Pursue Norbier

Whatever is going on, clearly Norbier is the mastermind. Stewart finds this so hard to believe, given his long relationship with the King, but Stewart cannot ignore the evidence of his own eyes. After making sure he has not been spotted, Stewart moves stealthily in the direction he last saw the royal advisor going. This soon brings him to the administrative wing of the palace where Norbier maintains his personal office.

As Stewart approaches the office and sees the sign "Internal Affairs" on the door, he stops and listens. There are voices coming from inside. Given that the administrative side of the palace is closed today, due to the festivities, he suspects this is where he will find Norbier. Creeping close to the door, he confirms that no one is following him before kneeling down and looking through the keyhole.

What he sees almost causes him to give away his presence. There, leaning against the wall, casually talking to Norbier, is his father, King Malcolm!

Stewart listens to the conversation.

"Things are moving faster than we anticipated, but we should still be alright," says Norbier.

"Are you sure?" asked the king. "The last thing we need is for me to walk into the throne room and have the real Malcolm sitting there."

Stewart's heart felt as if it had been gripped by an icy hand. It was an imposter! But the masquerade was beyond exceptional; Stewart could not see a single thing in appearance or voice that would suggest that this was not his own father.

"It's being taken care of as we speak," says Norbier. "Dathan assures me the men he sent to get the king are top quality. He should be in their hands and already on his way out of the Palace. By sunset, he'll be in Obscuria, and no one will be the wiser."

"You forget about the queen," said the false-Malcolm. "The original plan would have kept us from interacting, except in formal settings. I am confident I know the king's mannerisms and style while in public, but who knows him better than his own wife? I think we need to reevaluate this and do something about getting her out of the way, too."

"We talked about this already," said Norbier. "The queen frequently retires before the king. We will simply invent a situation that requires your attention until long after she has gone to bed. No one will be the wiser. Besides, when we first talked about this, you seemed rather intrigued by the thought of sharing a bed with Queen Caroline."

"I confess that does appeal to me," responded the imposter. "She is a beautiful woman, and who would not be energized at the prospect of bedding the Queen of Mirantia? Indeed, if so much were not riding on this, I would risk taking her and the Princess Adella -- at the same time and by ****, if necessary."

Stewart clenched his fists and bit back the urge to storm into the room and challenge the foul beast to combat mortal right then and there! To say such things about his own mother and sister revealed much about the black heart of the treacherous fiend.

"You may very well have your opportunity to do that -- and more," said Norbier. "Before you begin to indulge in your royal prerogatives, however, we need to make sure the princes are taken care of."

"That should not be difficult," came the response. "We will soon have Stewart married off and send him away on his honeymoon. All of Mirantia will mourn his tragic **** at the hand the Resistance insurgents. Duncan will be entrusted with the sacred task of avenging his brother's blood, only to bravely give his life in a **** **** on a rebel stronghold."

"That was the plan," said Norbier, "but someone has alerted Stewart that there is something amiss. He is even now trying to find out what is going on. I wonder who alerted him."

"I will take care of that," said the imposter. "I will assure him that I have had it investigated fully. In fact, if it would help, we could stage an arrest of one of our own, and arrange a 'confession' that it was the ill-conceived plans of a single individual. Will that satisfy him?"

"It may," said Norbier. "He is brash, but he's not the smartest of the royal offspring. It is Adella who is most likely to have her doubts."

"And we shall marry her off quickly, as well," said the man. "I think a treaty, sealed by marriage, with the Sultan of Oceanavia would be nice, wouldn't it? It will be a shame to send her to an island so far away, but I'm sure her mother will willingly accompany her for the wedding. By the time she gets back, we should be firmly established in the new order of things."

"And with no heir to the throne, you'll name me as your successor, correct?"

"Correct. Although I still think it would be a pleasant experience to try to sire a new heir to the throne... But I will not disappoint you." Looking at the clock, he says, "It is time for the festivities to resume. Would you like to accompany your king to the throne room, Minister?"

The men laugh and move toward the door. Moving quickly, Stewart ducks behind a statue, just in time to see them emerge from the office. At that moment, the servant girl Stewart spoke to earlier comes around the corner from the direction of the throne room. Seeing the man whom she thinks is the king, she stops abruptly and drops down in a low courtsy. The two men approach her, and the imposter speaks.

"What is it, my child?"

If the girl was flustered to speak to Stewart, she is now positively overwhelmed speaking to a king. She remains down in the courtsy, but looks up and says, "I beg your pardon, Your Majesty. I did not know you were here." She looks confused and looks over her shoulder before saying, "I thought you were with the soldiers..."

"What is it you want, girl?" asks Norbier, cutting her off.

The girl returns her attention to the men with a start and says, "I have been sent with a message for the Minister."

The imposter king looks in Norbier's direction and waves his hand. "Speak your message."

Looking back and forth between the two men, the girl licks her lips and addressed Norbier. "Sir, Captain Dathan advises that the errand on which you sent him has been accomplished without complication. He also said to tell you that he is unable to locate Prince Stewart."

"Thank you. That will be all," Norbier says, dismissively.

The girl takes one more awed look at the king and then rises and begins to depart.

"One moment, young lady," says the imposter. "I would like to speak with you about a small matter; would you please wait in the Minister's office for a moment? I will be in, momentarily."

The servant girl's eyes betray a look of awe and alarm, wondering what this could all be about, but she courtsies in response and procedes into the office.

"What is that all about?" demands Norbier.

"You heard what she said," responded the imposter. "She saw Malcolm leave with the soldiers. She didn't expect to see me here. If anything goes wrong, she's a witness, and that could jeopardize everything."

"So you want me to have her killed?" asks Norbier.

"Not right away," came the response. "Let's at least find out what she knows first." He looks in the direction of the office with a hungry look in his eyes. "She seems to be rather awestruck in the presence of her liege; let me question her and see what use she might be. Besides, I'd much prefer that we know where Stewart is before moving forward; that's an unknown quantity that troubles me."

He steps toward the office, and Norbier begins to follow him. The imposter holds out his hand to stop the man. "I will take care of this, Norbier. You go and see what is going on with the prince."

Norbier raises a questioning eyebrow.

"Oh, don't worry about me, my friend. I think I can handle one servant girl."

"Well, just don't get blood on the carpet; it's imported."

"I'll be careful," said the man. "And that's not the bodily fluid you'll likely have to worry about."

Stewart watches as the men part company. Norbier returns to the direction of the throne room while the imposter enters the office and closes the door.

Stewart considers his options. From the sound of things, his father has been **** and is being spirited away to Obscuria. Is Obscuria's Queen Imperia behind this attempt to take over the throne of Mirantia? He is still seething about what he overheard about the designs on his mother and sister, not to mention the plots to kill him and Duncan. And then there is the poor servant girl in the office! With so many things at stake, it frustrates him that he can only do one thing.