The King's Poisoning Hand

I never expected betrayal to smell so sweet. Yet here I stand, a light blue plate on the counter in front of me, a beautifully presented strawberry tart laid out on it, Wren’s favorite delicacy. I look down at the shiny crimson red of the honey covered strawberries and am reminded of blood.

I once was loath to think I could ever do anything to hurt Wren, the man who has stood by my side since we were children. Regardless if it was asked of me, I was always ready to profess my undying loyalty to our future king, the boy who would one day lead us to greatness and unity across the entire land. But those days are far behind now and I can no longer ignore who he has become. The beliefs he holds and the future he wants us to bring about together.

I swallow hard and busy myself cleaning up the kitchen, erasing any trace of what treason was committed there. No one will assume poisoning, not with Wren’s weak heart. But I must still ensure that if anyone does have a slight suspicion, that I leave no crumbs for them to follow and no way for them to accuse an innocent chef or maid. I tuck the poison vial into my chest bindings and feel the cold weight of it settle right above my heart. I take a deep, shaky breath and steel myself against the emotions that threaten to overtake me, the despair I can feel creeping up slowly. Straightening my back, I lift the plate and start making my way to Wren’s rooms.

As I walk the halls, I wonder if anyone can read the intent on my face, if anyone can tell what I am about to do, how I am about to change our world. I pass the many rooms Wren and I used to roam as children, hiding from each other as a form of play. The green room where he bust his lip open, pushing me out of the way of a falling vase. The flower room where his mother spent her last days, reading us fairy tales and myths of the old days. The bronze room where I pledged my fealty to him upon his 16th birthday. Every room filled with memories of the children we used to be, now marred by the reality of war and bloodshed.

As I walk and recall the steps of our intertwined lives, I start to doubt myself. Am I doing the right thing? Am I really saving our future by destabilizing our lands? Do I really want to cause such an upheaval the night before a big battle?

After taking the third turn, I make up my mind that I’ll throw the tart away if I find him asleep. But as I arrive at the office right before Wren’s bedroom, the shuffling of scrolls is dreadfully obvious and I can see the candlelight dancing along the bottom of the cracked door. I push it open, carefully putting on an expression of gentle mirth as if he and I are still friends, a charade I have perfected over the last few months.

I look across the room and take in his disheveled black hair, made unruly from hands running through it constantly. His posture is slumped as he focuses intently on the scrolls in his hands. I take a shaky breath before speaking.

“Wrenny… how did I know you would still be working on those dusty documents? You need to take a break.”

“Kaia, you know I can’t.” He sets down the scroll he’s holding and looks up at me with weary eyes. “This could hold the key to ending the predicament we find ourselves in.”

“A predicament that can wait to be solved for just a few minutes. Your eyes are bloodshot.” I’m not lying when I say this. His blue eyes look more intense than usual, the red veins popping in contrast and showing just how exhausted the king is.

Wren sighs, “If only it were that simple. Our enemies aren’t resting until they do away with us. With our way of life.”

I shudder internally at his words. Our way of life. The implication of it being the right way sits heavy in the air between us, but I don’t let him see that it bothers me. “They are no closer to winning than we are. Perhaps we should try to-”

“No. I refuse to entertain the idea of peace talks.” With those words he sits up straighter, clenching his jaw as he says the next words with a deep seated anger. “They must all burn.”

He still wants to kill them all. He wants to wipe the earth of their blood.

I sit down in a chair beside him and attempt to be lighthearted, “Well you can’t reasonably eradicate the Bellatores.” Please agree. Give me a reason to keep you alive.

“Kaia,” he leans toward me, putting a hand on my knee. “I know your heart is soft. But we will never achieve greatness if we have these miscreants occupying our world. The world of our future sons and daughters.” He shakes his head. “No, I won’t allow it.”

I nod while I scream internally. There is no use. I can’t argue with him and make him see sense. He is too far gone, lost in his own righteousness.

I feel far away as I hold up the plate to him. I feel my mouth move. “Why don’t you have a sweet before you finish with these scrolls? Give you a slight boost of energy and give your own heart a break.”

Wren looks down at the plate for the first time and immediately softens as a small smile overtakes his features. “You made my favorite.”

He lifts the tart up to his mouth, and I tense, waiting for him to take the first bite of death when a bright green figure knocks and enters the room. Elren bows before the desk, dressed in the kingdom’s uniform, looking like he just came from standing guard at the city walls.

“Your highness.”

Wren shoots an annoyed glance at me, the moment quick and barely perceptible to anyone who doesn’t know him as well as I do. “Yes, Elren.”

Elren straightens up and stands at attention. “There have been reports, sir. Of movement beyond the Tanger forest.”

Wren’s eyes sharpen, “The Bellatores?”

“We think so. We counted at least eight in the trees. I have my men keeping watch to see if any others reveal themselves.”

Wren nods. “Get together with Rolfe and prepare the armaments. We will not let a single one of them leave alive come morning.”

Elren bows stiffly before leaving the room with a quick “your highness.”

I close my eyes briefly before turning to look at Wren. He looks to be deep in thought as he stares keenly at the door. I lightly shove him, catching him off guard.

Wren exhales heavily, as if the weight of the future has just landed on his shoulders and it is too much for him to hold. “You know what? You’re right. I do need a slight break. And I need to just eat this very tempting tart you brought me. Thank you.”

He once again lifts up the seemingly innocuous dessert and before he can be interrupted anew, he takes his first bite. I hold back to the urge to swat the treat out of his hand. It’s too late to take it back. The cards have been set in motion and now I must watch to ensure he finishes the tart, or else his death will be even more painful than I want it to be. Tears start building up in the back of my eyes as I watch him chew, painfully content. He would never expect my betrayal, and so here he sits, consuming his demise.

“Oh, this is delicious! You really took your time with it tonight.” Wren manages to say between bites. In a few short minutes, he wipes the plate clean and I stare down at my hands, unwilling to face what I’ve done.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. After today, I figured you deserved a good little restorative.” After telling me you are bound to your massacre.

“Well you were right. It was exactly what I needed before I finish analyzing these writings. Thank you, K.”

I smile at him and hope he can’t read the sadness in my eyes as I stand up. “I should leave and you should sleep, Wren. Tomorrow’s a big day.” I try to not choke on the last words. “We need you to be at your best.”

Wren smiles, a big, beautiful grin that pierces through my heart. “Yes, mother.” His tone is playful, and I’m once again reminded of who he was before the conflict began. A silly boy, my best friend. “Don’t oversleep, Kaia. Only one of us is allowed to be a little late.”

I force out a laugh. “Goodbye, Wrenny.”

I hear his soft “good night” as I walk out the door. As soon as I’m far enough down the hall, past the guards’ eyesight, I take off running to my rooms.

I arrive swiftly to my door and throw myself through it, slamming it shut behind me before collapsing onto the rug. I rock back and forth, waiting for the tears to start. But they don’t. They’re stuck behind my eyes, causing a splitting headache to take over.

I hit my leg. Again. And again. And again. Until finally, thankfully, the tears start falling and I mourn the loss of my best friend for the first time since I found out how vile he had become. The sobs take over and I find myself unable to breathe as the sorrow wracks violently through my body.

I cry for what seems like hours before I finally calm down enough to crawl onto my bed. There I lay, unable to sleep, the guilt of what I’ve done eating away at my heart.

It’s well past midnight when someone comes to knock at my door, the taps gentle at first before becoming thunderous. I close my eyes, knowing what it’s for, but refuse to answer the door, forcing the knocker to burst into my room.

“Miss Kaia! Wake up! It’s the king!”

I sit up and feign grogginess. “The king?”

A candle lights the face of Loren, one of the doctor’s assistants, as she stands at my doorway. “The doctor is here. The king isn’t well and he’s asking for you.”

Warmth seeps from my skin as I have a slight moment of panic. Does he know? But there’s no way he could know.

I stand up, “Take me to him.”

Loren nods and rushes off, with me close on her heels. As we round the corner to the hallway leading to Wren’s rooms, I see advisers and members of the court waiting outside by the guards. The air is solemn and everyone looks to be on edge.

A familiar figure, Rolfe, steps forward, “Kaia. It’s his heart again. The doctor says it’s acting up like it did yesterday morning.”

Even though I know I’m the one who caused it, I can’t help the sound of shock that escapes me. It feels like I’ve been struck in the stomach and I stumble. Immediately, Rolfe rushes forward to hold me up. “She’s trying everything she knows to keep him with us but…” Rolfe hesitates. “He might not make it, Kaia. We might lose him.”

I shake my head and the tears start falling. “Not Wrenny… Rolfe, I can’t lose Wrenny.” And it’s true. I can’t lose him like I’ve lost everyone else already. He holds me together when no one else can. And yet I’ve done this. I’ve ended him.

Rolfe leads me to Wren’s door, opening it and gently pushing me through. “You should talk to him. Just in case.” The door shuts behind me.

I look up and my hand immediately flies to my mouth, a strangled sound escaping me as I see the state Wren is in. His usually warm skin is now pale, glistening with sweat. His eyes are closed, yet I can see them darting back and forth beneath his veined eyelids. His dark hair clings to his forehead. Doctor Mobina flips furiously through a book to his left, looking for a way to calm his erratic heart, but I know her efforts are futile. I made sure of it when I chose the poison.

“Wrenny,” I whisper as I move closer to his bed. “No… Wren.” I let loose a sob as I shakily grab his hand.

Wren opens his eyes weakly and looks up at me. “Kaia…”

“I’m here.”

“I might not be much longer.” He tries to squeeze my hand but it just feels like a gentle tap on my palm. “We knew this day would come. I just hoped… that it wouldn’t be so soon.”

I shake my head furiously, my tears now blurring my vision.

Doctor Mobina clears her throat, “I’ve tried everything I know, your majesty. But I don’t think I can save you.”

I sob again, my heart breaking in two with the realization that I had been secretly hoping she could still save him. Even after everything, even after knowing who he had become, I still wanted to save my best friend. But it’s too late. The damage has been done.

Wren takes an uneven breath, his hand weakly clutching at his heart. “How much time do I have?”

“I’m not sure, sire.”

He nods. “Leave us.”

“But sir-”

“I command it.”

Doctor Mobina bows her head in acknowledgement before exiting the room, the room falling to silence except for my sniffles and Wren’s irregular breathing.

“I know what you’ve done.”

My head snaps up and I lock eyes with Wren, “what?”

“I know it was you,” his eyes are glassy as he blinks back tears. “I knew it as soon as I took the first bite.”

“Then why-”

“Because I understand why you did it. And I could never hold it against you. You always fight for what you believe is right and that’s part of what I love about you.” Wren winces as he shifts to sit up. I try to stop him but he waves me off. “You did what you thought was right and if I’m being honest with you, I think you did the right thing. You were always the smarter one of us.”

I look down. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“I know. And I won’t tell. But can you do me a favor? Grant me a dying wish?”

“Yes,” I whisper, feeling as if I have no room to refuse him anything.

“Can you sing and tell me stories, the way you used to when we were younger? Back when we would lay under the stars, without a care in the world. Back when we were inseparable and best friends.”

I sob. And I comply. For the next few minutes, I softly sing and whisper to him the myths of old. The legends that used to captivate us when we were children. The stories of the heroes we so wanted to emulate growing up.

As I do this, I watch Wren fade away little by little, his skin losing its color as his breaths become more labored. Until finally, quietly, he takes his last breath with a smile on his face and tears drying on his cheeks. I continue singing, shakily, until I can’t no more and then I wail. I let loose every emotion that has been pent up and I sob into my best friend’s cold chest.

Upon hearing me, Rolfe bursts in and falls to his knees. All the other advisers follow him and crowd in, one by one, sinking to their knees, bowing to a fallen king.

Everyone stays there until we hear the birds start singing. And as dawn breaks, the bells toll and a new age begins.