**3rd Person POV**
Jude had thought that Ashton could not be serious. It was not possible for him to send him on such an impossible errand. He had been somewhat relieved when upon reaching the palace, they had realised that the king was dead. Jude was thus convinced that Ashton's focus would be on burying his father and not on trying to kill his former servant. Jude could not understand why Ashton was so intent on ending Rosaline’s life but it was not in his place to ask. He received orders and followed them.
When Jude saw Ashton hours later, Jude knew he was in trouble. The vampire prince looked at him curiously and asked, “I believe you are meant to be retrieving the yolk of a dragon's egg?”
Jude's eyes widened.
“I assumed you would need…”
“You do not assume anything, you just do what I tell you to do, do you understand?” quipped Ashton. He was not in a killing mood if not that would have been the end of Jude's life. Jude knew this too and he did not have to be told twice before he fled the palace.
As he left the palace, Jude thought about running away. He wondered what would happen to him if he were to just run away and never come back. But even before the thought could settle in his mind, he realised that he had sworn a blood oath with Ashton that bound him to do whatever he was told to do. If he were to run away, he would meet a painful death. Jude wondered if it would be more painful than the death he would meet when the dragon mother tore his body into pieces.
****
His father's death was not exactly a blessing. It had come at the wrong time and it had only compounded his problems. He needed to visit Mount Shasta himself as there was no one else who could go on his behalf. Besides, he could not trust anyone with such a task.
“Your father's death saddens us all,” commented Lord Alderman. Ashton wanted to yawn his boredom. He had better things to do with his time but he had to get this over with.
“This ugly business of poison is very disturbing,” said Lord Augustine.
Ashton had only entertained this meeting for one purpose; to put an end to the rumours that his father had been murdered.
“Father was sick for a long time,” said Prince Ashton trying to make the ministers understand that poison was not the only possible cause of death.
“There were traces of silver in his vomit just before he died,” said Lord Alderman, not buying the sick plot.
“I assure you that the preparator would be found and brought to justice. In fact, I have a suspect in mind,” said Ashton.
“A suspect?” The tone of Lord Augustine itself was suspicious of Prince Ashton. It was common knowledge that Ashton had been pushing for certain things that his father stood against. So his father's death at this time seemed only too convenient.
“My former servant, Rosaline,” he allowed this information to sit with them for a while before continuing by saying, “She ran off after trying to end my life. She is currently residing on werewolf soil, the Shadowclaw pack to be precise.”
“I understand the motive of the werewolves in killing you but Rosaline? We know her to be a loyal servant. What does she stand to gain?” quipped Lord Alderman. Ashton wanted to claw the man; he knew that once he became king he was going to take away the political power they held. He was going to target Lord Alderman and Lord Augustine in particular and ensure their execution.
“I do not believe her motive to be relevant; she must face the consequences of her actions at once so as not to encourage such acts from other servants,” asserted Ashton.
“It is important that she be brought here and questioned. We must know why she did it,” said Lord Augustine. Ashton knew that if the man had his way he would never become king. Unfortunately, he was the only heir available (he had made sure of this a long time ago) and unless they could prove inconclusively that he had killed his father, they could not do anything to put him out of power.
“Does everyone agree with this?” Ashton asked.
No one said a thing. They all knew Ashton very well and they knew that once he was in power every single person that had gone against him would be executed.
“Since no one has any objections I would proceed to ensure the timely execution of Rosaline,” Prince Ashton said, daring anyone to object to what he had said.
“If we can determine her guilt of course,” said Lord Augustine.
“There will be no need to do so, her trying to kill me is…”
“An attempt to kill a prince and a king are two different issues. We will treat them separately,” replied Lord Alderman.
“The person who poisoned the king would have to be someone who was not present in the few days before his demise. I am relieved that our amiable prince is exempted on these grounds,” Lady Tasha said. Ashton smiled. He knew that Lady Tasha would always have his back no matter what. They shared a special type of relationship.
“That would exempt Rosaline whom he believes is guilty,” Lord Augustine looked at Ashton for an explanation.
“My guess is that she has an accomplice,” replied Ashton. He hated being cornered like this.
“Then I believe we need her alive so she can tell us who she is working with. We wouldn't want more deaths now, would we?” quipped Lord Alderman. Ashton could see what the old man was trying to do but he had not come this far because he did not know how to play the long game.
“I have the culprit already; I have him locked up.”