Caius could not leave his mother until mid-morning. She sobbed and cried the entire ti while refusing to let go of his hand. Eventually, she released him, and Caius wasted no ti excusing himself. It wasn’t only that he was eager to leave, but with the king dead, there were too many things that needed to be done.
First, he needed to confirm the death and then inform the council mbers. They would most likely arrive at the castle today to confirm and discuss the next line of action, which ant he had to get ready for guests.
Hopefully, they would be polite enough to let him mourn his father before they started asking what the next step would be, but Caius knew he wouldn’t be afforded that much luxury. Besides, he told himself, there was nothing to mourn.
"Your Grace," Rylen said as soon as he exited his mother’s room. He was standing right at the entrance and he looked to have been there for a while.
"Prince Rylen," Caius called with a flat tone to his voice. "I see you are back. Done with this errand of yours?"
There was a bit of silence, and for a mont Caius feared that his cousin would blatantly ignore him.
"Yes, Your Grace. I apologize for my absence. I presu you are on your way to see your father."
Caius narrowed his eyes as he t his cousin’s gaze. There was sothing in it he could not read. He could say his glum expression might be because of his father’s death, but it seed like sothing more.
"Is sothing wrong?"
Rylen looked visibly taken aback by Caius’s question, and for good reason too. "No, Your Grace. I was just wondering if you’d want to co along, or perhaps I should send out the letters to inform the lords."
Caius’s brows furrowed. "I need at least one person of high status to confirm with . If you’re up for it, Thomas can do it in your stead."
"I apologize, Your Grace. I didn’t want to intrude."
Caius didn’t reply to this; rather, he walked ahead while Rylen trailed behind him. They went down the stairs leading to the king’s room, as his floor was just underneath the Queen’s.
Barely any words were exchanged as they walked, and Rylen stayed behind, away from Caius’s view. Caius glanced back, and his cousin avoided his gaze. Caius didn’t think much of it and marched on.
Two physicians stood guard in front of the late King’s room. As soon as they caught sight of Rylen and Caius, they all bowed.
The physicians pushed the door open, and Caius unconsciously braced himself. He noticed that Rylen no longer walked behind him; instead, he stood beside him as they walked towards the bed.
"Your Highness," Briar said with a bow. He parted the drapes of the four-poster bed so Caius could see his father.
His father was lying on a white sheet, dressed in a white flowing gown, his hands laid in a cross position on his lower abdon, his eyes closed. One might think he was just sleeping, as a sickly man might look.
His father had lost a lot of weight, and there was discoloration in his nails and fingers that beca more obvious with death.
Caius realized he didn’t have anything to say or do. He simply took in his father’s body and nodded. He looked up at Briar, who was standing in his position, and he could tell he was the reason the king looked this dignified in death.
"Would you like to check his pulse?" Briar asked, as though any more confirmation was needed.
"No," Caius said curtly.
He found that he didn’t want to touch the corpse, not out of malice. He had barely made bodily contact with his father while he was alive; Caius wanted to keep it that way. He was almost certain his father would prefer it.
He nodded to his father’s corpse and then turned around to leave. Rylen bowed, then followed after him. The easy part had been dealt with. The next couple of days would be spent deciding how the burial would go. Caius wasn’t looking forward to it.
"Your Grace," Rylen said as they walked out of the room. "Is there anyone in particular you don’t want to inform?"
"No, Rylen. Tell them all. If I’m correct, the nearest ones will be here before dinner ti. Henry will deal with that."
"I will send for him right away."
"Alright. Can the letters be sent before lunch? There is barely any ti left."
"I will take care of that, Your Grace."
"I suppose I can leave that to you. I need to see Mother one last ti."
She knew he was going to see the king, and she had asked that he co to her right after. He didn’t want to do that, but Caius couldn’t refuse his crying mother’s request.
"I shall be at your private study with Henry."
"Good. I will be there as soon as I can."
Caius got to the stairs and took them two at a ti while Rylen walked towards his wing where Caius’s private study was located. Neither glanced back at the other as they rushed off to do their duties.
Caius knocked only once before the door to his mother’s room was opened. One of her ladies-in-waiting quickly bowed to him and ushered him into the room. Caius barely acknowledged her greeting; he was here for one thing and he wanted to get it over with.
Caius walked into the room to see his mother still in the chair crying. There were multiple handkerchiefs around her and one pressed up against her face. As soon as she saw him, she gestured for him to co closer.
"Did you go to see your father?" she asked. Her voice was thick with tears.
"Yes, Mother."
"And?" she questioned, looking up at him expectantly.
Caius wasn’t sure what his mother wanted to hear from him. He also wasn’t delighted to tell her that her husband was dead, twice. So he simply nodded.
His mother’s bloodshot eyes filled with tears once again, and she wailed loudly this ti. Her ladies-in-waiting huddled around her, consoling her, and they all had tears in their eyes.
"I am sorry, Mother," Caius said after giving her so ti to cry. "I have to leave."
She nodded and wiped her face with a new pair of handkerchiefs. Her ladies never seed to run out of those.
"You have so much to do now," she said, and Caius simply nodded before walking out the door.
When he got to his study, Prince Rylen had already stacked up the letters, and Caius couldn’t comprehend how he had already written them so fast.
"Your Grace," Rylen bowed, and Henry, who stood in the corner, did the sa.
"Have you prepared the letters?"
"Only to the mbers of the council who live close enough to receive them and arrive today. I will prepare the rest of the letters after lunch. Is there anything specific Your Grace would like to include?"
Caius shook his head and turned to Henry. "Are you aware His Majesty has passed?"
Henry nodded. "I was just inford," he said with a look of horror and confusion.
"I see. I suppose it isn’t public knowledge yet."
"Would you like to keep it a secret, Your Grace?"
"Not particularly. By evening ti when the lords arrive, it will be common knowledge. You don’t have to hold your tongue."
Henry bowed. "Prince Rylen has inford of what I need to do, Your Grace. Is there anything else you’d like to add?"
"Wine," he simply said, and Rylen jerked his head up to peer at Caius. "Lots of it."
"As Your Highness pleases," Henry replied and walked out of the room in a lackluster manner. He was still in a daze from the terrible news he had heard.
Rylen looked back at the table conspicuously and picked up the letters. "I will have these delivered," he said and stood up.
He walked past Caius, who was still standing in the middle of the study, bowing briefly before exiting. The door was loud as it shut behind Rylen, and Caius realized this was the first ti he would be alone since he had heard about the death of his father.
He took a heavy step towards his desk and sat down in his seat. His father was dead, and according to tradition, a month after he was laid to rest, Caius would be crowned king.
Then he could easily end his fake marriage and marry Rose instead, and no one would be able to stop him. It was easy and perhaps faster than he had thought, and though he was happy about what he could do now, Caius couldn’t seem to get rid of the gloomy cloud that hung over him since the news of his father’s death.
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