Chapter 29

Remmy had heard the news of Elena being poisoned by a fellow witch of the creed, and couldn't have been more pleased by the outcome. She had taken a sample of the food being fed to the princess for testing and had already determined the sort of poison used.

The news had glossed over the embarrassment she was feeling after the king had humiliated her in his chambers. All she had to do in theory, was to wait for the king to toss her away once she was dead and useless.

Little did she know all of her plans were just wishful thinking.

"His majesty has summoned you to his throne room." One of his guards informed her, "I'm here to escort you." He went on to say, leaving as he spoke.

Remmy raised a brow at the sudden invite and kept her guard up, memories of his punishment were still fresh in her mind. She followed the guard cautiously till they reached his throne room, where he sat in wait with Lena standing beside him.

"All of you may leave us now." He ordered in an authoritative voice, sending everyone including Lena away, something he rarely did.

Without any form of hesitation they all complied and fled the room till it was only just the king and his potion mixer. Remmy felt both relieved and uneasy at the same time, his expression was too stoic to read.

"Your highness summoned me?" She asked, stating the obvious. "Yes, and I'm going to be frank, I want the cure for the princess's poison. And I want it today." He declared without seeking after her opinion.

"But Sire... the poison has already spread across her entire body...it would be impossible to give her an antidote when I'm unsure." She lied, faking an apologetic expression.

"The witch of Cadaver is cunning and used a poison I am unfamiliar with, I fear that if I administer a cure it would hurt the princess rather than heal her." Remmy went on to say, hoping to kill the king's hopes.

"So you are not only arrogant but useless as well?" He retorted with a frown on his face, Remmy's eyes widened in shock of his assessment of her.

"If you cannot even identity the type of poison, then I have no reason to keep you here anymore. I think it's better to replace you..." As he was speaking, Remmy immediately fell to her knees, and started to plead with Alixandre.

"It is my mistake! I was too ambitious and reckless! It is not that I do not know of the poison, but rather it would be impossible to heal her." She answered, bowing her head to him.

Alixandre could see for himself how greatly Remmy hated Elena, but did nothing about it, seeing how useful she was as a healer. However...

"You dared to lie to your king? How am I to punish you?" He threatened, curling his fingers into an angry fist, caging the urge to strangle her till she could no longer breathe.

Remmy kept her head lowered and her mouth shut, it was clear that she had screwed up. "I'll punish you later, for now I want the antidote for the poison." He demanded, tossing one leg over the other casually.

"It is true that I know the poison, but we do not have the materials needed to make the antidote here in Reeves." She told him, half lying.

The truth was, even though she had the materials she was not just not skilled enough to make the antidote.

"Where can we find the antidote then?" He asked, using the term 'we', something that surprised Remmy.

'Surely his Majesty does not intend to look for the antidote himself, but just Incase I should discourage him.' she resolved in her heart, then slowly raised her head.

"The ingredients can only be found in the place where the poison was made, and with all certainty Sire, I can tell you that it will be difficult." Remmy informed him, beating around the bush.

"Where?"

"Crimsoncreed." She replied, inwardly grinning from ear to ear, certain that with this information the king would most definitely not bother with the forsaken princess.

"There is an old potion brewer there who can make an antidote for just about anything, if anyone can heal her then it would be him." She explained, placing a damper on his enthusiasm.

"I see. You can leave now." He told her without giving her an idea of what he would do.

"Of course." She said and made for the door, brimming with confidence that in just some days the problem known as Elena would no longer serve as a hindrance to her.

'Farewell princess...I hope your soul burns in hell.' Remmy thought to herself as she pushed open the throne room door and let herself out quietly.

************

"Your Majesty! It's too reckless! I cannot allow you to make embark on this journey alone." Lena worriedly exclaimed, walking briskly behind Alixandre, whilst he busied himself selecting a horse.

He fixed his gaze on a majestic black horse and pulled his lips back into a satisfied grin. "What do you think of this one?" He asked, ignoring her concerns.

"Crimsoncreed is the country with the strongest opposition to his highness! Not forgetting they bare a grudge against you for abducting their son's chosen bride!" Lena explained, trying to pass her concern to him.

It came as a huge shock to her when Alixandre suddenly announced that he was making a trip with Elena to Crimsoncreed and would not be taking any escorts along.

"Are you insinuating that their king is more powerful than I am?" He rhetorically asked, running his fingers through the horse's mane. He gestured the stableman to get the horse ready for a long journey.

"I wish you would think about your safety and the future of Reeves before diving head first into enemy territory." Lena insisted, standing her ground.

"Do you reckon that I let the princess die from the poison? That I simply cannot allow." He took a pause and stared at her, drinking in her expression.

"I promise your majesty, that I shall escort the princess to Crimsoncreed myself and find this potion mixer. It would draw even less suspicion if..." Lena's words fell on deaf ears as the king selected his favorite saddle, with every intention to leave the Kingdom.

Defeated, she changed gears.

"Who is going to handle the country's affairs in your absence? Are you really going to abandon the country and chase after an antidote? Are you choosing a princess over the kingdom?" Though it was not her intention to guilt him, Lena ended up reminding him of his responsibility.

Alixandre lowered his face to meet hers and rested a hand on her shoulder, "without her, there is no future for Reeves. Now I don't want to say anymore on this matter, it's already been decided." His piercing gaze was proof enough that he was dead serious.

Lena sighed, thoroughly exhausted from having to worry over the king and her brother Lancelot. She cracked a small smile and relaxed her shoulders.

"Yes your majesty, I shall arrange all you need for the trip and escort you till you reach the border." She said, giving her own condition, he nodded positively then walked away towards the castle to oversee other preparations with Lena strictly at his side.

Their peaceful stroll was intercepted by Jareth, who by the looks of it had come baring bad news. He bowed respectfully to the king, without meeting his crimson red eyes.

"I can tell that something is bothering you, is it about the princess?" The king presumed, sounding neither worried nor uninterested.

"There is crisis Sire, we don't know for certain but it seems that the mistress has lost all her memory from when she was brought into Reeves." He said in a hush hush tone, avoiding allowing the news spread across the palace.

"What?" Lena pensively questioned seeking an explanation, "could it be because of the poison?" She retorted sharply, pinching her chin.

"We don't know what's causing it, but her condition is getting far worse, if nothing is done the mistress might not make it." He declared, alerting them of the seriousness of the situation.

"You say she doesn't remember anything about Reeves? Then tell me, what exactly did you tell her when she asked about her whereabouts? We don't have time to worry about her memory, not with the poison spreading so fast." Alixandre said, seeming far too calm in the situation.

A reminder of the fact that he cared little to nothing of the princess and merely intended to fulfil his own selfish agenda towards her.

"You see...the issue at hand is that we've told a rather convenient lie and we need his highness to play along." The latter part of the sentence was said in a whisper, one that Alixandre pretended not to catch.

"What exactly did you tell her?" Lena inquired stepping in front of Alixandre defensively with her arms spread out.

Jareth stared at the ground beneath him, cursing his brother for making him be the bearer of bad news.

"We had no choice but to play along, and convince her that this was Crimsoncreed and that his majesty was her husband, the crowned prince!" The butler announced in a panicked voice blurting out the lies they fed the princess.