***

It was morning the next day and Walter already had something to make his day better. He had just dressed and eaten when a servant appeared to announce Lord Morge's arrival. The servant had but finished when Lord Morge walked in. Looking at his figure that seemed to have hurried over, Walter knew he had found something.

“Let us go in,” Walter invited him into the study.

“You were right,” Lord Morge said as the door of the study closed.

“What did you find?” Walter asked.

“The minister works for the queen. He has helped her embezzle a lot of money in the past. It's full evidence of corrupt practices. But that is not what bothers me. Everybody knows Lady Steinhouse is the king's only niece. Because of the king's favour, she has never hidden her dislike for the queen. Does she intend to use this? How does this relate to the extra Gold?” Lord Morge asked thoughtfully.

“Probably this is what she intends to present to the king, so as to have him dispose of the queen. But this could all go away by royal order. This is only possible if the king intends to have the queen disposed,” Walter speculated and Lord Morge's pupil shrunk.

“This means much more. If the king himself wants the queen disposed, that means he intends to make sure the crimes unquestionably stick. If it's just these, then it's not worth mentioning. It must be big. If the side she supports is the king, then there must be a reason she wants the money to disappear,” Walter continued.

“Unless the way to make the crime stick and the crime big enough to unquestionably dispose of the queen is one and the same; the missing money,” Lord Morge said.

“It matters not. I will bring this to Her Ladyship tonight. If she intends we do nothing, then this document will disappear. If she says otherwise, then I will ask straight out, who the extra gold belongs to when I go to meet Lady Steinhouse,” Walter said taking the document from Lord Morge.

***

Like always, Lady Steinhouse walked into the palace unhindered. She was soon led towards the king's study by a servant. Entering, she saw the king grandly dressed, looking sickly as he sat on a grand chair. She observed etiquette before approaching him. The king stared at his niece’s make-up-free face and raised a brow.

“You are much different today, Helen,” he said. She understood his manner; as she had been stared at all day and almost confused for someone else, as she was led into the palace. She, more than any, understood why she had not worn any makeup. For some reason, since she had last seen Walter, her mood has been bad and the smell of powder disgusted her.

“I have been able to send a message to Lady Wickshire. It might not have been in your said words, but I believe it was understood,” she sidestepped the topic and went straight to the point.

“Really?” the king asked, one could see his eyes shine.

“I had someone on her side decide the investigation of the minister. If I get back the results, it would not be wrong to assume that she will not be interfering or is okay with our plans. I'm still not sure why you remain wary of her, but I remembered to not let the opportunity pass me by when it presented itself,” she said. This was something she could have informed the king in a letter, but she had learned a long time ago; that things of importance should be handled face to face.

“If there is no reply, you must be sure to find out what we are allowed to do,” the king said and she frowned.

“I did not inform you, but I suspect she is in possession of the money missing from the treasury. When she took all of the Mclears' fortunes, the royal gold was amongst them,” she informed him and he grimaced.

“Well...that's gone. How the kingdom will make up for it....” he sighed in resignation.

“We could request it returned. Would she dare ignore you?” Lady Steinhouse said in anger. She was disappointed by his attitude.

“Even if I had ten thousand lives worth of courage, I would not dare..... there are some people you can't offend, Helen,” he chuckled in self-mockery.

“But....” Lady Steinhouse started to protest.

“Let it go, Helen,” the king stopped her. She frowned as she curtsied and left without a word. The king could tell she was beyond angry with him, but how could he explain his first encounter with Lady Wickshire?

“Am I doing the wrong thing?” he asked out loud.

“No. You must never offend her,” An alluring voice answered as Lady Raine stepped out from behind the bookshelves.

“You also have the feeling she is dangerous too, then?” the king asked her.

“No, I know for a fact that she is. You must never underestimate the women of the Thraine clan,” she said and the king stiffened as though all life had left him.

“Thraine? Thraine clan?” the king's pupil shrank visibly.

“It seems you did not know. I guess none of the first-rate kingdoms would have told you. It would not be in their best interest anyway,” she said, making her way to a chair and sitting.

“But...” the king tried to utter words, but his mind was already too muddled by the words she had spoken before.

“But what? You never wondered how your kingdom went from third-rate to first-rate overnight? First-rate kingdoms may still be under the ancients but are respected as equals to the ancients. This is of course in name alone; they are a world apart and only left alone to thrive because The Religion wishes it so. The only way for a kingdom to become a first-rate kingdom is to have both the means and power to cause the ancients to respect them as an entity, and it takes many years to reach such a feat. Another way is to have a member of the Thraine household living in your kingdom as her home,” she said.

He, as the king, did not know how his small kingdom became classified as a first-rate kingdom that enemies refused to approach.

“The Thraine household is an ancient clan. I'd always thought they lived in their own territory as no one truly knows anything about them, but thinking about it, it's right for them to be all over the place; after all, it's a clan of women,” she explained. Only then did the king react.

“A clan of women?” he asked.

“Of course. Though we know nothing about them, the only people ever known to be Thraines were women and truthfully, no one is sure how the inheritance works. The grand dowager empress of Khul is a Thraine; we know

that, but, she had sons alone and none of them are considered Thraines. Her sons have daughters yet they too are not so lucky, except one. Her third son was not considered a Thraine, but his daughter, the granddaughter of the grand dowager empress, is. The female valley head of Lir before her was never a Thraine. You must understand that no one knows anything about how it works. One thing is for sure though, they are women and they are always blonde. An abbot that once came to visit my mother had only told us that the succession of Thraines is linked to the curse of their hair. But of course, he had died soon after, you speculate as to why,” she said and the king shivered.

“So, they have managed to make people fear them, without anyone knowing anything about them,” he said. The thought that one lived in his kingdom, he was sure was a good thing. But doesn't this mean his crown held no meaning?

“Worry not. They have never been one to interfere with little kingdoms; in fact, they usually support their home and that at the moment, is your little Kingdom,” she consoled him.