The Queen Revealed

by A. R. Winterstaar

  Rainere felt his lungs constrict as he finished his speech. Panic was making his mind scramble. The Empress should have been pleased with this night, but instead, she looked irritated.

  “You will allow me, my King-in-all-but-name?” hissed the Empress, snapping her jaws. “You will allow me nothing, boy! I saved your life. I gave you your freedom in return for a miserable little oath! All I ask in return for my kindnesses is that you marry one of your own and take the throne of Unisia…”

  “And I have done so, Empress,” interrupted Rainere, once again scanning the exits. This was not going well.

  “Really?” snapped the Empress. “Then show me proof of your loyalty. Give me the Queen.”

  Rainere felt the blood drain from his overheated cheeks.

  “But, Empress,” he croaked, as he saw the Shamans by the Empress’s side shudder and shake into their Human-forms with a wet, ripping noise. They approached him, arms extended.

  Rainere instinctively hugged Natalie tighter.

  “Give me the Queen, Prince Rainere,” ordered the Empress in a voice full of triumphant spite. She watched Rainere closely. She could smell the fear in him so strongly, that she could almost taste it. Empress Ka-kik was ready to shriek for joy. She had the Marchant Prince right where she wanted him. He would do anything to keep his bride.

  Reluctantly, Rainere laid Natalie-as-Adelena in the ropey arms of the nearest Shaman. His brain whirled, but he couldn’t think of a way to escape the cavern with the Empress here and her guards armed and ready. He watched helplessly as Natalie was placed on the stone table, and was arranged with her arms pulled out from her sides and her legs parted. He made on involuntary move toward her and felt Grotto pinch at his sleeve, uttering a warning hiss.

  The Empress lumbered off her dais and to the floor, making her way to the stone table. She felt the Prince’s fear for the Queen vibrating the hairs on her legs pleasantly. “Wake her up!” she commanded Rainere, as he stepped in beside her.

  “I cannot, Empress,” replied Rainere. “The spell is organic and will wear off on its own naturally.”

  “Pity,” sniffed the Empress, sounding petulant. “I would have this evil one look upon the face of the mother whose son she killed. My favored, dearest Oki is dead because of this evil Human woman!”

  The Empress emitted a high keen that was echoed by the crowd about her. The sound brought a hot burn to the back of Rainere’s eyes, but it wasn’t the communal grief that had affected him. The Empress had her pincers, shiny with poison, perilously close to Natalie’s fragile skin. One more inch and she would be burned, but the Empress lumbered around to face the Prince and the danger was averted. Rainere almost sighed in relief.

  The Shaman nearest the Empress leaned forward and whispered something too low for Rainere to hear, but it caused her to grind her jaws with a horrible clicking noise. “You like to lie to me don’t you, little Prince,” said the Empress suddenly.

  Rainere’s relief evaporated and his blood ran cold. He snapped a shallow bow to hide his expression. “Never,” he croaked.

  “Oh, I think that you do,” corrected the Empress. “I know that you would like me to think you care nothing for this skinny excuse for a Queen and I know that you believe the Hidden Child will make you her King for love alone, giving you the Throne and raising the Marchant Family from the ashes of history. You will rule over that Kingdom, then, won’t you, little Prince? You will rule with her by your side and the Wizards at your back. I know all of these things, little Prince.”

  Her eyes glittered malevolently at Rainere. “Do you know how I know these things, my little betrayer?”

  In mute horror, Rainere shook his head.

  With a flick of her front leg, the Empress gestured one of her Shamans forward. The Shaman shook out something small and black from his hand. In his other, he held out a crumpled piece of paper, covered in a pencil sketch.

  “Shift!” ordered the Empress.

  The tiny black spider shifted into his Human-form. Schiss, broken and battered, shimmered into view. One of his arms hung limply and his feet were a bloody mess of exposed bone and gouged flesh. He could barely stand, but leaned against the arm of the Shaman.

  “I believe you know my son, Schiss,” hissed the Empress, narrowing her thousand eyes. “I believe you ordered him to lie to me. Lie to his own Mother!”

  The Empress spat and a gob of poison landed on the ground next to Schiss, splattering him and making him whimper in pain.

  “He is dead to me now,” she hissed. “As dead as your plan to take my Lost Child and join with her St. Lucidis family. You will never rule this Kingdom with her. It will be mine! For a thousand years, I have waited while you Marchant Kings and Princes grew too weak to keep your ancient promises. I have been patient, Prince, but I will be patient no more. The Queen is mine and her crown is mine!”

  “Empress, no!” shouted Rainere, desperately. “I was never going to tie myself to the Queen’s family. She will abdicate the throne as soon as I can be crowned at the Golden Palace. When the moon rises tonight…”

  “When the moon rises tonight!” mocked the Empress. “My young Prince, when the moon rises tonight, I will eat your nasty Queen whole. She will satiate my hunger and grief, and I will take her St. Lucidis power into my blood.” She grinned hideously, her eyes gleaming with triumph, as she delivered her final blow. “Then with the power of the old St. Lucidis blood flowing in my veins, I will be able to walk in the sun once more. You see, Prince, now I realize that this is how the Hidden Child will bring us out of the shadows and into the light!”

  She wheezed with laughter and it was echoed around the cavern. The Empress took another step closer to Rainere, until he could feel her foul breath on his face.

  “Your oath to me is unfulfilled,” she whispered in a soft rasp. “You will continue to be beholden to me until you learn to do as you–are–told.”

  Rainere felt a wave of despair wash over him and nearly staggered on his feet. He had been unutterably stupid to believe that the Spider Empress would ever keep her word. He was chained to her forever and because of his stupidity, Natalie’s life was forfeit.

  “Grottonski, take your Prince home,” ordered the Empress, as she lumbered back to her dais. “He is looking a little feeble tonight.”

  Rainere felt Grotto pull him by the arm and mutter something, but he couldn’t make his feet move. Rainere’s spinning brain had slowed to a stop. Was he really going to leave the Nest without Natalie? But that was impossible! He needed to give her back to Adelena. None of this made sense anymore.

  Grotto pulled him more forcefully toward the entrance of the cavern and Rainere fell into step.

  “Prince of Marchant,” called the Empress. “Remember to take your servant with you. If you leave him here, I will eat him after I eat your Queen.”

  Unthinking, Rainere stumbled over and picked up the cowering Schiss in his arms. Though he cradled the small man gently, Schiss still cried out in pain at the touch.

  “Now go!” ordered the Empress with a wave of her lurid yellow foreleg. “I have much to prepare before I feast on the Hidden Child tonight. When the moon rises, I will no longer just be the Empress of the Under Lands, but I will become Queen of the Above Lands. The Hidden Child and I will be as one and my Favored will roam the lands, eating everyone in our way!”

  Rainere walked out of the cavern, pushed and pulled by the anxious Grotto, with the sound of the Empress’s words ringing in his ears. As the darkness enveloped them, he automatically led the way out of the mile of tunnels to the surface.

  Rainere was surprised when they stepped out into the warm, dappled sunshine of mid-morning. Surely the world should have gone still and the birds fallen silent. Natalie was lost and it was completely his fault.

  Rainere passed Schiss to Grotto and then, with shaking hands, conjured a pulsing green portal. He paused before stepping through to look back down the tunnel to the Nest.

  “Leave her, Master,” said Grotto
gently. “You did everything you could. The child is lost to us now.”

  “The Lost Child,” whispered Rainere, as Grotto took his arm and pulled them through the portal and back to the Grey Palace.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  “And Wish to be an Angel Instead”

  “But you must have some idea where the Prince went, or when he’ll be back?” insisted Adele.

  She was starting to lose her patience with the whey-faced servant before her. The man wiped his nose on the back of his filthy sleeve and shrugged. “’E doesn’t tell us nuffink,” was the terse reply.

  “Can you at least tell me how many servants are working in the palace and help me organize a search party? My daughter could be hiding anywhere!” Adele knew she was getting shrill, but it had been a couple of hours since Lady Olivia had gone to wake the children and discovered Natalie had disappeared.

  “I wouldn’t know ‘ow ta,” said the servant as he started to lean to the left before righting himself. The man was clearly drunk. “Tha’s Mr. Grottonski’s job, innit?”

  “And where is he?”

  But the servant just shrugged again.

  Adele huffed with frustration. Of all the days that Natalie could start playing her games, she had picked the worst of them. Adele knew her daughter loved it here in the Grey Palace and that she didn’t want to leave again, but after last night Adele was loathe to have to ask Rainere’s help for something as silly as Natalie playing hide-and-seek in the palace. A thorough search of the apartments hadn’t turned up any trace of her and though Adele wasn’t ready to panic she was close to it.

  “Your Majesty. No luck, I’m afraid,” said General Ohrig, as he and the rest of her Queen’s Guard returned from another search, filling the room with their noise and clatter but no Natalie.

  Adele frowned at her General and Ohrig frowned back. “We explored where we could, Your Majesty, but there are lots of places we could not enter that were protected by Magic.”

  Adele heard the undercurrent of concern in his voice, but she fought to avoid feeling it herself. Natalie was just hiding and would be found soon. Adele chewed her lip. But where was Rainere, or even Grotto for that matter?

  “Your Majesty, we’ve also had no luck finding the Priest, Pere Raven, or Charlie either.”

  “Where is that Priest?” muttered Adele to Ohrig as he approached her. “Surely he wouldn’t want to miss the Steeplechase?”

  “Your Majesty, when was the last time we saw the priest?” asked General Ohrig, keeping his voice low and casting his eyes about to make sure they weren’t overheard. The servant Adele had been questioning had wandered off to scratch himself and ogle Lady Olivia as she played on the couch with Stella.

  “The last time I saw him was when he went for a tour with all of you,” replied Adele.

  “The priest accompanied us as far the Royal Nursery, then left us there and went with Mr. Grotto to the Marchant’s family chapel. He seemed excited about it, and almost ran out of the room when Mr. Grotto offered to show it to him. After that, all we’ve had is Mr. Grotto’s word that Pere Raven has remained in the chapel or the library attached to it. I thought nothing of it until this morning, but the man still hasn’t shown up and its almost time to leave. And now Natalie has gone.”

  The unwanted fear uncurled in Adele’s gut. “And no Prince Rainere or Grotto either,” Adele added reluctantly. “This is very odd.”

  A dark frown was Ohrig’s only reply. He didn’t need to say anything else. Adele knew what he was thinking.

  Lady Olivia walked over to Adele with Stella on her hip, giving the leering Grey Palace servant a wide berth.

  “Your Majesty, all is in readiness for our departure. The Steeplechase is scheduled to start at midday. We should probably be on our way if we are to make it on time.”

  “We can’t leave without Natalie.”

  “No, of course not, Your Majesty, but perhaps Siobahn and I could take the little ones back and await you at Belvoir?” the young woman suggested. “I’m sure the Prince would understand if we split the party in two. It’s probably best I go with the nanny and children as Siobahn is terrified of His Highness.”

  Adele locked eyes with Ohrig as she realized if Rainere didn’t appear to help them pass through the portal they were all trapped here in the Grey Palace.

  “He’ll be here,” she promised her General, but didn’t quite know what made her so confident. Where had her Prince gone with Grotto and Pere Raven? Was this something to do with the wedding she refused to have? Had Natalie seen something?

  Adele shook the dark thoughts from her head and turned to the Grey Palace servant. “You there! Do you know the way to the palace chapel?”

  The man shrugged and nodded at the same time, which Adele took for assent.

  “General, let’s leave three men here with the children and three of you come with me to the chapel.” Quickly Ohrig organized his men and they set off after the swaying servant.

  As they left the Palace interior, Adelena and her men made their way across the unkempt gardens to an enormous building separated from the rest of the grounds by a rusty wrought-iron fence. More church than chapel, the building loomed over them, casting a somber form in the sunny sky. They stopped at the large stone doors and the servant leading them muttered a short prayer which was, surprisingly, echoed by General Ohrig, and QGs Owens and Bear. It was a prayer intoned out of respect to the Goddess Serena before they entered the sanctity of her house. One of the doors had already been pushed open, so they could pass through silently.

  As she stepped into the chapel Adele felt a sudden flash of the familiar. Like many of the Gothic edifices back on Earth, the stone walls were decorated with stained glass windows portraying scenes both hideous and sublime, and filtered the sunlight into different colors. Long wooden benches sat in tidy rows, ten on each side of the carpeted aisle. Adele heard the sound of roosting birds in the eaves and noticed the pews were decorated with dry, white splotches. She shivered as a cold draft blew in behind her and remembered that Natalie would still be in her little nightdress.

  Adele walked down the aisle and saw that candles had been lit at the altar. Row upon row of tall black candles that filled the air with a dusky perfume.

  With a start Adele realized there was a figure kneeling on the steps before the altar and her heart leapt. This was why her men hadn’t been able to find him. He was here in this unfamiliar part of the palace. As soon as she told him that Natalie was missing he would help to find her immediately.

  Rainere rested on his knees, his long black hair hanging down his back, his head bowed as if in prayer. It only struck her as odd that he didn’t turn when she called out his name. Adele mounted the steps and came close enough to touch him.

  “Prince Rainere,” she used his title as her men were within hearing distance. “I’m sorry to disturb you at prayer, but we have a problem. Natalie has gone missing…” Adele stopped when Rainere gave her no reaction, but kept his eyes closed and his hands clasped in front of his chest.

  “My love,” whispered Adele more urgently. “Please I need you to help me find Natalie.”

  Adele was shocked to see a glittering green tear slowly trace its way down Rainere’s cheek.

  “Rainere, what’s the matter?” she asked and touched his shoulder. She heard her men fall silent as they witnessed her gentle gesture.

  Rainere finally opened his eyes and Adele saw his lashes were wet and his eyes glowed strangely, swimming with bright green tears.

  “Cara mia, I know where she is,” he whispered and turned to her, grief and despair marring his beautiful face. “But, my darling heart, she is lost.”

  Adele’s hand flew to her mouth and the Chime Voices shrieked so loudly and so forcefully, that she blacked out.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  “But Devils Don’t Have Wings”

  “The Prince should be back soon,” General Ohrig muttered. His heavy tread paced close by to her.

  Adele wok
e up, but didn’t open her eyes. There was something on the other side of her eyelids that she didn’t want to face, a terrible thing. If she stayed here in the dark, then she could ignore it.

  “What happened to the Queen?” A panicked young voice roused Adele and almost tricked her into opening her eyes. Carefully, she squeezed them tightly shut.

  “Where have you been, boy?” asked Ohrig gruffly. “We thought you had been taken, too.”

  “I haven’t yet,” answered Charlie. “But I know the Princess has been. That’s why I’m here.”

  The princess, thought Adele dreamily. That word had something to do with the ‘terrible thing’.

  “What do you know about Princess Natalie’s disappearance?” demanded Ohrig.

  Adele’s eyes flew open at her daughter’s name and she woozily climbed to her feet. She had been lying on a velvet couch and the dust from it clung to her. A large blanket had been draped across her, but was now pooled at her feet and threatened to make her tumble.

  “Where is Natalie?” she croaked, and looked wildly around the unfamiliar sitting room. “Where are Aaron and Stella?”

  General Ohrig was by Adele’s side in an instant and he pushed her gently back down to sit. “Easy, Your Majesty, you’ve had a shock. Charlie, pour the Queen some wine.”

  “I don’t want wine,” coughed Adele and noticed that General Ohrig had his sword in his hand. “I want my children.”

  “Prince Rainere, is guiding the children with the nanny and Lady Olivia back through the portal to Belvoir. The men have gone down to see it done. We still don’t know where Natalie is, but the Prince has promised to tell you everything when you are revived.”

  Ohrig handed her a glass of red wine. “Drink this, Your Majesty, it will help you feel better.”

  Adele doubted that. She felt horribly hollow and sour inside. Her mind was still so dull and kept flitting about, noticing insignificant things, like the broken braid trim on the side of the couch, and that Ohrig smelled of peppermint and tobacco, but she had never seen him take either. With an effort, Adele forced herself to sip at the wine and swallow it.