"My Queen, she is a human," said Lydia, "Our laws-"
"My laws," said the Queen, "They are my laws, Lydia, and if you remember that you might live at least as long as the one that created you,"
The gravity of the Queen's words hung heavily in the room. Lydia looked as if someone had just sucked all the oxygen out of the room.
"You have no right-" Lydia began, her anger rumbling to peak at the insult to her creator who had died to pay for Lydia's sins in the Royal Court and lessen her punishment to banishment.
"Lydia, shut up," I growled at her.
For once she listened but I could see her lip quiver and shake. She bit it several times, tears threatening to spill. I could see her jaw set, she had found her anger. It’s how she stayed strong – she stayed mad. She barely held it together. And I think she only managed because her self preservation told her she might not walk out of this room if she didn't bite her tongue for once.
The Queen stood and looked at me for a long moment. I wanted to reach out to Lydia, hold her hand, comfort her but the Queen stood and kept us bound by duty and formality. We were not given leave to move, simply stand stiff as a statue out of respect, tall and silent. It felt like a half an hour but it must have only been a few moments. The Queen looked to have grown bored and waved her hand. Lydia turned and left as fast as she could without running, her emotions threatening to give away her weakness for her deceased creator.
I went to follow but the Queen's hand went up and I stopped. She wasn't done with me. I went back to my straight and tall stance, waiting to see what she wanted with me next. What else had I done wrong? What other games did she want to play with me?
Once the door to her chamber closed again and we were alone she waved her hand toward a chair. This wasn’t something she had offered me in years. Not since before Lydia was banished. I had had to suffer the same formalities and rituals as all other Royal court members due to my involvement with Lydia. I took a seat and tried not to look relieved to be seated. It had been a long night, a trying morning and a terrible afternoon so far.
She didn't say anything. The Queen poured a drink and came to sit in the adjacent chair. She swirled the amber colored liquid around, more than likely whiskey, in the tumbler. No ice, neat.
"You had the Royal Guard standing by outside of Prussia's building?" I asked.
"Absolutely," said the Queen, "I told them to kill Lydia first if she got anywhere near Prussia,"
"First?" I asked.
"Yes, First." said the Queen, swirling the liquid around in her glass and then taking a sip, "I can't have someone I don't trust on the Royal Guard, Prince or not,"
I could believe that the Queen had ordered it. I couldn't believe I hadn't suspected. I hadn't believed Lydia and I almost killed her. If I didn't love her I would have killed her. I wouldn't have thought twice, I would have simply followed orders.
"What if she had killed me?" I asked.
"I can't have anyone weak on the Royal Guard, either," said the Queen.
I had underestimated her. She had always been cold and calculating. All of this business with Prussia, all the rumors about her losing her mind, it was all a pretense, a facade. She had a plan and whatever it was she had the whole Royal Court fooled.
"Did I pass your test?" I asked.
The Queen set her glass down on her desk and dipped a finger in her drink as if the conversation bored her.
"I would have preferred if you had killed her but..." she dragged her finger around the rim of her glass, "given your history with Lydia I am pleased that you did the next best thing, all things considered,"
"Not with flying colors," I said.
"No," said the Queen.
She stopped dragging her finger around the rim of her glass and looked at me then. It was a serious gaze, a gaze full of thought and contemplation. Of what was the real question?
"Sebastian, the Royal Court is in danger," said the Queen, she finished the liquid in the glass and set the glass down, "there are forces at work and I don't know who but I have my suspicions."
"You think it's Lydia?" I asked.
Lydia hadn't been a key player in the Royal Court in years, exiled even from conversing with the family for fear of death upon members of the court. She was outcast the moment the Queen handed out her sentence, a sentence that should have been mine also.
The Queen waved a hand at me dismissively, "Of course not," said the Queen, "As much as I hate the little opportunist she's not smart enough to assassinate a human let alone a Royal family member. Murder, yes, but not assassinate. No, but I suspect it is someone in the court. It's someone that knows us well,"
The silence hung for a moment. Victoria's eyes glazed and I thought I saw her eyes mist for a moment. She turned away from me then so I couldn’t see her face and she looked out the draped window.
"Then who?" I asked.
"That's what we need to find out," said the Queen, "I need your support here Sebastian. If the court is taken..."
She didn't have to say it. It was laid out in her own history. It was exactly how she had acquired the throne thousands of years ago.
"The Queen falls, we all fall," I murmured.
"Yes," she said, still looking out the window into the garden beyond, "And what a fall it would be. Not just for us but for the species,"
And just like that, the sentimental and unstable Queen surfaced. Victoria had been one of the first Vampyrs on earth and she had seen it all, lived to see more than most of us could ever imagine. And no one knew for sure if it was possible for a Vampyr to become senile.
That was the rumor from those concerned about the future of the Royal court. Not only would it mean being ruled by someone unfit but it meant we were not as immortal as we thought. It meant we lived with an illusion of escaping death, not actually succeeding for long.
The longer you live, the more you want to cling to life. Even if it is a life spent in the shadows.
Chapter 10
I could feel the heat on my cheeks and my tears disappeared before they made it to my chin, held high. I stormed out of that house and made a beeline for Sebastian's car. Sports cars have a tiny trunk and Prince's have a lot of nerve. He could have put me in the back seat and at least given me the chance to tear out his throat and escape. But no, I end up with a Prince with half a brain.
I could hear the doorman yelling at me, Charles what’s-his-name or something. He didn't let me slam the front door but I'll damn well slam that pretty little sports car's door. And slam it I did.
I shifted the luxury car into gear and spun rocks out from under the tires as I left, pebbles bouncing off the door and pillars of the house. I wasn't a Princess but I should have been. And Sebastian wasn't making a move to stand up to his manipulative and crazy great grandmother.
I turned the stereo and blasted it. I had somewhere to be and if the Prince wanted to play then I could teach him how the game was played. He loved this car. If he didn't love me enough to disobey the Queen by now then he was useless to me and I would destroy what he loved most.
I drove the rubber off the tires as I sped toward the rendezvous. I was late. And it wouldn't be appreciated though it could at least be explained. I was back in the Royal Court. I was 'Lady Lydia' again and this time I would finish what I had started. This time I would be the one handing out threats.
I got to the meeting point by early evening. There was one other car there and the cemetery looked deserted as it should have. Why the Master would want to meet in such a depressing and obvious place was beyond me. I followed orders. So long as it suited me.
"You're an hour late," she said, a cloak wrapped around her.
"I'm sorry I'm late playing cloak and dagger," I said, adrenaline still running through me, "I was stuck in a trunk most of the day while the Prince chatted up some human girl,"
"A trunk?" she asked, she pulled her hood down and I could see her features more plainly.
I had called her master for close to 50 years. I
t hadn't always been easy or worked out but she had yet to stab me in the back and that's where I try to place my allegiances. The Queen didn't favor me and never would. I had no illusions about that.
"Long story," I said, "The short of it is I'm back in the Royal Court,"
"Very good," she said, "Your timing is impeccable. It's not like you to show initiative though, what's changed? What made you decide to move up your timeline?"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I said, annoyed, "I didn't move it up actually, the Queen offered me a deal and I took it. It was out of the blue,"
I recounted the night's events and the Master listened intently. She pursed her lips and ‘mmhmmed’ me as I recounted parts.
"What's with the sudden fascination with the human, do you know?" asked the Master.
"No clue, but her order for me to leave her alone still stands," I said, "And I live down the hall from the girl,"
The Master started laughing.
"That's like telling a dog not to lick itself," the Master continued to laugh.
I didn't find the comparison flattering.
"Thanks for that," I said.
"I don't mean it as an insult but you are a creature of habit and untamed emotions," said the Master, "It's one of the things I value in you, your unpredictable predictability,"
I leaned against a headstone and scratched at the stone, sharpening my finger nail.
"Still don't appreciate the comparison," I said.
"Well appreciate this," the Master said, patience lost in her voice causing me to straighten up and listen, "The Queen may not have any interest in this human whatsoever outside of using her to get to you,"
"To get to me?" I asked, "That makes no sense. She's getting ready to lift my banishment,"
The Master nodded her head, smiling.
"Simple mind," said the Master, "Can you fuck up if you're living in the shadows outside of the court?"
I could see the events stitching together now. The Queen had already used Prussia to drive a wedge between me and Sebastian once. It was obvious once the Master pointed it out.
"No," I said, "and I wouldn't voluntarily come out of hiding in the event that Queen got a wild hair up her ass and decided she wanted me dead one night,"
The Master nodded her head, knowing as always, and two steps ahead as usual.
"I suggest you play nice with this human. She's bait," said the Master, "And whether or not the Queen is legally able to kill you over a human, and she's not, she would still have you killed and ask forgiveness, not permission in front of the court. Tread carefully,"
"Damn," I said, "I wanted to cut her up a little and have some fun with her,"
"You need to look into more indirect ways of getting to her so that the Queen doesn't have any way to pin it back on you," said the Master, "Now that you're finally back in the court, we don't want to take two steps back. We need to move forward as quick as possible,"
"I don't think Sebastian is an asset anymore," I said, "I tried to get him to disobey the Queen's order and he didn't, my hold isn't as strong as I thought,"
"There still might be something there, keep working on him," said the Master, "Remember, we need you on the inside generating rumors and breeding discontent. We need to break down the loyalty to the Queen. At this point it just needs a little bit of a push and we'll be primed for the new power to take over,"
"I understand," I said, "It's not going to be easy talking treason, even in the middle of a court with some skeptics,"
The Master placed a hand on my arm and looked into my eyes. I could see her conviction, feel it in my bones. If we were going to succeed, the Master would make sure it happened.
"Then you need to take situations like this human and use it to discredit the Queen," she said to me, "You are a masterful twister of truths and weaver of lies, blurring the line. That will be crucial in our cause and richly rewarded when the court is ....restructured,"
I knelt before the Master and she let me kiss her ring, blood red and cold.
"Long live the Master, fall must the Queen," I said.
The Master began walking toward her car parked a ways away but stopped and turned back to me, still knelt but watching after her.
"Lydia," she called, "A thought occurred to me. Maybe Sebastian would be a suitable prize when everything is all said and done? Every Princess needs a handsome Prince to watch over her..."
I thought a moment, the grass damp and soaking through my pant leg at the knee. I had known Sebastian for a long time. And as long as I had known Sebastian he had always been 'the Prince' to me, the means to the end which was a place in the Royal Family.
"I'm not sure I would want him," I called back to her, “If I already have a title, he's pretty but useless,"
I could hear the distant laughter of the Master as she left. She knew I wouldn't want him but had thought to ask as he would otherwise be disposed of. Royal family members are usually all killed off immediately anyway. There can't be a return to the throne if the entire family is dead, very dead, eternally dead.
Now I had to figure out how to use Prussia against the Queen to draw her out in the middle of the court. My first order of business would be court politics and establishing my connections in the court again. My confirmation back into the Royal Court couldn't come soon enough. I had a great deal to do. And before the Queen died the eternal death she would see my face and know, it had been me and it had been her own undoing. The Queen must fall.
Chapter 11
Light threatened to peak over the horizon with barely any warning signs. Early morning, the only time Sebastian had for me – for us. We had over hunted our favorite park and had moved into the suburbs. It wasn’t bad. No one asks questions in suburbs. And everyone had a false sense of security. This would be the perfect time to lull Sebastian into that same sense of security.
"What's with the cloak and dagger routine with the human," I asked, "I thought the Queen had just used her to bait us,"
"Some of us took it," said Sebastian.
He glared at me then. I needed to warm him up to me - maybe it was the chilly air. He could be a grumpy morning hunter. Being so early could be the problem or it could have been the light.
He didn't think I knew but when the sun hit him in just the wrong way coming over the horizon he would get little blind spots. Nothing to be ashamed of, but a weakness nonetheless and there wasn’t much room for weaknesses.
I had my own but I didn't go blurting it out or making it obvious. Then again, it had taken me 20 years to figure it out when we were hunting. I ignored his little jab and waved a hand at him.
"It's all a game with her," I said, "It always is. She's losing her damn mind anyway. Who gives a human surveillance around the clock, anyway?"
I tried to keep my eyes on the prize while we chatted; we had been following a couple for about ten minutes on their little jog through suburbia hell. I got to wear my favorite kind of uniform for a hunt so it wasn’t all bad. I loved the way my ass looked in spandex jogging pants and it was the perfect opportunity to give Sebastian the all-around view as well.
"If you're fishing for a way to get in and kill Prussia I'm going to give you another jolt on your head for being stupid," said Sebastian.
"Touchy, touchy," I teased. I stuck my tongue out at him and rolled my eyes, "It's a human. I don't see what all the fuss is about,"
"I don't either, to be honest," said Sebastian.
He gave me a straight forward look. He was as easy to read as a comic strip. He didn't have a clue. Not at all.
"What do you think, then?" I asked "Best guess,"
"I think if we keep talking about this we're both going to end up on the wrong end of a sharp wooden object," said Sebastian.
My breathing hadn't picked up at all. Being banished for as long as I had been made me a proficient hunter and that constant practice gave me an advantage - considering there was no free lunch for those out of favor with the Queen. I had had no choice but to be i
n shape and hunt.
But I could hear his breathing taxing him. He hadn't suffered the banishment with me, though he should have as the other guilty party - but being Prince had perks. Never thought sleeping with the Prince, heir to the throne, would land me out of the Royal Court instead of taking a leaping step up in the ranks. Royal society could be such a bitch. Who would have thought?
"She can't read minds, Sebastian," I said, kidding him.
He gave me a serious look.
"Can she?" I felt a rock in my stomach.
If she could read minds I would be dead already. Not just from the insults I regularly rattled off in my head but all the ways I had planned and attempted to kill her, at least three in the last 100 years.
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