Kam reached into his pocket and grabbed the sleeping medicine he had prepared. It wasn’t much, but he felt it should be enough to deal with Edward’s final guard. Someone came over and handed a few sets of sheets to Kam as he knocked on the door. Someone opened it for him, pretending to be the royal Guard, and he carefully walked over to Edward who layer in his bed. His heart felt like it was about to explode out of his chest as he slowly reached down to put the sheet down.

Daisy watched everything with squinted with cold eyes and quickly stood up, reaching under her skirt. It took a second, but she could see Kam was moving strangely, like he was hiding something in his sleeve. As someone trained by Esmond, she knew instantly what that meant.

"ASSASSIN!" Her voice called out to the Royal Guard she believed to still be there and charged at Kam without hesitation. Edward awoke from her shout and looked up with the innocence expected from a child. Kam clicked his tongue and let the blade drop into his hand, quickly jumping back to avoid Daisy’s strike.

The other two quickly came in with their blades drawn, and Daisy circled around to block Edward’s crib. Her mind spun as she wondered what to do. She was the final line of defence meant to kill her enemies before they could get the Crown Prince. She wasn’t a fighter but an assassin. Without the Royal Guard, she had no idea what to do against three men, but she didn’t falter and took a defensive stance.

She had to buy time. That was all she could do. Kam and the others charged, attacking Daisy all at once. She blocked the attack that looked most fatal whilst the other two made light wounds across her skin. She flinched but suppressed the pained groans that wanted to come out. Daisy swung for one and cut across his arm, the man unable to dodge properly.

’They have no training.’ It was obvious in the few moves, from their uncoordinated attacks and inability to protect themselves. The man yelled loudly, and finally, Edward began to cry, the noise and slight smell of blood irritating him.

Kam could see the man who was struck get scared and gritted her teeth. "Grab her. She can’t stop us all." The other two nodded and moved with Kam. Whilst Kam attacked, the other two tried to grab her. Daisy frowned and blocked Kam’s attack with one dagger as she held the other out, an attacker falling on it.

Deptie being pierced in his chest, they grabbed hold of Daisy as the other got around and held her arms. Kam acted quickly and pulled the sleeping medicine out. Daisy saw it and closed her mouth, not letting it be opened. Kam frowned after a second of trying. "Pull her head back quick." One grabbed the long hair and pulled hard.

With her head tilted back, Kam opened the vial and poured the contents down her nose, grabbing her nostrils and closing them afterwards. He didn’t know if it would work, but he had no choice. It would take too long to open Daisy’s mouth, and he didn’t want to torture the woman to try and do it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Royal Gurad knocked on the door to Issac’s office before letting himself in. Looking up, Issac frowned and stared at him in confusion. "Why are you here? You’re meant to be with the Prince."

"Prime Minister?" The royal guard said, equally confused. "You summoned me."Throwing the letter onto Issac’s desk. His frown grew as he opened it.

"This isn’t my handwriting," Issac said in confusion but quickly stood up. Checking his desk, he looked at how much wax he had left for his seal and opened his eyes wide in terror. "The Crown Prince. Where is he?"

The guard could tell instantly that something had gone wrong and turned around to leave. Before he could, a servant ran in with a terrified look on her face. "Prime Minister. A fire. By.... The Imperial... twins room." The servant said in panic as Issac got up and pushed past the guard.

"Go back to the Corwn Prince now." Issac didn’t hesitate to abandon everything he was doing and run deeper into the Palace. He quickly saw the fire that had engulfed an entire room near the twins as a dead servant lay before two Royal Gurads.

"Prime Minister." They quickly tried to bow, but Issac waved his hand and watched as tens of servants tried to put the fire out.

"What happened?"

"This servant set the fire. We caught them quickly, but once we did, the fire had already started." Issac didn’t have time to yell at them for killing the servant so quickly as he watched the fire.

"Take the twins to a safe place. You are to take orders from no one unless it is by me in person." The guards nodded and quickly went into the room. It wasn’t a second later they walked out guarding the twins, Frida and Violet. Issac ran once again to another part of the Palace.

"Sound the bells. Lock down the palace." Issac gave the order to a guard standing by a spiralling staircase. The man didn’t hesitate and nodded, running up the steps. Issac breathed rapid breaths as he ran to Edward’s room. ’Please be safe. Please be safe.’ He couldn’t help but dread whatever was happening to Edward. If he was dead or injured, he couldn’t imagine the fury that Alfred and Isra would unleash. Anything they had done in the past would look insignificant compared to what would come.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kam watched Daisy as she was still awake, fighting the sleeping medicine. Her head was over the crib Edward lay in as she desperately tried to move her arms and attack. The man she stabbed had long collapsed and groaned as he bled out, but Kam and the other made sure not to allow her to move.

"Why isn’t it working? You said it was strong, " the other attacker said to Kam in panic as Daisy smiled, looking up at them. She had been trained to be resistant to poison. Sleeping medicine and certain poisons were ineffective against her unless in large amounts. Whilst she had been given enough for it to take effect, it would take a while—long enough for the guard to return.

Kam looked at her, wondering what to do, but soon bells began to ring across the Palace. "Shit," Kam said under his breath as he looked at the other attacker with fear all over their face.

"This wants apart of the plan. It’s too early." The man was hyperventilating, and Daisy watched as they wondered what to do. The sheer panic in the other attacker’s eyes showed how unprepared they really were for the mission whilst Kam tried to find a way out.

"I don’t want to die. I’m sorry. Forgive me, please." Daisy heard the attacker’s words, and her pupils shrunk.

"NO!" Kam screamed as Daisy tried to push out, but the attacker raised his dagger and stabbed her in the face with shaking hands. Edward looked up, going silent from Kam’s scream as blood fell onto his face. His body shook in fear as he watched Daisy’s head lose its strength and roll back. The blood fell like a waterfall, and the image of Daisy with a knife through her face engraved itself into his mind.

"You idiot. What have you done?" Kam said in horror, but they didn’t have time to think. Picking up Edward, he made sure not to touch his legs. The boy’s eyes never left Daisy, and he shook in fear, too scared even to cry. The other attacker quickly stuffed a cloth in the boy’s mouth as the two ran out as fast as they could to the meeting point.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Royal Guard arrived a minute later and saw Daisy’s body over the crib, dying in blood. Running over, he looked into the crib and saw Edward gone. He froze on the spot, not knowing what to do.

Issac soon arrived and, seeing the scene, froze aswell. He wiped his mouth and looked at the Royal Guard. "What are you doing?" The guard looked at him, and Issac gulped. "GO! FIND HIM!" The guard broke out of his panic and quickly ran off. Issac went over to Daisy and, seeing the blade through her face, gritted his teeth.

’If Edward was inside...’ He didn’t want to think about it. If Edward had seen everything, been bathed in the blood of his nanny, his guardian. Leaning on the crib, he clenched so hard he felt like he would break the crib. He didn’t want to think what could happen to the boy. ’He’s alive, at least.’

Issac took solace in the small fact. If he was dead, they wouldn’t have bothered taking him away. But he quickly realised something else. ’What do I tell his majesty?’ The idea of having to write to Alfred his son had been kidnapped, made him feel a primal terror he didn’t know he could feel. He knew that even his father wouldn’t be able to save him.

Issac clicked and ran to the deepest part of the Palace. Despite the chaos going on, the two unyielding guards outside the printing press room didn’t budge, guarding the place they had been ordered to guard. Issac tried to go in but was stopped.

"Let me in. The crown prince is gone, and if I can’t go in there, he may never return." The two looked at one another and finally moved, letting Issac in. If they couldn’t catch the people before they left the palace, all he could do was rely on the entire Empire to help.

Calming himself down, he quickly but carefully worked to create a message that would be spread across the Empire if they failed to stop Edward from leaving the Palace. Within a week, they could have hundreds of messages spread across the Empire. It was a risk to tell the people the Crown Prince was gone, but what else could he do? He hated the fact that they never prepared for this situation.