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1st December 1982 – Wednesday.
“Her Highness, Second Princess Daniella Slytherin has been born,” Evern proclaimed, as he entered department of Imperial Household. Maids and Eunuchs present bowed, as per protocol before they went on their way, discussing the recent news among themselves. Elson, who was observing them from the doors to his office, narrowed his eyes.
They were expecting Concubine Rakepick to give birth soon but said Concubine never made it a secret that she wanted a son instead of daughter – an heir to the throne, which Elson always found laughable - but right now it meant that said newborn was in danger. And, it seems, not just he thought this way as Evern went straight to him and, after sharing a glance, both of them went in his office, which was immediately cut off from the rest of the Palace by a muffling charm.
“What are your impressions, Eunuch Evern?” Elson asked, crossing his arms and staring at his colleague steadily.
“Concubine wasn’t happy at all.” Evern sneered in disgust, sitting down in one of the visitors’ chairs. “She raged during the naming and hadn’t even given the middle name as tradition dictates. She was left in the Palace of Great Brilliance, despite this.”
Elson sighed, wearily, leaning back on his desk.
“Do you think she’s an active risk?” He inquired lowly, almost dreading the answer he would probably get.
“Yes.” Evern confirmed his worst fears, leaning back and crossing his legs. “I asked His Majesty for separation but His Majesty would hear none of it.”
Elson breathed deeply, trying to relax.
“Of course he wouldn’t, not after his second child was born.” He muttered quietly. “Do you have anyone trustworthy in Concubine’s Palace?”
“I have but I think Concubine knows of them since she requested to change the Palace maids.” Evern remarked. “And our reputation among the Knights isn’t that great right now.”
Of course, the knights. Elson sometimes wondered how some of them ended up in service of His Majesty considering how brain-dead they were – Eunuch status for them was the lowest of the low and they disrespected him continuously at every turn. It didn’t end up well for any of them as some left to serve in the North (as in North Pole north) regions of the Empire but the trend to this behavior was still persisting and not even among the Knights but among the Concubines too. Consort Evangeline was among the worst offenders but currently – with her giving birth to First Princess, - he couldn’t do anything to her without offending His Majesty in turn. Even still, the Court currently was still a stabilizing mess – with twelve concubines and only two Royal Children – none of which were boys, - the Slytherin dynasty was still at the risk of falling apart, barely a decade after its establishment.
“Try to find anyone remotely reliable and place them on observation duty. We need everyone on Concubine Rakepick and Princess Daniella. We’ll revisit this in a month if there’s no accident.” Elson finally ordered, looking at Evern meaningfully who bowed his head in turn.
“As you wish, Head Eunuch.”
27th January 1983 – Thursday.
Month came and went for the Harem and two Royal Children. After the first month with no “accidents” happening Elson reluctantly released some of the watch squad he placed on Concubine Rakepick beyond the normal neglect (as the child still didn’t have middle name and was majorly cared for by the maids) and the only time Head Eunuch saw the newborn himself was during His Majesty’s birthday celebration – Princess Daniella was quite a beauty with her ginger hair and blue eyes and she was almost as pale as His Majesty was. She was quite a curious one observing the ball from her Mother’s lap even if Concubine Patricia was rigid and her face lost a lot of exaltation she had during her pregnancy. Comparing to her Consort Evangeline looked downright happy, smiling brightly with First Princess Evana sleeping in her arms.
By now Elson considered that maybe he was being hasty to judge Concubine Rakepick but her behavior still rang many bells within his mind and he didn’t want to consider what harm can infanticide cause especially at this stage.
“HEAD EUNUCH! HEAD EUNUCH!” Someone hollered from beyond the doors and feeling the dread settling in his bones he hastily rose and ran to his doors, opening them to see one of the Knights running up to him. “It’s Second Princess, please, hurry!”
Elson almost swore, as he ran right after the Knight and to the Palace of Great Brilliance. He didn’t even notice anything around him, running as fast as he could, entering the Palace not even twenty minutes later (considering he was almost forty minutes away). Knight lead him right to the child’s room and as he entered, he already knew what he will see. The Healer was already leaning over the crib and Concubine herself was sitting in the corner, her face in his hands (Elson didn’t believe this one bit), before he neared the crib himself.
“Healer, what happened?” He asked, looking at the child and observing the greenish bruises all over small body – she was dead for a while then, he concluded. He closed his eyes, trying to erase the image of the small body from his mind but he didn’t think he would be free of it for a while.
“She was suffocated three hours ago.” Healer said, giving him the scroll with the results of the diagnostic charms. “The well-being charm has been broken just before it but the magical signature has been erased.”
Elson swore inwardly before looking towards the Knight who stood at the doors.
“Knight! Call for lockdown of the Court, alert His Majesty and detain everyone who left the court within past three hours!” He ordered firmly, before looking back at the scroll in his hands. He sneered, feeling utterly disgusted, before he walked up to the window, opened it up and lifted his wand up to the sky.
“Morsmorde!” He hissed, feeling the spell as it left as bright green spark, creating an enormous Dark Mark right over the Palace. This will alert every single Knight in the Court.
“What do you mean, Head Eunuch?” finally uttered Concubine Rakepick, lifting her head barely as she looked right at him.
“What I mean, Concubine, is that everyone in this Court is a suspect of murder. Including you, Concubine.” He snapped, watching as the window was blasted open and His Majesty arrived with a burst of black smoke, his face utterly thunderous.
“What happened here?!” He hissed, striding up to the crib and seeing what was in it, turned to Concubine. “What is the meaning of thissss?” He hissed louder still, his Magic going utterly haywire, crushing every single furniture within the room and Elson dropped on his knee, bracing himself against the magic blast.
“Princess Daniella was murdered, Your Majesty,” Healer spoke quickly, knowing their window for talking was narrow. “Suffocated, three hours ago.”
“THREE HOURS AGO?” His voice, despite being abnormally quite rang through Elson’s ears like a storm, the wave just this close before decimating the earth and everything else. “WHERE WERE YOU PATRICIA?”
Concubine Rakepick was breathing heavily against the wall, nearly insensate with panic before she slumped to the floor, unconscious.
His Majesty still enraged, crushed the vanity and the divan with his magic before looking at Head Eunuch.
“Investigate this, Head Eunuch. I will have results in twenty four hours.” He hissed. “Or else.”
“Or course, Your Majesty.” He said quickly. His Majesty turned to the crib once again, reaching into it with his hand before withdrawing it with a sigh. He left just as quickly as he arrived, leaving in the cloud of black smoke, but what Elson noticed is how sad His Majesty’s eyes looked.
He stood back up slowly, watching as the Knights – not just any but from the Elite, - arrived, entering the room slowly as they felt the cloud of malice, pressing everyone down.
“What’s your orders, Head Eunuch?” One of them asked, not bothering with protocol.
“Lock every single Palace, drag every single staff within this Palace to the Bureau of Punishment and lock Concubine Rakepick in her room. We have twenty four hours before His Majesty will start cutting off heads and we need to investigate this as quickly as we can.” Elson ordered, not taking his eyes off Patricia. Investigate the activities of everyone within four hours prior to this moment, you can send everyone you deem suspicious right to the Bureau. Send an expert to check the entire magical residue within the room. I will conduct interrogations.”
“As you will, Head Eunuch.”
Two of the Knights stayed in the room, guarding it, while one levitated Concubine Rakepick out, who Elson still stared at suspiciously.
He breathed out, trying to calm his nerves, and left the Palace – he had job to do. Immediately during the first hour of the discovery, all of the concubines were interrogated about their whereabouts and so far the only ones unaccounted for were Attendant Maya and Concubine Rakepick. Others were either seen during the entire time by maids and eunuchs or their presence within their Palaces were confirmed by Knights at the gates. Suspiciously, the Palace of Great Brilliance went almost mute – both Knights left the post (and the living – by His Majesty); maids who were tasked with watching the Princess weren’t found at all – as if they disappeared with no trace. They were found three hours later in the lake on the Court’s territory – death by drowning. But within those three and a half (as Healer put their death half an hour before the Princess’) hours no other maid checked on the child? No one cared how there’re no Knights at the Guarding stations?
From the timetable Elson has gotten after almost eight hours of investigation, he had this:
9.00 AM – all of the Concubines were present during morning meeting, nothing of importance was discussed.
10.30 AM – meeting was over, Consort Evangeline left with Noble Bellatrix, Noble Regulus, Attendant Carrow for tea (all accounted for until 12.40 PM), Noble Emma left for her Palace and didn’t leave it afterwards, Concubine Rakepick left for her Palace and arrived there at 11.10 AM, Attendant Maya left for her Palace as well, according to the Knights she left it at 12.33 PM – no one saw her after.
13.30 PM – Consort Evangeline, Noble Bellatrix, Noble Regulus and Attendant Carrow arrived back at their Palaces, didn’t leave them after.
Appr. 13.15 PM – Knights at the Palace of Great Brilliance left their post.
Appr. 13:44 PM – Maids’ death. Concubine Rakepick was seen in the Garden of her Palace. Maids report she was looking cheerful.
Appr. 14.10 PM – Well-being charm was destroyed.
Appr. 14.15 PM – Princess Daniella’s death. Cause: suffocation with pillow. No magical residue was found in the room.
17:15 PM – Healer arrived for wellness check on the Princess.
17:17 PM – discovery. Knight, accompanying the Healer, went to get Elson.
17:39 PM – Court lockdown was in effect.
So far only Concubine Rakepick and Attendant Maya were suspicious – Attendant Maya claimed that she was on the Court’s territory the entire time but the legilimens interrogating her said that she had no actual memory of that time period and Concubine Rakepick said that she didn’t leave the Gardens until 16.20 PM which was confirmed by the maids. At the question of why she never checked on her daughter, Rakepick said:
“I knew she was safe within the Palace and under the watch of the trusted maids.”
Which only made Elson more suspicious of her. Even Consort Evangeline checked on her daughter as soon as she was back in her Palace – which, considering just how cold-hearted Consort was, made quite the statement. Maids, when asked why they never checked on the Royal Child, confirmed that looking after Daniella was “the short end of a stick” and “those who weren’t in favor with Her Highness were on this duty without rest” and “we didn’t want to be in their place” and “Head Maid ordered us not to”. Said Head Maid had no memory of such a thing or who ordered her to do it.
Concubine Rakepick so far has shown no signs of grief or misery, only crying when she was in the presence of someone and calmly reading when she wasn’t. She also had clear antipathy for young Princess and often lamented how she wasn’t a Prince. But. She had a strong alibi at the time of murder. Memories of the maids confirmed her presence in the Garden.
Did she ask someone else to commit this? Why not a maid? Or even eunuchs?
Elson lamented the fact that he still didn’t have enough trusted maids or eunuchs. And even maids who he trusted and were stationed in Rakepick’s Palace were off-duty exactly at the day of murder. What a coincidence. The exact day of the murder the only maids Patricia had in her Palace were her agents through and through, all of them with manipulated memories to not check on the Royal Child, two of the least favored maids die in the process and both Knights leave their post on the account of them “being summoned somewhere else”. Maids and eunuchs both who were milling outside the Palace didn’t report nothing out of ordinary.
Something just didn’t seem right with all of this.
As Concubine Patricia shouldn’t have that much sway, but whatever she convinced her staff on they did. All of it stank of conspiracy. But who else got anything out of Second Princess’ death? Not Consort Evangeline – she already had Princess Evana. Noble Bellatrix? She just went through sixth miscarriage just half a year ago seeing healthy child being born afterwards would affect her and she certainly was brutal enough to do something like this. Noble Regulus, Noble Emma? Both don’t have enough sway. Attendants like Isla Laurier, Rosenberg, Lafington, Witt or Severn simply weren’t in the Harem long enough for the scheme like this one. But Attendant Carrow or Attendant Maya… both of them didn’t have the means but what if they were swayed?
28th January 1983 – Friday.
“…That’s all I have so far, Your Majesty.” Elson ended his report, rolling the scroll up and sending it to His Majesty’s table. Along with him Head Elite Knight was present, who delivered his report on the investigation earlier.
His Majesty was silent, standing with his back turned. They waited in uncomfortable silence, waiting for His Majesty’s verdict.
“Do they consider my authority a laughing matter?” His Majesty hissed quietly. “Who allowed them to play with the lives of my Children? Who gave them the Right?”
He turned on his heel, staring both of them down, as His magic rolled over them, bending them forward.
“Tell me, Head Eunuch, how it happened that half of your department operates without your notice?” He chided almost too quietly. “Why this was allowed to go the way it had, hm? Tell me, Head Eunuch. I only have twelve concubines right now and you can’t control the Court already. What will happen when I have twenty? Twenty-four?”
Elson closed his mouth tightly, bracing himself.
“Crucio,” His Majesty intoned and Elson almost immediately fell on his knees, holding the scream in as hot, endless pain coursed through his body, dragging him down and down, and down, as he locked himself into position. Finally, after five long minutes he lifted the spell, and Elson breathed in as deeply as he could, coughing as he slowly rose back to his feet.
“And about your theory, Head Eunuch,” His Majesty continued nonchalantly. “Patricia may be guilty of this particular crime but we have nothing to convict her on. There’s an alibi and there was no contact whatsoever between her and Attendant Maya.”
“… Attendant Maya, Your Majesty?” Knight asked, saving Elson who was still trying to catch his breath.
“Her magical residue was found at the shore of the lake. She was the one to murder the maids and general consensus is that she committed,” His Majesty clenched his teeth. “Other crime too.”
“But…” Elson blurted out.
His Majesty sat back in his chair, rolling his wand between his fingers.
“Attendant Maya would be executed on February 1st along with all the maids, eunuchs and knights involved. Let this be a lesson for the future, hm?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” both of them affirmed.
On February 1st one attendant, twelve maids, two knights and seven eunuchs were executed. This became the first mass-execution since the end of the War.