by A. M. Miller
Lu caught a glimpse of Eleaa staring at her in the mirror. She turned to her.
“You look like her,” Eleaa said in a quiet voice.
The words struck Lu. The ideal that anyone could compare her to her mother was laughable. She looked fearsome, yes, but never in the way her mother had. Never in away that would strike both fear and desire into the hearts of many. Even her own mother might have question her origin were she not birth from her own womb.
Lu didn’t want Eleaa to see the emotion her words had stirred inside her. A mask of calm confidence fell over her face. Looking like a queen wouldn’t be enough. She needed to act like one. Lu stepped out of her chamber.
Domicin waited outside her door. He stepped forward and for a moment she was surprised to see him there.
“Blessed morn, my queen,” Domicin said dipping into a bow.
As he rose Lu looked him over. His armor had been cleaned and shined for the coronation. He held his helmet in his arms showing off a recently trim beard. Lu saw what she’d failed to notice that night; Domicin was handsome.
She frowned, not entirely sure why this disappointed her, but appearances were important to both of them. In this time of unrest, the queensland’s people needed to be reassured that their rulers are capable of leading them down the true path. Together they would become the backbone and strength of this queensland.
Domicin held out his arm and she took it. They made their way down the hall, her long gown sweeping the ground as she walked. The clicking of her heels echoed off the hall walls. Once again they passed the paintings.
Lu stopped in front of her mother’s portraiture. She was one of the most beautiful paintings in the castle. Full shoulders and a thick brow, her mother held a perfect symmetry. Her fiery red eyes stared down at Lu. Lu had always known she’d never be able to match her mother’s looks.
As a baby, Lu had been very sickly. Her mother had been bitten by the Inkia fly when she was pregnant. The taint of the Inkia was unnoticeable in the mother but left the children who survived forever marked.
With every passing year, Lu’s health improved but the effects were irreversible. Her body was mostly bone; an unattractive trait in a society that preferred those with solid muscular builds. The hair from her head turned black as night and skin as pale as milk. Compared to the redheaded and brown skinned queen before her, she was an oddity. When people first saw Lu they thought she was a ghost.
She’d been born with the black rose, a pretty name for a tangled dark mass that marked her skin, located on her lower back where it could be hidden. Other’s had not been so lucky.
Once her brother told her the story of a boy born with the black rose over his left eye. According to Lecive, the mother had been so horrified she’d drowned him in the creek. His body bloated and eaten by the fishes, no on dare touch him fearing his taint might rub off.
Lu knew it would be hard for the people to accept a queen that looked so …different.
I’ll make them accept me. I’ll be the best queen this queensland has ever known, Lu promised herself.
“Ready?” Domicin asked.
Lu nodded, looking away from the painting of her mother. Next to it hung an empty frame. Its black canvas seemed almost ominous. The blank space was the promised end to every queen story.
One day you will join us, the paintings whispered to her. One day soon.
8
The principal's office was on the other side of the building. Raven walked down the halls at a slow pace. There was no point in rushing. She had no intentions of returning to Mr. Otulo’s class before the end of the period. Principle Alcester probably wouldn’t be happy to see her again. She’d done well this year in avoiding the old woman. They’d only had to meet twice, a record for Raven.
A shuffling noise came from one of the classrooms. Raven stopped and turned towards the door. The lights were off but as she stepped closer she could hear hushed voices coming from inside. She couldn’t make out what was being said but one of the voices sounded upset.
Not wanting to get involved, Raven turned away. The door flew open and knocked her to the ground. Raven landed hard on her elbow. Pain shot up through her arm. She clenched her teeth trying to hold back the groan. Raven looked down at her arm. Despite the pain of the fall, her skin was unmarked. She rubbed at it hoping to sooth the ache.
“Watch it,” a voice said.
Raven pushed herself up and turned to glare at the person holding the door. Olivia Johnson stood in the doorway, arms folded and maroon lips twisted into a frown. After seeing that it was Olivia who knocked her down Raven was no longer surprised by the rude remark.
Olivia was one of those girls who got off on making others feel bad. Her relative attractiveness and economic status only added fuel to the fire. She wasn’t queen bee but she was pretty high up on the social pyramid. Her ranking fell somewhere within the top ten percentile. In simple terms, Olivia was the typical stuck up mean girl.
“You know most people apologize after injuring someone.” Raven stood, dusting herself off. Educating Olivia in how to be a proper human being was pointless but the words were out before Raven could stop them.
Raven scrunched up her nose. The lavender choked smell of cannabis wafted out into the hallway. She’d heard about a group of kids getting high at school, but it seemed stupid to her. Why take the risk of getting caught on school grounds.
“What the hell were you even doing in front of the door? Are you some type of stalker?” Olivia asked.
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
A boy moved into view behind Olivia. He looked at Raven. She knew his face but she couldn’t recall his name. He was handsome, chestnut skin with deep brown eyes and a square jaw. His tall frame was what you would expect from someone on the basketball team. Raven had seen him play a few games. He wasn’t good enough to go pros but one or two colleges might have been willing to throw him a scholarship.
“What’s going on here?” The boy asked looking at the two girls.
Olivia glared down at Raven. “The freak was eavesdropping.”
“I know you think that you’re that important to me, but you’re really not,” Raven said.
Raven turned to leave the two behind. Olivia hissed something behind her back but it was too low for her to hear. Raven rolled her eyes.
“Let’s just leave, we shouldn’t even be here in the first place,” the boy said to Olivia.
“Seriously Drake, you really can kill a buzz.”
Raven heard Olivia’s marching footsteps as she stormed off in the other direction. The boy’s name must have been Drake. Raven’s brain recognized it the moment she’d heard it. She didn’t feel bad about forgetting. He probably didn’t know her name so why waste time trying to learn his.
Raven continued on her way to the principal's office. She hoped the meeting wouldn’t be too long. If she was lucky, Principle Alcester would just give her a detention and send her on her way. Worse case scenario she’d try to convince Raven to talk to someone again.
Sometimes Raven hated the fact that her mother used to be a teacher. Old coworkers who’d never once visited her mother in the hospital pretended like they knew everything about Raven’s situation. Principle Alcester worked at the same elementary school as her mother. They’d been friendly but after the incident, Principle Alcester began to see Raven as her own personal responsibility.
Raven opened the glass door to the office. Betty, the old gray woman at the front desk, didn’t even look up as Raven walked past. Principle Alcester’s office was the first one on the right. Her door was open and Raven stepped inside.
Principle Alcester’s pixie cut was the only visible part of her head as she scribbled something down on a piece of paper. Her desk was always covered in stacks of paperwork.
Raven cleared her throat.
Principle Alcester looked up. “Oh no,” Her eyes widened filling with dread as she stared at Raven, “What happened this time?”
Raven’s li
ps pinched together in a tight smile. “I fell asleep in Mr. Otulo’s class.”
“And?”
“And he sent me here.”
“Oh.” The surprise in Principle Alcester’s voice was obvious. She’d been expecting something along the lines of a kid with a busted lip or another nervous breakdown.
Principle Alcester waved her closer. “Take a seat.”
Raven sat down in one of the plastic chairs across from the principle’s desk. She shifted trying to get comfortable but it was impossible. Classrooms weren’t the only things suffering from budget cuts.
Principle Alcester shifted forward in her chair placing folded hands on the desk. “Have you been getting enough sleep?”
Raven shrugged. “About the same amount as every other teenager in this building.”
“Raven, sleep is an important part of mental health.”
“Right, because the only thing the mentally ill need is a good eight hours rest and all their problems will magically disappear.”
“Raven,” Principle Alcester sighed, “Is this something I should speak to your father about?”
“No, you should just give me the detention like you would any other kid.”
Raven could hear the hostility leaking into her voice. She knew it wouldn’t solve anything to get snappy with the principle but she hated being treated different from everyone else.
“The other students don’t have your situation and they aren’t constantly in and out of my office.”
“Don’t call my dad, “ Raven said and then through gritted teeth added, “Please.”
Raven couldn’t look at her. As bad as the situation was, her father would only make it worse.
A moment of silence passed between them before Principle Alcester spoke again. “Are you taking your meds regularly?”
“Yes, I was just tired, that’s all.”
Principle Alcester stared at Raven. Raven could feel her eyes on her. She felt like an ant under the hot rays of a magnifying glass, but no matter how long she stared her down, Raven wasn’t going to change her answer.
“Fine,” Principle Alcester said reaching for the yellow slips on her desk, “Mr. Otulo holds after school tutoring on Mondays and Wednesdays. Go to one of them within the next two weeks and we’ll call it even.”
Raven stood and took the paper from Principle Alcester. She turned to leave but Principle Alcester stopped her.
“You know I only want the best for you, Raven. You’re like a daughter to me.”
Raven’s hands balled into tight fist. Fire lit inside of her dark brown eyes as she glared straight ahead.
“Thanks, but I already have a mother. I don’t need another,” Raven said.
She pushed open the door and left the office before Principle Alcester could say another word. She wasn’t Principle Alcester’s problem to solve. Raven didn’t need her. She didn’t need anyone.
9
The Heart Queensland
The high arching double doors of the royal church stood in front of Lu. Handcrafted oak from eastern artisans, invaluable after the east and west trade band. It was a rare and beautiful piece. Carved into the wood was an intricate design of the goddess’s ascension. At the bottom of the door was the world of darkness, singed dark tendrils stretched up trying to entrap the innocents. At the top of the door was the goddess herself shining down on the world in all of her glory.
Her light stopped the darkness from spreading. From her, the three had been born as saviors. They were carved into the wood with their hands held at the center of the door. Two daughters and a son sent to bring her light into the realms of man. One to the east and two to the west.
Above the door was written the words of the west.
Trust in the Church
Loyalty to the Queen
Faith in the Goddess
They were the words every child of the west knew by heart, no matter which of the three queensland one haled from. It was the first thing that had been taught to Lu in her lessons. She’d written and spoken them over a million times until they became ingrained in her heart and soul. Without all three their queensland would fall.
“It all changes beyond this door,” Domicin said.
Lu looked over at him. Her hand was still atop his arm, but his eyes were on the door. He didn’t show it in his expression but she wondered if his heart raced the same way hers did.
“Change can be good.” Lu looked ahead at the door. “Sometimes it is necessary to move forward.”
Domicin placed his hand atop of hers. “Then let us be changed for the better.” He squeezed her hand before letting go.
Lu drew in a deep breath and nodded. Domicin looked at the two guards who stood stationed in front of the doors. He nodded to them and they pushed the doors open. Light slipped in through the gape of the opening doors.
Lu’s eyes burned from the brightness but she fought off the urge to look away. She held her head high as she took her first step through the door.
The royal church was a grand place built of mostly high arching wood beams and glass. The size was larger than any other church within the queensland. The sixth queen had remodeled the temple during the Iodon period building the holy space large enough to fit all the inhabitants of the inner city. Placed where it would receive the most goddess glow year round, it was one of the most sacred places in the heart queenland.
The temple was a place full of greenery. Vines stretched up and wrapped around the wooden beams, their white petal flowers serving as decoration. A wooden alter was built at the back of the temple, hand crafted wood from the ashia tree. The window behind it was a masterpiece of stained glass reflecting an array of colors. The image depicted a woman kneeling with the crown floating above her head in a golden light.
The moment the doors opened all stood to behold the princess. People from all over the land dressed in their finery. Most wore the dark red of the heart queensland but others dressed in an assortment of exotic robes. Lu saw a woman standing to her right dressed in nothing but a sheer white fabric that had been draped about her body. The only things that hid the woman’s modesty were the green vines that raced up the delicate fabric. The man standing next to her dressed in a similar manner. Lu looked away feeling her cheeks warm.
Domicin placed his hand over hers as they walked together down the aisle. People bowed as she passed. Lu recognized the faces of nobility. Even dressed in their finest she could tell the difference between her people and the people of The Red Queensland. One man dressed in bright red wore so much gold and ruby that the goddess glow reflecting off of him was blinding. No one of the Heart would ever dress in such a flashy manner.
Lu tried to keep her focus on what was ahead. They reached the front of the alter. A woman with skin as brown as umber stood in front of them. She wore the same sheer white fabric as the other woman draped over her shoulders but underneath she wore a solid white dress that flowed down her body like water. Her kinky white hair was shaved on the right revealing the swirling mark of her priesthood. The side that was not shaven came down in a long ponytail that hung over her shoulder. A silver band wrapped around her head with a single white jewel hanging in the middle, marking her as White Queensland royalty.
“I am princess Ethareal, sister to the White Queen,” the woman said with a bow.
Lu removed her hand from Domicin’s arm folding them in front of her. “We welcome you into the heart queensland, Princess Ethareal.”
Ethareal smiled, her beauty, radiant. “The last time I saw you, Princess of Heart, you were new to this world. I’d been traveling through the lands when I heard of your birth. I asked your queen for the rights to perform your first blessing. It’s the goddess’s design that I be here again to ask the right to welcome you into the world again as a queen to your people.”
Lu looked at Ramor who stood behind Princess Ethareal, unsure of what was appropriate in this situation. He nodded at her. Lu looked back at the princess.
“I would be honored,�
�� Lu said.
She walked up the last stair and turned back to face her people. In the front row she found those of the highest nobility. Her eldest brother Lecive sat to her right. He smiled when their eyes met. She looked away from him, refusing to allow him to anger her on this important day.
Lu saw teacher Meshi sitting three rows back. The older woman gave a slight nod. Lu couldn’t see Eleaa but she knew she was somewhere watching. There were other faces in the crowded she’d seen before but never interacted with. How queer that she should be standing before them now.
“In the light of the goddess we are born a new. As one queen passes another is born to fulfill the roll. She is the blessed. Through her protection we find salvation and through her mercy, redemption,” Ethareal said. Her voice boomed off the glass walls.
From the corner of her eye Lu saw Ethareal grab the golden dagger. She swallowed back her nerves and held her hands tighter.
Ethareal stepped in front of Lu. “Be still, princess,” Ethareal whispered.
Lu didn’t flinch as the blade cut across her forehead. She listened to the rhythmic sounds of Ethareal’s chanting. Her hum buzzed the air around them and sent chills down Lu’s arms. Blood dripped down between Lu’s brows running along her nose.
Ethareal pulled back. She replaced the dagger with a cold rag wiping away the blood from Lu’s face.
“The third eye has been opened,” Ethareal announced, “may she be blessed.”
Lu tilted her head back. The goddess’s glow hit the center of the ceiling and reflected in one bright ray down to her forehead. She closed her eyes.
Goddess, protect me.
“It is time,” Ethareal said.
Lu opened her eyes. She didn’t feel any different. Doubt swelled within her chest. It had been centuries since the goddess rejected a potential queen. Her claims to the throne were lost and she became the shame of the queensland. Lu couldn’t bear if that were to happen to her in front of everyone.
Lu tilted her head back down, fearing the worse. The church erupted into cheers. It worked. Lu let out a sigh of relief. She fought the urge to reach up and see if the skin had really healed.