"How certain are you?" Blackwood asked Trent.

"As certain as the fact that I am not blind," Trent replied, face tight. "She was in a stagecoach, driving away from the direction of the Palace."

Greene stood and said, "This is not good, Eaton. The prince is in danger."

West nodded and turned to Terence Garmont. "Rothsker is currently in his villa here in Coulway with two Royals, awaiting instructions. Go to Rothsker at once. Take St. Vincent with you. We need a doctor in case the prince gets hurt."

"Me?" Oliver asked. "I do not think I will be of much help protecting the bloody prince—"

"You will save his life if he gets hurt—that is what you have to do," Blackwood interjected before he faced the rest of the Royals. "We do not know what Lady Renee has told the Palace, but precaution is a must. Belcourt is moving fast. I will travel south with Greene who will pretend to be Rothsker and get tickets to London. There is a chance Belcourt will be watching my every move. Greene and I will serve as diversions." To Garmont, he said, "You and St. Vincent will travel to Herst with the prince after staying two nights in Eaton. There is a secret cabin in the woods. My valet will show you the way. Take the ship to Herst and leave the prince there." To Robert Dior, he said, "Go to Herst this very night. Once the prince arrives safely, you travel back with Garmont and St. Vincent. The party should leave with three and return with three. Do you understand?"

Robert nodded.

The Duke of Remington frowned. "And what if something happens to you, Eaton? I do not think it is wise that you venture to the south."

"I am the only person Belcourt will go after without question. And if something happens to me, you know what to do."

Oliver scoffed. "I agree with Remington. You should stay here where it is safe, Eaton."

"I can go," Rider offered. "Belcourt believes I am a Royal."

"No, you stay here with Tanner. Watch Belcourt closely. You have instructions on what to do once things go awry. Darcy has been informed of Lady Renee's recent activity."

West turned to Remington. "Remington, Darcy has sent word for you. Please stay behind." To the other Royals, he said, "Opera is over. Go."

*****

"But Ollie, you do not take missions like this," Aliya said that same night as her husband grabbed clothes from the closet.

"This is Rothsker we are talking about, Ali. I cannot simply stay here knowing he might be in danger. And there are only a few Royals left in Coulway. Rider and Tanner as useless as they are identified as possible Royals. Trent is currently on a different mission. The rest of us have to take up roles."

Aliya worried her lips. "How long will you be gone?"

"Five or six nights the most."

She bit her lip to keep the tears at bay. "Ollie, I do want to stop you, but I know it will be selfish of me to do so. But I am very selfish. I do not—Ollie, I do not know what to do if something happens to you."

He rushed toward her and held her shoulders. "I will be fine, darling. My only task is to keep Rothsker alive until he reaches Herst. And then I come home."

"Belcourt may also be watching you because of me. Delaney told me they have been closely watching me, Ollie."

He smiled. "Herst is my home, Ali. I go there every time. Why would Belcourt be curious?"

She nodded, trying hard to convince herself. "Then what do I tell people? If they ask where you are?"

"You tell them I am at Herst, of course, tending to my old father and my insane sister."

She nodded. "Very well." She cupped his face. "Go. Go now before I stop you."

Grinning, he gave her a long kiss. "I love you, darling."

"Do not say that now. Say that upon your return."

"I will also say that when I come back."

"Once you come back," she corrected."

He kissed her again. "I promise."

*****

Rothsker was wearing a tattered black cloak when he entered the carriage parked outside the villa. He grinned at Oliver and Garmont as he took the seat opposite them. "Good evening, gentlemen," he greeted with a grin.

"We have to stay two more nights in Eaton, Your Highness," said Garmont, his gray eyes serious as he explained their plan to Leo.

Rothsker nodded. "Whatever Eaton says, I will do it. I rather like the idea of staying in Herst for a while."

Oliver and Garmont did not comment.

"I guess this is all my fault, is it not?" Rothsker continued. "This would not have happened if I did not draw much attention upon myself."

"I do agree," Oliver replied. Garmont hit his side with an elbow. "You should also agree, Garmont. What His Highness did was rather bold. He could have stayed hidden somewhere and wait for the safest time to reclaim the throne."

"Ah, but gentlemen, it is not I who has a throne to reclaim."

"Ah, of course, I forgot that your father is still alive," Oliver wryly retorted.

"You did what you thought was right at the time, Your Highness," Garmont said. "It would have been a good plan."

"But a plan set to failure, nonetheless," said Oliver. He rolled his eyes when Garmont elbowed his side once again.

The prince chuckled. "I do like you, St. Vincent. I am certain that your wife enjoys your humor as well."

"Yes, of course, she does."

"I was told that I will be staying with your father in Herst. Does he live there alone?"

"He would love that, but unfortunately, my mother is still very healthy. She is currently in Coulway, but she is due to return home soon. My father is currently alone in Herst with a Mirror and a fish who wish to be a shark."

Rothsker narrowed his eyes, obviously amused. "Does this mirror talk?"

"If you can make it talk and move, you have my utmost respect."

"And the fish? Does it walk?"

"It can also fly if it puts its mind to it."

Rothsker's chuckle echoed in the carriage. "Now, why do I feel ecstatic to arrive in Herst?"

*****

Eaton's valet and a footman led them to a hidden cabin in the nearby woods.

For two days, Rothsker did nothing but explore the trees and would have ventured further if not for Garmont's constant reminder that he was being hunted. Everything he did, he wrote in his journal.

On their last night, Oliver asked him a question. "If things do not go exactly as the Circus wants, and your father winds up dead, would you be willing to take the crown from Louis?"

Rothsker blinked. "It is a question I am yet to find the answer to, St. Vincent."

Oliver frowned. "Then you do not know if you want to be king."

Rothsker sighed, his dark blue eyes thoughtful. "I can be king, but I do not think I can be as great as my father."

"Your father was not great enough. He was ousted."

Garmont glared at Oliver from across the room.

Rothsker smiled. "I appreciate your honesty, St. Vincent."

"If you are to be king, Your Highness, you have to be worth the things we are sacrificing now."

A look flashed Rothsker's eyes, but it was one Oliver could not identify. It was the kind of look that required him to know Rothsker, but they do not have the time for that.

"All I can say is that we have to take my father back to where he belongs. He is the best man to deal with Napoleon."

"Napoleon is advancing his reach. If we allow Louis any more time in the throne, we might all be under the French before your father can ever cross the ocean from London. At the very least, you must be ready."

"I know," Rothsker replied, face growing serious. "Which is why we have to get this Belcourt business out of the way soon."

"It will be easy once we find out who runs it," Garmont said. "They are all but women—"

"They are not just women," Oliver and Rothsker chorused.

Rothsker smiled. "My first ever Belle was not an easy woman, Garmont. I had to be constantly on my toes around her."

"My wife can skin me alive in my sleep and I would not even know until I am facing the devil," Oliver added.

Garmont's face painted bafflement.

"And we are not just talking about the ladies we know from Belcourt. We are talking about hundreds of others still inside—including children," Rothsker addressed Garmont. "We cannot discount the fact that the institution is home to these women and children."

Oliver looked at Rothsker. The prince raised his brows at him in question, and Oliver smiled. "I believe you will be a fair king, Your Highness."

Rothsker groaned. "I was afraid you would say that, St. Vincent."

*****

Their journey to Herst was not met with women carrying swords and daggers. It went as smoothly as they had expected that Oliver expressed his fear that it was too easy.

"Not everything has to be difficult, St. Vincent," Rothsker told him as they watched the island of Herst come to view. "Humans simply always expect the worst, thus our discomfort when things go too well. The opposite also stands true."

An old carriage was already waiting for them upon their arrival on land. As a precaution, they were taken to different routes before eventually reaching Winfield where Robert Dior was already waiting for them.

Beside Dior stood Simon St. Vincent.

The old man bowed to Rothsker with a big grin on his face. "Welcome to Herst, Your Highness."

Rothsker nodded, acknowledging Oliver's father and Robert.

He looked around. "Well? Where are the mirror and the fish?"

*****

They stayed another night in Herst.

For the one day that they were there, Rothsker was able to meet Mason, but not Ellise who had locked herself in her study.

"Is she the mirror?" Rothsker asked.

"Yes," Oliver said. "You will know what I mean the moment she decides to exit her dungeon."

Robert was the one who suggested that they find Rothsker another place to stay. Winfield should only be temporary, to which Simon replied, "I do have a plan, Robert, but in accordance to Darcy's instructions, I shall not share it with you."

The night before their departure, the three Royals could not sleep. They stayed up all night while Rothsker took a peaceful slumber in his bedchamber like the royal arse that he was.

They talked about their lives, both in and out of the Royal Circus. Garmont shared how he managed to procure The Grimes. He talked about planning to find a wife.

"How about you, Dior?" asked Oliver. "Any news of a betrothal any time soon?"

"None," Robert Dior replied. "I am yet to find a woman who could suffer and survive the tests of the Circus."

"Ah..." Oliver said with a smug look on his face. "I pity you, gentlemen."

*****

When it was time to go, Oliver and the others were surprised to find Ellise climbing down the stairs.

Rothsker who was insisting his tattered cloak on Garmont, froze as his eyes found Ellise stiffly descend from the second landing.

Mason rushed toward her and asked questions about riding horses, hunting, and swimming. "Later, Mason" Ellise said to the child, taking his hand while her eyes went to her brother. Her long brown hair was tied high behind her head. White shirt and a pair of buckskin, along with her riding boots, told Oliver that she only went out to ride her horse.

"You did not tell me you have a very magnificent mirror, St. Vincent," murmured Rothsker beside him.

"You do not touch the sister, Your Highness," Oliver warned before he met his sister at the foot of the stairs.

"Who are these people?" Ellise asked, her hazel eyes looking over his shoulder at Rothsker.

"You know who they are."

She merely nodded and fixed him a look. "How is Aliya?"

"She is doing well."

"Do tell her that I feel bad about Delaney. But I do agree that she ought to let her sister do what she wants. The Belle has to learn that she has made a mistake."

"I will extend your words with a much nicer tone, of course," he said, kissing his sister's forehead. "Do not do anything stupid while the prince is here. If ever danger comes, you grab Mason and you escape."

"And father?"

"Father, too, of course."

Ellise nodded, eyes on Rothsker. "Go home safely, Oliver," his sister said before she tugged Mason away, leading the child out to the balcony, completely ignoring the Royals they passed by, saying, "It is time for your riding lessons, child."

*****

Their trip back to the mainland was uneventful. And once more, Oliver expressed his concern that their plan was going too well.

"Do not fret too much, St. Vincent," said Garmont, trying hard to fix the collar of Rothsker's tattered coat. Rothsker insisted that if someone had been following them, they ought to show that they were the same company that left. And Garmont being the closest to Rothsker's physique, he had to don the old coat.

Robert suggested that they stop at Eaton once more and hunt while they were there. This time, they stayed in Blackwood's estate, Everleigh.

"Will you be back before luncheon, my lord?" Darren, Blackwood's valet and messenger, inquired Robert Dior.

"Yes."

"Very good, my lord. The estate shall prepare your meals. I am certain you will be famished upon your return."

The three of them set out to the direction of the woods with their rifles, crossing the vast open grass field that separated the manor from the woods.

"Why are we doing this again?" Oliver wryly asked as he walked ahead of the group.

"Because we need an excuse as to why we are all together," Robert retorted, catching up with Oliver, frowning at the path ahead.

"I hate hunting."

"Says the man who cuts animals open."

Oliver turned around to face Garmont, walking backward. "Dead animals, Garmont," Oliver corrected. "I do not kill them. And I would rather go home to the wife, thank you."

"If only I could say the same but I come home to my riches that my ambitious niece cannot wait to claim—"

Garmont's words were left unspoken as a shot rang out from the darkness of the woods ahead of them. Oliver frowned when he felt a certain pressure on his left arm. Before he could assess it, he saw Garmont fall on his knees, clutching his shoulder. Soon, blood was dripping between his fingers.

"Garmont!" Oliver shouted, running over to Garmont.

Another shot was fired, stopping Oliver. He whirled around to find Robert flat on his abdomen, taking cover behind the grass, aiming his rifle at the direction of the trees up ahead. "Get down!" the man shouted.

Confused, Oliver looked down.

"Bloody tarnation," he cursed as he fell to his knee. He lay flat on the ground and rolled on his back. His chin touching his chest, Oliver looked down and watched as blood started to drench his white shirt, right at the side of his torso. He looked to his right and found his rifle out of reach. He cursed under his breath.

Twisting his head back, he saw a figure clad in black right next to a tree, pointing a rifle straight at Garmont who was still on his knees a few paces from Oliver's feet, picking up his weapon from the ground. "Garmont!" Oliver growled, scrambling to his knees and hands, lunging himself toward Garmont as fast as he could.

The tiny voice at the back of his mind screamed at him. He could not put his life on the line! Stupid!

But he had to. For some reason, he had to. If only he had much time to reach Garmont and push him on the ground—

He felt the impact of the bullet at his back, pushing his chest forward, arching his spine. He slumped over Garmont and they both fell on the field of grass. He stared at the man's grey eyes. "No," he groaned, looking down between him and Garmont. The man's chest was bleeding. With shaky eyes, Oliver searched Garmont's face. "Garmont!" he shouted as man's pupils dilated, staring straight at him, life slowly fading away until it left naught but empty, glassy grey globes.

"St. Vincent! Garmont!" he heard Robert Dior shout as more shots were fired.

Aliya's face with a monkey on her shoulder flashed before his eyes as they closed.

And then there was nothing.