Chapter 222 - The Wicked One

"Anna, what are you talking about?" Sophia asked in shock, "Are you joking?  You didn't really give this boy poison to kill Vincent with did you?"

Anna laughed coldly, "What does it matter?  He's hideous and his death would be good!  His wife is beautiful and could marry her pirate.  Then she might actually be able to have children.  The beast wouldn't keep showing up at court and causing trouble for you and Daniel.  It sounds like a good thing to me."

"Hold your tongue!" Daniel snapped, "Vincent is my family Anna!  He is a good man!"

"What about the other heirs?" Sophia looked at her sister, "Please tell me you had nothing to do with their deaths."

"I can tell you that," Anna chuckled, "But it wouldn't be true."

Gasps came from nearly everyone as they stared at this wicked woman.  Daniel stumbled back a step and a strange noise escaped him.  Delaney moved forward until she stood between Vincent and Violet, watching the twins.

"Why Anna?" Daniel shook his head in confusion, "Why would you kill so many of my family members?  My heirs?"

"Wait," Sophia interrupted as she frowned and studied her sister, "Where did you get all this poison, Anna?"

"From Luna of course!  The same place you and that foolish duchess got the poison that was keeping you from having children."

On the floor in front of them, forgotten until now, the redheaded witch looked up at them with eyes flashing in fury.  Sophia looked at her in horror.

"I don't understand," Delaney said quietly, "Wasn't Luna already here before you came?"

"She was," Anna's eyes gleamed, "But I'm the one who sent her."

"She's right," Daniel nodded now, "Anna sent Luna here shortly after Sophia and I were married.  She's a witch from their land Anna said might know more of their medicines and things than my other witches."

"That's why I only work with her," Sophia added with her voice cracking, "I wanted to work with a witch from my homelands."

"I'm surprised you didn't recognize her Sophia, "Anna chuckled again, "You've met her before."

"B-Before she came here?" Sophia studied the witch, "But when?"

"Back when we were children she was dragged into the court before our grandfather the King.  Her neighbors had accused her of cursing them.  So they cut her tongue out and left her to her misery.  They were all wrong though.  Luna wasn't cursing them... She was poisoning them"

All eyes went to Luna who smirked at this.

"Our witch spoke of Luna," Delaney said quietly to the King and Queen, "She said the woman excelled at poisons and we should use caution with her."

Daniel swallowed and looked from the witch to his sister-in-law.

"So you sent people to Luna to get poisons to kill my heirs..."

"Until I was here.  Then I just got the poisons and picked out the people myself from some of your greedy servants."

Little William dropped his gaze at the words and Vincent put an encouraging hand on his shoulder.

"Anna," Sophia looked desperately at her sister, "Please tell me... Please tell me you weren't also behind Luna giving us the poison so we couldn't conceive children?"

The wicked twin's smile shrank a little, "The whole reason I sent Luna to you in the first place was to ensure you didn't have a child."

Sophia cried out and her hands flew to cover her mouth as tears sprung to her eyes.  Daniel slid his sword into its sheath and quickly moved to take his wife into his arms.

"How could you?" he shouted at his sister-in-law, "You knew how badly we wanted a baby... How badly we needed one as an heir."

"Why would you do this?" Sophia asked weakly through her tears.

"Because," Anna folded her arms over her chest, "I wanted us to be together.  You're my twin.  We shouldn't ever have to be apart.  When that childish prince refused to marry me and then your weak-willed husband sent me back to our castle I knew I had to do something quickly.  I was lucky the two of you didn't like each other at first because there was very little chance of you producing an heir.  I found Luna, befriended her, and sent her here to live with you and ensure no heirs would ever come.  I knew Daniel, as the King, had to have an heir so eventually he would have to break his marriage contract to you so he could find a wife that could give him one.  Then you would come back to me."

"Oh Anna," Sophia whispered, shaking her head, "Oh Anna no."

"I never dreamed it would take this long," the Queen's twin continued, "With how much you didn't like one another at first I thought for sure that Daniel would break his contract with you in only a year or so.  I never thought the two of you would end up being fond of one another and he wouldn't want to lose you.  I have hated it every day we have been apart and then in the last couple of years when our brother has been trying to find a man to marry me I knew I had to do something to put more pressure on Daniel so he would send you away."

"So you began killing the heirs," Vincent said coldly.

"So I began killing the heirs," she smirked, "And Luna was wise enough to send your duchess with poison to keep her from having any new heirs when she had the chance practically dropped in her lap.  I knew with you losing all your heirs Daniel, that your men would put pressure on you to find a new queen that could give you children.  Then my sister would be sent back home to me."

Everyone in the room stared at the wicked Anna in shock, trying to process through all the terrible truths she had just admitted to.  All the murders of innocent people just so she could get what she wanted.

"W-Why did you try to marry Mason again then?" Delaney asked as she thought of the handsome prince, "If you thought Sophia would be sent away why would you do something that would mean you would stay here?"

A cold laugh rang out through the room, making more than a few people jump.

"Anyone who really thought Mason would ever marry me is a fool.  He ran away once before so I knew there was no reason he wouldn't do it again, especially after I saw him looking at the lady pirate.  I simply pretended I was committed to it so I could stay here longer and continue on my plan with Luna.  We knew every heir that died was just pushing Daniel one step closer to breaking his contract sending Sophia away."

"Anna," Sophia spoke quietly to her twin, "You're a murderer... You've killed all those innocent men just so... just so you could have me to yourself again.  You kept Daniel and I from being able to have a baby, something that would make us happy.  Do you know how miserable it has been for me all these years not being able to do that?  Do you understand all the horrible and humiliating things I have tried in a desperate effort to fix something I thought was wrong with me?  Doesn't any of that matter to you?"

Anna stared at her twin with cold eyes for a moment, taking her in.

"No."

The simple, horrifying answer made everyone react in shock.

"There is no goodness in you at all," Vincent spoke with an icy tone as he glared at the woman who had hurt them all so deeply, "You have acted selfishly and didn't care about the other lives you ruined in the process, as long as you got what you wanted."

"Yes," Anna turned to glare at him now, "And I was so so close to getting what I wanted at last.  After all these years!  Now even Mason is gone!  The King's heirs are almost all dead!  I've heard his men talking in the halls.  They were so close to forcing him to send Sophia away and I would have gone with her.  We never would have been separated again!  But then you had to come and ruin everything!  I never would've dreamed I would have to lay eyes on your hideous face again but here you are!  You've come here and ruined everything!"

Suddenly, Anna pulled a long, thin blade from her skirts and pointed it at Vincent, her eyes flashing with fury.

"You should have died with the poison," she screamed at him, "You should be dead!  Instead, you have stolen everything from me!  Everything is ruined and it's all because of you!"

Before anyone could react, Anna pulled back her arm and sent the dagger flying through the air towards Vincent.  Delaney watched the flying silver as if in slow motion.  It was headed straight for her husband's chest and there was nothing she could do, standing frozen in fear as everyone else was.

But not Ian.

The pirate reacted fast.  He lunged towards Vincent, shoving him out of the way.  He fell into Delaney and Violet who tried to catch him but they all ended up falling hard to the stone floor.  Vincent tried to catch himself and keep from crushing his mother and wife beneath him and ended up with them both pinned under his chest.

Everyone was still for a moment, breathing hard.  At last, Vincent scrambled back off Delaney and Violet, sitting up on his heels he quickly patted his hands over his chest before his green eyes shot to his wife's, and a relieved smile bloomed on his face.

"You're alright," Delaney said to him as she felt her heart leap in her chest and a smile fill her own face.

"I'm alright," Vincent laughed nervously but moved, snatching his wife up from the floor and pulling her in against his chest.  His eyes met hers for a moment before he caught her mouth in a bruising kiss.  Delaney felt happy tears spill from her eyes as she took his face in her hands and kissed him back.

Beside them, Violet suddenly gasped and cried out.  Delaney and Vincent broke away from each other and turned quickly to see if she was alright.  She wasn't hurt though.  Instead, she was looking in horror at something behind them.

Delaney turned quickly to where she was looking and cried out.

Ian stood looking down at them with fear-filled eyes and shaking hands, the dagger sunk deep into his stomach.