74. Seventy-Four - A Private Audience
Seventy-Four - A Private Audience
Ana
The Queen’s throne room was enormous, the ceiling so high I doubt I would have seen it without the flickering lights... and it was cold.
It’s warm here.
Warm and cozy and filled with soft fabrics and cushions.
She goes to a chaise and falls into it like her legs won’t carry her for another step.
I stay where I am.
The way she looked at me before... it scared me.
I don’t know what other questions she has for me, but I have a feeling she already knows the answers.
When she beckons me to her, I go.
I sit on a pouf on the floor and my skin prickles with half remembered memories. Like I’ve been here before.
“How old are you?”
“I’ve just turned thirty, your grace.”
She shakes her head. “Aprica. You must call me Aprica.”
“As you wish.”
“Your father was a knight, wasn’t he?”
“Yes.”
She watches me like she’s waiting for me to remember something.
When I don’t, she leans forward and strokes a panel of my skirt. “Your dress tells a story. Did he tell you that story?”
“He did.”
“Tell it to me.”
The request catches me off guard. She had said we were running short on time, and yet, “You want me to tell you a fairytale?”
“No, I want you to tell me Niamiah’s story. I haven’t heard it in so long…”
I don’t ask her how she knew my father’s name. She knew he was a knight. She would have been the one who knighted him... And her memory must be impeccable.
I can’t refuse her anything when she holds my happiness in her hands.
“Once upon a time,” I take a deep breath and try to remember all the parts that Mina makes me skip. “There was a brave knight who went to war for the elf Queen. The Knight did his best, though he was terrified throughout every battle. After all, he was just a poor man from a small village and the world was so much larger than he had ever dreamed.
“His battalion fought against legions of serpentine knights, and ogres so tall he had to defend himself with a whip and a pike.
“The enemy’s armor was white... until it ran green with blood.”
I hesitate, because this is the part I’ve told the least. Mina always made me skip it and my father skimmed over the worst bits until the last few times he told me.
Aprica’s smile is soft as her fingers brush my cheek. “You can skip what he did in the killing fields if it upsets you.”
I nod and carry on.
“The knight was sent to the capitol to deliver a message from his commander. The war was almost won. The basilisk king was captured, his main army defeated.
“He brought hope with him and he told her his good news gladly. But as he spoke, he saw movements slithering in the shadows and he knew evil had come to her court.”
I look up at her. “Assassins had come to kill you.”
Her mouth is twisted in a rueful frown and her eyes are bright... like she might cry at any moment.
“They struck when your guards weren’t paying attention and only the brave knight was left to leap in front of you with a broken shield and dented armor. His only thought was to protect you.
“Those assassins tried everything to get to you. They slashed at his armor. They stabbed at its weak points and tried to find any way around him, because they could not go through him.
“He protected you until soldiers could break down the doors and come to your aide. And in the end, the chaos stilled, and the assassin joined the bleeding bodies that covered the throne room floor.”
Eyes closed, she looks like she’s in pain, but she says, “How does his story end, Ana?”
“You fell in love with that knight and gave him a piece of your soul so that he could live forever.”
She laughs, and it’s a watery sound. “So close to the truth and yet... full of so many lies.”
“I always assumed he exaggerated things to keep us entertained.” After all, the details sometimes changed. “What’s the true story?”
She looks away from me and I know I shouldn’t have asked.
“I’m sorry. I have no right.”
“You, of all people, do... and I will tell you.” She leans forward, fingers hooking on the chain of my necklace and pulling it from my bodice. “But I need a few answers first. Can you be patient, Ana?”
“What does my Queen need from me?”
“When did Miah die?”
“Ten years ago.”
“From a fever?”
I nod.
“At least that much is true.” She takes a deep breath and her shoulders sag. “Are your sisters alive as well?”
“Yes.”
“I was told you all died of the same fever.” She laughs and this time, the sound is like a knife twisting in my gut.
A tear drops from her cheek and she catches it, pressing it to her chest. “I have avoided Petalfall for ten years because my last forest guardian lied to me... and I have a feeling I know why.”
“Do you mean... my father was the knight in the story?”
She nods.
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
“He would have.” she takes my hands and looking up at her some of the fuzziness of those memories clears.
“I’ve been here before.”
“He used to bring all five of you with him when he came to visit me. Until your mother asked him to stop.” She holds my hands tightly. “I loved your father... but he would not abandon your mother, even for me. And how could I begrudge him a life with the woman he loved first... I offered him a piece of my soul, so that when your mother was gone, he could come back to me, but he wanted to grow old with her.”
I no longer wonder at my mother’s quiet dislike of elves. I no longer wonder why my father had a royal contract... looking down at the pendant in her hand and the stone that matches the color of her skin, I no longer wonder why he made me promise to wear it always.
“Did he love you?”
“I think so... in a different way.” Her smile is pained. “Kirra thought there was magic on you and she was right. She just didn’t realize it was my magic.”
Dread coils in my stomach. “What spell did you put on me?”
“Wipe that look off your face, young lady. You carry my magic with you, but it’s not what Kirra feared.
And if Kirra’s fears aren’t warranted... “You won’t forbid me from marrying them?”
“I was never going to do that.” She kisses my forehead. “No, I’m going to give you a gift you should have received years ago.”