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--donation bonus (day #18, post 2/5)--
Abolish had established quite quickly that there was no standing against them. The three guard captains of Belgrant Castle were all dead now. One of the first things Desmond did was bring their heads to William.

Appalling as it was, the King expected it to attract attention. Surely, three well-known individuals with the same job suddenly disappearing would not go unnoticed. And yet, here he was, over a month later, and he had seen not a single word of their deaths mentioned on the news. He didn’t understand how these people could have achieved such a hold over the media in so short a time.

He had not left Belgrant Castle, either. Despite all the rubble from Abolish’s attack on the building, Desmond insisted that the King stay here. It seemed odd at first, but then he noticed that among the construction workers who arrived to repair the castle were more of Desmond’s comrades. And since then, the repairs to the castle had provided them with an easy excuse to keep the public out. No tours, no reporters, no prying eyes.

Desmond never left the King’s side, despite clearly wishing to. About the only privacy he found was in the lavatory, but Desmond would wait just outside the door. Even when William saw Desmond sleeping, if he tried to sneak away, Desmond would immediately wake up and follow him every time. And the way that these people tended to stare at or even talk to apparently thin air was more than a little unsettling. Moreover, William still wasn’t sure what they were even trying to accomplish with all this. It was obviously some type of coup, but they clearly had designs beyond those of Gabriel’s. And as chatty as Desmond tended to be, the man had a strangely guarded tongue, rarely revealing anything of importance.

Each day seemed to bring some fresh horror with it. Perhaps the only piece of potentially good news he encountered was when he saw Karkash on the news.