Episode 24

Prince Erin

I am confused about the scene unfolding. Salem says something about she being the Queen's spy but I know Diane as Elena's friend.

Salem tells me to close the door. Diane tries to escape. Salem holds her back and she starts to fight. Salem isn't surprised, she defends herself but she doesn't attack back.

Diane throws a punch, Salem dodges and smirks.

"You are a good fighter, I'll give you that. I'm not here to hurt you so relax." She drops her sword as if surrendering.

I sit to watch the drama and they both look at me incredulously.

I shrug " *You don't need me, not really."

Diane stops her attack. "Then what do you want?"

"To talk . To get to know each other and maybe share a drink or two." She grins and sits beside me.

Salem gestures to Diane to sit, Diane looks at us suspiciously and draws a knife. She sits with her eyes fixed on us.

"I'm curious, what do you plan on telling the Queen? That you were caught?" Salem asks her.

"What I do is none of your business." Diane scoffs.

"Sure except when it's my business you are doing. What does she have on you, you don't seem to have an issue with money, so why have you decided to sell half of your soul to her?" Salem replies.

"You don't know the first thing about me." Diane stands and I feel Salem tense. If I wasn't close to her, I wouldn't have noticed.

"Okay, I'm sorry, let me rephrase that." Before I can blink, Salem trips her and uses her knife against her, she holds the knife to her neck.

"What have you told the Queen about the Prince? Tell me everything or I will slit your throat." Salem tells her slowly.

"You don't have the nerve!" Diane whispers loudly.

I feel the air change, Diane feels it too as she looks into Salem's eyes.

"You don't have any idea of what I can and cannot do. I'm going to ask for the last time, what exactly do you do for the Queen? I would advise you say the truth. I am not a very patient person." Salem glowers at her.

I clear my throat "Let us all calm down now. Diane, what's the point in dying? The Queen will have someone else take your place anyways. Protect yourself, I'm sure you don't fully trust the Queen".

"I don't trust you two either, especially her, how can you move like that?!" Her eyes widens in amazement.

"Self defense class, now spill!!."

Diane sighs in surrender, Salem releases her and sits back down.

"What do you want to know?" She asks us.

"What does she have on you?" Salem asks.

"How do you think I run the Pallaire without any kind of disturbance? She backs us and the authorities leave us alone. As long as I supply good information, this place will be safe." She glares at Salem while holding her neck .

I raise my brows in surprise "You run this place? Not Madame? You look young, too young"

She rolls her eyes " That's why she is the figure head . You really think that air headed woman can run this place successfully?? What is with men and being dumb. She figured out who I was in a second, you have been visiting here since you became a man and you have never noticed me. I don't know if you were being a snob or you just don't care enough."

"What kind of information do you feed her?" Salem holds my hands.

"This is a place where drinks run, mouths get loose and secrets get spilled. There are things I would tell you that will make you cringe." She shivers as if remembering something disgusting.

"I give her information she can use to blackmail people that are against her. I'm not the only one, she has an organised system through which information flows. I'm just one person in the Pallaire, I'm very certain she has others." She sighs.

Elena starts singing in the other room and we hear her clearly, my face turns green understanding the implication of this.

Salem widens her eyes, she looks through the divider, then at Diane and at me.

"Yes Prince, I sometimes don't have anything doing that I sit here to watch you and Elena fuck." She scoffs.

"Well... Well... I'll file that information, so each time he came here, the Queen always knew." Salem sighs.

"Are you sure you are a princess? No offense but you are too rough around the edges to be considered one. Sure, you have beautiful hair but that is the only thing that is common between you and royalty." Diane clicks her tongue.

"If I don't give her information. My livelihood is over with the Queen. She is the strongest person in Rale, second to the King, she has her flaws but she is loyal to those who are loyal to her." Diane continues.

"I see.... I'm just going to ask for a little favour. You can keep on doing your job as spy but thing is you will do the same for me." Salem says all too gleefully for my liking.

"No..."

"What?!"

"No... I'm courting my death if I do that. I'd just be dead anyways." She resigns.

Salem glares at her then back at Elena.

"Fine, do what you want."

"What?" She says surprised.

"Whaaaat?" I add to it.

"What can we do? We can't kill her, we can't bring her to our side not that there is a side, I can't tell the Queen that I know all about her little spy because Elena will be implicated. So what can we do? Nothing." Salem retorts.

"I apologize for ruining your evening . Oh and get actual walls up, this is just creepy. You are better than that." She pats Diane's hair, she holds me and leads me through the door.

We walk downstairs and join the others as we make way back to the palace.

"What was that about? Do you have a plan?" I ask Salem.

She looks at me and smiles.

"I don't understand what just happened. She could tell the Queen about us."

She sighs and looks at me.

"She won't, that would mean her death. The Queen doesn't use people without worth, she won't tell her about tonight . Also she has a strong sense of pride, she hates doing it. She thinks she has to do that, for someone like her, there's something more important than money. Her Freedom."

"You didn't expect her to follow you then why bother, you could have pretended not to know." I ask.

"But then I would not have had the chance to steal this." she shows me a token, it's what the Queen spies use to communicate.

I laugh "you are one cunning lady. When did you steal it?"

"When I took her knife. We don't have to use her, we can easily have our own spy infiltrate them." She winks.

"That would be hard. You just came, and I'm the Prince without power." I grin at her.

"Actually, we have Elena." She smirks.