Ginata is shaking her head, repeating the word no, over and over again. I step back from her and look at the teacher. Someone I know I can trust. Archer slips his hand into mine.
“Is that true?”
“If she has been drinking them both, then yes, whatever she did, she did through choice. Her own choice.”
Ginata wails again and I want to join her. This is another betrayal and a worse one because I wasn’t expecting it now. We were reconciled.
“Seize her.” My voice doesn’t sound like mine.
28
ARCHER LETS GO OF EVERLEIGH’S hand and takes hold of Ginata. He drags her to Millard’s side and keeps hold of her arms.
Millard grins at her. “Together again, little Ginny. Tell me, do you still love me?”
“I hate you. Please Everleigh. Please. This cannot be. I would never hurt you, never betray you. It’s not right. Please. There must be some mistake.”
“The only mistake was me trusting you. You have broken my heart.”
Ginata cannot look at any of them, she lowers her head to the floor, tears dripping, shoulders shaking.
“Enough of this. Whatever you have said or done doesn’t matter anymore. Ginata, I will lock you up, Millard, I will kill you. I will be crowned and I will forget about the both of you and what you’ve done to me.”
Archer beckons Will to him and passes him a dagger. Will gives it to Everleigh and she drops it, as though it’s scalding hot. For all her bravado, can she really do this? End this? Kill him?
Millard opens his eyes, sensing her weakness and it’s the glint in his eyes that convinces her of what she must do.
Will picks up the dagger and stands in front of her, blocking the view of her brother. Archer talks over Ginata’s head. “Let me do it for you. Take Addyson in the other room and let me finish this.”
“I should do it.”
“Maybe, maybe not. He will still be dead.”
“I wish it hadn’t come to this.”
“We all do. Let me help you, let me do this for you.”
Is she less of a Queen if someone else kills Millard? More? Does it even matter? She turns to Addyson and takes her hands. Addyson turns to their brother, wiping her tears with her sleeve. “Our father wasn’t very nice to me but I never wished him dead. I wish you were dead. You are horrible. A liar, a murderer, a nasty evil person.”
Millard closes his eyes again. He doesn’t want to hear them. And nothing they say will change the past and nothing he says will change the past. The events that have led to them all being here in this room will never change.
Only Everleigh now has the power to shape the future. What becomes of him, Ginata, of Addyson and of herself.
He cannot live, she knows that much. The slightest weakness shown from her will encourage a rebellion against her at some point in the future, led by him or one of his supporters.
She looks at him. Her brother. Her handsome brother.
Any one of the people in this room would kill him on her behalf.
“Will, give me the dagger.” He does and she holds it in her right hand. “Archer, Ceryn, how do I do it...so it’s quick?”
“Stab him in the heart with all of your strength, stab in and up.”
She nods, feeling sick.
Will steps forward and puts his hand on her shoulder. She feels the heat from his touch and the love he feels for her. Addyson does the same, then Della and then the teacher. Ceryn and Archer cannot touch her because they are guarding her enemies but she can tell from the look on their faces what they think and how they feel about her.
She closes her eyes and their touch fills her up. With love, peace, friendship, support, help...all the things she will need off these people as she moves into her new role as Queen.
She is ready. She steps towards Millard but just before she reaches him, he grabs hold of Ginata, tipping her back and pouring something down her throat.
Ceryn pulls him back by the hood of his cloak, and sticks the point of her sword in his neck. He screams out but then laughs.
Archer pulls Ginata away from Millard. “What did you do? What was that you gave her?”
Ginata is spitting the liquid out of her mouth, crying and screaming and still Millard laughs.
“That, little Ginny, was my final present to you. Something you made for me. Ironic, don’t you think?”
“The death draught? No – you gave it to me, in the cottage.” Her voice has altered, the poison working its way into her system.
“Ah, no – that was the vial that you gave Macsen. I cleaned it out, filled it with ale. The death draught you made, I kept. You never know when these things will come in handy.”
Ginata is clutching at her throat, her body starting to spasm.
“And by the way – I lied. The two potions were a love potion and a potion to addle the brain. She didn’t betray you, after all.”
“What?” Everleigh feels all the breath leave her body.
“Sorry, sis. I just can’t help myself. Sorry, little Ginny.”
Everleigh drops to Ginata’s side. “Forgive me, forgive me.”
It is too late. Her skin is turning black.
“Della, look – this is how Finn died.”
At the sound of Della’s cries intensifying, Everleigh screams, an animalistic sound, and lunges for her brother. Without thought or care, she stabs at his heart with the dagger, not caring if it’s a clean or quick kill.
Ignoring the blood pumping out of his body, she turns away from him, from Ginata, from everybody.
Addyson takes hold of her and leads her away. Della follows them, her hand on Addyson’s back.
Once they have moved into Ginata’s bedroom, Ceryn stands in front of Millard with her sword. He must be dead, but if he’s not, she will finish him off.
Archer stands beside Ceryn, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, so she does not have to move her gaze from Millard. The pain at the loss of their best friend is held between them, a physical pain, a connection between them.
They cry for a minute and then Archer kisses the top of her head. He goes after Everleigh but Will stays with Ceryn. He silently takes her hand and she sobs, eyes still on Millard’s body.
Everleigh reaches the bed and drops on to it, weeping. “I cannot believe that. She was innocent. What have I done?”
The teacher drops to his knees beside her. “Everleigh, you must not, cannot blame yourself for this. That is exactly what Millard wanted. It’s why he said those things. It was his parting shot. He knew he could not live but he wanted to live on in your heart. Do not let him.”
“But Ginata-”
“Is a casualty of war. The same as Weaver, the same as Lanorie, or any of the dead men in the courtyard.”
“I cannot stand it.”
“You have to.”
Archer sits beside her, stroking her back, letting her cry, joining in.
Ceryn slips into the room, Millard is definitely dead, and the pages have wrapped him and removed him already, along with Ginata’s blackened body. Will tucks in beside her, his new place next to her.
“Now what?” Everleigh asks, her voice hoarse from crying.
“Now you are Queen.”
Everleigh drops her head, more sobs wracking her body.
The tension and silence are thick, but no one can celebrate the end of the war, the end of Millard’s life. Too much has been lost, so much sacrificed. The Realm as they knew it, is altered. They all are.
They break off into small groups, naturally, quietly talking, crying, grieving. Della and Addyson are always together and so nothing changes there. Addyson gives comfort to Della over the loss of Finn, and Della assures her that things will get better. “Will you come to live at the castle?”
“If your sister still wants me to, yes.”
There is nothing for her at her cottage now, except memories of her brother and his death, his betrayal.
Archer has joined Ceryn and Will, and Will quietly holds Ceryn�
��s hand as they talk about Weaver. How good he was, how kind he was, how much he liked to sew.
“He’d be glad I killed Wolf.”
“We’re all glad you killed Wolf.”
They smile and reminisce, tears mixed with laughter, grief and fond memories mingling in the bittersweet way they do when a loved one dies.
“I need to thank the men who fought,” Everleigh says, her voice small.
“Everleigh, you are Queen, now. You have to forget everything that’s happened and look to the future.”
She nods and asks Della to help her get changed into something less bloody before she faces her people for the first time.
They form a small procession, a very serious procession, as they make their way through the castle corridors and down to the great hall.
There are no guards on the door, and the noise coming from inside is deafening. Archer opens the door for Everleigh and a hush falls over the great hall.
She walks slowly through the crowd and takes her place on the dais. She smiles out at the men, the little maids, pages, stable boys, squires and Cook.
“My brother is dead. He killed many, many people. He was a truly terrible King. I am your new ruler. I am Queen of the Realm.”
There is a beat of silence and then a cheer, a stamping of feet and a banging of fists, as the cry goes up: “Long live the Queen!”
“Long live the Queen,” Archer whispers in her ear.
“And her King.” Everleigh grins at him.
Ceryn
“OUT! OUT! OUT!” DELLA ushers Will and Archer out of the room, and they don’t even try to argue. It’s coronation day and if bossing us around helps her to forget about her brother and how he died then I’m happy and I know everyone else is too.
I sit on a chair, chewing on a bit of grass, watching the bustle of getting a Queen ready for her coronation, glad I’m not in Everleigh’s position.
“I wish you wouldn’t do that in here!” Della says, batting me out of the chair. “Come on, you’re first in the bath.”
“What? No!”
“I don’t care what you wear,” Everleigh says, kissing my cheek, “but you need to be clean.”
I spit the grass in the fire, wishing I’d left the room with Will and Archer. “Fine. No petals, though.”
“They’re already in there.”
They are all in hysterics at the look of disgust that comes over my face. I can’t help it. Why would you want soggy little flowers in the water with you? It’s just strange.
“I won’t make you wear a dress, though.” Everleigh pokes her tongue at me and I make a face at her.
“Funny. But I want to.” I absolutely don’t. I would look like a boy dressed as a maid for a play and I know it. I’m too ungainly, too flat footed, too much of a tomboy to wear a dress without looking stupid and I don’t want to look stupid. My boyish clothes suit me.
“Really? I think you’d look great all dressed up in a velvet gown.”
I am appalled, joke gone too far. I have visions of Della forcing me into velvet to look pretty, to not spoil the lovely day. I spoke to her yesterday and told her about Finn. How upset he’d been at his betrayal, how clever Millard was at manipulating people. Look at all of us believing that Ginata hadn’t been duped into falling in love with him. I feel bad now, her death wasn’t pleasant.
I think there are more conversations to be had, but there’s time enough after today.
“I think I’d look horrific.”
“I made you something...” Della hands me a new face mask – a swatch of material, not leather. “It’ll make it easier for you to breathe – it won’t be so hot and you can wash it.”
“Wash it?”
We all laugh, but I am touched more than I let on. After what happened yesterday, finding out that I lied about Finn, I’m surprised she didn’t throw it in the fire. “Thank you, Della, it’s lovely. Here-” I pass her my dirty clothes and hop into the bath.
“Thanks!” Della throws them into a pile on the floor, at least cleaning them won’t be her job.
Everleigh has moved Addyson from her old room and given her a suite of three interconnecting rooms. A receiving room and a bedroom each for her and Della. I’m so pleased that Della is staying at the castle. We make a good team, all of us that are left. I need to cry for Weaver, and I will. I know he won’t be coming back, not like Archer did. It’s too sad. He was the best of the three of us and though I’m excited for today, I don’t know how we’ll get along without him.
Everleigh decided to keep her old room, despite all the bad memories. And I think she’s right. This battle between her and her brother has changed too many things. This castle is her home now. Home of a Queen and she has to call the shots.
The courtyard’s full already, with visitors from all over the Realm and my old pal Kenneth is crowning Everleigh today. He’s been pacing around all morning trying to remember the words he’s got to say.
It’s got to be a good day. To make all that has gone before worth it, it has to be a good day.
And I reckon it will be.
My face hurts from grinning and that’s definitely never happened before. I’m a pretty grumpy girl, really. I don’t like a lot of people and I enjoy having something to whinge about.
Weaver used to say I was only happy if I was miserable.
Oh, Weaver. I know he wouldn’t have had it any other way. We knew we would fight side by side with Archer, for any cause he chose. But I don’t want him to be dead. I miss him, but I can still hear him, the funny things he would have said, his dry observations.
We were lucky to know him. If I could have died in his place I would have. The world was better with him in it. With me, not so much. I don’t have much to offer.
And yet, here, in this castle, people seem to like me.
Archer’s always liked me. I think I’m a refreshing change to a lot of girls. I’m blunt, smelly and sweary, though I smell like I’ve been rolling around on the floor of the rose garden at the moment.
Everleigh likes me, Addyson likes me, Della likes me, and Will...
I feel embarrassed thinking about it because what if I’m wrong? I used to imagine Archer taking my hand and telling me he loved me like I loved him. Sometimes he’d smile at me and I’d think, yes, look at him, he likes me, but I was way off.
What if it’s the same with Will? He likes to sit by me and we like to hold hands, but after the horror of the fighting yesterday, I’d have even held hands with Ginata. Sometimes you just need comfort, warmth, touch.
Is that what it is?
And anyway, I’m not for falling in love. I’ve got the devil’s mark on my ugly old face, and besides, I fight much better than Will. Could he really fall in love with someone who’s better with a sword than a saucepan?
I doubt it.
I’m ready for the coronation, dressed in a clean version of my every day uniform, and I know I look like a boy, but for now, I’m okay with that.
29
“WHAT COLOUR DRESS AM I wearing?” Addyson is laying on the floor, exhaustion on her pale face. Since Millard died she seems more like a child than ever, hugging Everleigh, sitting on her lap, rolling on the floor like a toddler, all her thoughts of being ladylike or grown up abandoned.
“Whatever colour you prefer,” Everleigh says. Needing her sister to be happy. She’ll be so spoiled now, by everyone hoping to make her forget all the horrible things she’s seen.
“What colour are you wearing?”
“Gold. Very Queenly.”
“I can’t wait for the feast. Cook said she’s cooked a quail in a turkey in a duck in a chicken or maybe it was a duck in a chicken in a turkey...I don’t know but it sounded good.”
“She’s been cooking non-stop since she started feeding your army yesterday.”
“She loves it,” Ceryn says.
“She does. And her food is gorgeous.”
“I can’t believe it’s all over and all we have to worry about is whether the
duck is cooked in the chicken or the other way around.”
Everleigh gives Ceryn a shove with her hip. “Actually, I’m worried about my good friend Will. And whether he’s about to have his heart broken by a mysterious masked woman.”
“Shut up!” Ceryn shoves Everleigh properly, and she stumbles, breaking out into peals of giggles.
“You dare shove your Queen?”
“I do when she’s talking nonsense like that.”
They are laughing. “Come on, Addyson, your turn in the bath.” Della ushers Addyson away and Everleigh turns to Ceryn. “He’s a good man. The best.”
“I thought Archer was the best?”
“He is. For me.”
Ceryn laughs. “It’s fine. I’m not in love with him anymore. I haven’t been since he came back to life. And I’m not in love with Will either.”
“Really?”
“Not yet.”
“But you could be?”
“I don’t know. It’s all too scary.”
“It could be wonderful.”
“Maybe. But I’ll be too busy, won’t I? Heading up your army and teaching you to fight?”
“You’re definitely staying then?”
She nods. “If Weaver was alive and he was going home, I might have gone with him, but now, I’d just be by myself. I think my future’s here, with you lot. If you’ll have me.”
“Of course. And yes, you’ll be busy, but I’d give you time off for Will.”
Ceryn shoves her again and they both break down, giggling.
Addyson joins them, wrapped in her drying cloak. “Are you really staying?”
“Yes. Is that alright?”
“It’s more than alright.”
“Everleigh – your turn!”
Everleigh grins and leaves them alone to talk.
“Life has been horrible since my father was killed. Now I think it might be good again.”
“I’ll make sure of it. If you need a friend, you’ve always got one, someone to talk to, you’ve got me, someone to teach you how to give a smart answer to any idiots who bang on about you being the cursed princess, you’ve got me. I feel like I’ve got sisters, I’ve never had female friends before.”
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