Lyne opened her wardrobe. She scaled through her clothes and picked a black silk gown. The death of Chloe was disheartening and it was more painful to know she had been planning with Shelbrooke all along. Chloe's body had been cremated and put in an urn. After this, she was buried.
Zeidan has not said much to her about the whole incident as he was rather still bitter about what had happened. She had also decided not to bother him about it either. Perhaps he needed a little time to get over it. She however concluded that everything and everyone that was in the palace or around it needed to be monitored closely. Now, all dressed up, she decided to speak to Zeidan about his health. She checked herself one last time in the mirror before leaving her room. Zeidan had been using the same medication for a while now and there had been no improvement at all regarding his illness. She met Zeidan in his room seated on the bed.
"You look beautiful." He said as he smiled at her. She blushed.
"Thank you, darling."
"Are you still brooding over what Chloe said?" Lyne asked now with a concerned look on her face.
"I'm trying not to. It is hard to just forget. What if there is someone else like her among us?"
"We will find out. I am very sure of that." Zeidan breathed in deeply and sighed tiredly as he exhaled. He paused momentarily and said,
"Stevenson will be coming over later today. My syrup is finished already. There was nothing left this morning for me to use. I'll put a call through to him shortly." Lyne exhaled sharply and rolled her eyes with a thought coming to her mind.
"Zeidan, I think we should try someone else; I know Stevenson has been your doctor for a very long time but maybe we need to try someone else, and perhaps they might find out what is wrong with you and find a permanent cure for it."
"Well, I don't see anything wrong with Stevenson, the syrup he gave me has been keeping me alive for so long," Zeidan said as he stood up from his bed to join her where she was seated on the couch trying to persuade her not to bother.
"You don't have to worry about me Lyne, besides, who could be more capable than Stevenson? He is a royal doctor. I'm sure he is trying his best to heal me."
"I know Zeidan, I just think we should try someone else." Lyne insisted further.
"Well, that's not a bad idea anyway. Who do you have in mind?"
"I'll arrange for someone that is not from around here. Hopefully, he'll make it here tomorrow."
"Ok, Lyne." She kissed him and stood up to leave, and then an idea struck her mind.
"Zeidan, let Stevenson bring the syrup today regardless. Then tomorrow we will welcome the other doctor. I'll go and get Aurora from Amber. She should have finished dressing him up by now." she left the room. Stevenson came, as usual, to check if Zeidan's health was improving. After that, he gave Lyne the syrup he had brought for Zeidan. He was given a dose before Stevenson left the palace that afternoon. Meanwhile, she had already made contact with another doctor from outside Vampire City who had agreed to come and treat Zeidan the next day. The doctor got to the palace before noon and examined Zeidan.
"Well, my king, from my observations, I am very certain that there are poisons in your bloodstream which have been accumulating for a while now." Finding it very hard to believe, Zeidan asked the doctor, "What do you mean poison? I've been sick for almost two years now. Is poison not supposed to kill people immediately?"
"Some poisons don't kill immediately, my king. You must have been eating and ingesting something without your knowledge." Lyne could only stare at the doctor and Zeidan in shock as they both conversed. She was trying to think of what it could be that the doctor was talking about. Someone had been poisoning Zeidan. She wondered how many more people wanted him dead.
"What have you been taking to help suppress the effect, my Lord?" The doctor asked.
"Lyne, please get the syrup Stevenson brought yesterday." She hurriedly went to Zeidan's room to obtain the syrup from the drawer where it was always kept.
"Are you sure this is what they have been giving you to help suppress the effect of the poison?"
"Yes, of course, it is. And no one has said anything about me getting poisoned." Zeidan replied, now getting confused with the way the doctor seemed to shake his head pitifully.
"I am sorry to break it to you, my king. Whoever has been feeding you this has been poisoning you."
"What?" Zeidan asked. He stood up suddenly as he shifted his gaze angrily from Lyne to the doctor.
"Are you certain of what you are saying?" Lyne could see the anger on Zeidan's face. She was furious too, this meant that Luana and Stevenson had it all planned out.
"This is Floral Sunrise and it is no cure but rather a poison that is capable of killing a vampire slowly. It is slow but efficient." Zeidan took the syrup from the doctor angrily and smashed it on the floor. He fell back into his throne almost immediately.
"I'll have their heads and feed them to the dogs." He said aloud holding his hands in the air. Lyne went towards him and tried to comfort him.
"Save your strength darling. Let me take care of this." She turned momentarily to face the doctor.
"Thank you." She said with utmost sincerity. She watched as the doctor took his leave and then she returned to Zeidan who was still very furious at the discovery.
Immediately he ordered his guards to send for Stephenson, find and arrest Luana wherever she was. After that, he sent for the position crew and immediately signed Lyne as the official queen of Vampire City. This was what Lyne had been waiting for and now she will utilize the position well to find those that were behind all these mishaps. It was now very clear that Luana was the one behind Zeidan's sickness. She had planned it so well with her disappearance that people thought Zeidan was sick as a result of her disappearance. Then Zeidan would die slowly and she would inherit the throne with her son as the successor. She was right after all. Luana was supposed to have been executed a long time ago. There might still be more moles and betrayers amongst them in the palace. She now had the power and full capacity to find and arrest them all.
Having declared her as the new queen, Zeidan turned to her.
"You are now the queen of Vampire City, act like the queen that you are." She looked at Zeidan and said,
"It is only a matter of time now Zeidan, we will find them all."