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Despite Mausinger's change of heart after signing the Declaration of Interdependence, even after having been given the blessing by both King Evan and King Leonhard to continue ruling Ding Dong Dell, even after his attempts to correct his mistakes and make things better for everybody, his popularity amongst the Grimalkin… Well, one can get a general idea.

He understood this, of course. He did kill their king and endangered their lives and families with his vendetta against the Grimalkin, allowing his fellow mice to partake in it as much as they wanted as well. To be honest, he partly understood how they felt. He knew how it felt to be discriminated because of his race, called names, etcetera.

But still, he should have known better than such a lowly act. He had acted rashly and drunken with power. He had become the thing he hated in the end but didn't realize it until it was too late. The contempt he received from the grimalkin was the harvest of what he had sowed.

It helped that most of the grimalkin often kept civil about it. They respected King Evan and Leonhard's wishes, albeit reluctantly, and since things soon were back to normal for them, this left them little to nothing to complain. A few, good-natured grimalkin held no resentment against him and acted as if nothing had happened, bless their hearts.

There were others, however, who were most unhappy about the situation, mostly the most traditional grimalkin even during Leonhard's reign, and the ones who were subjected to the most humiliating treatment during the 'bad days', mirroring their own awful treatment towards the mice. They had been hoping Evan would dethrone Mausinger, reclaim his birthright and set things right, and were sorely disappointed when he instead let the rat king stay in power and signed a treaty with him.

Lately, though, he had a bad feeling in his chest. He didn't know why, but something was going to happen. Something bad. This started ever since he and Ratja announced they were expecting a baby. Amongst the cheering, he had spotted a few unhappy faces amongst the former ministers.

"Aren't you exaggerating?" Ratja asked him that night in their bedchambers upon noticing the extra security.

"I'm not taking any chances. Believe me, I can guess what's going on inside their heads. I spent a quarter of my time dealing with them on a daily basis back then."

"Not all the grimalkin are after your head, you know."

Mausinger sighed in dismay. "Not literally, but I bet some have done unspeakable things to me in their imagination." He frowned when Ratja giggled. "What's so funny?"

"Sorry, but… The way you said it did make it sound funny."

Any other time he would have shared in her laugh, but right then his frown remained. "I'm serious, Ratja. We should be careful, especially for the baby."

At the mention of their child, Ratja placed her hands on her abdomen. "You think they would try something against me?"

"To get to me, yes. But that's not the only reason they'd attempt against both your lives…" Mausinger trailed off. During his years as Leonhard's chancellor, he had learned one thing or two about laws regarding the crown. Should a monarch die without an heir, the noble houses disputed the next in line, and should there be no blood relative able to inherit the throne, then a council was made to vote for which noble house would ascend to the vacant spot.

Mice were known to have numerous families, but Mausinger was thirty-eight and not on the top of virility anymore. He wasn't too old, but with age, the famous 'fertility' waned. Ratja was ten years younger, which gave them a bit of hope for ensuring an heir should something happen to their first child (though he'd do everything within his power to keep it from happening.)

A gentle hand on his cheek brought him out of his thoughts. He met Ratja's kind face and her lovely smile. She always knew just how to cheer him up. He would have liked to stay like that for a little longer, but sadly there was a loud knock on the door.

"Your Majesty! Sorry for bothering you at this hour, but there's an urgent matter that requires your attention!"

Mausinger sighed. "Surely it can wait until tomorrow."

"I'm afraid not, sire!"

"Go, Otto. We'll be fine." Ratja assured him, holding his hand tightly.

"Are you sure?"

"The longer you stay here, the longer it'll take you to come back."

"Touché, my dear." He planted a small kiss on his wife's forehead before leaving. The servant who had knocked, a gray-furred tabby grimalkin he didn't recognize, was waiting outside. "What is it?" he asked.

The cat stuttered. "Captain Buck requires a word with you."

"Captain Buck? And why didn't he come personally?"

"Um, well, you see… He caught a shady character trying to enter the castle grounds and since he didn't trust any of the other guards to keep an eye on him, he asked me to come to tell you."

Shady character? "Lead the way, then."

The further they walked away from the royal chambers, the more the sensation intensified. Something was smelling rotten about this… He glanced at the tabby again. He had never seen this guy around the castle before, and Mrs. Tibbs didn't mention any gray tabbies when she brought him the list of new workers. Sure, he couldn't recite the names of every single castle employee without seeing their faces, but as King, he has to know who is working under his roof.

"Are you new here?"

The cat almost jumped. "Sir…?"

"I've never seen you around here before. Are you new?"

"Oh, y-yeah! It's my first day, your Majesty!"

"Where is Captain Buck right now?"

"He's in the courtyard with that guy… It was such luck he was taking his rounds around there when that person tried to sneak in."

"When exactly did that happen? How long ago?"

"Ten minutes ago, sire-" The grimalkin was caught completely off guard when the rat king grabbed him by the throat and pinned him against the wall.

"Who sent you?" Mausinger hissed.

"Y-Your Majesty, I don't understand-!"

"You don't? Allow me to clarify. You say it's your first day. You say Captain Buck was doing his rounds around the courtyard when he caught this 'shady person', and you say this all happened ten minutes ago. But you didn't take two things into account. First, at this hour Captain Buck's rounds take place at the castle gates, so he had no reason to be in the courtyard." His grip on the cat's throat tightened. "Second, if you say it's only your first day, how was it possible for you to find the royal chambers in less than ten minutes when it takes at least an entire hour for the average new worker to find it?"

The grimalkin's eyes widened in shock. That was all the confirmation he needed. "I will ask again, and you better tell me the truth this time if you don't want to spend the rest of your life rotting in the dungeon. Who sent you?"

The cat broke down into nervous sobs. "I'm sorry, your Majesty! I didn't want to, but they f-forced me…!"

"Who?"

"There's no time for that, the Queen is in danger!"

"What are you-?!" He heard a loud scream from the upper levels. His heart nearly stopped. Ratja!

Forgetting about the Grimalkin, he teleported himself back into their chambers. His wife was leaning against the wall, holding a bloodied knife in one hand, while the other was pressed against a bleeding wound on her shoulder. He was instantly by her side to make sure both she and the baby were safe. "Ratja, are you okay?!" He held her close in relief.

Ratja returned the embrace. "Otto…! Oh, Otto…!"

"Are you alright? The baby, is he…?"

"We're both fine, thanks for asking."

"What happened?"

"Not long after you left, an assassin… he snuck in from the window… he came after me, we… we struggled and then he…. He…"

"Where is he? Did he escape?"

Ratja didn't answer. She motioned her head towards a large, fallen body on the floor.

Next morning, the incident was in everybody's lips. Even though Mausinger forbad those involved from spreading the word, somehow word reached outside the castle. There were already rumors circulating through Dell, particularly about the Queen's wellbeing and that of her child. Any prying eyes were kept away from the castle gates.

Both Ratja and Mausinger spent the night in the infirmary: the former in order to be treated and be under the doctor's surveillance to avoid risking a miscarriage due to stress, and the latter because he refused to leave his wife's side (and there was no way he was going to sleep in their bedroom while it was stained with blood).

"Majesty?"

"Hmm…?" Mausinger reluctantly drifted awake. He yawned lightly and stretched out some stiff muscles. Mental note: get softer beds for the infirmary. "What?"

One of the healers bowed her head apologetically. "Sorry for awakening you, Your Majesty, but Captain Buck needs a word with you."

"Is he outside?"

"He insisted on waiting for you."

Mausinger glanced at Ratja. She was still asleep, and both her hands were resting on her slightly-swollen abdomen. "Anything new about the Queen's state?"

"There were no complications and no signs of miscarriage. However, the doctor considers it would be best if she stayed here for a few more days, just to be safe."

He stroked his wife's cheek gently. "I'm going to speak with Captain Buck," he finally said after some time, slipping off bed carefully to avoid awakening his wife. "Inform me if anything happens."

The healer nodded. "Yes, your Majesty."

Mausinger kissed Ratja's forehead before leaving the infirmary. Like the healer had said, Captain Buck was waiting for him outside. "I'll assume your interrogatory was successful?"

The armored mouse nodded. "Indeed. There was no need to make him talk, actually. He spilled the beans as soon as I walked into his cell."

"What did he tell you?"

"Not here, Your Majesty," Captain Buck glanced around quickly. "Ears have walls, especially if what he said is true."

"I see…" It must be even more serious than he originally thought. "Let us go to my study, then."

Once there, Mausinger locked the door and silently cast a spell that would prevent any sounds from leaving the room. "What did he tell you?"

"The assassination was planned by one of the grimalkin noble houses," Captain Busk explained. "The original plan was to first finish off the Queen and her child, and then go after you, but things didn't go according to plan. Who would have said miss Ratja would have such skill with the knife?"

Mausinger would have chuckled under different circumstances. "Indeed…" he momentarily paced around the room, stopping right in front of the windows. "With Ratja and me dead without an heir, the noble houses would have had the perfect chance to put a grimalkin back on the throne. Did he tell you which family was behind this?"

"He didn't want to at first, he was too afraid of retaliation on their part if he revealed their identity. We had to call a mage to glimpse into his memories of the past forty-eight hours."

"And?"

"… Lord Gottonberg was the mastermind behind this."

Mausinger frowned deeply. "Gottonberg?" he repeated darkly.

"You don't seem surprised, your Majesty."

"Frankly, I'm not."

Gottonberg was perhaps the most anti-mousekin grimalkin in Ding Dong Dell. Mausinger had the displeasure of meeting him before, first when he was a child, and these accidental interactions became more common when he and Leonhard became friends. Gottonberg always tried to make him feel less or humiliate him at every chance he got.

Naturally, after the coup, Mausinger was more than happy to retaliate against Gottonberg in particular. On his defense, though, Gottonberg had actually earned every single punishment and infraction during that time. He tried to rally the grimalkin in rebellion, amongst other things. He was ashamed to admit it now, but he had even considered sending Oakenheart to frighten him. Thankfully he decided not to in the last moment.

"Shall we put Lord Gottonberg under arrest, then, your Majesty?"

Mausinger wanted to. No one, no one, could attack his wife and unborn child and get away with it. There was nothing more he'd like than throw that nasty cat into a dungeon and leave him to rot, but... "No."

"Sir?"

"Think about it, Captain. Gottonberg's lineage is amongst the most ancient ones in Ding Dong Dell. He has the support of nearly all the grimalkin population; how do you think they will react if we put their 'hero' in a dungeon, accused of treason and an assassination attempt of which we have no proof in their eyes?" Mausinger sighed. "The assassin is dead, and he didn't carry any sort of written order or anything to connect him with Gottonberg. He might as well have been a radical who wanted to take matters into his own hands."

"Sir, we have a witness: the cat down in the dungeons-"

"It's his word against that of Gottonberg. Who do you think the crowds will believe? The situation with the cats is already bad enough as it is…"

Mausinger rubbed his temple. Wonderful. He couldn't arrest Gottonberg without proof because the grimalkin would think he was going back to his vendetta against them, but if he let that murderer in the loose this wouldn't be the last attempt against Ratja's life, and that of their child. His hands were tied unless he could get a direct confession from Gottonberg a significant witness whose word would be believed even over the grimalkin noble's…

Wait a minute. "Captain, what's the word about Ratja in town?"

"They only know that the Queen is in a delicate state, but some of them have even started to think she might not make it. No doubt exaggerations, you know how some people like to gossip around."

The gears in his head started to turn. Perhaps they could use that to their advantage. "Captain, I have a task for you…"

Oh my, things will get intense. Let's hope no heads will roll this time.

Description
Despite Mausinger's change of heart after signing the Declaration of Interdependence, even after having been given the blessing by both King Evan and King Leonhard to continue ruling Ding Dong Dell, even after his attempts to correct his mistakes and make things better for everybody, his popularity amongst the Grimalkin… Well, one can get a general idea.

He understood this, of course. He did kill their king and endangered their lives and families with his vendetta against the Grimalkin, allowing his fellow mice to partake in it as much as they wanted as well. To be honest, he partly understood how they felt. He knew how it felt to be discriminated because of his race, called names, etcetera.

But still, he should have known better than such a lowly act. He had acted rashly and drunken with power. He had become the thing he hated in the end but didn't realize it until it was too late. The contempt he received from the grimalkin was the harvest of what he had sowed.

It helped that most of the grimalkin often kept civil about it. They respected King Evan and Leonhard's wishes, albeit reluctantly, and since things soon were back to normal for them, this left them little to nothing to complain. A few, good-natured grimalkin held no resentment against him and acted as if nothing had happened, bless their hearts.

There were others, however, who were most unhappy about the situation, mostly the most traditional grimalkin even during Leonhard's reign, and the ones who were subjected to the most humiliating treatment during the 'bad days', mirroring their own awful treatment towards the mice. They had been hoping Evan would dethrone Mausinger, reclaim his birthright and set things right, and were sorely disappointed when he instead let the rat king stay in power and signed a treaty with him.

Lately, though, he had a bad feeling in his chest. He didn't know why, but something was going to happen. Something bad. This started ever since he and Ratja announced they were expecting a baby. Amongst the cheering, he had spotted a few unhappy faces amongst the former ministers.

"Aren't you exaggerating?" Ratja asked him that night in their bedchambers upon noticing the extra security.

"I'm not taking any chances. Believe me, I can guess what's going on inside their heads. I spent a quarter of my time dealing with them on a daily basis back then."

"Not all the grimalkin are after your head, you know."

Mausinger sighed in dismay. "Not literally, but I bet some have done unspeakable things to me in their imagination." He frowned when Ratja giggled. "What's so funny?"

"Sorry, but… The way you said it did make it sound funny."

Any other time he would have shared in her laugh, but right then his frown remained. "I'm serious, Ratja. We should be careful, especially for the baby."

At the mention of their child, Ratja placed her hands on her abdomen. "You think they would try something against me?"

"To get to me, yes. But that's not the only reason they'd attempt against both your lives…" Mausinger trailed off. During his years as Leonhard's chancellor, he had learned one thing or two about laws regarding the crown. Should a monarch die without an heir, the noble houses disputed the next in line, and should there be no blood relative able to inherit the throne, then a council was made to vote for which noble house would ascend to the vacant spot.

Mice were known to have numerous families, but Mausinger was thirty-eight and not on the top of virility anymore. He wasn't too old, but with age, the famous 'fertility' waned. Ratja was ten years younger, which gave them a bit of hope for ensuring an heir should something happen to their first child (though he'd do everything within his power to keep it from happening.)

A gentle hand on his cheek brought him out of his thoughts. He met Ratja's kind face and her lovely smile. She always knew just how to cheer him up. He would have liked to stay like that for a little longer, but sadly there was a loud knock on the door.

"Your Majesty! Sorry for bothering you at this hour, but there's an urgent matter that requires your attention!"

Mausinger sighed. "Surely it can wait until tomorrow."

"I'm afraid not, sire!"

"Go, Otto. We'll be fine." Ratja assured him, holding his hand tightly.

"Are you sure?"

"The longer you stay here, the longer it'll take you to come back."

"Touché, my dear." He planted a small kiss on his wife's forehead before leaving. The servant who had knocked, a gray-furred tabby grimalkin he didn't recognize, was waiting outside. "What is it?" he asked.

The cat stuttered. "Captain Buck requires a word with you."

"Captain Buck? And why didn't he come personally?"

"Um, well, you see… He caught a shady character trying to enter the castle grounds and since he didn't trust any of the other guards to keep an eye on him, he asked me to come to tell you."

Shady character? "Lead the way, then."

The further they walked away from the royal chambers, the more the sensation intensified. Something was smelling rotten about this… He glanced at the tabby again. He had never seen this guy around the castle before, and Mrs. Tibbs didn't mention any gray tabbies when she brought him the list of new workers. Sure, he couldn't recite the names of every single castle employee without seeing their faces, but as King, he has to know who is working under his roof.

"Are you new here?"

The cat almost jumped. "Sir…?"

"I've never seen you around here before. Are you new?"

"Oh, y-yeah! It's my first day, your Majesty!"

"Where is Captain Buck right now?"

"He's in the courtyard with that guy… It was such luck he was taking his rounds around there when that person tried to sneak in."

"When exactly did that happen? How long ago?"

"Ten minutes ago, sire-" The grimalkin was caught completely off guard when the rat king grabbed him by the throat and pinned him against the wall.

"Who sent you?" Mausinger hissed.

"Y-Your Majesty, I don't understand-!"

"You don't? Allow me to clarify. You say it's your first day. You say Captain Buck was doing his rounds around the courtyard when he caught this 'shady person', and you say this all happened ten minutes ago. But you didn't take two things into account. First, at this hour Captain Buck's rounds take place at the castle gates, so he had no reason to be in the courtyard." His grip on the cat's throat tightened. "Second, if you say it's only your first day, how was it possible for you to find the royal chambers in less than ten minutes when it takes at least an entire hour for the average new worker to find it?"

The grimalkin's eyes widened in shock. That was all the confirmation he needed. "I will ask again, and you better tell me the truth this time if you don't want to spend the rest of your life rotting in the dungeon. Who sent you?"

The cat broke down into nervous sobs. "I'm sorry, your Majesty! I didn't want to, but they f-forced me…!"

"Who?"

"There's no time for that, the Queen is in danger!"

"What are you-?!" He heard a loud scream from the upper levels. His heart nearly stopped. Ratja!

Forgetting about the Grimalkin, he teleported himself back into their chambers. His wife was leaning against the wall, holding a bloodied knife in one hand, while the other was pressed against a bleeding wound on her shoulder. He was instantly by her side to make sure both she and the baby were safe. "Ratja, are you okay?!" He held her close in relief.

Ratja returned the embrace. "Otto…! Oh, Otto…!"

"Are you alright? The baby, is he…?"

"We're both fine, thanks for asking."

"What happened?"

"Not long after you left, an assassin… he snuck in from the window… he came after me, we… we struggled and then he…. He…"

"Where is he? Did he escape?"

Ratja didn't answer. She motioned her head towards a large, fallen body on the floor.

Next morning, the incident was in everybody's lips. Even though Mausinger forbad those involved from spreading the word, somehow word reached outside the castle. There were already rumors circulating through Dell, particularly about the Queen's wellbeing and that of her child. Any prying eyes were kept away from the castle gates.

Both Ratja and Mausinger spent the night in the infirmary: the former in order to be treated and be under the doctor's surveillance to avoid risking a miscarriage due to stress, and the latter because he refused to leave his wife's side (and there was no way he was going to sleep in their bedroom while it was stained with blood).

"Majesty?"

"Hmm…?" Mausinger reluctantly drifted awake. He yawned lightly and stretched out some stiff muscles. Mental note: get softer beds for the infirmary. "What?"

One of the healers bowed her head apologetically. "Sorry for awakening you, Your Majesty, but Captain Buck needs a word with you."

"Is he outside?"

"He insisted on waiting for you."

Mausinger glanced at Ratja. She was still asleep, and both her hands were resting on her slightly-swollen abdomen. "Anything new about the Queen's state?"

"There were no complications and no signs of miscarriage. However, the doctor considers it would be best if she stayed here for a few more days, just to be safe."

He stroked his wife's cheek gently. "I'm going to speak with Captain Buck," he finally said after some time, slipping off bed carefully to avoid awakening his wife. "Inform me if anything happens."

The healer nodded. "Yes, your Majesty."

Mausinger kissed Ratja's forehead before leaving the infirmary. Like the healer had said, Captain Buck was waiting for him outside. "I'll assume your interrogatory was successful?"

The armored mouse nodded. "Indeed. There was no need to make him talk, actually. He spilled the beans as soon as I walked into his cell."

"What did he tell you?"

"Not here, Your Majesty," Captain Buck glanced around quickly. "Ears have walls, especially if what he said is true."

"I see…" It must be even more serious than he originally thought. "Let us go to my study, then."

Once there, Mausinger locked the door and silently cast a spell that would prevent any sounds from leaving the room. "What did he tell you?"

"The assassination was planned by one of the grimalkin noble houses," Captain Busk explained. "The original plan was to first finish off the Queen and her child, and then go after you, but things didn't go according to plan. Who would have said miss Ratja would have such skill with the knife?"

Mausinger would have chuckled under different circumstances. "Indeed…" he momentarily paced around the room, stopping right in front of the windows. "With Ratja and me dead without an heir, the noble houses would have had the perfect chance to put a grimalkin back on the throne. Did he tell you which family was behind this?"

"He didn't want to at first, he was too afraid of retaliation on their part if he revealed their identity. We had to call a mage to glimpse into his memories of the past forty-eight hours."

"And?"

"… Lord Gottonberg was the mastermind behind this."

Mausinger frowned deeply. "Gottonberg?" he repeated darkly.

"You don't seem surprised, your Majesty."

"Frankly, I'm not."

Gottonberg was perhaps the most anti-mousekin grimalkin in Ding Dong Dell. Mausinger had the displeasure of meeting him before, first when he was a child, and these accidental interactions became more common when he and Leonhard became friends. Gottonberg always tried to make him feel less or humiliate him at every chance he got.

Naturally, after the coup, Mausinger was more than happy to retaliate against Gottonberg in particular. On his defense, though, Gottonberg had actually earned every single punishment and infraction during that time. He tried to rally the grimalkin in rebellion, amongst other things. He was ashamed to admit it now, but he had even considered sending Oakenheart to frighten him. Thankfully he decided not to in the last moment.

"Shall we put Lord Gottonberg under arrest, then, your Majesty?"

Mausinger wanted to. No one, no one, could attack his wife and unborn child and get away with it. There was nothing more he'd like than throw that nasty cat into a dungeon and leave him to rot, but... "No."

"Sir?"

"Think about it, Captain. Gottonberg's lineage is amongst the most ancient ones in Ding Dong Dell. He has the support of nearly all the grimalkin population; how do you think they will react if we put their 'hero' in a dungeon, accused of treason and an assassination attempt of which we have no proof in their eyes?" Mausinger sighed. "The assassin is dead, and he didn't carry any sort of written order or anything to connect him with Gottonberg. He might as well have been a radical who wanted to take matters into his own hands."

"Sir, we have a witness: the cat down in the dungeons-"

"It's his word against that of Gottonberg. Who do you think the crowds will believe? The situation with the cats is already bad enough as it is…"

Mausinger rubbed his temple. Wonderful. He couldn't arrest Gottonberg without proof because the grimalkin would think he was going back to his vendetta against them, but if he let that murderer in the loose this wouldn't be the last attempt against Ratja's life, and that of their child. His hands were tied unless he could get a direct confession from Gottonberg a significant witness whose word would be believed even over the grimalkin noble's…

Wait a minute. "Captain, what's the word about Ratja in town?"

"They only know that the Queen is in a delicate state, but some of them have even started to think she might not make it. No doubt exaggerations, you know how some people like to gossip around."

The gears in his head started to turn. Perhaps they could use that to their advantage. "Captain, I have a task for you…"

Oh my, things will get intense. Let's hope no heads will roll this time.