Chapter thirty-six

Emily's POV

I think Alfred was stunned by my question because he spent what I thought was an eternity staring at me with wide eyes before shaking his head in denial and smiling weakly. “Oh…” He muttered quietly. “The King is in the castle, he's just locked up somewhere, keeping himself busy…”

I don't know if it was the way Alfred said that without looking into my eyes or if it was his lack of confidence but something felt wrong with me just imagining the King away from his royal duties for that long. It seemed like a bad idea to keep himself trapped in there as far away as possible, especially when I had a feeling the castle itself could be the next place on the list for his 'busy'.

So, despite all logic, I decided to ask.

“He has been around the whole time, he didn't go on a trip?” I pressed further, my mind whirring with possibilities as I wondered if Alfred had missed something. Maybe there would be some kind of secret passageway that I hadn't noticed before. Or maybe I was missi