Queen

by Claire Farrell

  “You have to get me a gift? That should be interesting.”

  He narrowed his eyes then whispered so only I could hear, “A lot of my life has been interesting lately. Maybe I’ll remember my bed is empty of said bride and have her brought to my room every evening if she doesn’t start giving me some peace.”

  I faced front and shut up. Disgusting old man.

  Later that day, a young female was accepted into the hall. As she approached Sadler, the ginger-haired man who had scorned Bart jumped to his feet.

  “Send her out of here!” he demanded. “She can’t speak to the king.”

  Sadler looked at the man until he cowered. “Does the great Glic dare to tell me what to do?”

  “No, no, of course not,” Glic said. “This is a servant of mine. She speaks out of turn. I mean no harm.”

  “A servant of yours is a servant of the realm.” Sadler nodded at the woman. “You may speak.”

  But instead of making her case to the king, she stepped up and gave me a bunch of red wildflowers.

  “Thank you.” I plucked one of the flowers and stuck it behind my ear. Then I took another and placed it in the young woman’s hair. She was so startled she fell down the steps.

  I made to help her, but Sadler grabbed my arm. “Do. Not. Move,” he said through gritted teeth. “Reynard! What are you waiting for? Help her to her feet.”

  Giggles rippled through the room. The court was filling up with more spectators every day.

  “What do you want, woman?” Sadler demanded when she stood on her feet again.

  “Oh.” She blinked at him, looking half-witted. “I just wanted to see the mark of the fenris, sir. I heard it heals.”

  “Heals?” He snorted. “I doubt a human’s scar can heal.”

  “But they say she’s been blessed by the goddess. Perhaps the goddess will look down on me if I’m close to her.” She smiled at me, and my heart fluttered.

  “Blessed. Superstitious lot.” But Sadler sounded uneasy.

  “Why do you need healing?” I asked.

  She pressed her hands against her stomach. “I can’t have the babies. And as you are blessed by the goddess of fertility… I thought… I hoped…”

  I stood and walked toward her. “You can touch the scar if you like, but I’m not sure if it will help.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered. She got to her knees and clutched at my calf. Then she started to cry.

  “It’s okay,” I said.

  “I’m not no woman without it. I don’t work properly. I have to work properly to be of use.” She glanced over at Glic. “Everyone says.”

  “Stop that. If anyone ever tells you that, you send them to me, and I’ll stab him in the eye.”

  She laughed through her tears.

  “You’re a woman no matter what,” I said firmly. “Whether you give birth to a child, take care of somebody else’s, or never want to see a child, you’re still a woman. You’re as important as anyone else.” I hugged her, moved by her pain but mostly thinking about what Anya was going through. She had the same doubts and fears. I missed her.

  “If you’ve quite finished,” Sadler said, “I’d like to eat today.”

  “What’s your name?” I asked the woman.

  She sniffed. “Marie.”

  I lifted my head. “I think Marie should eat with us. She must be hungry after the long wait. Do you ever feed the people who have to sit outside waiting to see you?”

  He bristled. “Do you want me to feed the entire realm?”

  “You’re their king. Isn’t it your job to take care of them?”

  “Oh, enough of this. Set up a table in this room for those who are still waiting to see me. They can eat with my queen tonight.” His tone was snide, as if he was delivering a punishment, but for me, it was a big relief. He glared at me and stalked out of the room, followed by the major players of the court. Glic lingered long enough to give both Marie and me a death stare.

  The soldiers and servants set up tables and invited people inside. At least thirty lesser fae attended, staring at me with wary eyes. I moved from one table to another, greeting everyone, before I returned to my seat next to Marie.

  “The master lives at court,” she told me. “But we still have to take care of his family. He says we have to make an army for him to give to the king. His home is almost as big as a castle, but it’s cold and damp, and the land doesn’t work right. He never comes home. He did his duty by having a child to continue his family name. He doesn’t care anymore. He stays at court and behaves like—” Her hands flew up to her face, her cheeks reddening. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be saying such things.”

  “It’s okay. I’m human. I’m the lowest-ranking person in the realm.”

  She giggled. “You’re the queen.”

  “Not for long,” I said, realising a lot of lesser fae were listening in. “He just wants to take my baby. After she’s born, I’m dead.”

  “I always thought being a queen was different, but you’re just like the rest of us after all. But why does he want your baby?” Marie asked.

  “Because she’s the heir to the Green Court until the king there marries and has a child of his own.”

  “This makes no sense,” an old man said at the other end of the table. “The royals and courts have lost their minds.”

  I shrugged. “They want power. They’ll do what it takes to get it.”

  “We’re all trapped,” he whispered. “Not one of us is truly free.”

  “Not even the kings.” I pushed my food around my plate.

  Bart came in and sat at a neighboring table. The fae moved away as if he were diseased.

  I got up and moved to a chair next to him. “You’re Mr. Popular.”

  “We’re not all glowing young women. Deformities are distrusted in these times.”

  “I saw a woman with cloven feet the other day. How is that not a deformity?”

  He smiled. “That’s the way she was supposed to be. I was never supposed to look like this. The poor are suspicious. Always will be.”

  “Can’t really blame them,” I said. “They don’t know what goes on under this roof.”

  “I’m sure they know more than we think. And beware of the woman with cloven feet. She’s a glaistig. Once a month, she lures men to their deaths by drinking their blood, but she’s been known to branch out.”

  “I’m going to die anyway.”

  “Not necessarily,” he said under his breath. “You have friends elsewhere, have you not? And you seem quite capable of making more.”

  “They can’t help me without starting a war.” I shook my head. “Doesn’t seem quite worth it.”

  “Perhaps you’re capable of helping yourself and them.”

  I stared at him as something came to me. Arlen had mentioned needing an assassin to get close to Sadler.

  Bart glanced at my rapidly growing belly. “Your child has become valuable in these petty times. The child of a human. It’s amusing to me.”

  I took a sip of water. “Why’s that?”

  “I like the unpredictable. Is it really true you entered the Fade?”

  “I did. And I got knocked off my horse and had to escape from you Darksiders on foot. I found my way back to the Great Forest all by my lonesome. Humans can actually do something right on occasion.”

  His eyes twinkled as he looked at me. “Then I’m glad it was you who was chosen, and by a goddess, no less.”

  “It was technically her priestesses who saved my life, though.”

  He choked on his food. Coughing, he banged his fist against his chest. “You must tell me these stories some time. Some of them may even be true.”

  “So why are you being nice to me?”

  “This isn’t me being nice,” he said. “This is me trying to understand what we have on our hands. But I think I like it.”

  “Why?”

  He smiled. “I, too, am a mischief maker.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  The dres
smaker held on to the hat box. “Please don’t drag me down with you.”

  I held out my hands. “If anyone asks, I’ll say it was a gift from Reynard.”

  She looked as if she might smile as she handed it over. “It’s your life to throw away.”

  After she left, I glanced at Rat. She was shivering in the corner, looking like an excited puppy.

  “Wanna see?” I asked.

  For a moment, I thought she was going to bolt out of the room. Then, she said, “Perhaps… just a peek.”

  Grinning, I opened the box and took out the hat. Though styled like a top hat, it was small enough to perch on the side of my head.

  “Oh, no,” she whispered. “You can’t wear that to court.”

  But I was determined. “You need to leave. Nobody can say you saw me wearing it.”

  “I… thank you.” She fled.

  I stared at the ticking time bomb in front of me. I was pretty sure Brendan could see the neon-green colour all the way from the Green Court. Taking a deep breath, I pinned the hat to my head and stared at my reflection in the mirror. My dress accentuated my rapidly growing bump. The hat looked ridiculous with a silver band that wrapped around it and trailed down to my waist. Black lace covered half of the hat.

  I adjusted it as best I could then patted my stomach. “I really hope I know what I’m doing, baby.”

  I walked over and opened the door. A soldier smothered a gasp.

  “Time for court,” I said in a shaky voice.

  Two soldiers walked on either side of me as we descended the stairs, but they kept space between us as if to make sure everyone knew they didn’t approve. I was definitely pushing my luck, but I had a plan of sorts, and I was going to stick to it because thinking about that was about a million times more preferable to thinking about how I was going to die soon, leaving my child to be raised in the Dark Court.

  I stepped into the great hall and walked toward the thrones. Voices silenced as I passed. The entire room seemed to hold its breath in anticipation. Sadler raised his head, looking completely unsurprised. I continued as if nothing was amiss, pretending the day was like any other.

  “Treason,” the doctor gasped beneath his coverings.

  When I reached the dais, Sadler asked, “What’s the meaning of the hat, dear wife? Surely you don’t claim an affiliation with the other courts.”

  “My child is already affiliated with all three courts,” I said loudly. “But the hat means something else.”

  He sat back in the chair and waved his fingers. “Go ahead. Let us all in on the secret.”

  “The hat stands for the realm.” I pointed at the colours. “The black stands for the Darkside.” I pulled the lace all the way down, covering the colours. “And how it grows so quickly.”

  Sadler stared at me for a long time, then he gave a sharp laugh. “She has the way of it. Sit. Let us begin.”

  Relieved, I perched on my chair. That morning, more faeries than ever came to plead for help, but most of them paid more attention to me than to the king. Sadler’s mood worsened as the day went on. His patience wore thin, his tone growing harsher by the hour. I couldn’t wait to get back to my room.

  Later, Sadler announced, “I have something to give my wife. First, there is something owed to her.” He took my hand and slipped a black wedding band onto my ring finger.

  My stomach turned. The mirror had shown me a black wedding ring.

  “And now I give her my wedding gift.” He held out a small black box.

  My hands shook as I took it. Suspicious, I opened it slowly. A ring lay inside, two hands holding an emerald-cut black diamond into place. My knees weakened. What the mirror had shown me was coming true. What about the rest? Would I live to see everyone die? No, Sadler would never allow that.

  “A ring to fit the one true queen of the Chaos Court.” Sadler’s words were heavy with sarcasm, but the fae clapped politely.

  He glared at me until I slipped the ring on my finger. The band fit perfectly, but it was heavy, the stone ridiculously big.

  “Wow,” I said. “It’s almost bigger than my hand, you show-off.”

  As soon as the first gasp rang out, I knew I had made a mistake.

  “It’s stunning,” I added too late.

  Sadler smiled at me, and I knew I was screwed. When he called for court to end, we all strolled toward the dining room. I felt a shift in atmosphere as everyone waited for something to happen. The longer nothing did, the more anxious I became. Later, Bart volunteered to escort me to my room.

  Sadler followed us into the hallway. “Go,” he ordered Bart. “I need a moment with my wife.”

  Bart fled, and I was alone with Sadler. If I had a weapon, I could have killed him, but I had nothing except a stupid hat and an even stupider ring.

  “A show-off,” he whispered. “You will not disrespect me in my own court.”

  “You should have thought of that before you kidnapped me and forced me to marry you,” I blurted.

  He put a hand around my neck and pressed me against the wall. He was strong, suspiciously so for such an old man. “You received a queen’s gift. Accept it with the dignity of a queen. It’s bad enough I have to be around a human without you staining everything with your lack of manners.”

  “Did your last human wife wear it?” I whispered, holding his gaze.

  His grip tightened. “What did you just say?”

  “Did she wear this ring?” I held up my hand. “Did you give her this before you killed her?”

  “You know nothing about me,” he snarled. “Never begin to assume.” He tightened his hold for a few seconds before backing away.

  “Brendan told me!” Apparently, I had a death wish after all.

  His face flooded with colour.

  I kept talking. “He told me she cried herself to sleep, waiting for you to take her home. She was devastated. She lost her mind out of grief and guilt when he tricked her. And you killed her. You killed the only person who has ever loved you, the only person who was loyal to you. You didn’t protect her, and she paid the price.”

  He huffed out a sound that was probably supposed to be a laugh but held the opposite tone. “I don’t care. I don’t care that she cried. I don’t care who she loved. She shamed me, and she was judged. Don’t let the same thing happen to you.”

  “I’m dead anyway.” My laugh sounded even worse than his. “I just wanted to know if you ever cared about her, if you realised that the way you’ve treated your family has left you king of a realm nobody wants. The Silver Court would have been yours if you had only had a little heart. I pity you.”

  He backhanded me across the face. I fell to the floor.

  He snarled down at me. “Play your little games all you like, child. You won’t beat me. Nobody ever does.”

  “Is that why they all return from the Fade? I didn’t bring Brendan back alone. Donella came, too.”

  “I had hoped that particular rumour was false. But she’s less than nothing to me.” He strode away.

  “You sent her away because you loved your wife,” I whispered, though I wasn’t sure he heard.

  I wiped my face. My hand came away wet with blood.

  A minute later, Bart returned and helped me to my feet. “Your mouth will get you into trouble some day.”

  I gave him a wry smile. “Tell me something new and unusual. Did his dead wife wear this ring, Bart?”

  “If so, would you refuse to wear it?”

  I looked at the ring. The stone was over the top, but it fascinated me. “Maybe.”

  “Don’t worry about it. He had it made especially for you. Some members of the court will think that was sweet of him.”

  He handed me an old-fashioned handkerchief. “For your mouth,” he said.

  I wiped my lips, and the cloth came away with a crimson stain. “Sorry. I ruined your hankie.”

  “Keep it,” he said. “This is the court of excess, after all.”

  “I haven’t seen much excess. It’s pret
ty plain here, poor even, in comparison.”

  “To Brendan? The golden king of old? He was born a king, and he’s returned to a castle he didn’t build or rebuild in an abundant land. He has a special kind of power.”

  “Do I get any power then? Or am I just the pathetic human who everyone picks on, even when I wear a ring like this?”

  “And a hat like that.” He laughed. “You’re quite brave and foolish. It’s been extremely entertaining. I’m almost sad for the day when you have this child and must die.”

  “I’m not looking forward to it either.”

  ***

  Rat winced when she saw me the next morning. “Oh. I can get something to cover that up so nobody sees.”

  “Hell, no.” I stared at my bruised jaw in the mirror. “If he can hit me without any shame, then he can look at the aftermath, too.”

  “You’ll be the death of me,” she scolded, pulling my hair tighter than necessary.

  “No. Just me,” I whispered.

  That day at court, all eyes were on me. I flaunted my bracelet and my scars. I turned my head to display my bruise. I let them all see the real me, and they stared. Sadler ignored me, but he looked as though he hadn’t slept. I hoped he had thought about his wife all night long.

  Two vaguely familiar twin fae stepped up to the throne.

  “So you’re back,” Sadler said.

  The pair glanced at me a couple of times, their wings moving quickly.

  “I know you,” I blurted.

  They frowned at each other. “We haven’t had the pleasure, my lady.”

  “No, you didn’t see me. You walked under my tree.”

  “Has she lost her mind?” Sadler murmured to the doctor.

  I dared to send a brief glare his way. “No. When I got separated from Brendan and Drake, I hid from the people searching for me. I saw these two walk under my tree.”

  Both men looked ill.

  “It’s not their fault,” I added hurriedly. “They’re not trackers.”

  “You didn’t look up?” Sadler asked them. “We wasted all of that time because you didn’t look up?”