"And he made up a prophecy to force me to do it." I sat down on the floor and took a deep breath. I couldn't work out what to do or say.
"Perhaps there's something real in it?" He sat down beside me and slipped an arm around my shoulders.
Riki came up and nestled herself between the two of us.
Gideon chuckled. "Always wanting to be in the smallest possible space." He scratched the wolf's head. She cocked her head to the side, urging him on with everything she had.
I chuckled. "This is just like her."
"She's providing an interesting way for you to escape the conversation," he pointed out.
I sighed. "There's one way to work out if the prophecy is real or not."
"Ask the mirror?"
I felt the corner of my lips lift up in amusement. "You got it."
"Are you going to do it?"
I shook my head. "I think it's better for me if I don't know. If it turns out that there isn't a prophecy, then I'm going to have to find a way to live with what I've done, and I'm not sure that's going to be easy."
He reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair away from my face. "I'm here no matter if there's a prophecy or not. You've fulfilled a promise to a dying man. There's honour in that, and you know that."
I nodded, I could see his point, and I appreciated the comfort it brought. Gideon knew me in a way that no one else did.
"I know what I have to do next," I whispered. "I have to take an assassination attempt to her."
Chapter 18
The cool air of the forest outside the palace was all I needed. My horse trotted alongside the one Gideon was riding, the one that he'd swapped with Prince Jonathan for his own. Riki followed behind us, serving as protection. I was surprised the palace guard hadn't put up more of a fuss to stop me leaving the palace on their own. But that was their problem to deal with if I got hurt.
"Do you think it’s safe to speak openly here?" Gideon asked.
"Unless the trees have ears." It was possible that they might, but it was a risk we had to take to some extent.
"I've been thinking about how to get you out of the palace, once everything comes to ahead."
I tugged on the reins of my mare, moving her in the direction of one of the many hunting trails that made their way through the forest. No one used them much at the moment, not with Gideon inside the palace pretending to be a prince.
"I don't think there's any real chance of me getting out of this," I admitted. "I've always assumed I'd die at the end."
"I don't want that to have to happen," he pointed out.
I sighed. This was more complicated now, especially with the feelings I'd developed for him. "What are you thinking?" It was better to encourage him in this than lose his support overall.
"There are some passages through the palace. If we can get you to one of them, then we can creep out of the palace and come into the woods. People don't come out here much, we could rest before setting off to somewhere even safer."
I pursed my lips. "I guess that could work. Though how would we know when it was time?"
"I think we'll know," he assured me. "Just like you're going to know when to get off your horse and do that thing with the apple you've been carrying around."
I chuckled. "I'm not going to just know that. I'm going to recognise a place the mirror showed me."
"See, you'll know."
"The mirror doesn't show the future," I pointed out.
"It showed you kissing me."
A smile twisted at my lips. "I don't think that was the future. I asked the mirror how I could stop from becoming the woman in my reflection. Then it showed me. It wasn't the future, it was a fact."
"Because you already love me?" he quipped.
I rolled my eyes, but said nothing. I wasn't able to put a name to how I felt about him. Certainly not anything I was willing to say aloud yet. Perhaps soon I'd be able to.
"We're nearly there," I said instead, noticing a spray of small pink flowers next to the path. We'd definitely be near the camp where Lucia was hiding in a moment.
"Won't she recognise us?" he asked.
"Not when I'm done." I pressed the amulet around my neck and felt a spell wash over us. I glanced over at Gideon to find an old man in his place. No doubt I'd taken on a similar appearance. Which made me wonder what had happened to Riki.
I stifled a laugh as I noticed that my beautiful wolf had been transformed into a pack animal following along behind us, two bags of apples strung over her sides. That fit in perfectly with my plans, even if poor Riki had to suffer from it.
"Impressive. Though I much prefer you when you're wearing your queenly face."
"I'll put that back on as soon as we're out of harm’s way," I assured him.
"Good. I'm not sure I'm ever meant to be this old."
"I hope you are," I whispered. "Hopefully, they won't punish you once I'm gone." I swayed along with my horse, glad that I didn't have to look at him while having this conversation. It was difficult enough to think about the possibility of him dying, I didn't want to have to look into his eyes while we talked about it.
"Neither of us are going to be punished. We'll both disappear and before long, no one will ever think about us ever again."
I laughed loudly. "I doubt we'll ever be forgotten. I did too much harm to this realm, and you helped Lucia's prince get to her."
"Point taken." He paused for a moment. "What about your amulet? Can you make them forget us with magic?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "That sounds like an ongoing enchantment, I've never done one of those." And I doubted it was possible.
"When did the king even give you that?" Gideon asked.
"In his will, with a letter." One that I planned to leave for Lucia to find. I didn't expect her to ever forgive me for the things I'd done, but perhaps if she understood why it would do something to mend the harm I'd caused.
"I don't remember him being as manipulative as that."
"He wasn't," I responded. "He was a good man just trying to do right by his children."
"And in the process, he made you into nothing more than a pawn in his plans."
"Can we not talk about this?" I asked. It was hard enough with the king coming to me in a dream, I didn't want to dwell on it too much while I was awake.
"Of course."
"We're here anyway," I pointed out, bringing my horse to a stop and slipping off the saddle. If anyone was watching me now, they'd probably notice that I moved too swiftly for the old woman I appeared as, but I supposed that wouldn't matter. I wanted people to know it was me in the end.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Gideon asked.
I shook my head. "Riki will." I patted my thigh and she came to stand next to me, still cloaked as a donkey. I rested a hand on her head. "You'll be back to normal soon, Riki, I promise."
Gideon slipped off the horse and came over to me and pressed his lips against mine. "Be careful."
"I will." I wished he could come with me, but this was one poisoned apple that I had to deliver on my own.
Chapter 19
The camp was swarming with people, more than I'd even expected. Good. This was just what her father wanted. Lucia leading people.
"Apples," I called out in my croaky old woman's voice. "Free apples."
People swarmed me, and I handed each of them one of the apples from Riki's bags. I hoped that they were the real deal and not something that would harm anyone. My pocket was heavy with the apple I intended for Lucia. I knew she couldn't resist them.
"Who are you?"
My eyes widened at the sound of my best friend's voice. I looked up and saw Lucia standing in front of me with a look on her face that I'd never seen before. She'd been hardened into the woman she needed to be, that was for sure.
This might just be enough to push her over the edge.
"Just an old woman who heard about the good work you're doing here and brought some apples for everyone. I have one for you, too." I turned towards the bag, us
ing sleight of hand to get the apple out of my pocket without anyone noticing.
I held it out to her, the rosy red skin shining in the mid-afternoon sun. After she ate this, she'd fall into a deep sleep for a day or two. I'd considered cursing it with something more potent, but when I wasn't certain if the counter curse would work, I didn't want to risk it.
"Thank you." Lucia took the apple from me.
"You're welcome. I should be getting back to my orchard. There are more apples there that I can bring back for everyone." I lifted the sacks from Riki's back and placed them down at my feet. "I'll leave these ones here."
"Thank you for your generosity," Lucia said. "I can see we owe you a great debt for it."
"You owe me nothing at all," I assured her, guilt filling me.
"Can I at least know your name?"
"It's best if you don't." I dipped my head. "Long live the true queen of this kingdom."
A stunned look passed over her face, and it was long enough for me to do what I needed to and disappeared. I hadn't come far enough out of the tree line for it to take long.
As soon as Riki and I were out of sight, I pressed the amulet and returned us to our normal selves. I sighed with relief. It was good to be me again.
I crept to the edge and watched as Lucia made sure everyone else got their fruit too. I smiled sadly. She was changing. This was a good sign of what was to come.
Slowly, she took a bite. I watched with bated breath, hoping this would be enough to set her on a path to reclaim her throne. I hadn't intended to say anything to her, or name her the queen that I wasn't, but it had felt right at that moment.
A tear rolled down my face as her eyes fluttered closed and fell to the floor. People rushed around her.
"It was the evil queen!" someone shouted.
I closed my eyes, but that didn't stop any of the sounds reaching my ears.
"We need to send for Jonathan," another voice said loudly. "Only true love can break this kind of curse."
I frowned. True love? I shook my head. That wasn't what I expected to happen when we sent Jonathan to Lucia, but maybe that was part of the changes I'd seen in her.
"He's two days away," the first voice replied.
"Then we shouldn't waste time. Send a rider," the second one ordered. "And send someone into the woods to find the old woman."
"There's no point doing that. She's the queen, she has magic. We won't find her, even if we look."
The people started to protest. Which meant that it was time for me to go. If they did decide to send out a search party, then I needed to be gone. There were still parts of my plan that I needed to see out before Lucia could take back her crown, and I intended to go through with it all.
"Come on Riki," I said needlessly. She needed no direction to follow me.
We made our way back to where Gideon was waiting, my heart both heavy and light at the same time.
"You're back to yourself," he said the moment he saw me.
"As are you," I pointed out.
"Did everything go to plan?"
I nodded. Lucia was unconscious and everyone blamed me. That was certainly the way I'd intended all of this to go.
He pulled me into his arms. "I know we don't have very long." He leaned in and kissed me, taking away some of the pain.
I leaned into him, enjoying the feel of his arms around mine.
"We need to get back," I reminded him once our kiss ended. "If we're caught out here, there isn't much I can do about it. Once we're back inside the palace, the only thing they can do is what needs to be done anyway." I didn't admit that a part of me was dreading it. I wasn't sure how I was going to react when people were storming through the castle and hoping for my death.
They could take the crown. Though I supposed Lucia had already done that. She could only take the crown in a metaphorical sense now.
"Alright, let's mount up and then we can get back." He brought my horse up to me so that I can mount it. "I don't suppose you saw the horse that actually belongs to me while you were in the camp?" Gideon asked.
I shook my head. "Apparently Jonathan is two days away from here. Sorry."
He sighed. "It's fine. I just missed the beast. It's hard to come across a good horse like that. But it is what it is."
Guilt flooded through me. This was just one more thing that my plan had taken away from someone I cared about.
"Hey, I know that look. This isn't your fault. But if we get caught out here because we're talking about a horse, then I'll blame you for that in its stead."
"Good point. Let's go." I mounted my horse, ignoring Gideon's chuckles of amusement. It was time to go home and check on how the rest of the plan was working. Only then could I relax into the sounds of Gideon's amusement.
Chapter 20
Gideon walked beside me as I made my way to my office. No one seemed in the least bit concerned about the way the two of us were acting around one another. Perhaps people were too scared of turning me against them. Or they didn't care. In some respects, that seemed like the most likely answer.
"Are you sure the mirror is going to show you what you want?"
"It's been two days. If it's happened already, then it will show me. If it's happening now, it will too."
"Is there a chance she'll have woken up on her own?"
I grimaced. That was one of the real worries that I had. If Lucia lied to herself and her people and claimed that she'd fought her way out of the dream herself, then it would be alright. But if she told them that she'd woken up naturally, then they'd either think that I was incompetent, or they'd work out that it was meant to work that way in the first place. Neither of those were particularly good options.
"There's a chance. But let's hope it didn't play out that way." I pushed through the door, letting him and Riki into my office before I followed. I wasn't sure what was with her at the moment, but she seemed far more at ease coming into my office than she had before. I wondered if it was a side effect of Gideon being around. He'd hand-reared her as a cub after finding her abandoned and wounded in the woods, which was one of the reasons she was so domesticated.
"Wishful thinking to get what you want then. That sounds like a good plan." He dropped himself down into the chair he'd claimed as his own. "Alright, let's check what your magic mirror," he announced.
"It isn't my mirror," I grumbled.
"You're the one who can use it. That makes it yours."
"Hmm. For now." I turned towards the mirror. "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, show me the fairest of them all."
The purple face appeared within moments. "You called for me, Your Majesty."
"I wish for you to show me the princess as she's woken up today." I crossed my fingers and hoped that it would show me what I needed to see.
"As you command." The purple face disappeared from sight, and a picture began to form.
People surrounded Jonathan as he strode through the camp.
"Where is she?" he shouted.
"In here." A red-headed woman ushered him inside a tent. Luckily, the mirror seemed to be aware that we needed to watch from a different angle as it ducked inside the tent too.
Lucia lay on a surprisingly ornate cot, with her hair swept away from her face.
"What did she do to you?" Jonathan asked, falling to his knees.
"Kiss her," the woman urged him. "I've heard rumours that that's all it takes in order to break a curse like this."
Jonathan gave her an odd look.
I crossed my fingers, hoping that Lucia was close enough to waking that she would open her eyes from the pressure of his kiss.
"It's worth a try." He shrugged.
Leaning over, he pressed his lips against Lucia's.
I sucked in a breath and began to count to ten, trying to control my nerves. This had to work, or I didn't know what would happen.
Lucia's eyes snapped open. "Jonathan?" she asked.
"You're awake." A wide smile crossed his face.
"Yes. I..."
"You didn't want to see more of that?" Gideon asked.
"No. I don't need to see their reunion. And we know what they'll do now. If she doesn't go after me, then she'll lose the support she's been amassing. I don't think she's foolish enough to risk that."
"I hope you're right," Gideon responded.
"I am. I know Lucia. So do you."
"This isn't the Lucia I know." He waved to the mirror.
"It's the Lucia she was always meant to be." A smile crossed my face at the thought of that. I'd done what I needed to do, and the main emotion coursing through me was relief.
Riki whined and pushed her head against my hand. I ruffled her fur and closed my eyes.
Gideon's arms snaked around me, holding me tight. A tear ran down my cheek, but this time it wasn't because of the cruelty in what I was doing, but because there was finally an end in sight.
"The end is coming, Gideon. I'm finally going to be able to stop pretending."
"You sound scared," he observed.
"Of course I'm scared. I don't know who I am anymore." It was one of the main reasons I'd assumed I was going to die at the end of this. It was easier than facing the truth about what I'd become.
"I can answer that one for you. You're strong, independent, and determined. You'll do what you think is right, even when it comes at a great cost."
The tears threatened to fall faster, but I blinked them away. It was odd having someone who believed in me this much, but I found that it relit something within me. A determination to see this through to the very end.
I pulled away from Gideon, straightening myself up.
"We have a ball to prepare for," I reminded him.
"Just do me a favour?" he asked.
"Yes?" I eyed him up, wondering what he was planning.
"I know it's not normal, but promise me you'll bring Riki with you to the ball."
I placed a hand on my Wolf's head. That wasn't much of a favour, though I didn't understand why he wanted that.
"Alright. I'm sure she'll enjoy the lamb bones."
Kingdom of Villains and Vengeance: Fairytale retellings from the villain's perspective (Kingdom of Darkness and Light Book 2) Page 8