Queen Isabelle strutted into the dining hall where the king was breakfasting, took her seat at the table, and ordered the attendants to leave. Watching them file out, she turned to her husband. "So. Care to explain what the hell happened yesterday?"

Edward frowned. "That was a mess indeed. Who would have thought that Alice would target the life of our Robert, after all we have done for her. I had no choice but to immediately get rid of her before she could enact her plans."

Isabelle stared. Robert was the second prince, three years younger than Raymond, and Isabelle hadn't heard he was connected to this incident at all. "What? Would you care to explain that assertion? I had heard that you had banished Alice for an attempt on the life of that bitch Emily that Raymond keeps fawning over."

Isabelle had spent the previous week at the family estate, her mother having fallen deathly ill and not being expected to survive more than a few days. Fortunately she had pulled through, although doctors were still working diligently to diagnose what had happened, if only to judge the chance of a relapse. Arriving back late the previous night she had discovered that she had missed an impressive set of events. Edward recounted the story.

"Four days ago, an assassin broke in to the Crawford estate. He ran into a patrol and was captured alive. He had on him a map, with Emily's room marked, along with guard posts and patrol routes. Fortunately the patrol that caught him was missing from the map, else he may never had been caught. On interrogation, he claimed to have been hired by someone who gave the name of 'Alice', who had also provided the map. He told the investigator he had dealt with her personally the previous day, gave us the time and place and an accurate description of Alice Sandoval. He also mentioned that Alice had told him she had a second job lined up for him once he was done with Emily, someone by the name of Robert, although she hadn't given him more details."

"And I assume you didn't take his word for it. He could have been lying through his teeth. So what evidence did you dig up?"

"Of course. First off some soldiers investigated the tavern in question, and found several patrons who had been there for the meeting. They corroborated the story of the assassin, and filled in the details of the conversation between the two. Alice had expressed concerns about Raymond's incompetence, and felt that the nobility was likely to push someone else to take the throne. She hadn't explicitly mentioned Robert in relation to that, but the implication is clear. As well as the obvious motive of Emily stealing the affections of her husband. Given the... interesting nature of the conversation they'd overheard, one enterprising patron decided to tail Alice, and was able to lead a group of soldiers to an inn room, where they found copies of floor plans for the Crawford estate and for the palace, among personal effects confirmed to belong to Alice, and documents confirmed to be in her handwriting."

Isabelle peered. "You are aware of Alice's opinions of Raymond, and of royalty. The motive makes no sense. If she thought that we would agree to switch Raymond's betrothal to Emily, she would jump at the chance. Also, assuming this was true, Alice is not so stupid as to state the fact that she wishes to commit high treason out loud in the middle of a crowded tavern."

Isabelle tapped her fingers on the table. The evidence was there, but it made no sense. And her foolish husband had responded to it without giving Alice a chance to defend herself. She chose another point to pick at. "So, this missing patrol route. Was there anything special about it? Was it new?"

Edward looked confused. "Why does that matter?"

Isabelle sighed. She could see the point of the nobility who thought Robert should take the throne. For better or for worse, Raymond definitely inherited his brain matter, or lack thereof, from his father. But Edward cared deeply for his family, was aware of his weaknesses and was fully prepared to take her advice as needed when it came to running the country. "Because it's suspicious that someone had such extensive plans that missed out a single patrol. Let me put this clearly for you. I suspect that the patrol was left off deliberately, and that assassin was supposed to get caught. That Emily was never meant to die. That the whole intrusion was just the first step in a play to frame Alice. Likewise do you really think that a single assassin could sneak into the palace and kill Robert, even if he knew every guard station and patrol route? Did these floor plans of the palace that were found include patrol routes? For that matter, you said they found documents containing Alice's handwriting, but was any of that handwriting on the floor plans, or anything else incriminating?"

"How should I know? I'm not the investigator. He told me that the evidence was extensive. I didn't memorize every single detail."

Isabelle sighed once more. She hadn't added that another point of suspicion was that this happened immediately after she left capital for a time, leaving Edward to his own devices: Attacking Edward's ego would be counterproductive. She knew Raymond would push for anything that got him out of his engagement and Edward would be far more receptive to his persuasion than she would have been. Humiliating Alice in such a public manner would have been Raymond's idea too. "I would strongly advise you secure Alice in another city while this matter is investigated further. She only left yesterday, so it shouldn't be hard to catch up. Don't let her leave the kingdom. With her abilities, that would be a great loss."