Secrets - part 3

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part three of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!

I think I must fall asleep in the chair, for the next thing I know, Lene is shaking me. "Kim? Kim, it's getting dark. You need to get going."
"Yes, of course," I mumble, getting up. "Have you arranged the ploy?"
Lene nods. "Ghart is going to do it. You just make sure Nick and Sophie are in the courtyard at noon tomorrow."
"I'll see you tomorrow, then."
Lene opens the door for me, but doesn't follow me out. In public, we must maintain the pretence that she is the queen and I am the servant. I slip through the halls, invisible to those who don't know who I am. The few who do know, I trust with my life. Apparently, that trust is mistaken, at least in one of them.
I go through it in my head. Obviously, Lene and I know. Then there are my parents - well, Lene's parents, really, but they feel like mine more than hers, the man and woman who raised me and Sophie. Though I know the king and queen were my birth parents, they never felt like home, like my foster parents did.
Julun knows - he's the head of the guards, so he had to be brought in. He misses nothing that goes on in the palace. Lene's governess also knows. I think of Heleta, strict but kind in her own way. She had to know why she was teaching me things only of relevance to a princess when she was supposed to be tutoring Lene.
I frown. That's all. None of these people would betray us. Yet obviously, someone has. I told Lene to investigate quietly, not letting anyone know what she's up to. The first thing she needs to do is catch the real poisoner. Then she can find out who gave up my secret to them.
I have something Lene doesn't have, though. I have the good instincts that have been bred into generations of kings and queens of the land. Though I can't imagine any one of the people I have trusted betraying me, denial won't help now. Heleta's quarters are closest. I turn and make straight for them.
"Kim, dear, how nice to see you," she says, beaming as she opens the door. As soon as I am safely inside, she dips her head in a neat curtsey.
"Heleta, someone tried to poison me. Someone told them who I am."
She clasps her hands over her mouth, horrified. "How? What happened?"
I don't pay much attention to the conversation after that, other than to answer her frantic questions. I could tell from the first second that she is being truthful. I manage to calm her down, convince her that I am in no immediate danger, and make to leave.
Before I can do it, she grabs my arm. "Kim? You knew I wasn't lying, didn't you?"
"Of course," I say. "I know you would never betray me."
Heleta looks worried. "You turned nineteen three months ago. Has everything been ok since then?"
"Yes, of course, why -?"
"You haven't had any headaches, I suppose?"
I gape at her. "How did you know that?"
Heleta goes white. "Dear Gods, this wasn't supposed to happen to her," she whispers, her eyes not on me but on some deity I can't see. "Her mother promised me the cycle was broken, said it was for the best..."
"Heleta, what's going on?"
Her eyes snap back to me, seemingly just realising I am still here. "Go home, Kim," she says with more authority than she ever uses when we're not in public. "Go home and rest. I'll sort this out, don't you worry."
"Sort what...?"
Bewildered, I find myself being shoved from the room. I am too surprised to protest, and the next thing I know, the door is slamming in my face.
Slightly dazed, I wander off, vaguely heading for Julun's rooms, but getting lost several times, due to my head being in the clouds. What could Heleta have meant? I have absolutely no idea what could spook her so badly...
"Kim. Please come in," Julun says. I let him lead me to the couch and offer me some wine. Since my head is already spinning, I think it unwise and ask for a glass of water.
"Julun, someone has betrayed me. I was poisoned."
His horrified response is much the same as Heleta's. There is only one difference. I'm not even totally sure what it is. Some hardening in the eyes? Some kind of brittleness in his voice? I'm not sure what it is that tips me off, but I trust my instincts. Julun knows more than he's saying.
Stalling for time, not knowing what to do, I look around for inspiration, anything to change the topic. "How's Sarah doing?" I ask, looking around for Julun's wife.
"Oh, she's good... she's just out at the market, getting things for supper."
The markets are closed by now.
"Well, I just thought I'd check in," I say. "I really should be going."
Julun's attempts to persuade me to stay for supper are perfect; I would never guess he didn't want me to stay, if I didn't know that something is seriously wrong.
As I walk slowly to my and Nick's house, I try to think. Julun would never willingly betray me, yet he knows something more about this, something he's too scared to say. If I tell Lene, she won't take risks. She'll have him taken in for questioning, but without knowing what kind of trouble Julun is in, it may just make things worse for him.
I guess I'll just have to help him on my own. Whatever is wrong, I'll have to find it.
As I open the door, I pause as my head throbs painfully. The sporadic headaches that have plagued me since my nineteenth birthday are painful, but they have never really caused me much worry; after all, everyone gets headaches.
Now, I wonder if these aren't more than just headaches. What did Heleta mean?
As I step inside, I realise I have no answer. I also realise that if I want to be truly safe, I'll need to find one.

To be continued