Whispers Unsaid

"Oh my God," I breathed. In the bushes at my feet was the body of a young woman, obviously dead for several days. Her eyes were open wide, and I could still see traces of fear encircling her pupil. The shock of what I had discovered sent my body into shock, but I quickly recovered and backtracked through the woods at a breakneck pace, not stopping until I had reached the garden I had passed earlier. I moved so quickly that I nearly upset Jonathan, who was now placing tomatoes into a small burlap sac that hung from his broad shoulders. "What has got you in such a rush?" he asked, catching me as I nearly fell. He chuckled. "See a ghost?" With a shaking hand, I pointed into the woods. The look on my face must have spoken volumes, because Jonathan dropped his bag of tomatoes, charging off in the direction I was pointing. "Show me," he said over his shoulder, and I scurried to catch up. I picked my way quickly through the forest, feeling myself grow more and more nervous as we grew closer to what I had found. When we reached the spot I stopped, simply pointing at the bush where I'd found the body. It took Jonathan only seconds to find it as well, and he stumbled back, letting the branches snap back into place with a loud sound that echoed through the forest. "What should we do?" I asked softly. I knew that a body in the forest could not be kept a secret - surely the king would want to know that a murderer was afoot in his kingdom! - but who were we supposed to tell? "We need to tell someone, of course," Jonathan replied, voicing what I of course already knew to be obvious. Before I could open my mouth to ask my next question, Jonathan had already answered it. "We need to tell the king." . . . By the time Jonathan and I returned to the castle - with a thoroughly disgruntled infant prince - the sun had began to settle into its niche in the west, casting shadows over the castle grounds. This only served to increase the feeling of forboding I had been experiencing since finding the body, and I shivered as I carried Nicolas into the castle. The babe fussed, balling his fists and letting out soft whimpers of hunger. "I must go feed Prince Nicolas," I explained to Jonathan. He nodded his head to show his understanding. "I will see if I can speak with the king," he said. "He must know of the happenings in the kingdom, especially if there is a murderer on the loose." Jonathan paused, his jaw twitching just slightly. "Although, I think the king may have the less to worry about than we may suspect." I searched his eyes for a clue as to what he meant, but found nothing. Jonathan gave a quick nod and then headed down the long hallway to the king's chambers, his steps filled with purpose. I watched him go, and once he rounded the corner, I set off for the kitchen with Prince Nicolas. His whimpers had escalated to cries, and I knew that he needed to be fed soon. Since I could not nurse him myself - I could not, not having had a child myself - I took a rag and soaked it in a bit of goat's milk. I held the rag to Prince Nicolas' mouth and he immediately began to suckle. I smiled at his noises of feeding. Had the Great War not happened, I would have been married by now, with a child of my own. I had always wondered how it would would be like to feel the ever expanding weight of a child blossoming inside of you. Mother always said that it was a wonderful thing. But now that I had been forced into servitude, having children of my own was out of the question. I would care only for the children of the king and queen. But I suppose it was hardly different, given that I was oftentimes the only face the young prince saw. If it were not for the fact that he would eventually be told of his true lineage, Prince Nicolas would likely assume that I was his mother. Once Nicolas had his fill of the goat's milk, I took him to my chambers so that he could sleep. With a full belly, sleep fell over him quickly and I was able to quietly slip out of the room. As I passed King Zachary's throne room, I heard voices coming from inside. I recognized one as Jonathan's and halted in my tracks. Did he and the king still speak of the treachery I had stumbled upon in the woods? I moved closer to the door and pressed my ear to the wood. "You cannot expect me to just forget what I saw," Jonathan said. "Some poor girl was murdered. She deserves justice!" "She was no one important," King Zachary spat. "If she was, she would not have been sneaking around in the woods. In fact, I would not be surprised if she died at the hands of some wild beast or of starvation. Now be gone. I do not wish to be bothered with this matter any longer." Johnathan made a noise of disagreement that I could hardly hear, and it seemed to me that he was only barely keeping his temper in check. But even he knew better than to argue with his king. "Yes, your highness," he said, through what sounded like gritted teeth. Seconds later, the door burst open, sending me tumbling to the floor. "What on Earth are you doing on the floor?" Johnathan asked, looking down at me. He held out a hand, which I took, and pulled me to my feet. He smirked just slightly. "Were you eavedropping?" I could feel my face become warm as blood rushed to my cheeks. "No, I was not," I replied. "I was simply walking by when you burst through the door and knocked me over." Johnathan said nothing, but it was obvious that he did not believe my lie. I sighed. "Alright, I was listening. But I was curious." "So then you know that King Zachary is not worried that a body has been found in the woods," Johnathan said. The slight smile on his face had disappeared. "He believes that the girl was some type of transient, and that she was killed by a wild animal."
"But you do not," I finished.

"Do you?" Johnathan whispered. After a short second, I shook my head. "I know that it was another person who took that poor girl's life. And I want to know why King Zachary denies that so vehemently."
"What do you propose we do?" I asked. Johnathan was silent for a moment, and he appeared to be deep in thought. "The body needs to be examined," he answered finally. "If she was killed by a wild beast as the king said, she will have the marks of an animal on her body." "We will go look on the morrow then," I said. I was not eager to return to where I had discovered the body, especially now that the sun had set.
Johnathan shook his head. "No," he countered. "We must go tonight."

Notes

And the plot thickens...