Royal Doubts

• Tesla Moore, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2018

Estella Cartwright found herself wondering, as she sneaked through the luminous castle passageways, whether she would be able to go through with it. She was not used to this feeling of doubt, having done it so much, and it disturbed her.
This kill would grant her a bounty of much needed silver that would help her family survive through the harsh winter. Still, something held her back.

A baby’s wail echoed down the corridors, and Esta shivered. The baby continued to cry, reminding her just how close she was to the decision. She reached a large, wooden door and wedged it open as quietly as she could. A crib was in the very centre of the regally simple room, in which a male infant squirmed amongst the silk and cotton blankets that covered him. A plaque was engraved on the edge of the cot: his Majesty, the Royal King Darius of Eronde.

Just looking at him, she knew she wouldn’t be able to kill him. It wasn’t that she valued nobility or, in this case, royalty, but rather there was nothing to be held against this infant, apart from the small fact that he was born into the wrong family during the wrong time. The country’s outrage and frequent rebellions were not to be put on this baby’s head, she thought, he wasn’t even acting ruler yet.

Esta knew the child would be killed sooner or later, whether by her own dagger or not. The limited staff for the castle as well as the country’s anger meant he wouldn’t be safe anywhere near there. He would be better off living a life of poverty with her family than a life of hateful royalty at the castle anyway. So having made up her mind, she picked him up and cradled him in her arms.

“You will be a great king,” she whispered to him. “Just not in the middle of this war…”