The Crown's Obsession

Music Recommendation: An Interesting Proposal by John Powell

.

Dimitri looked at Calhoun and Markus, waiting for one of them to start and Markus was the first to take a step forward, "Sir Dimitri, I would like to start first," and he came to stand forward, in the middle of the room.

Madeline couldn't help but shift her eyes to look at Calhoun, her heart beating in her chest, not knowing what was going to happen. She wasn't unaware that Calhoun had killed a fair number of people, she had seen him kill people in front of her, but she never knew what happened to those bodies after that. She had no idea who Miss Lipton was and if Calhoun had killed the person, but she was sure he had nothing to do with the person, who was found dead in James' backyard.

"Do you think the King has killed one or both of them, Lady Madeline?" questioned Dimitri, who was sitting on the left side and near to Calhoun on another couch while she sat on Calhoun's right.

She looked slightly taken aback by the question, and her eyebrows furrowed, "Why do you think so?" asked Madeline.

"It is because of your heart. It has been beating quite a lot. In a faster pace than an average human's heart does," stated Dimitri, his red eyes fixed on her. Madeline didn't know how to respond to this. From the time the High House members had arrived, she had forgotten that these people were not ordinary people.

Madeline didn't know what they truly were. By appearance, they looked like humans and vampires, but she knew better than to judge a person by just their appearance. The world that she knew, was no more simple as there were more creatures than she knew in the past. Demons, angels and werewolves.

"Madeline is worried about me. It should come to be obvious by now that how much she cares for me," Calhoun was the one to respond, the one corner of his lips that had pulled up had not fallen. His hand reached for hers that was placed on the surface of the couch, holding it.

Lilith rolled her eyes, and she then turned to look at Markus to say, "If you will proceed with your witness."

Markus bowed his head, and he called one of the men to come forward, whom Madeline didn't recognize.

"I would like to begin by saying that the King and I share no hard feelings, but it is only what I saw and heard, that I thought I should inform and bring it to your notice," the tone that Markus used was the most polite one which Madeline believed could not get any better than that. His posture was humble, "To start with, my fiance is Elizabeth Harris, Lady Madeline Harris' sister, and I would not want any harm come to fall on any of my family members."

Madeline found it hard to believe, considering how Markus had put his name in the letter when it came to reporting about Calhoun's deeds to the High House members. One would think that he was stupid and courageous enough to openly go against the King, who was the powerful person in the land of Devon. But Markus must have done it just to prove his point that he was doing his duty to the land and the people of Devon.

Which cousin or relative went directly to the High House without consulting the matter with the King?

"Tell us what happened and where your witness turns to evidence, Sir Markus," Dimitri questioned Markus.

"Yes," Markus obliged, "The King wanted me to go and find who sabotaged the shop that belongs to the Harris' family. As small as the matter appears, it concerns our future Queen's family, and I took it as an important task. It was at the same time that I came to notice and hear things."

"And what is that?" Lilith was intrigued to hear what Markus had to say when it came to the King. There weren't many who stood against a King because of the power he held.

Calhoun didn't flinch nor bat his eyelash when Markus continued to speak,

"The King himself orchestrated the destruction of the shop, and he then acted like he knew nothing about it. Though I am not sure how far it is true, Lady Madeline and the King's relationship didn't start smooth, and the maid who spoke about it was killed by the King," Markus' eyes didn't even for once glance at Calhoun but stayed on the members of the High House. "This man here, is Mr. Fisher. The maid had mentioned the matter to his wife that went around in circles. The same day when the maid went missing, Mr. Heathcliff wanted to enquire about Lady Madeline with the maid."

"Is this the same man who was framed for Miss Layla's murder?" asked Daphne, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, milady. But after further research, I found out that Mr. Heathcliff was at Lady Catherine Barne's house and later he bid his father goodbye, as Senior Mr. Heathcliff passed away on the same day," explained Markus.

"And how does the King come to fit in the picture?" Dimitri interrogated.

"Mr. Heathcliff was once Madeline's acquaintance. They were in love with each other," confessed Markus. The members of the High House turned their gaze at Madeline, and Dimtri asked,

"Is that true, Lady Madeline?"

Madeline felt a little uncomfortable, "I think like would be much suitable," she corrected, knowing where Markus was steering the conversation, "We liked each other for some time."

"And what happened after that?" asked Lilith, her eyes burning brightly at Madeline, "Did you decide to ditch the poor man when a better and wealthy man appeared in front of you?"

"May I point that the member of the High House is questioning something that barely relates to the current issue," Calhoun reminded Lilith, "I don't think it should come to be a surprise that Madeline agreed to marry me. Didn't you ditch poor Mr. Leveson because you wanted to spend the hour with me?" he threw the question back at the woman whose eyes flared up.

"Getting back to the discussion. Sir Markus, please get to the point instead of deviating from it," came the stern voice from Dimitri, "Mr. Fisher, what do you have to say?" He questioned the human.

The human looked tired, possibly because of a busy day, and he looked at the people in the room with an apprehensive look. Mr. Fisher bowed his head, and gulped. It would have been easy if the information was for someone else, but the man didn't know that he would have to speak something that was set to trap the King.

Calhoun spoke to the man, "Feel free to speak, Mr. Fisher. And make sure you speak only the truth. Any conspiracy against the King and lies to the members of the High House will be considered nothing less to treason." His words did nothing when it came to easing the man's tension, and Mr. Fisher looked scared.

"I-I, my wife heard from the maid that young Miss Harris tried to kill herself by jumping from the high tower, and the King was the one who saved her. That the young lady was being tortured and being kept against her and her parents will," said Mr. Fisher, his eyes shifting back and forth between Madeline, the King and at the older looking man with peppered hair. "Mr. Heathcliff wanted to speak to the maid, I think, to know what happened and if the lady was alright. I am not sure if he did, but the maid was found missing the very next day I handed the maid's address to Mr. Heathcliff."

Markus cleared his throat, "I would like to mention that it is possible that the King was not happy with their relationship and how Mr. Heathcliff held the lady's heart. Maybe the King framed the innocent man?"

For the things that were passed on and for what happened in the past, Lilith said, "Do you mean to say that King Calhoun was jealous enough that he decided to frame the man for the murder that was caused by the King himself? So that Mr. Heathcliff would not hinder his relationship with the lady?"

"Yes, you will know about it when you meet Mr. Heathcliff in the dungeon," Markus assured them.

Dimitri leaned back against the couch, and Weasley rubbed his chin.

Lady Rosamund said to Markus, "There's no one in the dungeon."

"What do you mean?" frowned Markus.

Even Lilith had a look of disappointment on her face, "Mr. Heathcliff is not in there and nor is that werewolf that you mentioned." For the embarrassment that was caused towards her, Lilith would have gladly enjoyed seeing Calhoun go through the trial.

"Who is your next witness, Sir Markus?" Dimitri questioned without wasting another second. Markus had to compose himself after finding out that both the werewolf as well as the tailorman had disappeared from the dungeon.

The werewolf would have been more than enough to expose Calhoun and his deeds. It would have also cracked the possible budding relationship with Madeline but how in the hell's name did they both disappear?!

"Did the werewolf eat the man and then break away from the dungeon?" Markus frowned deeply. The members of the High House had come earlier than expected, and in the evening when he checked, the werewolf was still there.

Madeline, who heard this, pressed her lips because she knew the truth. The werewolf didn't eat James because James was the werewolf. She wondered what Markus even saw.

Calhoun couldn't stop the smirk that appeared on his lips, and he replied, "You must be hallucinating, cousin. There is no werewolf in the castle, and the High House made sure to look at every nook and corner of the dungeon. We all are well aware that leaving a werewolf out in the open is never a good thing. With the moon out, you would have heard the howl of the werewolf, but all you will hear now is my pets howl."

His eyes looked straight into Markus' eyes, the smile turning faint with amusement filled in his eyes.

"These are nothing but wild accusations. I would have expected you to have more solid proofs if you are trying to frame me," tutted Calhoun.

Markus refrained himself from saying anything because if things didn't work out according to his plan, that would mean he would have to ask forgiveness for the misunderstanding to stay on Calhoun's side. But he had been absolutely sure that Calhoun would be caught this time, which was why he made a move to involve the High House.

"I have three other villagers here. They will tell you that they saw the King in the village around that time when the girl was killed and they also saw the King speaking to the maid in the middle of the night," informed Markus.

Dimitri started his questioning and the three villagers started to tell what they saw. The rest of the people in the room continued to stay quiet and listen.

In between, Madeline couldn't help but wonder why the maid was killed. Did Calhoun kill her?

Once the members of the High House were done listening to Markus and the words of the witness, Dimitri turned to look at Calhoun, "Do you have only one witness from your side, King Calhoun?" asked Dimitri.

"I think one is more than enough," Calhoun offered a smile.

When Calhoun looked at the man who was brought here by Theodore, the man opened his mouth, "Milord!" and he bowed. By appearance, he looked scrawny, and his hair looked messy, falling on the greasy side, "I have known Hilda for some time. And before she went missing, I saw her speaking to this man," the person pointed his finger at Markus.

"What rubbish are you speaking about?" Markus took two steps forward only to be warned by Dimitri.

"Take a seat, Sir Markus."

Markus narrowed his eyes before going to take a seat next to his mother.

"He was near Hilda's house behind the tree. I don't know what they were doing, but it is possible that he is the one who eloped with her!" exclaimed the village man, "Even on the day she went missing, he was lurking around her house."

"Is this true, Sir Markus?" Weasley tried to confirm.

"He doesn't know what he is speaking," stated Markus, "Why would I even go, to meet a maid?"

"My son is being framed for no reason. This is what happens when you raise your voice," said Lady Rosamund, her lips set in a thin line as she looked at the village man like he was some kind of an insect.

Calhoun cleared his throat and pulled out a letter from his pocket, which was then handed to Dimitri, "I think this might help jog my cousin's memory."

"What is that?" demanded Lady Rosamund.

"That? That is a letter that was retrieved from Markus' clothes which is written by the maid Hilda who has gone missing." While the High House members attention was concentrated on the letter, Calhoun stared at Markus whose eyes widened in realization, "As you can read, the letter was sent to Markus Wilmot in an attempt to let him know that she completed the job which was given to her by him. The letter clearly stears about ruining the future Queen's reputation," said Calhoun.

"It must be a fragmented letter!" exclaimed Lady Rosamund. She stood up in anger and distaste in her mouth, "You are trying to frame him!"

"Why would I do that?" Calhoun asked innocently, "I have no reason to frame him. I will earn nothing from it. Daphne, dear," he addressed the High House woman, "I am sure you will find the same handwriting in those files that you are carrying."

"Who knows the King must have set me up to it!" Markus defended himself quickly.

"As I said, I would benefit nothing by doing it," Calhoun tched, "All the lies and the traps you thought you could frame me with, it's come back to bite you, Markus."

In a blink of an eye, Markus pulled one of the men who was his witness, using him as a shield and moving towards the door. At the same time, one of the member from the High House used some ability that broke the closest vase near the door into dust. Madeline caught sight of Dimitri moving his hand for the door of the room to close shut. He was a demon as well as a vampire like Calhoun.

"Let go of the man, Markus," Dimitri advised, and everyone had stood up from their seats.

Lilith didn't stop herself, and she went to attack Markus only to end up hurting the man who Markus was holding. Pushing the man towards the woman, Markus broke through the door and escaped from there.

"Catch hold of him!" came the command from the senior-most High House member.

"Theodore," Calhoun ordered, and the man bowed his head, leaving the room.

Madeline caught sight of the village man who was bleeding through his neck. All Lilith had done was use her fingers to slit the man's throat. The man convulsed on the floor while blood oozed out from his neck.

When the other guards arrived, Calhoun ordered, "You can escort Lady Rosamund and her daughter into the dungeon."

"What do you mean?!" Lady Rosamund was stunned with the development and she glared at the audacity of her nephew.

There was a spark of glare in Calhoun's eyes as he said, "Markus ran away from here before we could sit and speak, which only shows how guilty he is. We will be putting the family under trial for the treason conducted under my authorization. It would be best if you cooperate so that there won't be any more charges on you or the family."