Chapter 11 A NAME IN THE DARK
One night, Adrian couldn’t sleep.
He put on his cloak and stepped quietly into the corridor.
The palace was silent except for the soft hiss of the torches and the whisper of the wind.
Something drew him toward the west courtyard, the place where the king had been found.
He didn’t know why.
He just needed answers.
The courtyard was empty except for the bloodstains near the fountain.
He knelt, running his fingers over the dry marks.
Then he heard a whisper behind him.
He turned sharply but saw no one.
“Who’s there?” he called.
There was no answer.
His heart thudded as he scanned the shadows.
Then a voice spoke from the darkness running towards him.
“Please save me, my prince.”
Adrian froze.
Lena ran forward, looking pale and shaking.
“Lena?” he breathed.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked.
Lena looked around nervously. “I… I have to tell you something, my prince.”
“What is it?”
She swallowed hard. “The person who tried to kill Prince Eric… wasn't supposed to kill the King. They were supposed to take Prince Eric out for you.”
“For Me?” Adrian whispered, stunned.
Lena nodded, tears gathering in her eyes.
“Yes, but it went wrong." she continued.
“What are you talking about?” he asked cionfused. "They gave him something, a perfume".
A sharp whistling cut through the air and an arrow struck Lena in the back.
“Lena, Lena! Who?” Adrian cried, catching her as she collapsed.
Her trembling lips tried to form words but only one broken whisper escaped:
“Its…. the…. Prin……c”
Then her eyes went still.
Adrian looked up in horror toward the dark balcony above.
And for the briefest moment stood the silhouette of someone watching him.
“Who’s there?”
Adrian’s voice broke through the dead silence of the courtyard.
“Help! Someone help!”
His cry echoed off the stone walls.
The moon hung overhead like a pale witness while Lena’s limp body rested in his arms, her blood warm against his cloak.
He tried to shake her, call her name again, but her eyes didn’t open. Her last whisper replayed in his head.
“it’s… Prin…”
Prince?
Princess?
Who?
His heart pounded hard enough to hurt.
Footsteps rushed from the far end of the courtyard.
“My prince?” a guard called as he approached with a torch.
The man froze at the sight before him. “By the spirits what happened?”
“An arrow,” Adrian said, forcing the words out.
“Someone shot her. She tried to warn me. Help me get her inside.”
The guard nodded quickly, shouting for assistance.
Within minutes, two more guards arrived, and they lifted Lena’s small frame from Adrian’s arms, carrying her toward the healer’s wing.
Adrian followed, trembling and his thoughts tangling and heavy.
Someone inside the palace had killed this girl.
Someone who knew his movements.
Someone who knew she was about to speak.
He walked in a daze behind the guards, down the corridors lit with cold lantern light. Lena’s pale arm swung loosely at her side. A piece of her apron hung torn and stained with blood.
Adrian looked around, half expecting the cloaked figure he saw earlier to appear again. But every hallway was empty.
When they reached the healer’s chambers, the royal physician appeared, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
“What is this?” he asked sharply. “Another attack?”
“She was shot,” Adrian said. “In the courtyard.”
The physician examined her quickly, then stepped back and shook his head. “She’s gone.”
Adrian already knew, but hearing it said aloud squeezed his chest painfully.
“Prepare her body,” he said quietly. “She deserves respect.”
The physician bowed. “Of course, my prince.”
Adrian swallowed and stepped out of the room, leaning against the cold wall. His breath escaped in uneven waves.
Lena had come to warn him, and now she was dead. If he hadn’t gone out there, maybe she would still be alive.
He stopped himself for the guilt was a weight he couldn’t shoulder yet.
A guard approached him cautiously.
“We’ll investigate the courtyard, my prince. The arrow, the location and everything else.”
Adrian nodded. “Make sure no one hears of this tonight. Not the court, the nobles or even the servants. Whoever did this might still be inside the palace.”
“Yes, my prince.”
Morning came gray and heavy, as though the sky itself disapproved of what had happened during the night.
The council chamber filled with tense faces and murmurs.
The Queen sat pale and silent, her hands clutching her handkerchief. The chief adviser stood at the center table with a stack of scrolls before him.
Adrian stood straight, though he hadn’t slept. His eyes were shadowed, and his jaw tight. He could still smell the scent of Lena’s blood on his sleeves.
“Prince Adrian,” the chief advisor said, turning to him, “the guards reported you found a maid’s body last night. Explain exactly what happened.”
The room went silent.
Adrian took a steadying breath. “I went to the west courtyard because I needed time to think. I saw blood on the floor, and then I heard something and I looked. It was Lena, the queen’s maid.”
Queen Elizabeth gasped softly.
“She told me someone in the palace planned to kill Prince Eric. And that they tried to kill him… for…...”
Adrain couldn't bring himself to say it.
“For who, Prince Adrain?” the chief adviser asked curiously.
Adrian continued, voice steady, ignoring the question. “She said the attack was meant to kill Eric, not Father. But it went wrong.”
“And then?” the chief advisor asked.
“She tried to tell me who was behind it,” Adrian said. “But before she could finish, she was shot with an arrow from the balcony.”
Whispers filled the chamber like a rising wave.
The adviser raised his hand for silence. “Are you telling us the killer is inside the palace?”
“I think so,” Adrian answered. “And I think it's someone powerful enough to silence anyone who knows the truth.”
Queen Elizabeth pressed a trembling hand to her mouth.
“This is madness. Who would dare?” One of the ministers asked.
“A conspirator,” the chief advisor said grimly. “Possibly more than one.”
The Queen turned to Adrian. “Did she say who it was?”
“She tried,” he replied quietly. “Her last words were blur and were ‘It’s… Prin…’ and then she died.”
“Princess?” someone among the council members whispered.
“Prince?” another muttered. “Principal guard?”
The Hall was filled with confusion and curiousity.
The chief advisor shook his head. “We cannot jump to conclusions.”
But Adrian felt eyes turning toward him though not directly. No one dared accuse the prince but suspicion began to shift around the room, moving like smoke.
The chief advisor cleared his throat. “Prince Adrian, we will increase your guards. Until we know more, your safety must be prioritized.”
Adrian nodded but kept his thoughts to himself.
More guards meant more eyes, more ears and more ways for the wrong people to watch him.