Chapter 22

Samuel landed on the floor with a hard thump as he hit the stone floor, his fear and shame kept him on the ground. As the solid oak door was swung shoot, Samuel could only ask himself one question. Why? Why did he ever think that working for the Boleyn family would be a good idea? His wife, his sweet innocent wife and their child would suffer for something so foolish as tripping over a pot plant. Samuel thought back to Lady Hermione Granger, she had been so nice, so kind and caring, it made his stomach lurch.

He had to tell them.

They had to know.

If he was to die for following through on orders given under threat, he was going to make sure that his wife would know he died trying to stop them.

But there was one problem, Samuel didn't know who he could trust.

Except for Lady Hermione, herself.

After thanking the servant for escorting her back, Hermione entered her chambers seething. She had to figure out how to help Samuel and his wife, without loosing her own freedom if not her life in the process. The question was. How?

"Is everything alright, My Lady?" Lizzie asked concerned.

Hermione looked at her ladies and suddenly found herself wondering, why did she have ladies? Why was she only asking this question now?

"Lizzie, would you be so kind as to find my physician, Sir More and Sir Dearborn and tell them I need to speak with them urgently." Hermione asked her, again her voice was forced calm.

"Of course, My Lady." Lizzie replied before hurrying off on her way.

It was almost an hour before Thomas, Caradoc and Williams arrived with Lizzy. The three of them looked rather nervous and confused as to why Hermione would request their presence. Especially right now.

"Forgive me, My Lady but the King was also requested my presence." Thomas told her, his face now one of worry at the frantic look on her face.

Without caring that not all of her ladies-in-waiting are trustworthy, Hermione looked to the three men and told them everything that had happened an hour ago. When she was done, they looked as equally worried as she felt.

Thomas shook his head and looked out to the hall.

"I apologize, my dear girl but I can not delay any longer." Thomas told her remorsefully and hurried off to join the King's council.

Caradoc and Williams however remained where they were and Hermione realised that Caradoc had the look of a man whom was planning something.

"Ladies, would you all please leave us for a moment." Williams requested, and after a nod from Hermione they did just that.

It was some time and non-verbal spell from Caradoc to prevent people listening in and even watching them through secret peep holes.

"What are we going to do?" Hermione blurted out desperately after a few minutes of tense silence.

Caradoc looked at her sadly.

"There might not be much we can do," he told her sadly.

Hermione looked at him stunned and began to shake her head in vicious denial.

"No! I don't accept that and I am not going to sit on my ass while an innocent family are being held to ransom." Hermione told him viciously.

She'd be damned if she was going to allow the very same methods that Death Eaters use happen here.

"Hermione," Caradoc tried to reason with her but Hermione wouldn't have it.

"No, Caradoc after witnessing Voldemort pulling the same stunt with families back home, you of all people should want to help Samuel's family." Hermione told him.

Caradoc saw the look in her eyes, he knew she was determined to help Samuel and his family and no King or his temperamental whims were going to stop her. So he sighed in resignation.

"Very well, I will see what I can find out. But the question is, just who in the hell are we supposed to be rescuing Samuel's family from?" Caradoc asked, ignoring Williams' cringe at the use of the word hell.

"Fucked if I know." Hermione replied, though more to just annoy Williams.

"My Lady, please." Williams pleaded with her.

"Williams, we have bigger problems than Caradoc and I butchering the English language." Hermione replied firmly.

"She's right," Caradoc threw in. "we need to find out who's pulling Samuel's strings. Once that's been determined we'll be able to get to work on freeing them." Caradoc stated to the room.

"Okay, so where do we start?" Hermione threw to them, not knowing that the King was having the same conversation with his best friend, Thomas More and Wolsey.

"So, I put to you gentlemen to explain to me how one of my servants could have their family held to ransom and no one notices something amiss." Henry told the three of them.

Had it not been for the fact that the men were the closest to him in ever possible aspect, Henry wouldn't be confiding in them at all.

Charles looked more than a little unsettle and already had a suspect or rather suspects in Boleyn and Norfolk.

"Your Majesty," Wolsey began carefully "is it possible that the man is lying?" He put to the King.

"No!" Henry replied sharply.

The three men were rather stunned by the King's certainty.

"Would Your Majesty like for us to conduct an investigation?" More asked carefully.

Henry walked over to one of the windows in his chambers and stared out into the court yard. An investigation was dangerous, the risk that Samuel's family could be harmed or even killed was too great to risk. No, another path needed to be taken.

A subtle path.

"No," Henry told them softly before turning back to look at them. "there will be no investigation. Such a devious and underhanded offence requires something...equally underhanded." He continued and Charles could see where he's best friend was going with this.

"A spy." Charles finished for his friend.

"Correct." The King finished. "There will be no need for you to appoint one gentlemen, I shall pick the man or woman for this task myself." Henry told them.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The three men agreed with a bow of their heads.

Their King had spoken.

Next door Hermione, Caradoc and Williams had decided on the same course of action.

"I know someone that is truly loyal to us and my mission to keep you safe, My Lady." Williams told her.

Hermione nodded, though it did nothing to ease the butterflies of nerves in the pit of her stomach.

"I suppose it was rather foolish of me to think that while stuck in the past I could get some rest from spying and danger." Hermione said with black humour in her voice.

Caradoc shared the same smile, he had foolishly thought the same thing himself once upon a time.

Before any of them could say another word there was a knock on Hermione's chamber door. The three leapt to their feet, Caradoc's hand went straight to his sword. Williams, after straightening his back went to the door and opened it to reveal a guard standing there looking more than a little nervous.

"Yes," Hermione enquired simply in exchange for 'what do you want?'

"The prisoner wishes to speak with you Lady Granger," the guard replied simply.

Hermione, Caradoc and Williams exchanged looks of concern and confusion.

"Did the prisoner say why he wished to speak with Lady Granger?" Caradoc asked.

"No, Sir." The guard replied, Caradoc was clearly higher up in the ranks of the royal guard compared to the man at the door. "All he has said is that he will speak to Lady Granger and only Lady Granger." The guard replied.

The three magical beings looked at each other again before Hermione walked around the two wizards to stand in front of the guard.

"Then I best not keep him waiting." Hermione said with all the dignity and grace of a woman of noble birth.

The guard nodded before turning round and starting the walk back to the dungeons, Hermione following him and a rather unnerved Caradoc and Williams closely following her.

Meanwhile in the dungeons where Samuel was being held, the prisoner was being watched. By the very man that had murdered an innocent serving girl. If he were truthful with himself, he didn't like killing. Not the innocences at least, but sometimes such sacrifices must be made for the sake of the kingdom.

Samuel could not be allowed to say another word to Lady Granger. He just could not risk the servant saying the wrong thing and chasing the future of the nation off into the night. Which was why he so regretted killing that servant girl, he hadn't known. He'd never believed in Boleyn's blood thirsty quest for power and fortune but he took jobs from the man all the same because, well to be honest with himself and the Devil he would one day meet, it was nothing more than practice really.

Practice from when the true Queen of England would arrive.

He just hadn't known until after that horrid day when he killed that innocent servant girl that the woman Boleyn wanted him to kill was the true Queen.

"Oh, Lord above. Please, I know I have offended you greatly with the decisions I have made with my life. With the decision to take lives and I will except the fate that awaits me in the after life with open arms. But please...give me a sign." He pleaded barely above a whisper.

A door to just ahead of him to the right burst open and the voice he had longed to hear spoke.

"You are keeping the King's prisoners in this state?" She questioned angrily.

He dropped to his knees and looked to the stone ceiling with tears in his eyes.

"Thank you, blessed Lord, though I do not deserve your help or your mercy. You have kept me from committed another horrible sin." He whispered before quickly getting to his feet and with a swish of his cape the assassin disappeared into thin air.

A/N: FINALLY! I was having trouble writing some parts which is why it has taken oh so terribly long. I had also originally intended to kill Samuel before changing my mind at the last minute.

Thank you for your amazing patience, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The Assassin will be back very, very soon.