“You are safe now, Your Majesty,” the mysterious Prince reassured her from further away in the shadows, drawing Annie from her thoughts. A moment later a flame lit in the hearth, casting soft light across the room and revealing the Prince in his impeccable suit, not a hair out of place, his dark brown eyes suddenly gazing into her own.
‘Oh, golly gosh, I am in trouble,’ Annie thought to herself. All feelings of guilt were suddenly pushed aside as self-consciousness overcame her at the thought of being alone with the foreign Prince, in what appeared to be his personal suite. ‘I must stop staring... But that smile that promises trouble in all the right kind of ways... Those eyes that have probably gazed over more women in a single summer than men I have met in my entire life... What am I doing here? I don’t know how to court men let alone a Prince like this! Oh, my goodness, his grin is growing. He can read my mind; he knows I’m checking him out! Goddess save me, I can feel my cheeks heating up... Calm down Annie...’
“Forgive me,” Prince Cimmeris spoke gently but sincerely, “if bringing you here was audacious. I mean you no ill intent. Please allow me to explain. You see, I can only shadow walk to places I have been to in person. This was the safest place I could think of at a moment’s notice in your castle, so that is why I brought you here.”
“I understand,” Annie squeaked awkwardly, suddenly very aware of just how tight she had clung to the shadow walker Prince during their travel. Her cheeks flushed once more. The Prince chuckled in return, a small smirk curving across his face at the young Queen’s obvious embarrassment. “Thank you, Princess Cimmeris, for protecting me,” Annie awkwardly replied before gasping in horror at her mistake in formality.
The Prince burst out laughing, “you and I are going to get along just fine Queen Annalyse. If it is not too presumptuous, may I call you Annie?” Annie’s face blushed bright red in response and the Prince launched into another fit of laughter. “You will have to work on concealing your feelings more thoroughly my Queen, or you will never beat me at cards,” he joked causing Annie to blush further and release a small laugh herself.
“Thank you for the suggestion Prince Cimmeris,” Annie replied, feigning interest for a moment in a pulled thread on her dress. “I will remember that if I ever have the unfortunate luck of playing cards with such a mysterious gentleman from Shadows Peak, such as yourself,” Annie replied, looking down her nose and raising her left eyebrow, earning herself another laugh from the Prince.
‘Oh, my goodness gracious me, am I actually trying to flirt?! Goddess above I’ve lost my mind!’
“I see there is fire after all beneath that dainty exterior,” Prince Cimmeris responded with a devious smile. “it is a pleasure to officially get to know you Queen Annie.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Prince Cimmeris, mysterious shadow walker and card playing extraordinaire,” Annie teased.
*
An hour later, after awkwardly exchanging banter whilst Annie tried her best to maintain a cool and calm demeanour, a brisk knock came at the door, followed by Alecia bursting into the room.
“Thank the Goddess, you’re alive! I had guards searching the entire palace for you,” Alecia exclaimed, staring daggers at Annie. She then turned her attention to the Prince and in a completely different tone that stunned Annie, she stated: “Thank you for protecting the Queen, Prince Cimmeris. I am indebted to you for your assistance, but if you could please excuse us, the Queen needs to come with me urgently,” Alecia concluded. And her moment of charm faded away as quickly as she turned it on.
“Excuse us, Cimmeris. Thank you once again for your protection,” Annie nodded in thanks.
“The pleasure was all mine,” the Prince charmingly responded, bowing low for the Queen with a small sly wink that only Annie appeared to notice.
“Let’s go,” Alecia exclaimed, guiding Annie out of the room and promptly heading in the direction of the infirmary. Annie’s heart quickened in her chest as reality hit her and she remembered the severity of the situation she had been whisked away from.
“How self-absorbed could I get?! To allow myself to forget about my poor sister, about the riot, while I was too busy flirting with a foreign Prince. Goddess save my soul because my sage wisdom must be failing me,” Annie muttered under her breath.
“The Goddess can worry about saving your soul,” Alecia began, “after she saves our sister! I swear Annie, since you came into our lives, nothing but trouble has befallen poor Anastasia and our family.”
“Excuse me,” Annie cried in protest, pausing in the corridor.
“You heard me!” Alecia remarked, a force to be reckoned with, before turning once again on her heel and resuming her journey to the infirmary.
“Goddess grant me patience,” Annie muttered under her breath.
“Be careful what you pray for,” Alecia advised with a smirk, “before you bring more trials and torment down upon our family. Everyone knows you never prayer for patience unless you have a death wish,” Alecia stated matter-of-factly.
A small huff of laughter escaped from Annie at her sister’s remark. “Very wise advice indeed.”
“Now hurry up Annie, our sister needs us,” Alecia replied, once again a warrior on a mission.
~ ◊ ~
34
Queen Annalyse of Quillencia
“Get away from me! Stay back!” Anastasia screamed from the corner of the infirmary room, completely bare, clenching a blanket to her chest. A wall of fire erected protectively before her, preventing the healers from coming to her aid. Blood oozed from the wound in the side of her abdomen where the arrow was still embedded. Anastasia was hunched in pain, that much was clear, but a mixture of fear and rage filled her eyes unlike anything the Quillencian Queen had ever seen in her granddaughter before. The head healer tried desperately to calm the Princess with her reassuring words so she could treat the injury, but her attempts only aggravated the terrified Princess further.
A water mage had previously attempted to douse the Princess’s firewall with water. However, as soon as the head healer began to approach the anxious Princess, her gifting reignited the wall, narrowly avoiding incinerating the healer. The Quillencian Queen had tried to reason with the out-of-control Princess, but nothing could calm the storm that swelled inside of her soul. Mental wounds that had not yet healed had been ripped wide open for the world to see through her exposure to clinical environment.
“Where are the Alearian Queen and General Alecia?” Queen Annalyse of Quillencia roared at the head healer. A very rare moment indeed for the foreign Queen to allow her emotions to get the better of her.
“Princess Alecia has gone to find the Queen, Your Majesty,” the senior healer responded. “I am sure they will be here as soon as they can. They will be able to calm the Princess; I am sure of it.”
“I hope you are right Healer, or else my granddaughter will soon perish from lack of blood,” Queen Annalyse said with a mixture of anger and anxiety, whilst she continued to pace around the room.
*
General Alecia
The infirmary royal suite door flew open on a roaring hot wind, with Alecia headed in a direct line to Anastasia, the Alearian Queen on her heels.
‘Holy Goddess, what has happened to my sister?’ Alecia thought frantically, taking in the scene before her.
Alecia noticed Annie begin to slow her pace as she carefully approached her twin’s wall of fire. Alecia, who was less patient, wrapped a protective layer of her own fire around herself, and walked through the firewall to shake her sister’s shoulders.
“Tash calm down! We are here to help you!” Alecia yelled directly at her sister.
Anastasia stared vacantly into her older sister’s eyes, her firewall flaring up to burn ever more brightly, completely obstructing Annie’s view of her sisters.
“They want to hurt me,” Anastasia’s voice cracked. “They want to take me away again Alecia. Don’t let them take me,” Anastasia spoke barely louder than a whisper, her voice now h
oarse and wavering.
“No one is going to take you anywhere Tash,” Alecia replied. “The healers are just trying to help you. That’s their job…”
Anastasia’s eyes turned from vacant and pleading to furious. “You don’t believe me! You are just like them! You want them to take me away again and I won’t go! You can’t make me! I won’t go back to that cell of a storeroom!” Anastasia screamed, hoisting a mighty wall of flame directly into Alecia’s chest, sending her soaring back through the firewall and bashing hard into the opposite infirmary wall.
*
Queen Annalyse of Alearia
The intensity of the flaming wall decreased slightly after Alecia was flung back through it. Annie guessed that her twin’s energy levels were beginning to fail, likely related to the blood loss she was experiencing. Annie reached out her mind conqueror gifting towards her twin, closing her eyes to concentrate. Making the connection to Anastasia’s unguarded mind, Annie recognized the disorder of her neuron signals reflecting the anxiety the Princess was experiencing.
“Tash, it’s me. It’s Annie,” Annie whispered mind-to-mind with her twin.
“Annie? Annie is that really you? I’m so scared Annie. They want to take me away, don’t let them take me away,” Anastasia begged Annie mind-to mind in return through the connection that Annie created for her.
“I won’t let any harm come to you Tash. I promise. I am here to help you.”
Annie turned to the rest of the room. “Everyone except Alecia, I need you to leave this room, right now. That is an order,” Annie declared.
Following an apprehensive look from the Quillencian Queen and head healer, the room emptied, with only Anastasia, Alecia and Annie remaining.
Alecia lifted herself from the ground and limped over to stand beside the Queen. Concern for her sister was painted across her face.
“I am so very sorry for not listening to you before,” Alecia spoke softly through the wall of fire. “I just want to help you.”
“Everyone has gone Anastasia,” Annie gently explained. “It’s just you, me and Alecia now. We promise we won’t let anything happen to you. We won’t let anyone take you away. We swear on the Goddess.”
The firewalls intensity decreased slightly further in response.
“Tash,” Annie spoke. “Can you please lower the wall so we can help you? You have lost a great deal of blood and we need to help you before it is too late. Please trust us Anastasia. We love you.”
“Please Tash, lower the wall and let us help you,” Alecia added, a rare plea from the usually stoic, sassy sister.
The wall flickered for a moment, allowing Anastasia a quick glimpse of the infirmary room to ensure her sisters were telling the truth. When Anastasia was satisfied that they were alone, she lowered her firewall and slumped to the ground in exhaustion.
“Please don’t let them take me,” Anastasia whispered, her eyes filled with dread.
Alecia and Annie slowly closed the gap between them and their sister, careful not to startle her. Annie leaned towards Anastasia to whisper in her ear, “no one is going to ever take you away from me again. It’s not like last time. I won’t let them, I promise. I love you.”
“Thank you, Annie,” Anastasia whispered in return, heaving mighty sobs, her body shaking.
So frail her sister appeared. A mere shadow of the strong young warrior she usually was. Annie lowered herself on the ground to lie beside her sister, so she could stare reassuringly into her twin’s eyes and began stroking Anastasia’s hair in long soothing strokes.
“Anastasia,” Alecia softly interrupted. “I need to stop the bleeding. Will you let me please?”
Anastasia nodded her head slightly in agreement.
Alecia lowered herself to kneel on the other side of Anastasia and with two hands, ripped the arrow from her sister’s side. Anastasia released an almighty cry of pain, and the wound began oozing blood faster. Alecia quickly discarded the arrow, placed her hands upon the now open wound and applied direct pressure. She then called upon her fire-wielding gifting and focused its power to solder the blood vessels closed and begin to regenerate the burned flesh. All that remained once she had completed the patch-up was a slightly open puncture wound that would only require a simple dressing to cover, which Alecia then applied for her sister. Anastasia released a small whimper of relief after Alecia had finished tending to her wound.
Gently, careful not to startle her sister, Alecia lowered herself to the ground, bloody hands and all, behind Anastasia and wrapped herself protectively around her. Both Alecia and Annie acted as human shields for their sister as Anastasia waited out the last of her anxiety attack. Annie all the while coaching her twin through deep breathing exercises, whilst continuing to reassuringly stroke her hair.
~ ◊ ~
35
Queen Annalyse of Alearia
Night had quickly rolled into morning, and the three Brandistone sisters were now sleeping blissfully together in Annie’s bed. Anastasia had not wanted to be alone that night, and she was adamant she would not stay in the infirmary a minute longer. So, Annie had suggested they share a room for the night. Annie was a former healer’s apprentice after all, so who better to watch over her sister through the night? Alecia hadn’t wanted to let Anastasia out her sight either, for fear that her mental health would decline if she wasn’t there to watch over her, so Alecia had insisted on sleeping in Annie’s room as well. Truth be told, Annie enjoyed the company. She missed the cosy nights she would spend snuggled up with Lily in front of the hearth. The physical contact brought Annie great comfort and reminded her of much simpler times.
Annie awoke to light entering the room as Lady Margarette drew open the curtains to her suite.
“Good morning, Your Majesty,” Lady Margarette chimed in her cheerful singsong greeting. Walking over to Annie’s bedside she added, “I trust you all slept well,” smiling warmly. Margarette had been like a mother figure to her sisters growing up, always there faithfully by their mother’s side, helping her and supporting her through day-to-day life. Annie could tell that it brought Margarette great joy to see the three sisters bonding so closely. It was exactly what Queen Amealiana would have wanted.
‘It’s a shame that mother couldn’t see us now. I don’t know what would shock her more, the fact that we are all getting along or the fact that I am getting married in six days and I have yet to choose a King.’
“Good morning, Lady Margarette,” Annie replied pulling herself out of bed, causing her sisters to stir from their slumber.
“Good morning, Princess Anastasia and Princess Alecia,” Lady Margarette greeted her other sisters as she handed Annie her fertility tonic that she had missed the night before. Annie downed the putrid smelling mixture in one swig, gagging slightly at the horrid taste.
“I will prepare your bathing chamber, My Queen,” Lady Margarette reported as she began to turn away, “breakfast with the suitors will begin shortly.”
“Thank you, Margarette,” Annie replied, walking over to her closet to pick out a gown for the day ahead.
‘A gown fit for a Queen looking for a husband...’ Annie released an exasperated sigh.
“Anastasia and Alecia, you better get up or we’ll be late for breakfast. Tash, come and help me pick out a gown to wear will you please?”
The sisters attempted to roll over and return to sleep, but Annie threw a pillow from her chaise at each of them.
“Cut that out Annie!” Alecia exclaimed.
“We’re getting up... Do I need to remind you that I almost died yesterday?” Anastasia whined, pulling herself out of bed, dragging Alecia behind her over to the cupboard.
“Annie...” Anastasia gasped, suddenly wide awake. “There is nothing in your wardrobe that will get the suitors’ attention! You need to come with me!”
Before Annie could object, Anastasia looped her arm through her own and escorted her from the room. Just before Alecia closed the door behind them, she turned to Margarette who ha
d re-entered the bedroom looking quizzical. “Change of plans, we are going to get ready in Anastasia’s room. Have the morning off Margarette, we’ll look after her today,” Alecia smiled wickedly.
“Very well Princess,” Margarette replied warmly. “But please take her crown with you,” the lady’s maid requested warmly, handing the Queen’s tiara to Alecia.
“Thank you, Margarette,” and with that she placed the crown upon her own head and followed her sisters over-confidently down the corridor towards Anastasia’s bedroom.
*
“With a strong mind, wit, and impeccable grooming, a lady can achieve anything,” Anastasia informed her twin. “Never underestimate the power of a stunning gown and high heels.”
After combing through Anastasia’s dresses, Alecia picked out the ideal dress for Annie to wear for her day ahead. The gown embodied class and beauty.
Thrusting the gown into her sister’s hands, Annie objected, “I can’t wear that! We’re going to breakfast not out to a royal party!”
“Nonsense Annie,” Anastasia backed up Alecia. “If you are going to find yourself a husband, then you need to look the part. The suitors won’t be able to take their eyes off you in this gold silhouette dress,” Anastasia declared confidently.
Annie sighed but conceded to wearing the dress. It was stunning after all.
After the three royals were dressed to impress, their hair styled and make-up painted, they made their way down to the family dining room for breakfast.
The Herald announced the ladies’ arrival at the royal family’s dining room, beginning first with Queen Annalyse, followed by her two sisters. The suitors all stood in respect as the ladies entered the room. The Queen took her place at the head of the table, with Alecia and Anastasia electing to sit this time at the opposite end of the table to allow the Queen to communicate more freely with her guests.
A Queen's Fate Page 14