by N M Zoltack
From her perch by the window, she spied Queen Sabine leave the castle. She seemed to be heading toward the drawbridge. Going out to Atlan again. While Sabine did not address the peasants in the castle, she did go out to them. She was doing the same as Rosalynne, trying to appeal to the masses. Sabine wished to be ruler for as long as possible. Rosalynne understood that, but she also longed to ensure that would not prove to be the case.
Well, then, if Sabine could go out and see the people, so then could Rosalynne. She gracefully stood and waltzed out of the room. As always, two guards fell into step behind her. Rosalynne hated them both, Wilfrid Frye and Thorley Everett. While both were more than capable knights, she wished that she did not have them following her everywhere. She had not had one instance when they were necessary. Still, she understood that they served as a deterrent. For that reason alone, she needed their presence, even if they did make her feel rather uncomfortable.
The two wordlessly trailed her out of the castle and toward the marketplace. Many merchants with their wares were rolling their wagons to their stalls. Some would try to sell her items as they passed her. She graciously declined. A few others ignored her, and one offered to give her a necklace for free. That she declined as well.
Just before Rosalynne reached the market, a fight broke out between two men. The nature of their disagreement was lost on Rosalynne. She watched, horrified, as punches were thrown. The shorter, stouter man was flung into a stall, causing glass from the glassblowers display to shatter into a thousand pieces, each glittering in the sunlight. The merchant raced around the side to yank on the offender, but already the tall man from the argument was beating him.
Others potential customers wandering the market came over to see what was the matter. A ripe, red tomato soared through the air and landed on a woman’s face. The man beside her charged forward as she wiped away the juice and vegetable chunks.
The people pushed and shoved on another, their shouting and cursing rising above the din of any actual business within the marketplace. The scent of spices overwhelmed Rosalynne. Some must have been spilled.
A shard of wood flew up into the air. Not only were several stalls broken but also tables, chairs, and wagons.
This was not merely a fray. This was a full-blown riot. People were snatching items from vendors and running away with their spoils. Rosalynne could hardly believe what she was seeing. How could so much chaos have descended within minutes right before her very eyes?
A sudden increase in temperature had Rosalynne sniffing. Her eyes began to water, and despite blinking, her vision remained cloudy. Then, she did see something bright and clear, and her nose confirmed it.
A spark.
Fire.
Rosalynne’s shock and horror at how the people were treating each other burned away. Why hadn’t she gotten involved immediately? Yes, the situation had escalated in a minute or two, so very quickly. All she had to do was point her finger. At once, her guards leapt into action to try to stop the horde.
If Rosalynne had thought herself overwhelmed before, she had been so very wrong. Words failed her. Shouldn’t her tongue be enough to get the men to halt, to cease? Yet, she did not know what to say. She did not even know how to handle things. Not only was she ashamed, but she was furious. Beyond angry. Her father had never groomed her to be queen, and she was only just now coming to the realization that he had never been king himself.
She did not know if she could do this, but who else could be king or queen in her place? Sabine was trying but not for long. If the choice was only between herself and Sabine, then Rosalynne would do her best to be queen no matter how lacking she thought herself to be.
I am queen. These are my people. They will listen to me.
Rosalynne cleared her throat. She had halted a fair distance from the fight, but now, she marched over, her head held high, shoulders back, spine straight.
“Good men,” she called, but the people ignored her. “Good people!”
They did not seem to hear her.
One of the guards approached her and pushed her out of the way just in time too because a plate had shattered to the ground where her feet had just been.
“You may wish to leave,” he said. “We can handle this.”
“No killing,” she said firmly. Already, she spied two men on the ground. One was groaning as blood trickled from his nose. The other was not moving. “No killing,” she demanded, her voice shrill.
The guard did not respond.
Infuriated and all the more frustrated, Rosalynne rushed back to the castle and sent more guards to end the riot. As she did, Sabine returned. The ruling queen looked gloriously happy. Wherever she had gone, the peasants must have adored her because not even dirt or sand from the path covered the hem of her skirt. She was flawless.
Unlike Rosalynne. Her own dress had dirt and sand and even blood droplets. The dress was a lilac color too. The bloodstain might never wash out.
Perhaps I can have it dyed. Or else burned.
Vivian and her father weren’t the only ones to share that fierce anger. Rosalynne felt it deeply, and that troubled her. Emotions would not serve her now or ever. She must do her level best to maintain a sense of calm and peace.
Perhaps she should make an offering to Peace. Life too while she was at it.
Along the way to the chapel to do just that, Rosalynne passed the royal library, hesitated, and entered the room. No one else was here, and it took the queen a few moments to locate the scrolls she was seeking.
More than anything, Rosalynne longed to see how the Li family had ruled. They had reigned for the longest period in recent decades. Before the Lis had been the Hus, but their sovereignty had been short-lived. The previous king and queen had Caro. Before them, the Jins. Or the Blackadders. Wait, the Mendozas had been around then too…
Despite being weak and unfit to rule for the rest of time, the Lis had known some peace during their almost three hundred-year-long reign. Considering that some had not even ruled for two decades or even far less, the Lis might be the best place for Rosalynne to start her studies.
However, the more Rosalynne read about the Li family, the more she felt as if she were being a traitor to her family and her kingdom. The Li family had been too weak. They would have been bullied into helping certain families while neglecting others. They would have caused the collapse of the entire island of Tenoch. Only under her father had all of the islands been gathered together to form an entire kingdom of the world under Tenoch Proper.
What her father had done was both noble and incredible, but he had lost his edge. He had not been king for many years before his death. She could not look to him as an example for how she must rule. Therefore, she must do whatever she could to keep the kingdom united under her rule. She was not being a traitor after all but the truest patriot there ever could be.
57
Queen Sabine Grantham
Sabine took one look at Rosalynne, and Sabine’s smile grew all the more. The younger queen looked like a terrible mess. Whatever had happened to her must not have been pleasant.
Whereas Sabine had had the most wonderful of mornings. She had gone to visit the family of a baron, and they had invited her in for breakfast. Of course she could not decline their request. Afterward, she had gone for a walk and greeted several nearby peasant households. They only had smiles for her, and one girl had run up to her and given her a beautiful flower.
The people loved her, and Sabine knew that was where true power came from. The advisor was right. Control the people’s hearts, and their loyalty would follow.
Speaking of the advisor, she sought him out and found him in the council room. Sabine had met with the advisors from her husband’s reign and did not know if she wished to keep them all or replace them. An issue for a later day. She did not know the men well enough to trust them, and she would only ever wish to have men around her in positions of power if she could fully trust them.
Thus far, the only man she truly tr
usted was Aldus Perez. The man had been instrumental in convincing the king to marry her in the first place. She knew better than to be grateful to him. A show of gratitude would only ever lead to him trying to exploit her. If that should ever happen, she would feed him to the wolves. For now, he showed every sign of being a royal servant, and she appreciated that more than she could say.
Aldus glanced up from the map he was studying and bowed to her. “My Queen,” he said, crossing over to her and taking her hand in his. He bent down and kissed her knuckles.
“Aldus, the people seem to embrace me.”
“Of course. I knew they would. You are beautiful and kind.”
Sabine smirked as she walked around the round table, her fingers trailing along the smooth wooden surface. She hesitated when she reached the spot Aldus had stood.
“We have received a falcon from Vincana. They are most displeased they were not invited to the tournament.”
“Rosalynne was a fool to not invite them.”
“She feared they would win,” Aldus explained.
“Winning is not everything.” Sabine grinned broadly. “What the dear girl should have realized was that marrying the winner from Vincana would have cemented the union between Tenoch and Vincana for generations. She is too blindsided by the present, which is most unfortunate, considering she is not the ruler and will not be for years.”
“Perhaps not ever,” Aldus said.
Sabine eyed him suspiciously. “Why would you say that?”
“Sabine, please. You are rallying the people to you. Clearly that is a move against Rosalynne.”
“Are you saying I am at war with the younger queen?” she asked. She tapped her fingers against the map. The land mass of Tenoch was by far the largest, but Vincana was the next largest. The other three islands were all much smaller, with Zola being the smallest one of all.
“I am saying that if the people are behind you, they are not with her.”
“And if I were to marry someone from Vincana…”
“Your might and power would only grow perhaps to the point that Rosalynne would not be able to take the crown from you.”
“Especially if she is so foolish as to agree to marry that fool Bjorn Ivano.” Sabine rolled her eyes. Bjorn was incredibly handsome, and on more than one occasion, she had wondered what it would feel like to have those huge arms wrapped around her, but he was not kingly material. A good romp in the bed but nothing more.
“Maloyan is a strong, solid city with a rather large army itself,” Aldus pointed out. “You would do well not to make an enemy with him.”
“Are you suggesting that I lie down for him?”
Aldus frowned. “I supposed you could. You can do anything you like.”
“I wish to do that for the rest of my life.”
“Lie down for Bjorn?” The advisor smirked.
She gave him a sly grin. “Do anything I like,” she corrected, “even after Rosalynne turns twenty-one.”
“Then, you must be careful. You must plan. You must garner yourself as many allies as you can. Only then will your power to rule remain until your death.”
“That will happen.”
Aldus’s smile was as wide as her own. “Yes, indeed, I do believe that will happen. With my help, of course.”
“Of course,” she murmured. She laid her hands flat on the table. Aldus’s were as well, and his left hand was situated not that far from her right.
Already, she had found a solid ally in Aldus Perez. Who would line up next to ensure she would remain Queen of Tenoch Proper?
58
Prince Noll Rivera
Ever since Vivian had taken his bow and arrows two weeks prior, Noll hadn’t had a chance to train anymore. Ulric had tried to find him, but Noll was scared. He was afraid Vivian would see him again. He knew that Ulric could get in deep trouble for helping him, and Noll didn’t want to be the case of trouble.
But Noll did want to learn more. The bow and arrow were frustrating him. Unless and until he could convince Ulric to teach him how to use a sword, Noll wasn’t sure that his training would ever resume.
As the days passed, though, Noll was happy enough to spend hours outside the castle. Even if he wasn’t making his back, neck, and arms sore from firing arrow after arrows, he longed to greet the sun. For some time now, he saw more of her face than he did either of his sisters’.
Tabes as ever by his side, Noll rushed to the marketplace. This time, he hadn’t gone with a guard. He also hadn’t told anyone he was going here. He wanted to be alone. Well, relatively alone, considering how many people were at the marketplace at any given period of time.
Surprisingly, there weren’t as many people as there normally was. Noll overheard talk about a riot that had taken place recently. He was glad he had not seen that. A riot sounded terrifying.
As he went, Noll listened to the people around him and tried not to be distracted by all of the brightly colored goods being sold. He found the conversations far more interesting than looking at the wares that he could not buy. He had no money. Maybe one day, his sisters would allow him to have some coins. He knew that both of his sisters had some coins in their pouches. Why couldn’t he be trusted with some himself?
“Two queens,” someone said, a woman holding a baby.
Noll grimaced, instantly full of sorrow and despair. The cute, happy baby reminded him so much of Bates. The prince missed Bates so much. He missed Bates even more than he missed his father, which caused guilt to nearly overwhelm Noll. Shouldn’t he miss them equally? But he certainly missed the baby more than his father, and he hated himself for feeling that way.
“I don’t like either of them,” another woman said.
“Not at all,” a third said. She was the plumpest of the trio, whereas the second woman was by far the thinnest. That woman appeared to have not eaten in an entire year.
The woman holding the baby leaned closer to the trio. “If you ask me, we would be better off if the Li family were still around. Anyone who came into power by killing an entire family is bound to face the consequences by the Fates. Can’t you see it already happening?”
“You’re right,” the plump woman said. Her chins wobbled slightly as she nodded.
“Yes. First, the queen. Then, the second queen and the baby. Now, the king. Who is next to go, I wonder,” the thin woman mused.
“Yes, the Lis might not have been the ruler of Tenoch Proper, but we did have peace. They would have served us well,” the plump woman said, and the other two nodded their agreement.
Noll rushed away, calling Tabes to follow along. He didn’t want to hear more about this. Even watching that adorable baby wasn’t worthwhile enough for him to listen to that.
But then he overheard a few men speaking about the queens and how they weren’t sure if either of them could possibly be good rulers. The ruling queen had no experience. The younger one had failed terribly with the riot, so they weren’t sure she would be much better.
Noll covered his ears and ran away. He even plowed into people in his haste to leave. Tabes managed to keep up with him.
The people’s words confused Noll. He didn’t understand why they weren’t happy with Rosalynne or even Sabine. He hadn’t noticed anything that seemed to be lacking on either of their parts. He didn’t fully comprehend the riot or what had happened there or what Rosalynne might have done that she hadn’t.
First, Noll tried to find his older sister, but he couldn’t find her. She must be busy. Noll was avoiding Vivian. She was still not happy with him because of the bow incident. He hadn’t thought she would find him. He hadn’t thought anyone would find him. Oh, well.
Maybe he could try the vicar. Albert Leeson was always easy to find. Even if he weren’t in the chapel, he would return there shortly enough.
Along the way, Noll spied Greta, Sabine’s mother. Noll hadn’t talked with the woman much, but she seemed nice enough. When she smiled at him, Noll tried to smile back. He couldn’t, though. He was much
too upset.
“My Prince, what is wrong?” Greta asked, holding out her arms. “What is troubling you?”
“I was at the marketplace,” he started and then hesitated.
“Come now,” she said soothingly. “Let us have some tea, and you can tell us all about it.”
The ruling queen’s mother directed him into the nearest tea room. She sent the maid waiting inside to fetch them some tea and biscuits. Once the tea was served and the biscuits distributed, Greta sat back in her seat.
“Now, go on. You went to the market?”
“I did. The people were talking.”
“About who?” Greta daintily drank her tea.
Noll only liked his tea when it had a lot of sugar in it. This tea was far too strong for him, but the biscuit was delicious. He ate an entire one before answering.
“About the queens,” he said. A few crumbs spewed from his mouth. Vivian would have glared at him for that, but Greta appeared to have not noticed.
“What about them?” Greta folded her hands and placed them on the table. She hadn’t eaten a morsel.
“They wish for the days of the Lis,” Noll said in a rush. He didn’t want to get the people in trouble. He knew that speaking well about the Lis was punishable by death. Sometimes, at night, when he couldn’t fall asleep right away, he would close his eyes and watch the man’s head fall again and again. Lewis something.
“Oh, dear.” Greta pursed her lips and sadly shook her head. “That is nonsense. Pure and utter nonsense. Do not fret over them, My Prince. Promise me you won’t. The strong should rule over the people, and the Riveras are strong.”
Noll grinned. “I promise,” he said happily. He bit into his next biscuit. “Are you going to eat those?” he asked.
With a pleased smile, Greta pushed her plate toward him.