Back in Amaryllis, trouble was brewing stronger than before. 

No one knew that the royals had left, they just thought they were in a family meeting or something. 

Prince Nathaniel Ferguson, sat on an old medieval-style throne, deep underneath the palace in the old abandoned dungeon. 

He ran a hand through his black hair, his hazel eyes focused on a scroll in his hands. "My plan is going perfectly. Soon the royals will have no idea what hit them and I can take the throne." He declared with pride lacing his voice, a wide smile on his lips. 

His daughter let out a huff moving her creamy blonde hair to her back. Her hazel eyes were focused on her father. "Don't you mean I will take the throne?" Princess Victoriana "Tori" Ferguson pointed out flipping through her magazine as she laid out on a chaise lounge. 

"Yes Tori, you shall be crown princess and take the throne." Nathaniel corrected himself, waving his hand around the air in dismissal. "I'll only be there to help you when you need me."

Tori smiled, glancing over at her father, closing her magazine, and setting it down beside her. "Father, you look like someone rained on your parade." She asked, standing up from the chaise lounge.

"Why don't you smile a little bit for a chance? Or even take a break? You've been at this for years, waiting a little while longer won't make such a difference." She suggested, walking over to him, she sat down on the armrest of her father's chair.

Nathaniel simply raised an eyebrow at his daughter's words. "How can I smile at a time like this? I have to make sure that my plans fall into place at the times I planned or else I will have to start from scratch. You have seen how long it took me to come up with this." He explained, twisting his signet ring around his finger.

Tori frowned, rolling her eyes, glancing at her nails. "Still, I don't understand your whole idea about getting rid of your sister and her family when there are other ways of going around it." 

Nathaniel snapped his head up from some papers and looked over at her. "And where on earth could you possibly have heard that? I never told you any such thing." He asked defensively and skeptically eyed her for her reaction.

Tori rolled her eyes pushing herself off the table and resting her hands on the table. "You don't have to say a word. I've eavesdropped on your conversations. I have to keep up to date on what is going on. I may be your daughter and I may be a princess, I still think I ought to know what is going on since I will be ruling." She pushed her hair behind her ear.

Nathaniel picked up a book he had given her a million times to read but she left it laying. "You should stick to your royal studies and stay out of this. This is not your game, Tori, it is mine. You should be preparing to rule the kingdom, not trying to meddle in my work." He placed the book in front of her.

Tori picked up the book and walked over to her chase lounger, sat down and she set it on her lap. "Father, I wasn't meddling in your work. I respect you enough to know my place in certain matters." She told him, opening her purse and setting her mirror and lipstick on the book. 

Nathaniel sighed, his daughter was much like his wife. "Just please stay out of adult issues." He asked, waiting for her to remain as innocent as she possibly could. 

Tori opened up her lipstick after she opened her mirror and looked into it. "What if I don't want to be crown princess?" She smiled before reapplying her lipstick, which was more or less fixing the ombre pink and red she had done that had gotten messed up.

Nathaniel looked over at her as he ran his fingers over the ink on the scrolls. "Don't be ridiculous Tori, it has always been your dream to be crown princess and rule over the kingdom." 

Tori pursed her lips and rolled on her side, propping her elbow on the armrest and resting her cheek in her hand. "Everyone needs to be reminded about it now and again. I couldn't be happier to be crown princess, it is my duty."

Nathaniel smiled, rubbing his hands together and gathering up the scrolls on his desk. "Good." He declared triumphantly. "Everything is set into motion and a domino effect will soon happen to ensure you rise to that throne!" He laughed evilly, shaking his fists in the air.

Francis Court, walked in, his almost bleached blonde hair had been revealed from when he had taken off his helmet. His dark brown eyes looked up at Nathaniel and bowed to him. "You're highness." He looked up at him as he kept bowing to him.

Nathaniel smiled seeing it was his favorite and loyal guard. "Ah, Francis, what brings you here?" He asked, putting each scroll against each other in a briefcase. 

Francis straightened up, his face was trying to hide some nervousness. "Unsettling news, your highness." He frowned looking down before looking up at him again.

Nathaniel furrowed his brow, pausing what he was doing. "What do you mean unsettling news? What happened?" He asked, wanting to know every little detail that he was about to spill.

"It seems the royals have given us the slip. They had left without telling anyone. We are not sure how or when they did leave. No one heard a single thing or saw anything that would ward suspicion." Francis explained, straightening up and choosing his words carefully.

Nathaniel abruptly stood up and scooted his chair back, the legs screeching against the floor. "They did what?  He growled slamming his hand down on the table with a deep frown. "How could this happen? Is the palace staff so oblivious to what goes around? Or are they just playing dumb?" He sat back down and rubbed his temples.

Tori looked over at her father, capping her lipstick and closing her mirror, putting them back in her purse. "If I was in their shoes and knew someone was trying to kill me, I would want to flee somewhere safe." She matter-of-factly commented, crossing her legs.

Nathaniel groaned, his daughter was not helping them out any bit with her words. "Now is not the time to comment, Tori! No one asked you to speak, stay out of this!" He growled at his daughter, narrowing his eyes at her. 

Tori flinched as she looked down at her lap and smoothed out her skirt. "Sorry . . ." She apologized, going back to being quiet once again. She hated when he used that tone with her.

Nathaniel looked up at his loyal guard and took a deep breath. "Francis, I want you and the others to interrogate everyone in this castle with your charismatic and charming personality." He commanded and added. "Also, bring me the duke and duchess, I need to have a long talk with them."

Francis bowed once again to him, before straightening back up. "As you wish, your highness. I will gain information without anyone knowing I am doing that " 

Nathaniel thought about it for a moment. "I think I know who I will start with. I need to handle these two people alone. I am sure they shall know what is going on, hmm?"

Tori gave her father a confused look, tilting her head to the side. "What would the duke and duchess know?" She inquired, leaning back on the chase lounger after putting her purse on the floor.

Nathaniel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose once again. "They're close to the royals, sharing a special bond and secrets they don't share with anyone else." He smirked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table while his chin rested on top of his folded hands.

Tori stood up, grabbing her purse after pulling her dress down by the hem. "That is my cue to go. I have a fitting for my birthday dress here in a few months." She waved at her father and took her out of the door and up the stairs.

Nathaniel sighed softly, pinching the bridge of his nose, leaning back in his chair. "Oh Natalia, Vincent, why oh why did you choose to escape. You always have to make my life much harder than it truly is." He said, speaking to a picture of the royal family all with a red X over their face.

He tapped his fingers on his armrest leaning forward and took out the picture from the frame. "Soon I shall have the kingdom to myself and nothing can protect you from what I am planning. Revenge is a dish best served cold which you will all be in your graves." 

"I already have a coffin picked out for each of you, all suited to your personality. Playing the part of grieving uncle is an easy task and no one would ever know what I have planned for your fate. Ah, what goes around comes around." He hummed with a smile.

Francis walked back in and bowed to Nathaniel. "The duke and duchess are waiting in your study. I told them I would come and get you. They seem just as worried about Vincent and Natalia as you are." He said opening the door so he could walk out. 

Nathaniel stood up from his chair and walked over to the door. "I am sure it is merely an act. With how close they are to the queen and king, I doubt they don't know where they are at." He remarked, brushing past Francis.

He walked up the steps, going through a secret passageway that made it easier for him to get to his secret study when he needed to. 

He pulled down on a lamp handle once he made it to a wall. The large door-size painting cracked open and he pushed it walking through. He fixed his cuffs, closing the secret door with his foot as he looked down the halls.

He walked into his study, putting on a worried uncle and brother persona. "Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me. I am sorry I am a bit late, I had to do a double-check of their rooms. I am so worried about Natalia and Vincent, I am afraid something bad has happened." He said, faking the worry in his voice.

Duchess Nari Cheong pushed her black hair behind her head, her dark brown eyes reading the man in front of her. "You're right. It is quite unlike them to do this." She agreed, keeping her answers short and simple.

Nathaniel kept a somber expression on her face but inwardly he was smirking at how wonderful of an actress she was. "You haven't seen them since your meeting yesterday, have you? The palace is awfully quiet. At this time Cooper, Daniel, and Brian would be at fencing training, Viviane would be in singing lessons and Allison would be in violin practice."

"We haven't." She bluntly replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "It certainly isn't like them to just leave without careful planning and making it known to everyone leaving someone in charge."

Duke Jae Cheong ran a hand through his black hair, his own brown eyes focused on the man before him. "Before you say anything, yes, by default, Vincent has put us to oversee the kingdom if they were to leave. I doubt that is the case." He interjected before Nathaniel could get a word in edgewise.

Nathaniel scrunched his nose, his eyebrows furrowed, trying to be as dumbfounded as anyone would. "I wasn't going to say anything of the sort. I could care less if you are in charge or not for the time being. I was merely hoping you had an idea of where they would be or what could have happened."

Nari wasn't buying it but continued to go along. "I have had the same thoughts cross my mind now that I think about it. It has been a rather quiet few years so there would be no need to worry." She simply stated, bouncing her foot in the air.

Jae glanced over at his wife then Nathaniel wondering if he was buying it or not. "Maybe they are planning a surprise party or something. Tori's birthday is coming up soon and we all know how she loves surprises and lavish events." He suggested, mentally crossing his fingers.

"I doubt that. I checked everywhere in this place and they seem to be not found. Their rooms seem normal but empty like they abruptly left." Nathaniel replied, trying to read their reaction.

Nari gave a short laugh at his comment. "My, my, Nathaniel, are you suggesting we had something to do with them abruptly leaving?" She asked, leaning back in the chair.

Nathaniel frowned, shaking his head in dismay. "Of course not. I wouldn't suggest any sort of thing, it never really crossed my mind you would do anything of the sort." He said, trying his best to keep calm and fake everything. 

Jae put a hand on his wife's shoulder looking him dead in the eyes. "We are all a bit worried about them. I am sure they will turn up soon." He looked at his wife. "We have other things to attend to." He said, flashing a tiny smile.

Nathaniel looked at his watch and shook his head. "We have at least three hours until that happens so we have plenty of time to talk about what we are going to do." He said, taking his eyes away from the watch and looking at the duke and duchess

Nari crossed her legs as her fingers ran down the armrest. "What are we going to do? I am sorry but there is no we in this. I am not going to worry myself into a tizzy about this and spend extra money that isn't necessary. If they aren't back in a few days we can then worry. Isn't that what Natalia always said?" She questioned.

"You are right. I am being a little silly about something that may be nothing. Natalia did always say give it three days if they ever left abruptly. Forgive me." Nathaniel inwardly cringed at the words leaving his mouth.

Nari didn't buy his apology but she couldn't let him know she suspected he had something to do with the target on them. "All is forgiven." She huffed, a little annoyed at the prince. "Is that all? I have things to attend to too." 

Nathaniel shook his head, sitting back down and fixing his tie. "Where is your son? He seems to be missing as well." He asked, looking between the two. 

Jae glanced at his wife knowing she was in no mood to answer him. "On a trip. He does have free will to do whatever he wishes. Last month he was in, I believe, Paris and then Maldives and then South Korea to visit his grandmother."

"We don't keep track of our son. We trust him to make his own decisions now that he is nearing eighteen." Nari quickly interjected. "We won't put limits on what he wishes and tie him down to stay by our side." She commented, crossing her arms.

"Ah, yes, how could I forget." Nathaniel forced a smile, mentally groaning since he hadn't gotten any more information. 'This conversation is getting me nowhere. They're most definitely hiding something.' He thought to himself, pressing his lips into a thin line.

Tori knocked on the door and slipped into the room. "Father -" Her eyes glanced over at Jae and Nari. "Oh, hello, Duke Cheong, Duchess Cheong, what brings you here?" She asked politely, knowing fully well why they were there.

Nathaniel stood up and placed his hands on his desk. "We were having a nice little chat." He turned his attention to the due and duchess. "They were just leaving." He said as he watched them look at each other before leaving the room silently, closing the door behind them. "What do you need, Tori?"

Tori sat down in the chair and placed her phone on the table. "I had my friend try and track their phones. Unfortunately, they are all turned off so tracking won't work." She replied, crossing her legs and bouncing her foot. 

Nathaniel sat down and leaned back, listening to his daughter. "You didn't need to do that, Tori. I already knew their phones were off." He said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I did tell you to stay out of adult matters."

Tori frowned, grabbing her phone off the table. "I am almost an adult. I will be taking the throne once your plan is done with. You want me to learn how to manage a kingdom. So I am doing what you taught me and trying to help because after all, I am your daughter and I shouldn't be kept out of the loop." She firmly explained, placing her hands on the table and rising to her feet. 

Nathaniel grinned at what his daughter had said. "I am proud of you. That is what I am talking about. You stood up for yourself and even though I told you to stay out of adult matters. You certainly are my daughter." He gave her a wide grin, clapping his hands.

Tori was surprised, her wide eyes and slightly slack jaw showed it. "Wait, you are proud of me for trying to help?" She couldn't believe he was testing her.

"Do you think they know you are behind it?" Tori asked bluntly, twisting a lock of hair around her finger. "

Nathaniel scoffed at the thought of Natalia and Vincent thinking it was him. "I don't think my sister and or Vincent would even think it was me. Natalia always sees the good in me, I can do no wrong in her eyes, Vincent on the other hand, not sure." He replied, resting his elbows on the desk.

Tori slowly nodded, picking up the animosity towards Vincent in her father's voice. "Do you believe the duke and duchess? They would do anything for them. That would even mean helping them disappear until the threat is neutralized." 

"No, I don't believe a word they said." Nathaniel nodded leaning back in his chair. "Why would they need to be in charge if Natalia and Vincent weren't gone? They left the kingdom, I know that for sure. But where? That I'm not sure of." He stood up and poured himself a glass of water.

Francis came back into the room, closing the door behind him. "Your highness," Hebowed to Nathaniel, holding one arm behind his back while the other rested against his chest. "My close allies have said no one seems to know anything. They didn't even know the royals weren't in the castle." 

"Even if they knew, I doubt they would speak. These people are like dogs. Loyal to the royal family and will do anything to protect them, even lie." Nathaniel groaned, sitting back down in his chair and sipping on his water. "That has to change. We can't have that now, can we? Lay off the questions for now." 

Francis nodded his head, slowly straightened his posture. "As you wish, your highness. I will keep my ears open for whispers and I will report everything back to you as I always do." He vowed his loyalty to Nathaniel. 

Nathaniel smirked, seeing Francis as a promising ally of his. "That would help me out more than anything. Thank you, Francis. You are now dismissed." He said watching the young man leave.

This was just the beginning of his plan and so far things were going smoothly for him and he couldn't have been happier.

〰♛〰♛〰♛〰♛〰♛〰♛〰

A/N:
Hey guys, sorry this is late. I have been working on Shipwrecked Princess, Finding Home and The Royal Charm Academy since I had the chapters already written up so I just added, edited and just shaped it up. You can check out them while you are waiting for an update on this book!

Chapter Talk:
Sorry this Chapter isn't a long because I am not having many ideas for this one but it is something that has to be in here. If you are the type of writer like me, you understand never being satisfied with your work and wanting to make it better. So I will be adding more later whenever I get more ideas.

Poor Tori, all she wants to do is make her father happy. She has a dream that is not his but there is nothing she could do about it. People don't give her a lot of credit and this was one of the few times she was being genuine. Other times she just plays her part as a whimsical, airheaded person so no one would think she wanted the crown so when she gets it no one would think anything is up.

How many of my readers are from insta?

How many are just followers?

How many are browsers?

And whatever other reason you come?

I am really curious to know more about my readers. You guys mean so much to be because without you this book wouldn't be here. I can never thank you enough for reading them, it makes me so happy and honored.

Thanks for reading!