Chapter 25
We walk in silence for a while. There are burning questions I need to ask, and yet can't. What holds me back is perhaps the fear to know, perhaps the fact that I don’t fully trust my guides, or yet again pride. I want to be able to count on my intelligence alone to find the key to the mystery that concerns my family.
Matt seems to sense my thoughts, and slowing down he turns my way.
“Arthur, not us, is the one you should beware of,” he tells me.
“Arthur?” I ask, incredulous.
“Yes, Arthur,” Matt iterates.
“Why do you say so?” I inquire.
“You think your uncle, Sir Ludwig the Second, in the enemy, and so does your father our king. Your uncle is not on your father’s side, or on yours, and yet he can be a good source of information. Nobody but him knows about Arthur’s machinations,” Matt tells me.
“How can you possibly believe what my uncle told you?!” I exclaim, enraged and relieved at once.
“Iris, the queen is sterile,” Matt starts and pauses.
I start. They too know my secret. I feel exposed, suddenly trapped in this black tunnel where the only source of light is the torch Matt is carrying.
“You needn’t fear, Iris. Your father would have not put you in our hands unless our loyalty had been proven beyond all doubt”, he reassures me.
“What does Arthur have to do with the queen’s condition?” I want to know.
“Arthur has been the royal family doctor for a long time,” Matt starts.
“Right, so he couldn’t cure the queen. This makes him at most incompetent, not guilty,” I reply defensively.
“Maybe he did more than not curing her. Maybe he caused her infertility,” Matt says, insinuating a doubt.
“Maybe, or maybe not. What is the rationale for your accusations?” I challenge him.
Matt does not reply though, and turning his back to me he marches forward, hastening his steps. I follow, stomping angrily, head down. I am about to repeat my question, when the air stirs, the darkness turns into dim light, and the heavy silence transitions into a suffused sound.
Matt and Wilhelm stop, and look at me for a long moment.
“Come on over, Iris,” Wilhelm tells me at last, “This is what you need to see.”