Chapter 82

Hannah’s POV

“Over my dead body will I let you go see her, Hannah,” Sebastian hissed; I could see anger flashing through his gaze as he turned away from me.

“But I…”

“No, Hannah!” Sebastian growled. “You don’t have a reason to see her.”

“She killed Caroline!” I argued.

“And she’s being dealt with properly,” Sebastian told me.

“I need to speak with her. I need to know why,” I told him, folding my arms across my chest. I wasn’t going to take no for answer with this. It wasn’t fair that he wasn’t listening to reason.

“I know the reason why,” he told me, looking back at me. “Because she’s trying to get to me.”

“Killing Caroline was her way of getting to you?” I asked with disbelief in my tone.

He wasn’t even close to Caroline; that wasn’t making any sense.

“Killing any of my servants gets to me,” Sebastian answered, he lowered his tone, and I could see him calming down.

He was right; Caroline was still his worker. But none of it was making any sense to me still; I knew there had to be more to the story.

“I have to get to the office this morning,” Sebastian said as he grabbed his shirt off his bed. “Can I trust that you will go nowhere near the dungeon?”

I stared at him with disbelief; he was being impossible. What was so wrong with me wanting to find out answers? I couldn’t just let Caroline’s death go in vain like this. It wasn’t fair to her. My heart tugged painfully as I thought about her and the way she died. Magnolia was the one who did this to her, and she was the one who needed to pay for the pain she had caused.

“Hannah?” Sebastian’s voice was low and threatening.

“Yes,” I finally said after a pause. “I won’t go near the dungeon.”

“Thank you,” he said; he took a step near me and kissed the top of my forehead gently. I stood there without saying anything; I was afraid if I spoke my voice would crack and he would see the weakness behind my fake bravery.

All I wanted to do was crumble to the ground and start sobbing. I wanted to mourn the loss of my dear friend. It wasn’t fair that her life was taken like this; she was so young and still had a life to live. It wasn’t fair. I felt like Sebastian was just downplaying this whole situation because she wasn’t as important to him as she was to me.

He walked around me and reached for the door.

“Can we have a ceremony for her?” I asked, turning to face him; he paused for a moment to look back at me. I could see the confused gaze behind his eyes as he stared around my face.

“Like a funeral?” He asked.

“I know you don’t usually have funerals for dead servants,” I told him, trying to keep the bitterness from my tone, but it was leaking through. “But Caroline was loved and respected by a lot of servants here. They thought of her as some sort of leader or guide. I’m sure it’s not easy for them, just like it’s not easy for me. A ceremony would be nice. It’s the least we can do.”

He nodded once and turned back toward the door.

“That’s fine,” he answered before leaving the room.

…

“We are having a funeral,” I told Valerie as I walked into the dining hall.

She was frowning with confusion crossing her face as she stared at me; her eyes were red and swollen; I could tell she’s been crying probably since seeing Caroline’s dead body. I knew Valerie and Caroline were close and this wasn’t easy for her. Most of the maids and other servants have been quiet all morning. In fact, they’ve been quiet since I returned from the hospital. Now I knew why.

“For Caroline?” She asked, cocking her head to the side. She wasn’t used to having actual funerals for those who have died around her so I couldn’t blame her for being confused and a bit skeptical.

“Yes,” I told her. “I need you to alert the rest of the servants. You knew her better than most in the palace. So, I’ll need your help setting everything up.”

“Of course!” She said, I could see the excitement crossing her face. “The gardens.”

“What?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“Caroline’s favorite spot in the palace was the gardens. So, I think we should have the ceremony in the gardens. After we say some words at her grave of course.”

I gave her a soft smile and nodded my head once.

“The gardens it is,” I told her.

She exhaled and nodded in agreement as she went to speak the word to the other servants. I smiled, pleased that we were getting things started. This was for Caroline; she deserved everything and more.

I walked into the kitchen where the kitchen staff was cleaning. They were working quietly; I could see some of the servants had misty eyes and some eyes were red and swollen like Valerie’s. They were all probably thinking about Caroline as well.

The head chef was going through some cookbooks when I approached him. He looked startled to see me for a moment, but then relaxed when he realized it was just me.

“Your majesty?” He said, keeping his tone low; I could see the sadness crossing his face. “What can I do for you?”

“I need you to cook a feast for tonight,” I told him gently, trying to keep my tone low as well.

“Of course,” he said; he grabbed his notebook off the counter and a pen before turning to me. “What’s the occasion?”

“A funeral,” I told him.

His frown deepened as he looked up at his notebook, meeting my eyes.

“I’m sorry?” He asked.

“We are having a funeral for Caroline tonight,” I told him. “So, the feast will need to be for everyone in the palace, including the servants. We will say a few words at her grave and then we will move the ceremony to the gardens and enjoy a feast.”

He was silent for a long while, processing what I had just said. He continued to stare at me confused.

“It’s a trying time,” I told him. “We need each other. Caroline was important to all of us. She deserves a funeral.”

He pulled his eyes away from me and put his notebook on the counter.

“A lot of servants have died here,” the chef said, there was hesitation in his tone. “We have never had a funeral before.”

“That will change going forward,” I told him. “I’m not planning on losing any more servants. But if we do, we will have a proper ceremony for them. We won’t just dump them off in a grave like they don’t matter. Because they do matter. You all matter.”

The chef looked relieved for a moment; he gave me a faint smile and nodded.

“Okay,” he agreed. “A feast it is. How about we make all of Caroline’s favorite foods?”

“That sounds great. I knew I could count on you,” I told him as I started walking out of the kitchen. I paused at the door and turned back to him. “Oh, and I’m sorry for your loss. I know she was a friend to you all.”

He nodded; tears began filling his eyes.

“I’m sorry for your loss too.”

…

“Your majesty, we are under strict order to not let you down there!” One of the guards said as I burst through the doors of the basement.

He was following closely behind me; I could hear the panic in his tone. He wasn’t guarding the door; he snoozes he loses. I should have known that Sebastian would have made them guard me and make sure I didn’t go see Magnolia. I couldn’t, out of clean consciousness, not see Magnolia. I needed to know what was running through her head and why she would kill Caroline.

“Then don’t tell him,” I said as I reached the doors to the dungeon.

“Please, your majesty,” the guard begged. “He will kill us if we let you enter.”

I knew I probably should have listened to him and turned away, for his sake. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. He wasn’t about to manhandle me and drag me back upstairs. After what happened to me in the dungeon not long ago, Sebastian forbade anyone from touching me going forward.

I sucked in a sharp breath, just as the guard reached me, and I opened the door.