answered Theodore. "Why did you tell, that you work more than handling the treasury?"

The woman pulled him towards her, kissing him, and she said, "You seem to be asking a lot of questions."

"I would like to know who I am with if we are going to spend more time together," whispered Theodore, running his hand from her shoulder to caress her hand.

Theodore had not come here to warm the woman's bed, nor was he even remotely interested in this person. He had something to ask and speak to her, and for that, he had used the method which he was good at.

And it seemed to be more challenging than what he initially thought it to be. When he started to wear his clothes and his shoes, the woman spoke,

"Make sure you never let this information be known to others. The Queen has been trying to divert the funds to her own vault for a while now and I have been working on keeping quiet."

Theodore looked up at the woman who stood in front of him, and when he stood up from the bed, he laughed as if the matter was of no importance to him, "Does the Queen believe that one day she will be cut out from the family one day?"

The woman shook her head, "I don't think King Laurence would ever cut his mother out from the royal family. I mean he loves her dearly."

"Of course," Theodore nodded his head. "People are truly strange, aren't they?"

Selena then placed her hand on his arm and said, "Will you be coming tomorrow?"

"I would not miss it, but as you said, let's keep what you and I spoke as a secret. I don't think either Calhoun or the Queen would be happy that we have shared such information," said Theodore to have the woman nod and beam in a smile.

While Theodore was making his way to the castle, he made sure no one was following him this time, and he made use of the alleys before reaching the town where he had grown around. His feet made way to Madame Fraunces' house, which was now empty as a shell with no life in it.

Entering the house, he walked to the place where both he and Calhoun had seen her body on the ground. His eyes fell on the wooden floor that had patches of darkness on it.

After spending some more time, Theodore started to make his way out of the house when he caught sight of a person who served the Queen. The servant was sitting near the stairs and in front of a building, and on hearing someone's footsteps, the person woke up to only have his eyes widen.

"What are you doing here, Ulric?" asked Theodore.

"I-I was doing nothing at all," stuttered the man and Theodore looked at the door behind the man which led to the magistrate's office.

Theodore offered him a smile, "Waiting for the magistrate, is it?" and the servant gulped in fear.