Nightshade

by Jennifer Pierce-Gaeta

  “Sit my child, our time is limited, and this is the only room that has no ears or prying eyes. Your father saw to it, and this one room kept him safe always. It will be a safe haven for you while you reside at the palace. Do not let your bitch of a sister in here. She carries spy mites, and they will pollute this room faster than rats could a sewer.”

  “Is she really that bad? I had hoped she would grow out of her selfish ways. Could she not be taught at all?”

  “Zoey, you know Queen Elise and how she dotes on that worthless brat. Sasha never had a chance to learn anything but selfishness as she played by the Queen’s knee. I was only able to dress her and get her ready for the events she attended as your mother requested she be Sasha’s sole tutor in the arts of Queendom.”

  The look of horror on Zoey’s face belied the emotions Nana felt. The frustration and anger at Queen Elsie for giving Sasha such a malformed existence. It was not healthy for a mother to clutch her child to her breast like a security blanket. All it did was make the child cruel and lazy, spoiled beyond measure, and dangerous. It made them a terror for the world to endure, not a joy for the world to embrace.

  “Sasha’s plight is her own, it is you we have come to discuss. I am sure you have questions, and I will do the best I can to answer them, but first, let me start with a story of events and hope that it teaches you all you need to know.”

  Zoey remained thoughtful and quiet as she inclined her head to Nana in answer. Nana worked with steady fingers and pulled Zoey’s hair into functional looped braids. The length was so long the loops could easily be used as a weapon. It baffled her that Zoey would let it grow to such a length given her line of work, but she knew there had to be a valid reason.

  “Nana, you promised me answers and a story, yet your lips still guard secrets my mind needs to hear.”

  Nana took a deep breath and settled into her favorite chair within the old king’s room. This story would be emotionally hard for her to tell. Still, she owed it to King Nightshade, just as she owed it to Zoey, Without this knowledge, Zoey would never be able to reclaim her kingdom, and the people of this land needed her desperately.

  “It is not a story I wish to tell, and it has been one I have guarded ferociously through all these years. It’s like parting with a favorite blanket, you know you have outgrown it, yet the need for its comfort remains.”

  “I understand, dear Nana, but I need the comfort of the truth if I am ever to save this kingdom from a tyrant. That is what Sasha has become, or so I hear?”

  “She is more than a tyrant, she is a foul beast, but her part of the story comes after. To truly understand, we must start at the beginning.” Nana said with a wave of her hand. She watched Zoey’s eyes grow large with expectation knowing the story would be all she needed to know and so much more.

  Chapter 11

  Beginnings

  (Nana’s Story)

  “Your father was a marvelous man, a true general. Nethra had been his best friend and his partner in crime since they were kits. They trained together, they were schooled in magic together, and they found love together. It was almost assured that the two would marry once they came of age. Lion blood always runs true in a mixed couple; in fact, it holds special properties that no other shifter blood contains. It takes its many gifts from all the races of Werekin. It is like the black in that it reflects all colors at once or all talents mixed to make something new. Never forget my Zoey girl, Lion blood holds all the traits of Werekin and is the most powerful blood in our world.”

  Zoey cocked her head in an almost puzzled angle, “Is that why the Lion kingdom rules all the Werekin kingdoms to some extent?”

  Nana nodded her head, “Didn’t they teach you the histories at that fancy killing school of yours?”

  “No, we learned how to protect and how to dispatch the enemy. We had no time for the softer arts other children would learn.” Zoey replied with a frown.

  Nana only shook her head in frustration. She would have to add a history lesson in along with her tale. That Master Rajendra failed to impart the basics was not lost on her. There had to be a reason for his madness, but no matter, Nana would clean up the mess the headmaster of the Assassin’s Guild had made.

  “It was the first mixed marriage of Werekin that produced the Nightshade lion clan hundreds of years ago. The dragon clans wanted to end the new breed of Werekin, but the Phoenix clan’s Shaman prevented it. Their prophetess spoke before all the clans of Werekin. Her prophecy proclaimed where all could hear that it would be the lion clans that brought the long-sought peace and would end the fighting between the different clans. It was said that their very existence would garner a golden age in Werekin country.

  At first, the clans warred against this idea. They had existed to fight and take territory. What would they do with peace? The dragon clan was the first to drop the gauntlet of war. It was the phoenix clan and the jaguar clan that hid the Nightshade clan until your great grandfather came of age and could challenge the high dragon king. The right of the challenge was questioned by the dragons and forced into a vote by the great counsel.

  It would seem to all those present that the vote would be forced into a stalemate by the dragons; for their ally, the wolf clan held the deciding vote. Those crafty dragons tried their damnest to push the vote to their liking, but they lacked an important piece of knowledge. The wolf queen had fallen in love with a phoenix prince, and their union had produced the Hemlock lion clan. The wolf queen’s natural instinct to protect her kit was too strong, and she could not bear to see her child destroyed, so she voted for the Nightshade clan’s right to fight.

  Your great grandfather won against the dragon high king with a talent known as shadow walking, and your family had ruled the Werekin lands ever since that day. It brought peace and prosperity to all. Allowing the kingdoms to focus on their talents and grow into greatness. Other lion clans have sprung up over the years but none as powerful as the Nightshade clan.

  It was decreed by your great grandfather that all lion clan princes and princesses would marry the children from other royal clan families. It was a way to ensure that the Nightshade clan would continue to grow in power. What your grandfather hid from prying eyes was the prophecy that led to the mixed couple law. This time the prophecy came from the dragon clan’s priestess. The prophecy said, ‘Should two lion clans join and mate true, the beast would be born. He or she would end the peace and bring great suffering to the Werekin lands. The land itself would bleed and be destroyed by a tyranny so great the Werekin would be destroyed forever.’

  Your great grandfather hid this knowledge from all but a few chosen to carry the burden. He hoped the law he had put in place for mixed bloodlines would prevent this travesty from occurring. It was this mistake, this hidden prophecy that would produce your sister and your father’s demise.” Nana paused, wiping away the tears in her eyes. Her shoulders shook as she struggled to gain her composure.

  Zoey leaned forward, a rumbling purr rising from her chest to comfort Nana. She let her head but against the old lioness”s shoulder in a gesture of love. “Don’t cry Nana, for every point of light in our world, there is a point of darkness. It is part of the balance and cannot be helped. My ancestor made his choice, and it has cost this clan much from the little bit of history I have learned so far.” Zoey said.

  “I know child, but part of my heart wonders if I could have stopped your Uncle Royal from his jealous actions. Could I have shown him a little more love? Would it have made a difference and stopped his heart from hating his own brother so much? We are long-lived creatures, and these old eyes have seen too much in my many years. I could not help myself; your father, Anthony, was a loving child. Easy to dote on, easy to teach, and care for. Your uncle Royal was hard, malicious, and vengeful in all he did. It made it hard not to punish the young princeling daily. They were so different, and I was so young. I feel responsible for some of your uncle’s shortcomings.” Nana said quickly, her guilt pouring out of her like some dis
tasteful secret.

  “Nana, it is not your fault. You couldn't possibly know how uncle Royal would turn out, and your punishments were meant as correction, not maltreatment. You cannot blame yourself.” Zoey said. It broke her heart to watch her Nana blame herself for the actions of a grown man. Maybe it would be Zoey who corrected this mess or, at the very least, removed her uncle from the picture, but only if it was necessary. She had guessed already that Sasha would be her biggest threat. She waited patiently for Nana to gather herself and then urged her on with a smile.

  “Nethra gave birth to you in secret, for she never left your father’s side. Elise gave birth to the spawn the court knows as Sasha. She is not a true Werekin, as she holds the ability to absorb the power from those she eats. She is a killer and not a real lion though that is the form she wears when she is the one that chooses the change. She is the beast, and she must be stopped. The only reason Elise believes she birthed you is that the Goddess Nyx gave her a false memory. It was her way of trying to save this world. Sasha is meant to destroy it and has fed your stepmother the horrible belief that she is the firstborn and, therefore, the most important child. The reality is that that you are the only heir to the Nightshade Throne, Sasha is but a pretender to the power that should be yours. If your father had lived, he would have seen to the succession, but it is the woman he was forced to marry that holds those reigns.”Nana all but spat out her words. Her dislike for the queen leaving a foul taste in her mouth.

  Zoey shook her head; how was it possible that she had a different mother? Her hair was the same deep starless night as Queen Elise’s, and her skin the same pale shade of white. Was it just a coincidence? Was such a thing even possible?

  Nana interrupted Zoey’s fractured thoughts as she continued her story; “Nethra and your father Anthony were joined at the hip. The inseparable couple whose love was a shining light within the Lion Court. It was the envy of many lonely hearts, including your uncle Royal. Royal was a foul creature, prone to temper tantrums and yelling matches with all who disagreed with his whims. It was a constant strain on your grandmother, leaving her to lament the difference between her sons.

  While one was strong and brave, the other was savage and cruel. Your grandmother had never seen such a child in her life; it was as if Royal had been born only to serve himself. A gifted phoenix, your grandmother feared the prophecy her father had spoken only to her about. He has known she was touched with future sight, and he knew she saw flashes of what was to come in her sleep. What her father hadn’t known was that she feared the flashes and the stories that filled her dreams. She feared the tyrant she saw destroying the very kingdom she loved.

  Her greatest fault was that she was a coward, a spineless little woman who had never outgrown the fears of her childhood. As Royal grew more demanding, she found herself bowing to his whims no matter how rotten his disposition. He needed her protection, lest her dreams come true. Elise began to believe in the prophecy her father had whispered into her ear so long ago. Not understanding that the child born from such a union was meant as the destroyer, while another child would be made strong enough to conquer the beast only by mastering the arts of death.

  She was even dumb enough to pass on the prophecy to Royal in a children’s tale she created to lull the boy to sleep. He thought it a tale made just for him, and your grandmother did nothing to correct him on this thought process. She told him of a beautiful lion princess meant to marry a brave lion prince, and the powerful daughter this union would make. She spun the story turning villains to heroes and heroes to villains. Her hope being that Royal would never follow the false prophecy she stuffed his dumb head with.

  She explained in her story that the young lioness would reign under never-ending power and bring each of the other Werekin kingdoms under the heel of the lion clan forever. The Lion clan’s bloodline would become pure and prove once and for all that the lion were above all other races of Werekin. Your grandmother made the story sound ideal when, in reality, it was the story of the end of the Werekin forever. The land of Astra would be destroyed if this prophecy ever came to pass.

  She glorified the firm-handed queen even as her tales became bloody and scary for the young mind of Royal Nightshade. She never took the time to explain the evils behind such actions or what they would garner in the land of Astra. She never explained that this child would destroy the fragile peace the Lion kingdom had wrought so long ago. It changed your uncle, and with these tales in his young mind, he began to form a plan. In his thirteenth year, he asked to be fostered in another Nobel lion house. Since he was the second born, his request was not unheard of. Your grandmother, weary of his boarish ways, sent him to stay with the Hemlock clan in the southern states.

  Never did it occur to her that Royal planned to find a mate within the less powerful clan. Never did she think for one moment that he would bed her and bring her home only to lose her to his own brother for a higher station of power. He could not see past his own ambitions and figured he could ply her with an elevation to the Nightshade clan, and it would be enough. Nor did he expect to be outwitted by a female lioness.

  Royal enjoyed his stay with the Hemlock clan. They seemed to bow to his every whim and bent over backward to keep him happy. He almost didn’t want to return to his own home. With the Hemlock clan, he felt he was finally given the respect he deserved. In the end, it was Princess Elsie of the Hemlock clan that convinced him that he must return to his kingdom. She had worked hard to woo his heart with false promises though Royal did not know it at the time. He fell hard and fast for the Hemlock princess and never doubted for one moment that she was meant to be his. She would help him create a powerful heir for the Nightshade kingdom, like the lioness his mother had made up for him in the stories she used to tell him when he was young.

  He doted on the young Princess Elise and gave in to her every request. He proposed, and Elsie had accepted like a new blushing bride should, but her innocence was feigned and full of darker plans. After several small and easy requests, she asked to see the heart of the Nightshade kingdom. At first, Royal denied her request saying he could not bring her there until their marriage was consummated. This refusal put Princess Elise into a rage, and she refused to speak to Royal for months, leaving him miserable and bereft. He tried everything to regain her favor, but she ignored him, causing great strife in the Hemlock kingdom. Finally, Elise’s mother was able to garner peace between the two brutish lovers, and the princess’s wish was granted for Royal did not want to risk losing her again for any reason.

  The day Elsie arrived in the Nightshade Kingdom was a day of great celebration. Not only had the long-missed younger prince returned, but he had brought a prospective love match with him. The kingdom rejoiced in Prince royal’s happiness and welcomed Princess Elise with open arms. Your grandmother was beside herself with relief and threw a huge party to welcome the princess who had captured her youngest son’s heart. At the feast, a dragon priestess pulled the old queen aside and reminded her of the prophecy that would ruin the peace of all nations should it come to fruition, but the old queen chose to ignore the warnings and pushed forward with the plans for her youngest son’s wedding.

  Day after day, your grandmother spent time with the young princess Elise and they grew close. So close that your grandmother began to entertain the idea that Elise would be better suited to take over as queen than Nethra he oldest son’s betrothed. Together the old queen and Elise plotted a way to have Nethra cast aside so that Elise might take her place. Unbeknownst to the old queen, Elise would sneak into Royal’s room each night and let her growing urge to mate overtake her judgment. She was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Only the servants knew what she was truly up to. Elise had left it to the old queen to find a way for Elise to step into Nethra’s position, and in the meantime, she would have her fill with Royal as she saw fit. Even in her younger years, Elise was cruel and took what she wanted from those around her.

  It was a spell that changed her form into th
at of Nehtra’s that allowed Elise to slip into Anthony's chambers. When Anthony woke to screams the next morning, he had no recourse to explain why the young Elise was naked and dripping semen in his bed. It allowed Elise to cry rape and demand that Anthony marry her instead of Nethra. She claimed before all who would listen that she was a virgin and that she could feel that Anthony had made her pregnant with his unwanted advances. With his own mother pushing for the union to save face, Anthony had no choice but to grant his mother’s wishes to save face with the court. Little did Anthony know, but Elise had already come to him pregnant, not quite the virgin she claimed to be.

  With a broken heart, Anthony set Nethra aside to marry Elise as his mother wished even as Royal began to plot his revenge for a theft that left him breathless with pain and loss.” Nana said, taking a sip from the glass of wine she had poured for herself during the tale.

  “How could my grandmother go along with this ruse? I don’t understand why she chose to ignore the prophecy when she herself had seen what it could bring upon this kingdom, and all the other kingdom’s in our alliance. What aren't you telling me?” Zoey questioned, her anger at the circumstances lacing her words with venom.

  “The old queen had begun to go senile; her foresight the main cause of her ever-growing dementia. She had grown to believe her own stories as much as Royal believed them. They had become her life’s obsession drowning her in the possibilities of greatness that simply did not exist.” Nana answered.

  Zoey sat back, shocked. She had vague memories of her grandmother. She remembered well how she would dote on Sasha but always had a cruel tap or word for Zoey. The old queen had kept her ruse until her dying day, and no one could tell her different. It was almost as if she had cursed herself with her fear of what the real prophecy could actually mean. Like a child, she had sought to change it by changing the story to suit her mental needs. Like any foretold prophecy, it refused to bow to her whims. Was it her punishment for her cowardice? It explained so much about the woman that it made Zoey breathless with anger.