The Throne Is Mine
Chapter 171

"My lady," a voice was heard followed by a knock on her door.

Annabelle rolled her eyes, tired of the maids constantly checking up on her when she advised them to leave her alone. "I do not need anything and if anyone requests my presence, I am-"

Her words were interrupted by the door of her room opening wide with a slight squeaky sound.

"I knew there was something odd," Margaret commented as she entered the room. Her eyes went straight to Annabelle’s stomach which was suddenly flat compared to the bulge she showed yesterday. "Close the door and have no one interrupt us," she ordered the maid who was supposed to be helping Annabelle.

Annabelle was caught off guard by Margaret’s sudden visit. Reminding her predicament, she turned to hide her stomach. "I cannot be stressed right now," she said.

"Yes, losing a baby is quite hard on a woman’s body. Stop trying to fool me, woman. I am not my foolish child. I have been in your position and I have seen others lose their babies in the early stages. If you were going to pretend, you should have tried to act less suspicious," Margaret said.

Annabelle started to sweat, feeling like her time in the castle was about to come to an end. Without a child, there was no reason for her to be allowed to stay here. Margaret of all people despised her so there was no doubt she would be first to leave. She was certain she acted normal and couldn’t figure out how Margaret knew.

"Did you give the child a proper send-off? Surely you did not just dispose of it?" Margaret asked.

"I wrapped it up and placed it in the pots of dirt with flowers on my balcony. Should I start packing or will you have me thrown in the dungeon? You have been waiting for this moment. It is why you came here and opened my door without my permission. Go on, enjoy this moment," Annabelle said, clenching her fist as she prepared to be insulted.

"It is no secret that I don’t like you or the fact you became pregnant but I don’t plan to kick you out just yet. I first had to come and confirm that you are without a child. Now, if you want to stay in this castle I suggest you listen to me. Fraser will have many people in his ears telling him to get rid of you. They won’t care if you are no longer pregnant. If you are dead, it is a guarantee there will be no baby to rival Fraser," said Margaret.

Margaret walked toward a chair and sat down.

"How do you know of this? Did Fraser tell you this plan?" Annabelle asked, not trusting Margaret as yet.

"Because it is what I would do and is something that has happened in the past. That child in your stomach was a threat to Fraser. He or his grandfather wouldn’t want someone else who can gain support to continue to live. I don’t plan to expose that you are pregnant. I am going to protect you until I no longer need you and then you shall leave the castle," Margaret stated as she sat down.

Annabelle stood confused about why Margaret would want to protect her and what exactly she was being used for. "How can I trust you?" She asked.

Margaret was starting to find Annabelle to be perfect for her late son. They both lacked common sense. "Do you think I would come to you like this if I had plans to kick you out? The guards would be right here with us if I wanted you gone. Stop being so defensive and listen to what I have to say. I am your only hope right now."

"I can confess my miscarriage to the new king and tell him you came to me looking to hide the truth in exchange for my life. It is a risk but it is better than trusting you," Annabelle replied, refusing to take a seat. There was no way she would trust Margaret so easily.

Margaret desired a stick to magically appear in her hand to hit Annabelle over the head. It was clear that if Annebell turned to anyone else she would die. "I am the only person who can keep you alive. I need you to pretend to be pregnant long after Fraser has been crown king. I will see to it a proper Blackwell is back on the throne."

"A proper Blackwell?" Annabelle muttered, thinking to make sense of what Margaret was planning to do. Fraser’s mother had Blackwell blood even if she came from a mistress. It wasn’t the first time Beth would be called tainted Blackwell blood. Other than Margaret, the only other person who could say they had pure Blackwell blood was Amelia. "Amelia has the throne in the north."

"So what? She is the last remaining Blackwell that should be acknowledged. For years, Blackwells have never let children not created by the king and queen sit on the throne. They didn’t view the child as pure that is why I found your dreams to have the next king to be foolish-"

"Richard planned to marry me," Annabelle corrected Margaret.

Margaret shook her head. "If he did, your child would have been pure but you do not have the background to become queen. He was planning to do something taboo in his family line. Make your child his heir if it was a boy. Were you aware he started the process to search for a new queen?"

This was news to Annabelle. She recalled her plans with Richard to make her queen so the child she once had would be pure as Margaret explained. That was why she was sure they were getting married. No one could object to the child in her stomach if she was to be queen.

Annabelle had a feeling Margaret was lying to her. Richard was always honest whenever they were alone together. "You didn’t know your son as well as you thought. The queen he was looking to have was me," she said.

"I see why Amelia hardly bothered herself with you. You are no different than the fools my son messed around with before and during his days with you. A woman with a good background was already selected. It was hard for me to keep this away from Amelia," Margaret muttered, looking away from Annabelle as she thought about her granddaughter.

"Her family produced a lot of strong boys and they were meant to wed before the land would be covered in snow. Your pregnancy only halted those plans for a moment as your background was considered. Your child was a backup. A last resort my son would have taken if his new wife gave him a daughter or Fraser failed him," Margaret added.

"No," Annabelle shook her head. She always feared Richard would find a younger woman and cast her away but he would reassure her that she would be the next queen.

"No one knows my son better than me. I birthed him and watched him grow. My son filled your head up with nonsense. I’ve even heard he took you to a witch. Do you understand that if anyone finds out about that, you will be burned?"

Annabelle’s palms continued to sweat more than ever. What Margaret said didn’t make any sense. "Why would he announce my pregnancy if my child couldn’t sit on the throne?" She asked. Her love for Richard quickly turned to hate.

Annabelle believed his every word in the past and his sweet promises about the life she would soon have. She endured the pain of the things the witch doctor did for her to have a boy. Richard wasn’t by her side when she screamed out loud from the pain of something being placed inside her and then the weird drink she had which burned her sore throat.

"I told you he was looking to do something taboo in the Blackwell family. If he could not have a boy, he would convince the court to put your child on the throne. That would not have changed your position from being his mistress. I don’t know all of my son’s plans considering I wasn’t in the castle for years but I know that he planned to use you. It is twisted but the only woman he ever loved was Anne," Margaret said.

Annabelle once again started to pace back and forth. She was in denial at first but what Margaret said started to make sense. Richard was always having secret conversations with the court that he would not inform her about and the moment she found out she was pregnant she asked to be made queen right away but he didn’t.

"Are you going to work with me or keep pacing? I will pay you for going along with this. You can also have the house I planned to send you to. Do we have a deal?" Margaret held out her hand.

Annabelle licked her lips. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would work for Margaret but she wasn’t ready to leave the castle yet. "Deal," she replied.