Chapter 36

Adira sat in their chambers, refusing to dwell on anything from the past. There was nothing good to remember, so she thought up baby names; they had found out they were having a boy. She couldn’t settle on a name just yet.

Duncan wasn’t helping; he kept suggesting weird names that no kid should have to endure. His last set of choices consisted of Pubert, Ingleberk, Bertran, and Huckleberry. Adira knew he was just trying to make her laugh. She even considered choosing one of them just to tease him for a while.

She had also been deciding whether or not to see Alfred. She knew it was stupid and it wouldn’t change anything. She just felt bad that his sentence was so harsh—to die slowly, alone in the dark. It had been a week, and at his age, he was probably already gone.

As stupid as it all was, she gathered a basket of food and other items, nothing that would aid in his escape—well, that depended on how you looked at it. She felt she just wanted to show him some mercy, something she was never given.

Perhaps it was that he was dying alone and in the dark; she didn’t know for sure, but she made her way to the dungeons anyway, hoping they would let her in.

The guard stopped her at the gate. “Lady Adira, what brings you to the dungeons? This is no place for a lady in your condition.”

“My condition? What is it with the male population? You make it sound like it’s a disease. I’m pregnant, not made of fragile glass that might break at the slightest whim. As for why I am here, I wish to see one of your prisoners.”

“Which one do you wish to see, my lady?”

“Alfred.”

The guard looked taken aback. “That prisoner is off-limits, my lady.”

“Listen, I understand why he was sentenced to death. I understand that the king says he has to die alone. I understand everything except one thing: why. I know his thoughts of me, but what I don’t understand is why he would betray his King.”

“I want answers, and the only way to get them is to ask Alfred before he dies.”

“Alright, my lady, under two conditions: First, you let me go with you as your guard. Second, I have to inform the King.”

“Fine. You can come along and inform whomever you will; it will not stop me from doing what I wish to do here.”

Alfred sat in the darkness, feeling weak and tired. He was hoping death would find him there. He wasn’t so sure, though.

He heard a noise, or was it just another figment of his imagination? Then a sliver of light shone in his face, and he hissed in pain. When the door opened, there was a figure standing there, and he knew who it was before she even spoke a word.

“Why are you here?” he asked with a sneer.

Duncan and the King were in his chambers, discussing the idea that Duncan and Adira were returning home to have their pup when a guard, out of breath, came into the room.

“Your Highness and Alpha Duncan, I am here to inform you about what Lady Adira is doing at this very moment.”

“SHE IS DOING WHAT???”

Duncan and the King raced down in a fury to the dungeons.

Adira went into the cell with a very nervous guard at her side. “I just wanted to share some food and wine with you one last time and ask you some questions, if you are willing, that is.”

“You mean you want me to suffer even longer by eating the food and drink, stretching out the time period of my suffering?”

“No, that is not my intent at all. I thought that for one last time, you could have the civility you always wanted to surround you—a bit of dignity, if you will.”

He looked at her with one eye and then nodded his approval.

She lit some candles to give light. The room didn’t improve, except that she could now see. She set out what looked like a picnic, but instead of a meadow, it was more like the inside of a cave.

She poured him a plastic cup of wine and set out a plate of food before him, complete with a napkin and silverware—well, just a plastic spoon, but it would have to do. She didn’t want him getting any ideas.

They ate in silence for a little while.

“So, Alfred, why did you betray your King? It wasn’t just because you felt that I was not worthy of the title he gave me.”

“Well, I must say I didn’t think you were all that smart. I betrayed him because of the mess he made out of everything. After his mate died, he stopped caring about things. I started to help out with some things, but there were times when he had to rule; no one else could.”

“Then I tried to tell him about what his son was up to; he wouldn’t listen, brushing it off as rumors. When I told him that I was a witness to the Prince’s crimes, he still wouldn’t believe me.”

“Then you came along, and he started to dote on you. You and Duncan were all he would talk about. He believed your story, but he wouldn’t believe me, a faithful, loyal servant.”

“I’d just had enough, that is all. Enough of commoners thinking above their stations, enough of my King not listening to me, while that son of his started to kill servant girls.”

“Alfred, if you knew what the Prince was doing, why didn’t you try to stop him yourself?”

“I am not just a servant but a high servant. To do something such as interfere with a royal member of the house I serve would be unthinkable.”

“So you knew what was going on, and you just let it continue? Even if the King wouldn’t listen, I would have found a way to stop it or expose it. By knowing and doing nothing, you’re just as bad as the criminal that commits the crime.”

Alfred didn’t say anything more after that. Adira knew it was the end of the conversation. With the help of the guard, they picked up everything and put it all in the basket. Just as they were leaving the cell, Duncan and the King came rushing in.

The guard shut the cell door as they walked away. Adira looked back once more and then moved on.

Once they were clear of the dungeons, Duncan and the King stopped Adira in the walkway. “What were you thinking, Adira? To go there was taking a big risk, not just for you but for our pup as well!”

“That is enough yelling at me, Duncan. I went because I needed answers, and I knew that neither you nor the King would let me go. I was at very little risk; I was with a guard the whole time. Did you not notice that there were two other guards just outside the door as well? I found the answer I was seeking and also gave him the mercy that he should have been given.”

“Adira, what are you talking about? What answer were you seeking, and what mercy did you give him? Feeding him and giving him wine is only going to prolong his misery.”

“I love you, Duncan, and I also care about you, my King. If you go back to that miserable cell, you will see that I have prolonged nothing.”

With that, she turned and walked away to her chambers.

Duncan asked Apollo what was going on; he didn’t know any more than Duncan did. Artemis wasn’t talking at the moment.

The King turned and asked the guard who was with Adira and Alfred what was said while they were together.

“My King, they didn’t talk all that much, but Alfred did tell her why he committed treason.”

“Did Lady Adira give him anything to keep?”

“No, sir. They ate and drank. They talked for a little bit, and then Lady Adira decided she wasn’t going to get any more information. That was when we picked up all the stuff and left. There was nothing left in the cell. I made sure of it.”

The King motioned for Duncan to come with him back into the dungeon to find out what was going on with Alfred, what this was all about.

When they opened the door to Alfred’s cell, he was lying on his side in the dirt, blood and foam coming out of his mouth, his eyes wide open, his face a look of horror. His hands were at his throat, like he was trying to stop from choking. However, Alfred was now quite dead.